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Email template to ask a restaurant for a full buyout quote

You want a restaurant all to yourselves for a rehearsal dinner, a milestone birthday, a company party, or a wedding reception. Renting the whole place is called a buyout: the restaurant closes to the public for your event. Restaurants rarely quote a simple rental price; instead they set a food and beverage minimum, the amount your group must spend before tax and service charge, and sometimes add a room fee on top. Many add an automatic service charge of 18 to 22 percent, and that may or may not go to the staff as a tip. Asking by email gets these numbers in writing so you can compare a few places and avoid a total that doubles when the tax and charges appear.

Before you send

  • Your date, plus one or two alternates. A Tuesday in February will cost far less than a Saturday in December, and flexibility is your best bargaining chip.
  • Your guest count, as a range, and whether you want a seated dinner, a standing reception, or both.
  • The hours you need, including setup. Buyouts are often priced by whether you take the lunch, the dinner, or the full-day slot.
  • Your total budget, all in. Restaurants can build a menu to a number if you give them one.
  • Anything unusual: speeches, a projector, live music, an outside cake or wine, or a dietary requirement for a large share of guests.
Subject Buyout inquiry for [date], about [number] guests 
Hi [events manager or restaurant name],

I'm planning [a rehearsal dinner / a 50th birthday party / a company dinner] and would love to host it as a full buyout of [restaurant name] on [date], with [alternate date] as a backup. We expect [number] guests for [a seated dinner / a standing reception with passed appetizers] from about [start time] to [end time].

Could you send me your buyout terms in writing, including:

- The food and beverage minimum for that date and time, and any separate room or rental fee
- Menu options at a few price points per person, and how the bar is priced
- The service charge, tax, and whether the service charge goes to the staff
- Deposit amount, payment schedule, and cancellation policy
- Whether we can bring [a cake / our own wine], and any fee for that

Our all-in budget is around [amount]. If the date is open, I'd like to visit and decide by [date].

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good reply is a one-page proposal or event agreement with the minimum, fees, and sample menus. A reply that only says "call us" or gives a per-person price with no mention of the minimum, service charge, or tax is incomplete; ask for the missing pieces before you compare.
  • Add it up yourself: minimum, plus room fee, plus service charge on the food and drink, plus tax on everything. That is the real number.
  • Ask what happens if your group spends less than the minimum (you usually pay the difference) and whether the minimum drops on your alternate date.
  • Send the same email to two or three restaurants. If your favorite is over budget, tell them the number and ask what they could do for it; a shorter window or a weeknight often closes the gap.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me buyout quotes from restaurants 
Hi StandIn,

Please get buyout quotes from restaurants for a private event.

The event: [type of event and the feel I'm after].
Date: [date], with [alternate dates] as backups.
Guests: [number or range], [seated dinner / standing reception].
Hours: [start to end, including setup].
Neighborhood or restaurants I like: [area, or specific names].
Budget, all in: [amount].
Special needs: [cake, own wine, projector, dietary needs, or "none"].

Contact several restaurants, get the minimum spend, fees, service charge, tax, deposit, and cancellation terms in writing, ask each what they can do within my budget, and bring me a side-by-side comparison with your pick.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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