Rehearsal Dinner in Durham,

[NXS]

We are hosting a rehearsal dinner in Durham, the evening of July 9 prior to our son's wedding the next day. We would sincerely appreciate suggestions of which restaurant or club would be appropriate for a nice reception & sit down dinner. The number of guests will be 20 & a private room is preferred.

Thanking you in advance for your comments.

[suse]

Nana's or Four Square sound like what you might want.

[anne7134]

What's your price range? What's your preferred atmosphere?

[Lucydevil]

Also where in Durham will your guests be staying. Downtown, near Southpoint etc?

[NXS]

Price range is not a huge concern. Should $100 per person be sufficient?

Regarding atmosphere we want it to be very nice & as I mentioned in my initial post would wish a private room.

Guests will be staying at the Hilton Durham near Duke University (3800 Hillsborough Rd)

[anne7134]

In Durham my top choices for private dining would be:

Nana’s
Revolution
Four Square
Vin Rouge

Other options
Blu Seafood
Ruth’s Chris
Parizade

In Chapel Hill
Spice Street
Weathervane
Jujube – semi private, up to 20 or so
Bin 54
Depending on the size, you could probably fill up Lantern or Elaine's

[NXS]

anne7134, many thanks for your list. I will look at their websites over the weekend and then visit the several I have narrowed the choice down to.

[Shag Waits]

Of these good suggestions, I'd like to wholeheartedly recommend Four Square. The setting is quite nice and they have the most interesting food, the best in the area in my opinion.

[fussycouple]

These are good suggestions. I might recommend that you also check out:

Washington Duke (Durham, at Duke)
il Palio (Chapel Hill)
Fearrington House (out in the country)

which are all traditional places in the area for wedding parties, birthdays, receptions, etc. They will all have the features you desire and should be accustomed to serving for such occasions.

[LulusMom]

If I'm right about where the Hilton is (and I may very well be wrong) Piedmont and Rue Cler are walking distance. I don't think Rue Cler has a private space, but I bet Piedmont does. I'd whole heartedly agree with the Vin Rouge suggestion and I like Blu a lot too. I'd try to stay in Durham ... you want them to be able to not worry about trying to figure out the roads around here (if they're not from here) after an evening of fun.

[boaviagem]

Hotel wise you are confusing the downtown Durham Marriott (convention center hotel next to the Carolina Theatre) with the Durham Hilton which is on Hillsborough Rd. west of 15-501. The Hilton is 10-15 drive from downtown/Piedmont/Rue Cler. The upstairs of Piedmont might work for a group of 20.

[LulusMom]

You're absolutely right - I had a weird feeling I might be getting that wrong hotel-wise. Sorry!

[zekkius]

as a family member semi involved for a rehearsal taking place a couple weeks after yours, I can tell you that Rue Cler can be rented (main room), as well as several other spaces, as Pop's has the same ownership. If memory serves, Pop's is migrating to another location and it's main room as well as another room are both available.

obviously, being on hillsborough vin rouge and parizade are easy locations to get to.

purely out of curiosity as to choice of the hilton - croasdaile reception?