I've been to two different events here at the Ritz. The venue itself is beautiful, food is good,…read more but SOME staff need to learn basic customer service and manners. The first event I attended a server was upset that there were so many guests (some dressed in ball gowns) that she started complaining that she can't do her job. OUT LOUD while serving guests their food. The second event I've attended, our server who is very sweet, simply forgot four plates for the main course at our table. We waited very patiently but she was busy. We waived one server, she said that they will make their way around. We waited more and our server didn't come back with the plates. I'd like to mention that all the food for the main course was on the table. I just stood by the door to only ask for plates since we've been waiting. The first server brushed me off and didn't let me finish my sentence and said "ask your waitress okay?" , another guest at my table asked a different server and she went to the kitchen just to come back empty handed to look at the table that's missing plates when it's clear that they're missing. I told her we're missing four plates and she's says "I KNOW", used a calm down gesture and shook her head at me. They took so long with plates that one of the guests at the table just ended up using the saucer plate to start eating. As I said earlier, SOME staff need improvement. I wish the servers had name tags.

I attended a fundraising event for The Harbour at Chateau Ritz in Niles. Nestled among the strip…read moremalls and chain restaurants, the Chateau Ritz sits back off the street and has a lot of parking. The theme of the evening was a casino night. The decor of Chateau Ritz is glam, over the top, a little outdated, but totally appropriate for a fundraising event. The room was spacious with plenty of space for the tables, auction tables, casino tables, stage, etc. The hot hors d'oeuvres were served hot, basic but good tasting, there was an attractive array of desserts, staff was efficient in clearing plates, replenishing the buffet and helping with AV needs. The bartenders were great. The bathrooms were clean, and stocked. The guests were having a great time and the setting of Chateau Ritz helped to enhance that. We did notice when we arrived for the event that there were a few people hanging around the parking lot (not guests). When we left for the evening, a person was walking through the lot, talking to people (talking to himself?) and moving between the cars.

We chose Gala Banquets to host our wedding. Konrad (the owner) was very friendly, accommodating,…read morewilling to help and always delivered on his promises. Food was fresh and delicious - large dinner portions, sweet table full of variety of cakes. Decorations and tables looked amazing. Staff was very friendly, attentive and always courteous. The party was great with a best in town DJ Leon - dance floor was always full - everyone was dancing and partying until 2am and nobody wanted to go home - everything was just so good! Thank you Konrad and Gala Banquet Hall staff for making our wedding event a memorable one! You deserve 5 STARS and a big bravo! We already decided that our next family events are held ONLY at Gala Banquet Hall. If you are looking for a great place to host your event - please check this place out - you will be glad you did.

We hosted my bridal shower this past weekend at Gala Banquets. The venue is exceptional all around…read morefrom ambiance to service and food. We received so many compliments from our guests on how beautiful the place is. The owner is super accommodating and the staff did a great job throughout the event. The food....is INCREDIBLE! Everyone loved it and couldn't stop taking about it. Overall, hosting here was a great success and I would recommend!

Extremely good, tasty and atmospheric restaurant, always everything is at the highest level,…read moreespecially I look forward to the service (we were served by Taras, who complemented our evening with delicious dishes and drinks, was very pleasant in communication, sincere, always smiling, friendly) sincere recommendation

Decent food. Russian, Ukrainian and other Eastern European pop music. Lots of plastic bling. The…read moreservice is excellent and prompt. There was one thing that had turned my good time into a miserable existence: the music for the size of the room we were in was way too loud. Not only was it impossible to sustain a conversation with a person nearby when the two presenters were at it, it was plain painful. My advice, if you have decent hearing and would like to preserve it: BRING SOME EARPLUGS. Another advice, make sure you have been vaccinated as it's still the middle of the pandemic, and this place is a COVID breeder. A few of the guests have developed symptoms and tested positive a little over a week after attending.

