Downtown Group Dining (Austin, Center: hotels, restaurant, trendy)

[gbaker06]

Hi everyone!

I am in charge of booking a restaurant for dinner in downtown Austin for a conference in late October. I have searched around google and yelp but was looking for suggestions:

- Group is about 20-30 people
- Looking to sit at a large table, not have to split up into multiple tables
- Dress is business casual, trying to stay away from messy dishes (BBQ)

The hotel we are booking is near E 6th street/convention center area.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[10scoachrick]

Vince Young Steakhouse is different from the herd: (Or so I've heard)
About a block from the Convention Center




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ORcqYYEGk

[clarksvillemom]

Manuels, upstairs room at La Condesa - I think Malverde (their upstairs room is great - and one long table), Moonshine, Max Wine Dive, Second on Congress (but I think the private space is half outside), III Forks, Trulucks

[eqshadimar]

I don't know when in October you are planning your event but don't forget about the F1 race on the 23rd. I would imagine that hotels etc will get booked up for that event.

[A-Tex]

Carmelo's has several rooms that can accommodate your group. Carmelo's Italian Restaurant | Best Italian Food in Austin, TX

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Vince Young Steakhouse is different from the herd: (Or so I've heard)
About a block from the Convention Center




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ORcqYYEGk

A steakhouse is never a great idea for a group function. There are many people who don't eat meat.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

A steakhouse is never a great idea for a group function. There are many people who don't eat meat.

I have a feeling VY could come up with a non-meat menu. Surely it doesn't take a large group to have some folks who are vegetarian or vegan...this IS Austin, after all. And how many folks would come to Austin expecting to eat Italian? Every week, C-D gets someone bashing Italian food in Austin, saying it's horrible.

ETA: Eight non-beef menu items on the standard menu...mostly fish but pork and lamb, also. Veggie items might take some notice; but I seriously doubt there would be a problem satisfying 2-3 non-meat eaters in a group. IF it's a group of 30 vegans, yep, there could be a conflict.

Hey!!! Where'd y'all eat when you were in Austin???? Eye-talian??? You went to Austin for Eye-talian???

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I have a feeling VY could come up with a non-meat menu. Surely it doesn't take a large group to have some folks who are vegetarian or vegan...this IS Austin, after all. And how many folks would come to Austin expecting to eat Italian? Every week, C-D gets someone bashing Italian food in Austin, saying it's horrible.

ETA: Eight non-beef menu items on the standard menu...mostly fish but pork and lamb, also. Veggie items might take some notice; but I seriously doubt there would be a problem satisfying 2-3 non-meat eaters in a group. IF it's a group of 30 vegans, yep, there could be a conflict.

Hey!!! Where'd y'all eat when you were in Austin???? Eye-talian??? You went to Austin for Eye-talian???

The OP said nothing about wanting some kind of quintessential Austin dining experience.

Meat means dead flesh. That would include fish, pork, lamb etc. Many many many people don't eat dead animals and in many cases it's for religious reasons. In 2016 it's insulting and insensitive to schedule a group business dinner at a restaurant that caters only to carnivores. I don't think people who eat dead flesh realize how literally heave-inducing the smell of a restaurant like that is. Sides are afterthoughts in a meat-based restaurant like that. Expecting someone to eat a plain baked potato and stalk of plain overcooked broccoli in a restaurant is ridiculous.

Is Carmelo's the best Italian in the world? Absolutely not. But it's not horrible and somehow managed to thrive in downtown Austin -- even way before it was a trendy spot or convention area -- for 35 years. It has ambiance. It has a broad menu of items that will appeal to a spectrum of likes and dietary restrictions. It has the private rooms for groups this size. It would not be my first choice to dine in Austin, but it checks off a lot of boxes for group dining.
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[Kthnry]

I'm not crazy about meals at one giant table. Everyone is shouting over everyone else and you can only really talk to the people to your left and right (and possibly one or two across if it's a long, rectangular table; zero if it's a round table).

[AFD1017]

Look at the menu at Max's Wine Dive. I frequent this restaurant weekly. They have a much broader variety of proteins and vegetables. It's at 2nd Street and San Jacinto. Parking requires a valet.