Wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, milestone birthdays, holiday parties and corporate events for up to 100 seated or 175 at a cocktail can be organized at City Cottage, a small venue at 3800 Chouteau Avenue in Midtown St. Louis, Missouri. Bookings, tours and all food and drink go through Catering St. Louis, the venue's exclusive caterer.
Seminars and company events
Corporate events are among the occasions the venue hosts, and the format suits a team dinner, a client reception, a holiday party or a daytime meeting with a meal. Day rentals end by 4 p.m. and evening rentals start from 6 p.m., each for up to four hours, year-round. Basic audiovisual equipment and an ambient sound system are included, and more advanced equipment can be arranged through Catering St. Louis. Each rental gives exclusive use of the cottage and its patio, so one group has the whole site, with private security on hand.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings, elopements, engagement parties and rehearsal dinners make up much of the calendar, and family reunions are also hosted. Ceremonies take place on the covered lower terrace, with chairs and setup provided by the venue as an option. The reception follows indoors, with cocktails on the garden patio around the firepit and under string lights. Couples can add personal decor within the venue guidelines. Booking six to twelve months ahead is recommended, and private tours are offered by appointment.
Rooms and capacities
The cottage is used as one room with its garden. Inside, it has hardwood floors, exposed wooden trusses, brick walls and a fireplace. A seated dinner takes 100 guests, a seated buffet dinner 80, and a buffet cocktail 175, with seating for about two thirds of the guests. Seated figures assume tables of six; a head table or other layouts reduce them. Outside, a landscaped private garden patio has lounge furniture, a firepit with two portable heaters, string lights and landscape lighting, and a covered lower terrace serves for ceremonies.
Catering
Catering St. Louis is the only food and beverage provider, and outside caterers or outside drinks are not allowed. Catering and bar packages come from the same team, with minimums that vary by day, season and type of event. The rental includes dining tables with French bistro chairs, linens, china, stemware, flatware and votive candles, which leaves few rentals to arrange separately.
History and setting
The building is about 100 years old. It first served as the hospitality room of the Otto F. Stifel Union Brewery, where the brewery received its guests, and today it has a French-inspired interior suited to formal and casual events alike. The venue is close to The Foundry and Topgolf in Midtown, one of the city's busiest areas for dining and entertainment.
Getting there
City Cottage is at 3800 Chouteau Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110. It has its own private, well-lit and free parking lot, with overflow parking nearby. St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the nearest airport. Tours and bookings are handled by Catering St. Louis Events, based at 2141 59th Street in St. Louis.
