hosting grown up party question

[mytwosons]

I'm going to be hosting a bday party for my mom at a local restaurant. I can either have people choose from a banquet menu or let them order off the menu, but I'm having trouble deciding what to do. This will be a lunch for an older crowd.

Banquet Menu: Includes non-alcoholic drink, soup or salad and one of four entrees. If people choose the salmon entree, the banquet menu is actually slightly cheaper than if they ordered it off the menu. However, I think my total cost will be higher if I use the banquet menu because some people would order cheaper entrees or salads off the menu. There is only one non-seafood (chicken) option.

The banquet menu would not have prices, which I prefer. I want folks to order what they want to eat, not what they feel comfortable ordering when someone else if footing the bill, KYIM?

Which would you do?

[Mopey]

Everyone I know, for any kind of celebration like this, no matter if they are footing the bill or it is a prix fixe for everyone to pay, keeps it to some kind of a prix fixe menu. In my experience restaurants don't want to deal with volume problems and that's why they offer prix fixe instead of the whole menu.

I think if you are treating it is nicest not to see prices. And I think it would be normal to negotiate for more options than three seafood and one chicken - that's not a very good assortment. I have usually gone for chicken, a pasta, seafood/beef, and a veggie option (if it's not the pasta).

Good luck! Have a great party! :applause:

[mytwosons]

We will be under 18 people so the restaurant is letting us order from the menu or do one of their banquet menus.

I just double-checked and there are 5 entree options. It is a seafood restaurant, so... the cheaper banquet menu has

1.)Blackened Salmon Salad,
2.)Fresh Grilled Seasonal Fish w/Sweet shallot butter, smashed redskin potatoes, fresh market vegetables
3.)Garlic Shrimp Scampi
Angel hair pasta, diced tomato, Tabasco garlic butter sauce, garlic cheese
bread
4.)Pecan Crusted Whitefish or Trout
Smashed redskin potatoes, green beans & mushrooms, brown butter sauce
5.)Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Fresh tomato-basil relish, lemon pan jus, angel hair pasta with herb-garlic
butter

the other banquet menu:
1.)“House Specialty” Cedar Plank Salmon
Balsamic glazed and oven roasted, grilled zucchini and peppers,
sun-dried tomato pesto and goat cheese
2.) Chesapeake Bay Crab Jumbo Lump Cake
Our signature recipe, smashed redskin potatoes, sweet corn sauté
3.) Shang Hai Seafood Sampler
Fresh Atlantic salmon, scallops and shrimp, sticky rice, sesame spinach, rice
wine soy sauce
4.)Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Fresh tomato-basil relish, lemon pan jus, angel hair pasta with herb-garlic
butter

[KLD313]

For the lunch after my grandmothers funeral my mother and uncle had everyone choose off the menu. They figured it would be cheaper than the per person amount they were quoted. Wrong! The bill was crazy high, ppl were ordering everything they could.

[wellyes]

Just do the banquet. It is easier for the guests to have fewer choices - I actully prefer it from the funerals/events I've been too. Especially useful for an older crowd, they don't want to worry about new foods. I know from experience that even with a fixed price menu, the kitchen makes exceptions if necessary (kid food, vegetarian option, gluten free).

[misshollygolightly]

Another vote for the fixed price/banquet menu. Best to limit options and streamline the process. Plus, I wouldn't want the prices on the menu. I think both the banquet menus sound great, btw.