Cafe Calatrava - Milwaukee Art Museum

The museum had a catering company that we had to go with, Catering by Café Calatrava, but they had an amazing menu and a great reputation that we were fine with the decision. The staff will help you chose between lots of different menus, including different appetizers and entrees to choose between. I liked and really appreciated the diversity in what they offered, and because of the small party, we were able to choose something that everyone would love. The thing to take into consideration is that they do have a minimum ordering price for a party, but it was easy to reach the $1000 minimum. They have a flourless cake, which though intriguing, we went with a regular chocolate. They are also very clear on the prices for their services, so there is no hidden charge at a later date. And they are also able to have a liquor bar, which is good because we wanted the option of having a signature drink for our guests.

The chairs and tables are available, but they do have wavering charges on the dishes and linens, if you want more than basic. I think what we choose added to the atmosphere, but we made sure to know what the costs were. The event consultant was very professional and made sure were knew what were the costs for different features.

This is a very beautiful reception room at the museum, with beautiful white marble floors and a great view. There is also a terrace that is right off the room, and we were very lucky with the weather and our guests were able to go on the terrace. This room is perfect for a party of 50 to 90 people, but we were exactly 50 people so we had some extra room for dancing. They have larger rooms, and gardens, which run for several thousand dollars to rent for the evening. To rent the Café cost about $1000. The good thing about going with the museum site is that they are also able to rent to us audio visual equipment that one might need, which we did take advantage of. I think this was a smart decision, because our guests were able to enjoy the artwork in the museum and also we were able to enjoy a very elegant evening overall in the museum.

There is a fee for parking in one of the museum parking lots, so it may be wise to inform your guests ahead of time or to offer to pay for their parking yourself. We let our guests know ahead of time, but we also made sure that each guests received a parking pass at the church. It was all well coordinated.