Stewart Manor Country Club — Attraction in Town of Hempstead

An interesting experience for a long Island catering hall. Stewart Manor is situated off a few side streets in what seems to be a quiet neighborhood. You are immediately met by valet. As Stewart Manor only has 1 wedding at a time, they only had 2 valets working which took a bit longer to park than other venues that have multiple weddings with staggered start times and twice the number of valet. The building is in good shape and clean. The bathrooms are exceptionally clean. Unfortunately it was raining the night I was there so I was unable to view the outside. Cocktail hour is situated in 3 awkward rooms. This is where Stewart Manor gets a bad start. The food was placed in different rooms, so you had to travel around to get a bite. Some hors d'oeuvres were passed by the staff, I did not sample those. Of the food I tried, it was all disappointing. Fried calamari which was cooked past the rubbery point and was hard. Sausage and peppers, over braised and mushy. Pizza which was clearly a frozen pizza. Steamed dumplings, definitely frozen. Chicken and broccoli with dry overcooked chicken. Asian noodles that seemed the texture of udon but looked like spaghetti, that had a few vegetables but was just a mouthful of noodles with a little soy. Grilled cheese that was cold. Kielbasa and kraut, this dish was fair. French fries, also fair. Chicken cutlet parm with overcooked breasts which may have also been a frozen app. There are no places to put dirty used plates other than on the tables where people are eating. Staff intermittently collects these. Staff is cordial and friendly, both wait staff and the bartenders. The first course served after cocktail hour was a caprese salad (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, balsamic reduction). The tomatoes were not yet ripe and lacked any seasoning including salt. The basil was presented as a leaf, which would have been better had it been chopped or served with chopped basil so it could be enjoyed in more than 1 bite. Next course, I'm guessing it was penne a LA vodka. This dish is normally a pinkish color due to adding cream, but cream seemed scarce which certainly affected the body and mouthfeel of the sauce. The pasta was surprisingly cooked to a perfect al dente. Basil was noticeable by color in the sauce but lacked fresh as a garnish. There were noticeable pieces of pork in the sauce, which was good. The sauce lacked salt which brings out the flavor. Whomever made this did not taste it before serving. The dinner roll served was bland, which I'm sure was made in a bakery off premises. Then came dinner. I had ordered the filet mignon and also tried my wife's salmon. The salmon was cooked perfectly. The filet was a bit over how I ordered it, but still good. Asparagus was also cooked perfectly and seasoned well. The mashed potatoes had flavor but seemed to be over whipped and gummy. As whomever cooked the dinner did a fairly good job, I was surprised by the amount of shortcuts and substandard food that was served at the cocktail hour which in my experience is normally the best tasting food of the evening. I was surprised to find a cigarette burn in my napkin. Maybe they do outdoor seating? Smoking hasn't been permitted inside for over a decade and I'd think that when the staff folds the napkins they would notice the hole and discard the napkin. Overall, it seemed the food that was actually prepared and cooked here was good. The frozen food was terrible and not what anyone would expect in a catering hall, especially in this area. The dinner course earned this establishment its second star, otherwise it would have been a solid 1 star,...

Stewart Manor Country Club (SMCC for short), is THE venue to book for any event. My wife and I held our wedding reception here on 11/5/22, and to say that the night was perfect is a complete understatement.

The Venue: SMCC is an absolutely stunning venue. The renovations that were done a few years ago have completely transformed the place. The venue has a modern/rustic, yet elegant feel, with a beautiful main dining/dancing area. Outside you'll find a grand driveway, which leads to the main entrance. During the summer there will be various flowers lining the property, and during the fall there will be mums. The trees on the property with the yellow-reddish leaves during the fall really make you feel like you're in a wonderland, and in the summer they offer some much needed shade for the outside area.

The Food: Everything from cocktail hour to the actual dinner selection was perfect. You know the food is great when you have guests consistently coming up to you throughout the night to tell you so. Additionally, the SMCC team were able to accommodate a few of our guests who ate only Kosher, or had specific dietary considerations. When booking the venue, you're given an extensive list of choices to consider, and have the flexibility to add or takeaway things as you see fit. We added an additional table to cocktail hour featuring a cold bar with shrimp, clams, and lobster, and during dessert we had a table setup with various pastries and fruit.

