Florentine Gardens

We were guests at a wedding this past weekend and after reading the previous review, we weren't sure what to expect. Our experience was so wonderful.\r \r The decor is classic & elegant by North Jersey standards, not even close to ""over-the-top."" We really liked the fact that when we were greeted in the lobby, we didn't need any directions since it was the only wedding. (they only do one at a time) We really liked how it felt like you were in a mansion and not a catering hall.\r \r LOVED all the seating at cocktail hour! It was a big wedding (almost 250 people) and there was plenty of seating. The stations were always fully stocked and everything was hot and fresh. Loved their unique stations . . .no boring carving station! Theirs had these HUGE steaks with all these fun side items, like nothing I have seen anywhere. It was aslo so nice that the waiters were on top of clearing all the dirty plates. You also have to try a Mojito, so good and not too sweet.\r \r The ballroom is spectacular and one I will always remember. They had windows going all around the room and there were candles on all of them . . .just gorgeous. I also loved that the bar was IN the room. We are not big dancers so we spent a good portion of our time mingling there. It was great to have a place to be that was still part of all the action going on in the room. Our waiter kept asking us if we wanted a cocktails while we were seated but we never took her up on it.\r \r Dinner: DELISH! Loved the Lobster Rissotto, how their chef did it for that many people, I will never know! But what stood out was attention to detail, my hubby has a shellfish allergy and they had a gorgeous salad for him in minutes. He usually has to wait forever, so this was nice. SEABASS was unbelievable! I wasn't going to order it and I am so glad I did. it was Buttery and sauce was amazing. My hubby had the chateaubriand and it was so tender! The mashed potatoes were also amazing.\r \r Dessert was a viennesse display and it was wonderful. It was plentiful and the zeppoles were amazing! To me, their pastries were light and fresh. I loved that everything not only looked good but tasted good too. They also had all these fun stations that had waiters at them instead of just stationary platters.\r \r Food, service & overall experience was AMAZING and we hope to be a guest there again soon. NOT DISAPPOINTED AT ALL!!! more

Went to a wedding there a few weeks ago and was led to believe that it would be the BEST!!! wedding!!! ever!!! Wrong. The place itself is pretty, a bit over the top, but pretty. I'm sure that during the warmer months it's lovely. The cocktail hour was fairly decent - there were a few dishes that everyone seemed to go back to again and again, but a few stations were horrid. The pulled pork on a stick was cold, the chinese section was overcooked. That might have had something to do with the servers talking instead of actually cooking the food. But that was nothing compared to the main course and desserts. I thought that maybe my food was the only one that wasn't good (sea bass) until I looked at my dining companions and realized NO ONE had eaten their food. Mine was cool at best and watery. That means that the fish was 1)improperly cooked and 2) probably frozen. The steak choice was no better - tough as leather and not as tasty! Then the dessert started coming out. The pastry tray had what appeared to be mini Italian pastries on it - cream puffs, eclairs etc. and they were stale (appeared to may be leftover from the night before event or the week before. Nothing had real cream in it, was more that thick pasty fake buttercream - tasted like shortening and sugar thrown together. The wedding cake was no better - stale and the fillings tasted horrible!! The ""crowing moment"" had to be the trays of Good Humor bard being passed about. The guy next to me said, ""Yeah - Coors Light and a strawberry shortcake bar - they mix well!"" All I can warn is buyer beware. Or Florentine Gardens - if you can't handle a large group/wedding you should scale down the numbers. P.S. We also couldn't get drinks from the bars (too crowded) and then they didn't have what we wanted for the coffee - boo!!! more