We had a fantastic time celebrating two birthdays at Hudson Table Philadelphia with their Dumpling…read moreMaking Night! There were six of us, and by the end of the night we all had a whole new appreciation for the dumpling-making process. It's definitely more work than it looks--but also a lot more fun! The staff really made the experience. There were four chefs working that evening, and every one of them was outgoing, funny, informative and genuinely engaged with everyone. They didn't feel like "staff" running an event--they became part of the experience. The cooking itself was great. Everything is pre-measured and you're given the recipe, but don't expect a long cooking demonstration. It's pretty much trial by fire: you start chopping, mixing and cooking, and the chefs are right there whenever you need help. They do start with a quick knife-safety demonstration, which was actually really useful--I finally learned the proper way to chop an onion! They also provide snacks and water throughout the evening, and you can BYOB with beer or wine, which makes it even more fun for a group celebration. Once everything is cooked, you sit down together and eat what you created. And I have to say...our dumplings were pretty good! The recipe makes A LOT, too, so there were plenty for everyone to enjoy and still take leftovers home. What really stood out was how much the chefs went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt welcomed, supported and, most importantly, had fun. Nobody takes the evening too seriously, but you actually learn something along the way. The space is small, but that adds to the intimate, social atmosphere. Parking can be a little challenging, but hey--it's Northern Liberties. You know the drill. All in all, this was such a cool and different way to celebrate two friends on a random Tuesday night. Great food, lots of laughs, a fantastic staff, and we left knowing how to make dumplings. What more could you ask for? Highly recommend it for birthdays, a night out with friends, date night, or just an excuse to do something completely different.

I was part of a private work event here and absolutely loved learning how to make fresh pasta,…read moresauces, salads and tiramisu! Chef Justin, Thomas and Alli were incredibly welcoming, patient and great teachers. Our party had a blast cooking together and learning teamwork in a new way! The three hour session starts out with a tutorial and demo, you are put into stations before working in pairs to prepare one item. People were making sauces, chopping or assembling at any given time. We made the pastas together and then broke off into stations depending on what we wanted to learn. As someone who's never made dessert but had a lot of experience making sauces, it was super fun to learn something new and have guidance right next to me. Three hrs flies by! We loved dinner and they were really accommodating with vegetarian options. You end up with plenty of leftovers after and are stuffed by the end. I highly recommend this for a special night out with a friend, family or loved one! The staff is warm and professional and really makes the experience special. They do have a strict no cancellation-policy with no exceptions, so if you need to cancel or reschedule after paying they won't grant a refund of any kind. Be sure to plan ahead!

I was here for a funeral luncheon. It is a large space with room for a lot of tables. The space was…read morenicely decorated. It would also be good for a wedding or a party. The staff were very nice. The bar had beer and wine. The red wine was good. The bartender was very nice. The buffet had a big variety of food. All of the food was delicious! The salad bar was amazing! It had al kinds of adding with Italian specialties like roasted peppers and artichokes. The dessert buffet had 5 or 6 different at mini desserts.

This place is great to host a party. Plenty parking spots under "the bridge ",which is a plus…read moreespecially in south Philly. Clean entrance with coat check. The hall is bright an clean with nice size of dancing floor. The bar area is also big and clean. Food was served by staff. On the event that I attended, they served baked penne, meatballs, eggplant rollantini, chicken cutlet, green beans , roasted potatoes, sausage and peppers, shrimp and rice, salad with several topping option. Dessert station was nicely arranged with small size of various sweets. Everything was delicious.

The food and presentation was spectacular, however, the gross mis-management of the staff was…read moredeplorable. Even though a generous tip was agreed-upon in the contract, the bartenders were very aggressive in requesting tips, pushing Venmo codes and refusing to serve guests that had not previously tipped. The cocktail hour had wonderful food that was refreshed constantly, but the dinner was lacking. One dish had sat at a place in front of a guest, which had been touched and tasted and four minutes later, was removed and served to another guest. Had this not been a family event I would've asked for the dish to be destroyed. The servers, let their boyfriend/girlfriends know about the event, and there were several wedding crashers. At the end, the evening we had two thefts, (an expensive handbag, two iPhones and a debit card that was used for multiple purchases), which have never been resolved to our satisfaction. While Finley catering deserves top scorers for their food and presentation, their lack of management oversight and unscrupulous employees makes me hesitant to recommend them to anyone.

