Crescent Beach Club - mini review (long)
Hello future brides ![]()
My husband and I had the opportunity to attend a holiday party at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville on Friday night. I tried to pay close attention to everything so I could share my thoughts with you.
But first, a disclaimer!
Since this was a holiday party and not a wedding, the aspects of the event will probably be different. Also, the people who paid for the party are notorious for saving money, so there may have been corners cut.
Also, I'm only posting what we observed, so please don't be upset if you are having your event there and don't like what I say. I think the brides here are mature enough to handle any information graciously - good or bad. I hope I'm not proven wrong.
So here goes:
CBC is very easy to get to. Once off the LIE/Northern State, it's almost a straight shot. If the weather is nice, the part of the trip next to the water and over the Bayville bridge is beautiful. They also had the outside decorated in white lights leading up to the covered valet area. The valets were prompt and courteous. They didn't drive our car like madmen.![]()
The coat check is directly to the right when you come in, which is convenient. The entry hall isn't very large and you have to go either up or down depending on where the staff tells you the party is. It doesn't promote loitering about, you're prompted to make a decision and move. Which is good, because there could be a bottleneck by the coat check room since it's not a very wide hall. We went downstairs to the cocktail hour first.
The first thing I noticed about the decor is that it's fairly minimalist and modern looking. The lights were turned down enough where you could see where you're going but it was pleasant. Which, along with the colors on the walls, almost removes the scenery where it's not noticed at all. The most noticeable part of the decor was the carpet - in blue tones, with what looks like river rocks. It goes nicely with the beach theme, since it is right outside the doors.
The shore was literally feet from the room, and there's a wooden lifeguard stand there also. We were talking to another couple who said they had been there for a wedding over the summer and that the bridal party went for a dip and had pictures taken outside. I could imagine how beautiful that must be! And the sunset must be spectacular too.
I also saw a staircase outside leading to the second floor - again, very modern looking. I later found out where the staircase led.
The quality and selection of the food was pretty good - there was a station that had different types of seafood mixed with pasta. I had the tortellini with shrimp, and it was good. DH also went to the meat station that had carved corned beef and turkey, crepes, and other things. Of the things he tried, he said they were good.
The bartenders were serving in plastic glasses, and didn't fill up the glasses all the way. I asked for a Malibu and Pineapple and could barely taste the alcohol. DH went for a grey goose martini which he said was good, but they did not have martini glasses. Each time he went to the bar, he got a different sized glass.
As far as the passed food, they offered many different things. The shish-kebobs sticking out of a cut pineapple was a nice presentation but I only tried the stuffed mushroom. It had a sweet taste to it, like tomato, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't like it.
At one point, we heard the booming of a bass & music. We couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was loud enough where many people in the room was looking around to see where it was coming from. We later found out that it was the DJ upstairs, warming up. I think I had heard that CBC only does one event at a time - that's a great thing if it's true.
Then it was time to go to the main room. We went up the stairs, into a sort of ante-room with a fireplace (with a fire going) and the bar. I thought there would be more holiday decorations around, maybe pointsettias or garland or something, but there really wasn't much that I noticed. Last year, the party was at Flowerfields which was chock-full of holiday decorations, inside and outside, so it was a big difference.
Then we went into the main room which is impressive. The first thing you see is the lights and tulle draped on the ceiling, that lead to the chandelier over the dance floor in the middle. Then you see the wall of double doors leading to the deck outside, where the staircase leads to. It was night, so we couldn't see the water, but it must be a beautiful sight from the room.
The tables were very big, and roomy enough for 10 people to sit comfortably and not be elbowing each other. The centerpieces were very light pink roses in tall vases. Which, when sitting, cut off the view of the person across the table from you. But there was a lot of room between the glasses and the centerpieces, so it's not too crowded for wedding favors. I would say there were at least 16 tables, and there was plenty of room to walk around them.
To our misfortune, the person who decided where we were going to sit picked a table next to the doors. All the smokers traipsed in and out of those doors for the hours we were there, making us freeze our butts off. There were small taped pieces of paper on every door put there by the staff to ask people not to open them. They didn't listen, and the staff did nothing to stop them. The doors couldn't be locked because they're fire exits.
We found our first course on the table when we sat down, which was greens in some kind of dressing, a slice of tomato, a slice of mozzarella, and a piece of portobello mushroom. The presentation was very nice. The greens were limp and not fresh, and there was too much dressing on them. Those who did eat said it tasted good.
After the first course was over, some people got up to dance. DH and I were still in our seats and all the plates were cleared except for mine. It was there for 15 minutes, untouched, after the other plates had been stacked in a pile on a tray next to the table. Finally, DH got up with my plate to put it with the others. The plates with the remains of the first course were still on a tray next to the table an hour and a half later when we left.
