Cambridge / Somerville ma Rehearsal Dinner Ideas

Hello all! I was hoping to pick the brains of any other brides or event planners who have hosted a rehearsal dinner in the Cambridge or Somerville area. We're expecting to have around 35 attend the rehearsal dinner and are looking to keep the cost around $2,500 with food, drink, tax, tip, and any fees as we're paying for it ourselves. We're actually looking to hold more of a cocktail reception with hor d'oeuvres and maybe a few stations as much of our family will be meeting for the first time and we'd like for them to be able to mingle. A few places that we've looked into have been coming up closer to $3,500-$4,000. We don't have any available space to host the dinner ourselves so are looking at a bar or restaurant. We're hoping to stay close to public transportation as many of our out of town guests won't be renting cars. Thanks in advance!