Applauze Catering gets a standing ovation! Chef Dave was very easy to work with and he and his team…read moremade our wedding day dinner one of many great memories from that evening. They were incredibly accommodating and catered (see what I did there?) to our needs. The address listed for the business is an assisted/independent living community where David Marino is the Executive Chef. Don't feel you've been mislead or that this is a shady deal if you try to go there and find this instead of a stand alone banquet hall. The best way to reach them is by calling or emailing if you need something delivered to you. Their delivery, setup, and service fees aren't bad, either. We had our reception at the Park Ridge VFW and Applauze came on time and prepared with chafing dishes, Sterno fuel, plates, napkins, and flatware. It wasn't elegant, but it was all included in the total cost and a few steps up from the cheap plastic utensils that I was thinking they'd have. They set up the buffet line, manned it for 3 hours, and took it apart when they were done. We estimated we'd have 120 guests (and we nearly did), so we ordered Spinach Salad (2), House Salad (2), Garlic Bread (2 Full), Chicken Vesuvio (2 Full), Italian Beef with Hot Peppers (2 Full), Italian Beef with Sweet Peppers (2 Full), Vegetable Lasagna (3 Full), Lyonnaise Potatoes (3 Full), Vegetable Medley (3 Full), Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (2 Full) and a Crudités Tray (1 Large). The Full servings say they can feed 20-30 and Half servings are intended for 10-15, but be advised that the portions are huge! We had a lot of food left over and could have easily gotten away with half the salad, half the Italian Beef, and at least 1 less Full order of the Vegetable Lasagna. I figured better safe than sorry and it gave us the opportunity to send guests home with flavorful party favors. We gave some to the VFW employees and took some ourselves. Some of the food went to waste and I am really bummed about that. But what can you do? Start to finish, Applauze took care of us. We were emailed in a timely manner when we had questions or updates and they let us add or subtract from our order up to 5 days before the big event. We mentioned some guests had dietary restrictions and Chef Dave said we should let him know so he could adjust the recipes if needed. I thought the whole exchange, particularly the customer service aspect, was likely the breeziest part of all the wedding planning. The only issue we ran into, and we take equal parts responsibility for this since I don't think we went into specifics about the dietary restrictions (most just couldn't eat pork), was that we had 2 guests with seafood allergies (the menu does list some items with tuna, salmon and/or shrimp, which we avoided) and hadn't been informed that the Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms had crab or imitation crab (fish) and we honestly didn't question it since it was listed under Pasta & Vegetables. The older menu that I believe is still currently on their website doesn't even list this item and the newer menu doesn't say what it's stuffed with. I guess we assumed it would be cheese and something other than seafood since it didn't specify. Oops! My maid of honor mentioned something about crab while eating it and I made my husband hunt down someone who could answer what was in them. We were told it was crab and we quickly alerted those with allergies. Luckily, our friends have learned to let be anything that's questionable, so they had skipped this altogether. Crisis averted, and hopefully they'll disclose this ingredient in future menus or when taking orders. As I said, I think the older menu is what's currently on the website and it has a coupon for 10% off for new customers. I think the newer menu offers 15% off and it has a few more items on it, like the mushrooms. You'll need to contact Chef Dave by email to receive the correct version and can ask him if any of these discount are applicable at this time. We used the 15% off coupon and it saved us a good chunk of money. Each meal provided by Applauze was well under $15 per person (including delivery, setup, service, tax, and tip). We could have easily gotten away with $10 per plate if we'd known how much excess there'd be. And the best part of it all was that we didn't have to sacrifice quality for quantity! Everything was a hit! People raved about the Italian Beef and the Vegetable Medley was tender. We were told by multiple people that the food was fantastic and we've received compliments months later saying how it was some of the best wedding food they've ever had. I would not hesitate to recommend them for your feast!

Applauze Catering was recommended to me by a family member and it was amazing. The setup of service…read morewas very easy to work with and that's always a plus when planning any sort of event. Highly recommended!