The wait staff came to take our dinner orders - chicken with red peppers, filet mignon, or salmon. We didn't know anything else about the dishes, because they gave no description. I ordered the filet mignon and they did not ask me, or anyone else, how they wanted it cooked.
We entered the room at 9pm and didn't have the dinner plates on our table until 11pm. We were the last table served for some reason, and it took about 20 minutes for them to serve the whole room. So some people were finishing eating as others were just getting their meals. The chicken and meat dishes came with a seasoned baked potato and asparagus. No one ordered the fish.
I found the meat to be tougher than other filet mignons I've had in the past. They didn't give out steak knives, but typically you should be able to cut a tender piece of meat like filet mignon with a butter knife. I had a hard time cutting, and others did too so the table was shaking from the effort. There were two people without knives at the table because the wait staff had taken them and not replaced them. They shared their knives with others because the wait staff didn't come back to the table for a long time. Our water glasses were never refilled.
My meat was pink inside and the middle had some uncooked red in the center. I cut around the middle and found the pieces that I did eat had more fat than I expected. Others at the table also had their meat cooked in various degrees of medium rare, but mine was the rarest piece. Although the potato tasted good, it was barely above room temperature. DH advised that his chicken tasted good but was on the dry side.
The bartenders upstairs were better, and they served in glass and not plastic. This was a young drinking crowd and they had a very good choice of liquor. The dance floor is very large, enough to accommodate a lot of people without being too crowded.
The bathroom was in the similar minimalist style. There aren't huge couches or anything, but was clean, and served its purpose.
We didn't stay for coffee and dessert so I don't know how those were, I'm sorry. The valets were again very courteous and didn't beat on the car, delivering it to us. I've had a previous car backed up into a tree at another catering hall, so that's really important to me.![]()
So that's about it. I hope I'm not 'flamed' for this review, because I think people should be aware of good and bad things that others observe about their catering halls. DH and I chose a reception place that was less opulent and less expensive than other halls, and many people had negative things to say about that. We took the opinions in mind, but in the end, it was up to us, what we wanted in the hall, and what we could afford.
Please don't take this review as a be-all end-all of this place. Like I said, this is the off season, so the wait staff and food may be worlds above what we had on Friday night. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please feel free to FM me with any questions, although I think I've covered all that we remember.![]()
My husband and I had the opportunity to attend a holiday party at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville on Friday night. I tried to pay close attention to everything so I could share my thoughts with you.
But first, a disclaimer!
Since this was a holiday party and not a wedding, the aspects of the event will probably be different. Also, the people who paid for the party are notorious for saving money, so there may have been corners cut.
Also, I'm only posting what we observed, so please don't be upset if you are having your event there and don't like what I say. I think the brides here are mature enough to handle any information graciously - good or bad. I hope I'm not proven wrong.
So here goes:
CBC is very easy to get to. Once off the LIE/Northern State, it's almost a straight shot. If the weather is nice, the part of the trip next to the water and over the Bayville bridge is beautiful. They also had the outside decorated in white lights leading up to the covered valet area. The valets were prompt and courteous. They didn't drive our car like madmen.
The coat check is directly to the right when you come in, which is convenient. The entry hall isn't very large and you have to go either up or down depending on where the staff tells you the party is. It doesn't promote loitering about, you're prompted to make a decision and move. Which is good, because there could be a bottleneck by the coat check room since it's not a very wide hall. We went downstairs to the cocktail hour first.
The first thing I noticed about the decor is that it's fairly minimalist and modern looking. The lights were turned down enough where you could see where you're going but it was pleasant. Which, along with the colors on the walls, almost removes the scenery where it's not noticed at all. The most noticeable part of the decor was the carpet - in blue tones, with what looks like river rocks. It goes nicely with the beach theme, since it is right outside the doors.
The shore was literally feet from the room, and there's a wooden lifeguard stand there also. We were talking to another couple who said they had been there for a wedding over the summer and that the bridal party went for a dip and had pictures taken outside. I could imagine how beautiful that must be! And the sunset must be spectacular too.
I also saw a staircase outside leading to the second floor - again, very modern looking. I later found out where the staircase led.
The quality and selection of the food was pretty good - there was a station that had different types of seafood mixed with pasta. I had the tortellini with shrimp, and it was good. DH also went to the meat station that had carved corned beef and turkey, crepes, and other things. Of the things he tried, he said they were good.
The bartenders were serving in plastic glasses, and didn't fill up the glasses all the way. I asked for a Malibu and Pineapple and could barely taste the alcohol. DH went for a grey goose martini which he said was good, but they did not have martini glasses. Each time he went to the bar, he got a different sized glass.
