When I saw this venue space, I fell in love. I knew that there was probably going to be a catch and there was. The food and service were absolutely awful. It was actually in edible. Many of my guests did not eat, as their steak was GRAY and cold. It was a complete embarrassment and I feel completely taken advantage of. My chicken was chewy and tasted like airplane food, actually I feel airplane meals are better. I brought this to Katie's attention and she was very nice and asked if I wanted something else. Well, steak was not an option, as my husband was eating gray, fatty steak that looked as if it came from a casino. And what about the other guests who were also served this disgusting food? No one seemed to care or try to do anything about that. The vegetables were straight from a can and the potatoes were instant with some nacho cheese sauce. I will say that our expectations are probably much higher than many, as we live in Chicago and are surrounded by fabulous restaurants. However, I grew up in Iowa and my family still resides in Bellevue and parts of Dubuque, so I have frequented many restaurants in the area. Even the small town, ma and pa restaurants in the area have better quality food. The Grand River Center should be ashamed of themselves for serving this quality of food. I am shocked that none of our guests got sick, probably because they didn't eat. They are clearly taking advantage of their clients because of the atmosphere that they offer.
Now the service, or lack of. I specifically asked how many servers there were going to be, as I wanted to make sure that my guests were taken care of. I worked in restaurants for 15 years and use to work many wedding receptions at a 5 star restaurant in chicago. We Always had 4-6 servers and the food was family style. Katie informed me that "staffing is determined by the banquet and beverage manager, based on count and menu. My estimate, would be FIVE servers and one or two bartenders." We had TWO servers for a sit down dinner. Now, how on earth are two servers supposed to deliver the food, take deliver drink orders, and check on guests? It is NOT possible. The two servers were running around frantically. They left the trays of food next to the tables and disappeared to get drinks or whatever. I watched a 10 top wait for 10 minutes until finally my uncle served the food. Do you think it was hot? And what about the last tables served, who waited 30 minutes after we got our food? Where do you suppose their food was sitting? Under a heat lamp, yes. So gross and wrong. If this situation would have happened at my previous restaurant, the wedding coordinator and catering manager would have been assisting. Not here.
I could go on and on but will stop here. Bottom line, if you want to sacrifice quality food and service, than maybe this place will work for you. I personally wish I would have chosen a different venue. It was difficult planning a wedding from Chicago. We tasted some food before the wedding and I told Katie that none of it was good. We looked for another venue after the tasting but they were all full. We knew it would not be good but never thought it would be as horrible as it was.
My family and I will never recommend The Grand a River Center and will be sure to share our negative experience with others in the area. *
**Also beware of how they calculate the bar charges. Out of all the restaurants I have worked at, I have never heard of such a system. It is clearly put into place so that they can take advantage of you and present you with an additional large bill. Katie could not even clearly explain their system. I asked many questions that were left unanswered, and as I expected, we had a large, unexplained bill at the end. They charge "per bottle". So, if a guest orders a Long Island, they will be charged approx 25 dollars because they are charging per shot, taken from all the liquor used in the drink. What a joke. read more