My husband and I hosted an intimate celebration with our closest friends (20 people total) at…read moreMaharlika 360 after our recent civil wedding ceremony, and it was everything we dreamed of. Rose and her husband were incredibly kind and responsive to our questions and requests throughout the planning process. The place itself is already beautiful, so we barely needed any decorations! Parking was convenient for us and our guests. When we arrived, Rose greeted us right away and made sure everything was ready. Clean up was simple thanks to the clear directions provided. Our guests constantly complimented the space, and the karaoke made the night even more fun! We keep looking back at our photos and videos and can't stop smiling, seeing how beautiful everything turned out and how much fun we had with our guests. We highly recommend booking Maharlika 360 for your next event!!

If I could give Maharlika 360 ten stars I would!! Booked the venue for our daughter's 1st birthday…read moreand it went great!! Good price for a nice and clean venue with plenty of space for our 50 guest. I would definitely look into them again for any future events!! Don't hesitate go see it if you're looking for a venue!

We loved our server, Janee. She made the whole evening fun with her enthusiasm, personality, and…read moreknowledge of the menu. Food was great. Loved the lobster deviled eggs ,fish sandwich, burger and the peppermint ice cream with hot fudge to top it off. Thank you Janee. We will be back and ask for you!

Came over ro meet with friends and have a nice Friday night…read more However I really can say that it took a good 15-20 min before someone even came to our table to offer water so that's not a good start The overall food was good, portions and prices too and drinks as well, but service was so bad that I don't know if I would consider coming back too soon

My husband and I got married at Astoria this past Friday, November 15, 2019. We had a great time,…read moreeverything for the most part ran smoothly from the moment we got there to the time that we had to leave. Management from day one was on top of everything, they kept us clued in as to what all the steps were and what packages were offered. they walked with us through the building through the up lighting process and they went over the menu with us until every detail was perfect. The only thing that I would change is more training in terms of alcohol service. The bartenders absolutely need to be more aware of whom they are serving and how much they are serving and went to cut people off. Myself as the bride should not have gone up to the bar to cut people off that was not my job and that was the only part of the whole thing that made me upset. Otherwise, I would recommend this place to anyone who is looking to do a wedding on a budget, as this place is extremely accomodating for all price ranges.

I normally don't write reviews, but I feel it's important to share my family's experience. My…read morecousin was supposed to have her wedding at Astoria banquet but her fiancé tragically passed away just a week before the ceremony. It's hard to even put into words how devastating this has been for her and our whole family. We reached out to the venue to explain the situation and request some kind of refund or partial credit, given the circumstances -- this wasn't a normal cancellation. Unfortunately, the hall chose not to show any flexibility or compassion. I understand that businesses have policies, but this was an extraordinary and heartbreaking situation. What hurts most is the lack of empathy. A little understanding or humanity in a moment like this goes a long way. I hope in the future, this hall considers showing more compassion toward their clients during truly tragic circumstances. I would not suggest !

Rich and the Butter and Vine team were an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish. They…read moretook the time to make sure the menu was exactly what we wanted, even creating a custom hors d'oeuvre just for us. The food blew us away with generous portions, incredible flavors, and beautiful execution across the board. Two of our bridesmaids said it was some of the best wedding food they'd ever had, and to this day, friends and family still bring up how much they loved the food. The team at Butter and Vine will work with you every step of the way and leave your guests with a meal they'll remember. We are so grateful we trusted them with our special day!

Butter and Vine were phenomenal!…read more Rich and his exceptional team exceeded every expectation for our memorable wedding. They were a joy to work with! We are incredibly grateful that Rich agreed to cater our intimate celebration, given they are known for much larger, elaborate events. From the very beginning, Rich and his staff were professional, knowledgeable, organized, and truly committed to bringing our vision to life. Our guests are still talking about the food--every dish was absolutely delicious. The quality, flavors, and presentation were perfection, and the compliments continued long after the night ended. We are also deeply thankful to the team for setting up our beautiful outdoor beach ceremony and creating an elegant reception space that was perfection! The staff were attentive, kind, and consistently went above and beyond to make sure everything was flawless. We could not have asked for a better experience with such a highly skilled and professional team. We would recommend them wholeheartedly to any couple looking for exceptional food, service, and a team that truly cares about you and your vision!