Honestly this sounds exactly up my alley (and would be way under budget; always a plus 😉). I'll look into it but thanks for the heads up!

Yeah I've looked at this list and I'll keep it in mind--it's just that a lot of those places seated a lot more people than I needed (no need for me to rent a space for 150 people) and were slightly more formal/upscale than the more fun/casual vibe I was gunning for. If you have personal experience/recs for any of the places listed on there, though, I'd love to hear about it!

I'm pretty flexible on location--my friends and I graduated BU a few years back then scattered, so honestly Back Bay/Allston/Harvard and Central Squares would probably have the most nostalgia, though I adore Myers+Chang and Fox and the Knife so I'm definitely not limiting myself to those locations. Cuisine isn't as important to me as atmosphere--I don't want anything too elaborate or stuffy. It'd preferably be the atmosphere of a wine bar or small plates type place--just really good food and drinks with a fun atmosphere; relatively casual but (slightly) upscale that people feel like they're trying out some new stuff and encountering creative menu items.

If you have any recs I'd love to hear em. Thanks for all your help so far :)