As far as the passed food, they offered many different things. The shish-kebobs sticking out of a cut pineapple was a nice presentation but I only tried the stuffed mushroom. It had a sweet taste to it, like tomato, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't like it.
At one point, we heard the booming of a bass & music. We couldn't tell where it was coming from, but it was loud enough where many people in the room was looking around to see where it was coming from. We later found out that it was the DJ upstairs, warming up. I think I had heard that CBC only does one event at a time - that's a great thing if it's true.
Then it was time to go to the main room. We went up the stairs, into a sort of ante-room with a fireplace (with a fire going) and the bar. I thought there would be more holiday decorations around, maybe pointsettias or garland or something, but there really wasn't much that I noticed. Last year, the party was at Flowerfields which was chock-full of holiday decorations, inside and outside, so it was a big difference.
Then we went into the main room which is impressive. The first thing you see is the lights and tulle draped on the ceiling, that lead to the chandelier over the dance floor in the middle. Then you see the wall of double doors leading to the deck outside, where the staircase leads to. It was night, so we couldn't see the water, but it must be a beautiful sight from the room.
The tables were very big, and roomy enough for 10 people to sit comfortably and not be elbowing each other. The centerpieces were very light pink roses in tall vases. Which, when sitting, cut off the view of the person across the table from you. But there was a lot of room between the glasses and the centerpieces, so it's not too crowded for wedding favors. I would say there were at least 16 tables, and there was plenty of room to walk around them.
To our misfortune, the person who decided where we were going to sit picked a table next to the doors. All the smokers traipsed in and out of those doors for the hours we were there, making us freeze our butts off. There were small taped pieces of paper on every door put there by the staff to ask people not to open them. They didn't listen, and the staff did nothing to stop them. The doors couldn't be locked because they're fire exits.
We found our first course on the table when we sat down, which was greens in some kind of dressing, a slice of tomato, a slice of mozzarella, and a piece of portobello mushroom. The presentation was very nice. The greens were limp and not fresh, and there was too much dressing on them. Those who did eat said it tasted good.
After the first course was over, some people got up to dance. DH and I were still in our seats and all the plates were cleared except for mine. It was there for 15 minutes, untouched, after the other plates had been stacked in a pile on a tray next to the table. Finally, DH got up with my plate to put it with the others. The plates with the remains of the first course were still on a tray next to the table an hour and a half later when we left.
The wait staff came to take our dinner orders - chicken with red peppers, filet mignon, or salmon. We didn't know anything else about the dishes, because they gave no description. I ordered the filet mignon and they did not ask me, or anyone else, how they wanted it cooked.
We entered the room at 9pm and didn't have the dinner plates on our table until 11pm. We were the last table served for some reason, and it took about 20 minutes for them to serve the whole room. So some people were finishing eating as others were just getting their meals. The chicken and meat dishes came with a seasoned baked potato and asparagus. No one ordered the fish.
I found the meat to be tougher than other filet mignons I've had in the past. They didn't give out steak knives, but typically you should be able to cut a tender piece of meat like filet mignon with a butter knife. I had a hard time cutting, and others did too so the table was shaking from the effort. There were two people without knives at the table because the wait staff had taken them and not replaced them. They shared their knives with others because the wait staff didn't come back to the table for a long time. Our water glasses were never refilled.
My meat was pink inside and the middle had some uncooked red in the center. I cut around the middle and found the pieces that I did eat had more fat than I expected. Others at the table also had their meat cooked in various degrees of medium rare, but mine was the rarest piece. Although the potato tasted good, it was barely above room temperature. DH advised that his chicken tasted good but was on the dry side.
The bartenders upstairs were better, and they served in glass and not plastic. This was a young drinking crowd and they had a very good choice of liquor. The dance floor is very large, enough to accommodate a lot of people without being too crowded.
The bathroom was in the similar minimalist style. There aren't huge couches or anything, but was clean, and served its purpose.
We didn't stay for coffee and dessert so I don't know how those were, I'm sorry. The valets were again very courteous and didn't beat on the car, delivering it to us. I've had a previous car backed up into a tree at another catering hall, so that's really important to me.
So that's about it. I hope I'm not 'flamed' for this review, because I think people should be aware of good and bad things that others observe about their catering halls. DH and I chose a reception place that was less opulent and less expensive than other halls, and many people had negative things to say about that. We took the opinions in mind, but in the end, it was up to us, what we wanted in the hall, and what we could afford.
Please don't take this review as a be-all end-all of this place. Like I said, this is the off season, so the wait staff and food may be worlds above what we had on Friday night. Anyway, thanks for reading. Please feel free to FM me with any questions, although I think I've covered all that we remember.
