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Wauwatosa · Wisconsin
Candlelit private dining cellar at Steve's Greenhouse Grill
Private Events · Wauwatosa · Est. 2009

Rehearsal dinners in the cellar, corporate galas under the glass, and full buyouts from greenhouse to hearth.

Steve's Greenhouse Grill hosts private events for parties of 16 to 240 across three distinct rooms — a 16-seat private cellar, the 24-seat chef's counter, the 140-seat main dining room, and the entire 4-acre property for full buyouts. Every plate begins a short walk from our on-site greenhouse.

Inquire About Your Event Tour the Three Spaces

312 private events hosted in 2024 · Catering & off-site available · Chef Marrone personally reviews every inquiry

The Spaces

Three rooms, three moods — match the space to the occasion.

Each room draws from the same greenhouse and the same open-fire hearth, but each sets a different tone. Below, the rooms, their capacities, and the events they were built for.

The main dining room set for a private event
The Main Dining Room

140 seats · Open-fire hearth · Full buyouts available

The flagship room. Twelve-foot windows look out over the greenhouse rows, the open-fire hearth anchors the north wall, and the entire space can be reserved for a seated dinner or a flowing cocktail reception of up to 180. Best for milestone birthdays, corporate galas, rehearsal dinners above 80 guests, and nonprofit fundraisers.

  • Seated: 140
  • Cocktail / standing: 180
  • Buyout premium: Chef's 7-course hearth menu from $185 / guest
Check availability →
The Chef's Counter

24 seats · Counter-side tasting · Kitchen-front

Twenty-four stools pulled up to a single slab of reclaimed white oak, looking directly into the pass. Chef Marrone and the line cook on rail walk the room through each course as it leaves the hearth. Best for chef-driven corporate hospitality, intimate milestone celebrations, and clients who want the kitchen to be the entertainment.

  • Seated: 24
  • Format: 9-course counter menu, single seating
  • Minimum spend: $4,800 weekday · $6,200 Saturday
Check availability →
The chef's counter facing the open kitchen
The 16-seat private dining cellar
The Private Dining Cellar

16 seats · Below grade · The most-requested room

A stone-lined room one floor below the main dining room, with a single 16-seat communal table, a wine wall drawn from our 1,200-bottle cellar, and the quiet that rehearsal dinners and board retreats tend to need. Best for rehearsal dinners under 20, executive offsites, anniversary dinners, and confidential client hospitality.

  • Seated: 16 maximum
  • Format: 5-course family-style or prix fixe
  • Private bar: available, 18 selections minimum
Check availability →
Capacity Matrix

Capacity at a glance — from a 16-seat cellar dinner to a 240-guest full buyout.

Four numbers, four configurations. Use them to size your event before you ever pick up the phone.

16 Private Cellar

Single table, full buyout, rehearsal dinners & executive offsites.

24 Chef's Counter

Counter-side 9-course tasting, single seating, kitchen as theater.

140 Main Dining Room

Seated dinners and cocktail receptions up to 180 standing.

240 Full Property Buyout

Greenhouse, hearth, cellar, and main room — the entire restaurant and grounds, plus our 14 line cooks, 6 farmers, and 2 beekeepers.

A note on minimum spend: every room has a food-and-beverage minimum that varies by night of week. The cellar begins at $2,400 weekday; full property buyouts begin at $48,000 and include Chef Marrone on the floor.

A Sample Evening

A sample evening, start to send-off, with the greenhouse and hearth as the through-line.

What a 120-guest rehearsal dinner in the main room actually looks like — from the first guest arrival to the last car at the valet stand. Every event is custom, but the rhythm below is a representative template.

  1. 5:00 PM

    Greenhouse tour & welcome pour

    Guests are walked through the 4-acre greenhouse by one of our six full-time farmers, who explains what was harvested that morning and what they'll be eating that evening. A sparkling cider and a lavender spritzer are poured at the propagation tables.

  2. 5:45 PM

    Hearth-side reception

    The party moves to the open-fire hearth for the cocktail hour. Six passed canapés built around the day's harvest — grilled oyster mushrooms with elderflower, beef tartare on salt-cured yolk, smoked trout on sourdough — circulate while the dry-aged ribeye turns over the oak and fruitwood.

  3. 6:45 PM

    Family-style dinner

    Guests are seated at long communal tables dressed in linen and stoneware. The menu moves family-style: a whole roasted branzino, two platters of dry-aged ribeye carved tableside, and a procession of greenhouse sides — charred radicchio, ember-roasted carrots, salt-baked celeriac.

  4. 9:30 PM

    Late-night hearth dessert

    After coffee, the band is reduced to a duo and the floor clears for dancing. At 9:30 we send out the late-night plate: ember-baked apples with sorghum caramel and crème fraîche, served directly from the hearth on a wooden board. Last call at 11:00, valet until 11:30.

This is a 120-guest rehearsal-dinner template. Corporate galas follow a similar arc with an earlier cocktail window and a 10:30 last call. Full buyouts extend to a 1:00 AM close.

From the Planners

What event planners say after the last guest leaves.

Three planners who have booked the property repeatedly — and the parts of the experience they say matter most.

"The greenhouse walk-through before dinner is the move. I have never had a client group go quiet the way they go quiet when Steve explains what was picked that morning. It reframes the whole meal. We have booked the property four times since."

Mara Lindholm Principal, Lindholm Events · Milwaukee, WI

"Steve was on the floor for our 240-guest buyout in person. Not in the kitchen watching cameras — on the floor, pouring wine, sitting down at tables. That is not something you find at this price point. The CFO has asked me to book it again before I even sent the invoice."

Daniel Okafor Director of Corporate Events, Northbrook Financial

"Our 312-guest land trust fundraiser generated $312,000, and the kitchen's zero-waste program meant every plate told the story we were raising money to protect. The kitchen team photographed the compost at the end of the night for our annual report. I cannot overstate how well that landed with our donors."

Priya Raman Executive Director, Driftless Land Trust
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Private Event Inquiry

Tell us about your event.

Chef Marrone reviews every private event inquiry personally. We respond within two business days with availability, a draft budget, and suggested next steps.

Or reach our events desk directly at [email protected] · +1 (414) 555-0188