Reception places in NJ with best food

cairnsj · December 2009

Hi all,

I am newly engaged, and starting to look for venues in the area. We want a place that has amazing food...and a lot of it

Any suggestions?

Jaytee501 · December 2009

What area of NJ would you like, ideally, and what size would it need to accomodate?
Congrats on your engagement!

Reilly626 · December 2009

Best wedding/food I attended was the Tides. My co-workers will say Primavera Regency. Hopefully mine, still haven't done our tasting, but he's the head of the NJ Restaurant Association, so its gotta be good.

ddelo23 · December 2009

completely depends on your budget as well. I had my wedding at The Estate at Florentine Gardens. The food was incredible!!!

CM1206 · December 2009

Food is so subjective. Of course everyone is going to say their own venue. I mean, who would book a place that knowingly had bad food?

alliecarrie41 · December 2009

[QUOTE]Food is so subjective. Of course everyone is going to say their own venue. I mean, who would book a place that knowingly had bad food?
Posted by CM1206[/QUOTE]

exactly. you should ask for bad food experiences instead. you're better off knowing the menu yourself and just picking a place that works for you size and budget and style wise. what have you narrowed it down to?

kewltif · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_reception-places-nj-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:e74f94d9-2c55-406f-9098-8d5ba208c3f0Post:7b07fbd4-2e69-42e2-9c89-4ed2834badfe">Re: Reception places in NJ with best food</a>:
[QUOTE]exactly. you should ask for bad food experiences instead. you're better off knowing the menu yourself and just picking a place that works for you size and budget and style wise. what have you narrowed it down to?
Posted by alliecarrie41[/QUOTE]

I have to disagree. If people are being real with themselves, I think they can still recommend venues that are known for their food, even if it is not their own place. There are places with great food that were simply out of my budget.

I would say food wise, you can't go wrong with Seasons, The Venetian, The Rockleigh Country Club, the Westmount Country Club, the Park Savoy, and Florentine Gardens.

There are tons more, but those are just places that I see a lot of raves about or I have personally been to myself and can vouch for.

BwayDani · December 2009

One of the reasons we picked the Molly Pitcher Inn was because it's known for it's incredible food- and it did not disappoint. Guests are still saying it was the best food they've ever had at a wedding, and there was an over-abundance of it!

[Deleted User] · December 2009

I heard that the Crystal Plaza had incredible food. The Venetian and the Seasons have incredible food and so much of it. The Primavera Regency had really good food too. I think someone mentioned the Westmount Country Club. I went there about 3 years ago for a wedding and I was not impressed with the food. Don't know if that's changed since then...

uppereastgirl · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_reception-places-nj-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e74f94d9-2c55-406f-9098-8d5ba208c3f0Post:8d48d00b-1014-4354-9479-7108e874c368">Re: Reception places in NJ with best food</a>:
[QUOTE]Food is so subjective. Of course everyone is going to say their own venue. I mean, who would book a place that knowingly had bad food?
Posted by CM1206[/QUOTE]

I totally agree. 95% of the post-wedding reviews posted here include an "everyone raved about how wonderful the food was and cocktail hour was so abundant and it was all the best food ever." A question like this needs something like an "excluding where you got married" or something in order to get an honest answer.

caketime · December 2009

There are lots of places in lots of budgets with great food. But if your budget is $100 us suggesting a place that is $150 or more won't be helpful and only sets you up for dissapointment. The same can be said for minimums. Some places were automatically knocked out because they had a 200 minimum.

To get the best answers from us answer these questions:
What is your budget pp?
Is that including tax & gratuity or without?
What is your minimum guarantee?
What time of year are you thinking?
Where in Jersey?

stapletond · December 2009

We booked The Rockleigh, due to its wonderful reputation with their food. My fiance is a chef, so food was a high priority. We also needed a place that could accomodate 300 guests.

Other wedding places known for their good food (I've included some NYC/Westchester venues as well):
Season's/ The Venetian (same owners)
any Abigail Kirsh venue (NY Botanical Gardens, Tappan Hill, Steiner Studios, The Lighthouse, etc)
Blue Hill Stone Barns
Crab Tree Kittle House
Florentine Gardens

stapletond · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_reception-places-nj-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e74f94d9-2c55-406f-9098-8d5ba208c3f0Post:8d48d00b-1014-4354-9479-7108e874c368">Re: Reception places in NJ with best food</a>:
[QUOTE]Food is so subjective. Of course everyone is going to say their own venue. I mean, who would book a place that knowingly had bad food?
Posted by CM1206[/QUOTE]

I disagree. There is a huge difference between creative, well-seasoned food, and standard banquet food. Most wedding venues in NJ have dried out, non-inspiring menus.

