Bergen County Rehearsal Dinner Help!

If you go 20 minutes north and try some places in Suffern, it's probably cheaper. Bergen County is notoriously expensive.

ETA: Don't rent a hall. You don't need anything that big for a RD.

There's a ton of places in Bergen County but it's going to be hard to find something for under $24 a person that's appropriate for a rehearsal.

You can try smaller restaurants (family owned, not chain) there's many places in Ridgewood but you may want to try the vendor tab to narrow down results.

@ Centerpiece - Oh yeah! Ole Ole is very good Mexican in Suffern.

There's also Kinchley's pizza in Ramsey.

Try this one...

Casual Habana- Hackensack, NJ- (201) 880-9844. I've been here and it's a beautiful place and food is good.

Palermo's Cafe and Bakery- Little Ferry, NJ- (201) 336-9818. A friend of a friend had her bridal shower there and it looks like a nice place.

24.00 in this area is really, really reasonable; I don't know if you can beat that. Don't rent a hall, it won't be any cheaper.

Try The Brickhouse in Wyckoff.

Thanks! Kinchley's is a great idea, I will def call them. We've reached out to close to 40 restaurants in the area (all smaller places, no chains), and they all want between $24-$50 per person for a Friday night, or if the per person price is lower they have crazy high minimums we have to meet. I've kinda accepted that this is just the cost of a rehearsal dinner in the area, but my fiance is sort of unrealistic about what things cost (and what is involved with properly hosing guests), especially when it comes to weddings. Now he's set on this hall idea thinking it will be way cheaper, never mind that by the time you factor in hall rental/catering/decor/table linens/eating utensils and all the DIY involved with a venue like that, the price difference only ends up being about $400. To me the convenience of a restaurant is worth the $400 lol, but he's very frugal. I'm so frustrated with this part of planning, since there really doesn't seem to be a compromise between a restaurant and renting a hall that will make us both happy, so I really appreciate any ideas you guys can suggest!

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Palermo's looks really nice, I'm also going to reach out to The Brickhouse, I've always loved their food.

I don't think you're going to find much for less that $24pp. I'm planning a small birthday party for my mother and got prices in that ballpark.

I love Kinchley's too! But they're always crowded which makes it feel rushed.

In the immediate Paramus area, have you tried Biaggio's (Paramus), Sanducci's (River Edge), or Sanzari's New Bridge Inn (New Milford).

Rutherford (and the surrounding area) also have some great restaurants; and Rutherford is BYOB!

We had ours at Paisano's (which is one of our favorite restaurants), but have also been to Volare's, Vesta, Caffe Capri, Risotto House, Lassoni, Gelone's, and Michaels's Riverside - I would highly recommend any one of these.

Thanks for all the advice! I hadn't thought of some of these places, so I def appreciate new options to look into. I had already talked to some of the restaurants mentioned (Biagio's, Sanducci's, etc.), but my fiance had vetoed the price. I guess my issue now is to convince him that these are actually fair & reasonable prices for a rehearsal dinner, and get him to give up on this renting a hall idea lol.

ETA: misspelling

Snow, your fiance needs to get a grip on reality here, lol......24-35.00 is right in there.

Or don't do it at all. Most people don't even need a rehearsal OR a rehearsal dinner.....

Paisano's in Rutherford

ETA: Amy has excellent taste lol

@Celia, tell me about it. He's driving me nuts lol.

LOL Thanks @Almost MrsE

I actually was just planning my rehearsal dinner! I'm in Sussex County so that's probably way too far from you but just wanted to chime in and say that we just booked a private room at a nice Italian restaurant, it's called Milanos in Hamburg NJ (Sussex County). The price is $30 per person ($27 without appetizers) which includes all drinks, salad, appetizer, first course of pasta and the main dinner meal (choice between 2 chicken, 2 fish and 2 pastas). I found that to be very reasonable. $24 per person is awesome especially for NJ which is pricey all around, I would have jumped at that lol!

ETA: spelling