The Last Supper (as Singles)

... Also known as the reherasal dinner.

... Also known as another outstanding item on my to-do list.

Lately, we've been trying to narrow down our options for this decision.  And, to be honest, there was only one restaurant that we've ever really considered using over the last few months.  So, on Monday evening, we headed over to Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant & Bar to meet with their event coordinator.

To begin with, this restaurant is a lot of fun.  The decor is bright and cheerful (and maybe just a little over the top).  We love it:

Main Dining Area & View from Upstairs both from the Emiliano's Website

And, we've eaten there enough times to know that we enjoy a variety of the menu items.  Our meeting actually started with a question about our favorite foods there...  I had a hard time picking one but the FI answered by explaining that his family is mostly Mexican and that Emiliano's offers the most authentic food he's been able to find in Pittsburgh.  

From there, we moved onto menu options and explanations of price structures.  Since we'll be having 20-30 guests, a sit down meal with three entree options was suggested.  (They do offer buffet dinners but recommend that for parties of over 30 people.)  And, the price per guest would be based on an average of the entrees we picked.

We ended up choosing four dinner options for our guests: enchiladas suizas, fajitas (chicken or steak), molcajete cabo (a huge seafood dish) and flautas.  We felt like all our bases were covered with these options: steak, chicken, seafood, fried, not fried, etc.

Plus, we added a few orders of two appetizers, queso fundido and guacamole, that will join the chips and salsa already included with the meal.  Finally, we rounded out the meal with the adult beverage options of margaritas and Coronas.

Perfect.

And, it is all well within our "budget" amount for a "rehearsal" dinner (turns out we probably won't even have a traditional rehearsal, but more on that later).

After we wrapped up our meeting, we got a table and had dinner.  We each ordered an item from our selected rehearsal dinner options that we hadn't tried before, just to make sure.  I had the enchiladas and he ordered the molcajete cabo; both were delicious.  Plus, the margaritas were amazing.

Overall, this whole process was painless.  I'm so happy with our decision and think this restaurant will provide the casual, fun environment we're hoping for to enjoy this special time with our families.

Did you have a favorite restaurant in mind for your rehearsal dinner early on?  Or, did you have to do a lot of homework to find the right place?