uppereastgirl · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_reception-places-nj-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:e74f94d9-2c55-406f-9098-8d5ba208c3f0Post:01e4e1e4-c5f2-4bee-a55a-91b6b0b809cd">Re: Reception places in NJ with best food</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Reception places in NJ with best food : I disagree. There is a huge difference between creative, well-seasoned food, and standard banquet food. Most wedding venues in NJ have dried out, non-inspiring menus.
Posted by stapletond[/QUOTE]

While that's true, I think part of the point was that everyone is going to say their own venue anyway.because everyone thinks their own venue is A+++++++++++++++++ across the board.

cairnsj · December 2009

Thanks for the suggestions ladies. We are thinking of central or noth jersey, for about 200 people.

What about the Stone House in Stirling Ridge? Has anyone been there before?

mbodek · December 2009

ariana's grande in woodbridge nj..amazing

chrissy31805 · December 2009

south gate manor in freehold. can hold 200+ and the food is amazing

jaimelody · December 2009

How come no one's said Graycliff yet? My wedding is there and one of the reasons we booked there was because of the massive amounts of food that were included in the price. It's not the most expensive place, but I've heard great thinigs about their food and service on this board before I booked and now even after. I've been to the Venetian and their food was outstanding. But that's much pricier than Graycliff.

If you want bad food - grand marquis was terrible at a wedding I went to this past August.

Rosie24 · December 2009

We had our wedding at the Rockleigh Country Club. Many of our guests are in the food industry and these people have nothing but raves upon raves still. So I suggest there. I have had great exceptional banquet food at the Venetian/Seasons, Crystal Plaza, Macaluso's....off the top of my head.

I am not a fan of the Tides at all. I actually thought most of everything I had there was not appetizing. I seem to be the minority on this board though for this venue.

stacieb311 · December 2009

my FI and i are both in the food industry so we are very picky. the rockleigh for my friends wedding had an awesome cocktail hour - one of the best that i have seen in awhile. the main meal was ok nothing fab but still decent. the brownstone has pretty good food but again i liked the cocktail hour better than the main meal.

kewltif · December 2009

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_reception-places-nj-food?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:e74f94d9-2c55-406f-9098-8d5ba208c3f0Post:27ab7c45-2ca0-4fa7-b07c-b24f89092b66">Re: Reception places in NJ with best food</a>:
[QUOTE]my FI and i are both in the food industry so we are very picky. the rockleigh for my friends wedding had an awesome cocktail hour - one of the best that i have seen in awhile. the main meal was ok nothing fab but still decent. the brownstone has pretty good food but again i liked the cocktail hour better than the main meal.
Posted by stacieb311[/QUOTE]

I think I almost always like the cocktail hour better than the main meal. I stuff myself silly at cocktail hour and then I'm not usually too interested in my meal anyway.

Lolyalyssa · December 2009

In the $125+ range
The Venetian/Seasons
Florentine Gardens

In the $200+ range
Pleastandale Chateau

Those are my top 4 in No. Jersey.

Central and South I like Stirling Ridge.

I agree that most venues in NJ are boring uninspired wedding food. The ones I've recommended will all blow you away.

In Westchester I love Tappan Hill but you have to spend $250 per head to get ENOUGH of the really good food that they offer.

I hear that also in Westchester Harvest on the Hudson does amazing day weddings on Saturday and Sundays around lunch time with wine tastings etc and great food. But you have to be a daytime wedding kind of gal.

smw42 · December 2009

I 2nd the comment regarding Grand Marquis being terrible- it was all everyone talked about when we went two years back. It was very unfortunate.

Michelle78C · December 2009

I had my reception at Stone House and the food was incredible. My husband is very much into food and so is his entire family. We are still getting raves about the food, you should try the restaurant out, the food is the same quality. Amazing and endless cocktail hour with tons of food but we did do a couple extra add ons to our package.

Highly recommend

sparkles2010 · December 2009

Have fun and go do some taste testing if you have the time! Some places will not offer it though because they are cocky and already have a good reputation for their food. Halls that are only a few years old tend to offer taste testing. Try to visit halls right before weddings, and note how they are setting up. You might notice things that turn you off (like creased re-used linens/etc) or find ideas you like.

Another thing you should consider when booking a hall is if they put any restrictions on what vendors (ie band/dj/videographer) you can use. Make sure you know any limitations.

USER876 · December 2009

Can't believe Il Tulipano was not mentioned. They did a fantastic job, I would definately consider them, esp if you have an Italian family.

DS0305 · December 2009

Congrats on your engagement! I have to say I'm a little biased - but I think Florentine Gardens is definitely one of the best venues when it comes to food.

Reception places in NJ with best food

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