My daughter got married this past weekend at the Ballroom at the Ben. We choose the Ben and Finley…read moreCatering because not only had we heard how wonderful the food and service were, we were expecting many out of town guests and wanted to make the venue convenient to the airport and transportation. My family and many guests are from New York and included many people in the entertainment industry who are used to attending lavish affairs. I won't say they are jaded; they are wonderful but are not easily impressed. Well, the compliments on the venue and how beautiful it is; the food and how fabulous, plentiful and "un-wedding-like it was" and the service keep coming. Our guests say the food was like that they've had in the finest restaurants in the world. The service was white glove all the way - and the venue is so beautiful and historic, it's no wonder it was chosen to be featured in the movie Silver Linings Playbook. We looked at many venues when my daughter first became engaged - everywhere from NYC to northern NJ to CC Philadelphia. When my daughter saw the Ben, she knew from the start that this was where she wanted her wedding. Trish Finley was so easy to work with, so charming and so much fun. Weddings are nervous making but Trish kept us calm and gave us great advice on food and drink choices. She knows her stuff and we trusted her implicitly. She also made us feel like VIPs every time we met with her. She always remembered our names and wedding date - my daughter had a two and a half year engagement - and made us all feel so special. That's not an easy task - and many others with whom we met didn't do that. I don't have enough complimentary words for Ott Ricci, the superman who is the maitre d' and wedding organizer extraordinaire. Under his exemplary care, talent and skills, we were made to feel like royalty that evening. Every single one of our guests complimented us on how beautiful and fun the wedding was. The food was beyond anything I've ever experienced at any other wedding or party. To say it was copious is an understatement. It flowed - and it was all delicious! From the cocktail hour to the dinner to the incredible desserts (thank you, Marilyn and Potito Bakers), everything was delicious and beautifully presented. Our guests were treated to an extraordinary evening and our beautiful daughter and her wonderful husband had a wedding they will remember fondly for the rest of their lives. The evening was beyond anything I could have imagined. Our guests enjoyed every minute as did we - but most important, my daughter and my new son-in-law had the wedding of their dreams come true. Thank you, Trish, Ott, Marilyn and everyone else we worked with at Finley Catering for giving my daughter and son-in-law memories to last a lifetime!

This place looks like a mistake from the outside but is a diamond in the rough. We were looking…read morefor somewhere in Philly to get married without breaking the bank. The venue isn't huge so you're limited to ~110 people max. Once you get inside, it's quite pretty. Again, the space is not much - there's a foyer area, the inside where the tables are, a small stage area for the head table (bride + groom). The women's restroom is small, just two stalls, but tidy and modern. There's no private changing area so if you're looking to change outfits, you'll have to do it in the restroom. Joel is the general manager here. She's nice but can be incredibly difficult to get a hold of by phone or email. She mostly works nights on Fridays-Sundays so while you can't get a hold of her during normal business hours, surprisingly you may reach her at 9 PM on a Friday night, for example. We opted to use this venue because of the affordable prices but it wasn't the easiest process because the information you need isn't really provided up front. For instance, I didn't know there was a general seating chart (ex that they had a certain table that can only seat 10 chairs vs the others can all seat 12) nor was this mentioned or even provided until a few weeks before the event. If that had just been provided up front, it would have saved us a lot of headaches and time. Nor did we know that the venue provided table numbers or a card box, so I had painted my own table numbers and bought and decorated my own card box. In the end, it didn't really matter - the tables just had two sets of table numbers - but if I'd known upfront about this, it would have saved me time. The wedding cake is provided with the two wedding packages (which are sit-down event vs buffet), which is nice. Cake tasting wasn't offered but I asked for samples and they were provided, which was nice. There's little to no parking around here but thankfully, parking valet services are available - complimentary if you have over 75 people. Unfortunately, apparently only two people staff the parking valet so if you have multiple people arriving at once, there will likely be a line of cars. Would I use this place again? Again, the prices are probably unbeatable in Philadelphia but at the expense of vagueries and difficult communication. Even though the space is small, we were able to fit a photoboth in the foyer; quartet up front for the first hour, and husband-wife duo off to the side of the head table and our guests also seemed to have a good time. So at the end of the wedding day, the venue ultimately came through for us but be aware of potential difficulties going in.