The Team: John, Lisa, James, and the rest of the SMCC team are AMAZING. I cannot possibly express it in just words, but I'll do my best to capture how great they all are. John was the kindest, most understanding and hilarious person to work with. He gave us his honest suggestions throughout the entire booking process, and helped us make a lot of really important decisions regarding food options and a potential afterparty. Lisa was a great resource when we had one off questions, always available via phone or email, and was present during the actual wedding to make sure things were in order. The rest of the staff were incredibly helpful throughout the entire wedding day, and I even recall my groomsmen making friends with one of the waiters. Everyone was truly delightful, and on point day of.

I'd like to spotlight James specifically for his role as maître d, his attention to detail, and his help in coordinating our perfect day. From literally bringing us water onto the dancefloor while we're navigating through our guests because "we looked like we needed it", to helping set-up all of our decorations, he couldn't of possibly been more on top of it. He even helped my wife take her veil off and bustle her dress. He ensured that all of our details were sorted, that no one had any issues, and that the party kept going on. We truly cannot thank him enough for all of his help.

Overall: We can't possibly think of a single thing that went wrong throughout the entire reception. If after reading my review you have any doubts, just look at the pictures and recognize our genuine pure happiness. This is the venue to book, and your experience throughout the entire process will be so seamless, and you won't have to worry...

My husband and I could not be happier with the hospitality, warmth, care, professionalism, and attention to detail that the team at Stewart Manor Country Club provided for our wedding.

John, Lisa, and James (and Dani!) are absolutely amazing at what they do. Not only do they have the ability to execute any ideas that you may have, they have a wealth of knowledge (and seemingly endless warehouse of decorations) that they are more than happy to share to make your wedding day absolutely perfect.

Leading up to our wedding, we gave James our general design plan and supplied decorations that we thought fit the theme (winter library), but otherwise gave little specific guidance on how to set up ceremony space or the various spaces within the venue (since we had neither the energy nor artistic eye to plan out those details). What James was able to put together for us was absolutely stunning and better than anything we could have imagined. In fact, we have had multiple guests describe the ambiance James was able to create for us as “stunning” and “magical.”

On the day of our wedding, my husband and I wanted for nothing. Indeed, without ever having to ask for anything, the team at SMCC anticipated our every need. James, in particular, had everything we never knew we needed within arms reach (including, among other things, fashion tape, a scrunchy, and bobby pins, all of which James kept stored in his fashion-forward utility vest), and did everything he possibly could (including holding the train of my dress outside in the rain while we were outside smoking) to ensure my husband and I were as comfortable as possible. We’ve heard from many guests that their experience with SMCC’s team was no less amazing.

Our guests all raved about the food, particularly the filet mignon and chicken francaise, and marveled at the table service for bar drinks (which seems all but unheard of these days). My husband happened to be partial to the spinach ravioli alfredo served with dinner, and I loved the mac & cheese included in the BBQ station and the buffalo chicken pizza included in the pizza station.

When my husband and I were choosing between wedding venues, many venues we looked at seemed to be nothing more than wedding factories. Almost every venue we visited or contacted focused their sales pitch on one thing: what services they could sell us from their catalogue of cookie-cutter wedding options. SMCC was different. In fact, after a long day of visiting venues, we realized that Lisa of SMCC was the only person we had met at any venue who bothered to ask my husband and I about our relationship and our interests—e.g., how we met, how my husband had proposed, what we did for a living, what we did for fun, and what we were looking for in a wedding venue. It was this human touch that made SMCC stand out among the sea of venue options. And it is this human touch that I believe makes the team at SMCC excel at what they do. Simply put, the SMCC team cares, which makes all the difference.

We highly recommend anyone looking for an intimate, personalized wedding with a human touch to check out SMCC! We guarantee you will not be...