The East Side Club — Restaurant in Monona

This Review is for the ESC Events Only. As a whole, the ESC is a great place to play Kube and go for a drink. The bartenders have all been fantastic.

We started planning our wedding at the ESC in 2019 (eventually held in 2021 thanks for COVID). During that time, we worked with a total of 3 different event managers. The first one we worked with when planning to have our wedding at the ESC was fantastic. We didn't get to know the 2nd much at all but the 3rd one who was there on the day of our wedding was awful. She made us feel like a burden to her Saturday. We had confirmed with her previously that we could use the projector as we had discussed when we originally booked the venue. After hours spent on a sweet power point and family members taking part in it, we were excited to have it for all to see. The event person at ESC claimed the projector wasn't working because of our computer and that they wouldn't provide a new cord. 2 computers later, it was obviously the HDMI cord that the ESC refused to replace. The event coordinator/manager (not sure her title) made side comments regarding our families presence (we had table favors to put out) and overall, we felt like our we was a big burden/hinderence to her day (even though she kept leaving to step outside with her infant to smoke). Afterwards, there was no apology for the not working HDMI cable and a fictitious $25 charge for using the projector (we were not charged after some discussion). Overall, I would not host another event at the ESC unless there is a different event manager. The bar tenders were fantastic though and the lawn...

I wanted to love this venue as it was close to where I grew up and my parents used to attend their fish fry often. The entire building is very outdated, not in a charming way. During the approximately 10 months after booking and before our wedding day we worked with 4 different event managers due to turnover. Most of our plans had not been saved other than a few emails we had so we needed to rehash the plan with each new manager. The owner/board member was rude and unprofessional. He stated that he does not give money back because all of the brides just want discounts for everything. The small freebies he offered as a consolation for poor service/experience ended up being charged on our final invoice (eventually corrected). The slightly lower room rental rate quickly rises since they charge a fee for any of their existing decor as well as the bridal "suite" which is a storage room with a bathroom, table, and couch on the bottom floor only. I would highly suggest paying for a more expensive facility that includes a reliable event manager and offers existing onsite decor at no charge. The final event manager we worked with was pretty good but did not make up for all of the rest. I would not recommend this venue for any event,...

First time I have visited the East Side Club on Lake Monona and it was very nice. Our family had a private luncheon party here post funeral for a relative and the food and bar service was excellent. The Club has a vintage feel to it and based off the many pictures in the entrance foyer of past presidents it goes back to the 1930's when this was called "the East Side Business Mans Club" and was a fairly exclusive Club back in the day. The views of Lake Monona were great and as this was in the winter there was many activities to watch such as ice fishing and kite boarding happening to watch. The tiki bar was not open during this time, but several attendees of our party stated it was a busy place during summer months which probably saved the business. Conveniently located in Monona nearby many other businesses, I would like to visit again during the summer months on my next...