We just celebrated our wedding reception a couple of weeks ago, and let me start of my saying...my…read morefriends are still raving about how good the food was! This hall is a hidden gem in South Philly- you wouldn't think of it as you go down that area, but please consider it if you are planning a party. Our wedding was Lord of the Rings themed, so the pillars and noble atmosphere lent itself to our decorations. The dance floor was spacious enough for our 60 or so guests, and still had room for another couple dozen of guests had we needed it for the tables. We added the valet parking, which is a must in South Philly! Pricing was per person, with additional fees for the valet, cash bar, and any addons. Very reasonably priced, and our cake was included with the total cost, not additional. Back to the food - some of the best meals I have eaten. We opted for plated service, starting with salad, moving to pasta, then pork or chcicken entrees. The penne in vodka sauce was recommended by the owner, and I am SO glad we chose that, because it was such a huge hit we have heard some of our guests were going to other tables looking for anyone who had an extra plate to eat! Our servers were so friendly and kind, especially to my bride and I, since we were all over the place. Our cake was delicious and beautiful, and we were very happy to have added the ice cream bar, since our guests also LOVED that. My family has some food allergies to onions, and we were served something different than our guests, but it was so delicious so no complaints there. It can be tricky getting in contact with them, especially since they are usually busy from Fri-Sun when they are hosting events, but everyone was kind to us and we are beyond happy with placing our trust with them. I have recommended this hall to a few coworkers, and we will most likely return whenever we plan another huge party! Thank you!

The best African food EVER!!! I've tried many places but Sweeties is definitely my top choice. I've…read moreonly tried their dry rice and Crocker fish/ Snapper, plantains, greens and rice, and cassava leaf and rice. Every meal i had was a hit. I can't wait to finally make it on a day they serve jollof. I'll be sure to add pictures in later reviews being as though i visit here often.

I was introduced to this place by my Sister some time ago. I had a taste for liberian food so I…read moredrove across town. Parking: a small lot in a strip mall. Inside: clean area. Due to Covid you can't eat in. Staff had mask on. Can't remember if they had gloves on. They had hand sanitizer available. Service: Cashier is cordial. I suggest that you call on the phone to order. There's usually a line and you'll be waiting for a while. You can use your credit or debit card for an additional convenience of $.50 I didn't see it listed anywhere. Food: I ordered the following: Potato greens: very flavorful and spicy. If you can't stand spicy do not order this. Fried kidney beans: omg!! The beans were tender and Sooooo delicious! The meat in the beans ( believe beef) was very tough. I will see if they can leave the meat out the next time. It's not needed. I wish they allowed you to split the platter between potato greens and cassava leaf since they are the same price. Each platter comes with white rice. The rice was cooked just right. It may differ depending on the time of day you place an order. The two platters were $13 and $11 respectively. I felt $11 for a platter of beans was pricey. overall I love Sweeties. I drive a good distance to get here and it's worth it. Enjoy!

I came for a wedding in March, so it was still cold and wet out. The ceremony was in an upstairs…read morearea where the ceiling was completely glass, and made the ceremony perfect for photos. The reception was very pretty, decorated with chandeliers. But it was freezing. I guess since people would be dancing, they kept it colder than normal. The cocktail hour bites were quite nice, lots of vegetarian options and even freshly made pizza. If it were nice outside, hanging out on the patio would have been especially nice, as they had fire pits available. Drinks were strong. The main dinner food was less appetizing than the cocktail hour's food. I ordered the vegetarian option which was vegetables in a puff pastry with tomato sauce. My partner got the chicken, which was slightly rubbery. I heard the salmon was a little dry and the steaks were a bit undercooked. We weren't able to stay for dessert, as it was offered quite late, past 10pm, but the s'mores looked fun! All in all, we enjoyed our night here!

Wow! Attended a birthday celebration at this venue and lemme say it again: WOW!…read more The venue is beautiful, the support staff was amazing, and the bar, food, and desserts were delicious! It was not my event-I attended as a guest-but my host reported their experience as top notch! The only slight minus is the parking-nice lot but a nice hike to the entry for those is dress heels as the number of close spaces are limited.

I didn't like the fact that I had to pay a deposit of $750 separate from cost of booking event that…read morewas supposed to be refunded after event. The refund I expected $750 instead I received $500. Even though we had complained of hair being in food of one of the guests and foreign objects inside another entree packed to go, nothing was done and no follow up call as promised.

The food for this event I was invited to was superb. I didn't even need salt or pepper. The food…read morewas hot, wonderful and came out promptly and on time. The servings were filling and a menu that was made for even a diabetic. Great job ya'll. I've been going here for years. One of my hide outs. I had my senior prom here (Imhotep Charter High School 6243 2003.

Great visit overall! The food was flavorful and beautifully served. Staff were attentive, and the…read moreatmosphere was warm and welcoming. A few small details could improve it, but still excellent.

The food was amazing and always consistent. I would recommend M3 Catering for lunch, dinner or any…read morelarge or small event.