Dinner reservations are set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday night at Murphy's Restaurant & Bar in downtown Prescott. We'll be upstairs in their mezzanine.

They are sending me menu options to look over. They asked if we could do 1 check that would include gratuity and I agreed. I'm going to look over the menu and see if we can offer 2-3 different selections so that we make it as simple as possible while still offering variety.

Good work Ernie.
How many people did you tell them would be in our group?

I told them approximately 20. I've got to go back through the main topic thread and do a real count.

The restaurant sent me a sample of their menu and samples of two of their preconfigured menus.

Menu A is $27 each and the dishes are:
Fresh Sterling Salmon
Baked Fresh Halibut Rockefeller
12 oz Prime Rib

Menu B is $22 each and the dishes are:
Fresh Sterling Salmon
Rotisserie Chicken
10 oz Prime Rib

Both menus include Murphy's bread, garden salad, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and coffee, tea, milk or soft drink.

We have to add 8.3% tax and 18% gratuity as well, and add $2.00 for the Prime Rib.

My own vote is going to be for Menu B, but I have to check with the restaurant on some things. The normal menu prices for the 3 items are:
Salmon $16.95
Chicken $14.95
Prime Rib $21.95

I don't know that we have the room to ourselves (I didn't ask for it). I just asked if they had room for a group of 20. I don't mind paying a bit more for the room, but I don't understand paying $7.00 more for chicken or paying the same price for chicken & salmon.

Anyway... I like the idea of a fixed selection menu because we can take orders ahead and people will know exactly what they need to pay - no guesswork & no coming up short on the check.

What do you think?

20 people was the number I was also thinking.
It could turn out to be only 15. 25 to 30 is also possible.

With a set limited menu for a group it is standard practice to base the price on the most expensive item offered. The lesser priced options are made available as an alternate choice for those who would rather have chicken or whatever. If we go with option B, I calculate the final price to be $28 per person (not including a bar tab). That sounds reasonable IF we are all able to sit together. The restaruant also has to account for the fact that they will probably not be able to turn the tables as fast if a group is going to hang out longer than normal and have a meeting or pass out awards etc.

We need to remember that it is not easy to place a large group on a Saturday night. (last year The Avi would not book our group of 15 in their Steakhouse on a Saturday night. They said it would displace to many other people) Paying an extra fee for a priviate / semi-private room is a worthwhile expense. It is also a good thing to have a set reservation time so we are not waiting and waiting or even worse, searching at the last minute for a place that is willing or able to accommodate us.

I know it will be much easier on us (the planners) to have this all set up before hand so we can fully enjoy the event. You have got to figure we would spend at least $20 per head for dinner no matter where we eat. Paying an additional $8 is not that bad considering the security we are buying to have everything set in advance without any worries.

Talk to them again. Try to get a few more details. If you feel good about it - Book It.

Thanks, John. That's exactly the kind of insight that I needed on how things work. I didn't want to embarrass us by asking them questions that may make them not feel good about having us.

The place is booked, only the menu is undecided. I'll get it nailed down and then post it for the benefit of all.