Please help with group of around 50

Our group of around 50 will be doing on a dine around one evening in September. That means we%26#39;ll split up into smaller groups of about 14-18 and each group will go to a different reataurant. I%26#39;m in charge of deciding which ones. Oh My!! I%26#39;m faced with great choices and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I%26#39;ve determined that even with the smaller groups I%26#39;ll still need private dining area and limited menus and will be charge a fee and or minimum for the room/area. So far my choices are:

Generals Daughter

Girl %26amp; The Fig

Saddles Steakhouse

Eldorado Kitchen

Della Santina%26#39;s (except no full bar)

Any suggestions or recommendations? Please help.

We%26#39;ll be staying at the Sonoma Mission Inn and will have a few dinners there as well as at the Benziger Estate Wine Cave.

I%26#39;ve also planned a ballooning tour with Balloon Tours (Scott) and need to plan perhaps a bike wine tasting tour or walking tour. Or something else. Again any ideas would be welcomed.

Looking forward to some great responses.

Dawna

Please help with group of around 50

The restaurants you have chosen so far are fine. I hope you make reservations way ahead of time (like NOW) because this is grape crush time and everything will be filled up.

Others I might suggest if you find you can%26#39;t get reservations at these are Carneros Bistro and Wine Bar in the Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort and Spa, which is 1 mile south of the Plaza on Hwy 12, and Sante, which is in the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn %26amp; Spa, 2.5 miles north of Sonoma, in Boyes Hot Springs, on Hwy 12.

Have you contacted the Visitor%26#39;s Bureau? I would really suggest that if you want bike and/or balloon tours. Try this URL....sonomavalley.com.

Given that you are only a few weeks away from this trip, in the busiest season of the wine country, I would actually make a telephone call to them.

Good luck.

Please help with group of around 50

Generals Daughter, Girl and the Fig, Saddles, and El Dorado Kitchen are all wonderful places to go. (Note: You will want to match up the group who likes steak and a western horse theme with Saddles). For the other 3 they are all equally delightful California cuisine restaurants and will be fun. Generals Daughter has best service, so if some of your party desire that, match them with Generals Daughter. El Dorado Kitchen and Girl and the Fig are basically across the street from each other (i.e. 1 minute walk). El Dorado if inside tables has good air conditioning, Fig and the Girl has a nice outside patio area. So if some of your group likes the outside scene, match them with Fig and the Girl. If they want inside seating with air, match them with El Dorado Kitchen. I don;t know much about Della Santina so hopefully someone else can suggest..

La Sallette and Cafe la Haye (on Sonoma Town Square) are also two you might want to consider.)

Some other events you might consider doing are:

Ramekins

http://www.ramekins.com/private.html

This would be a fun dinner outing (cook and prepare dinner) and team building event at a fun place to go.

Ravenswood WInery

Blend Your Own Wine event

ravenswood-wine.com/about/winery.asp#blend

Viansa Winery

www.viansa.com/host/special_events.html

They can do a lunch and a wine stomp for your goup (or you can talk to them about other possibilities.)

Thanks for some great ideas! Yes, Ballooning is booked and contracts in the works for main restaurants. Just wasn%26#39;t sure of choices.

Thanks again,

Dawna

We loved Della Santina, especially sitting out in the garden area under the trellises. This is also a good choice for any vegetarians in the group. They make a killer gnocchi!

You will love the Sonoma Mission Inn, it is our favorite property in the area. Your list looks great, General%26#39;s Daughter is one of our favorite places for dinner in this area. The El Dorado Kitchen is nice for larger groups, they have a pretty spacious dining room, it is a very contemporary ambiance, when we had lunch there was a group of about 15 seated at a large table, they were having a great time.

girl and the fig is also one of our favorites, they have a nice varied menu and their signature fig salad is not to miss. Cafe La Haye, as previously mentioned is also very good but their dining room is extremely small.

The Swiss Hotel also has a very nice back patio area with an outdoor fireplace, fountain and they have very good food here. If you can%26#39;t get into one of our choices, you may want to consider this place for one of your groups.

You have your work cut out for you, I hope all goes well, start making your calls now for reservations. Have fun and please report back with us on how it goes! :)

OK all,

I changed Generals Daughter for Carneros. I have been told that portions are very small at GD and Carneros is a better choice. Also Carneros does not charge for use of the patio. GD has a 1000 and 2500 dollar min food/bev charge.

Any comments?

Dawna

Actually The Generals Daughter only has charges on PRIVATE

spaces , so if you want a dining room or a patio to yourselves

there is a food and beverage minimum. Otherwise there is more than enough seating for open reservations. As to the portion sizes

, the portions are smaller than some eateries with 8-10 oz portions

but when mixing 3 or more of them together I believe it provides a filling and satisfying meal. And lastly who is a better choice Carneros or Generals Daughter, well I would ask syrah girl or some of the other regular contributors who have been to both.

I would love to hear opinions on differances between GD and Carneros. As I mentioned GD was my first choice, but with only 14 -18 going I%26#39;m not sure about the patio for a 2,500/ min. Could we just have 2 tables without a private area? Yes, but we usually have 45min to an hour cocktail hour before dinner. With our own area it%26#39;s more controlled with regard to timing. In reality small portions are fine at least for my husband and I, but not for some men.

For those of you that have been to both I value your opinion. Our group consists of business owners and/or CEO%26#39;s. Most tend to be very unpretentioush, yet value high quality in both service and food.

Thanks again for your help,

Dawna

For larger parties than 6 the restaurant doesnt reseat the tables so timing isnt an issue.

Sorry, we have not been to Carneros so I can%26#39;t compare the two places. We loved our dinner at General%26#39;s Daughter and found it be of the highest quality of food, service and value. It is our first choice for a dinner in the area. We will be returning here again next Spring when we visit the Sonoma wine country. Good luck! :)

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