Licking Springs Country Club — Restaurant in Newark

Our experience at The Trout Club for our wedding was nothing short of magical. Every single aspect of our special day was flawlessly executed, exceeding our highest expectations. The team at The Trout Club went above and beyond to ensure that everything was perfect. Amanda Reynolds - she makes this happen. Her and her assistant were the best thing since sliced bread!

From the moment we first connected with Amanda and the staff at the Trout Club, we were impressed by their professionalism and attention to detail. They were incredibly responsive to all of our questions and needs, making the planning process smooth and stress-free. Plus, they were accommodating to our specific requests, making us feel truly valued and taken care of.

One particularly standout aspect was the food provided by The Trout Club. The chef's culinary skills shone through in every dish served, delighting our guests and leaving everyone raving about the delicious menu. The presentation was also impeccable, adding an extra touch of pizzazz to the evening - we were accommodated with a special menu of tacos instead of the traditional wedding foods.

In conclusion, we wholeheartedly recommend The Trout Club for anyone looking to create a memorable and unforgettable wedding day. Their dedication to excellence, coupled with their warm hospitality, truly set them apart as a top-notch wedding vendor. Thank you to the entire team at The Trout Club for making our wedding day a dream come true.

Please note - because the location is hilly, handicap accessibility is limited. There are golf carts that can drive you up and around and all you have to do is ask the staff, but the stairs from the ceremony site to the reception are in need of an update - something that many people look over, but I consider with my guests. If you need to drive a vehicle up towards the reception you can with some guidance from the club (we had a power wheelchair bound guest and that was the only way up and back from the site). Sadly the restroom area is t is tight which can make it difficult for wheelchair individuals to maneuver, but with it being an older building this is common.

ALSO - I attached pictures to show the reception space, the ceremony site, and what it looks like full/empty. We had 120 and it was a perfect fit. Those over 120 often have to rent tents, but they have tables for about 180-200 I believe. We had the dancefloor outside with the DJ but you could have it inside as well. Bar is near the TC Lounge and buffet style food is served from the other side of the bar. We had a sweetheart table which was perfect for us to see everyone throughout the night. The golf course is where all of our pictures were taken and there are so many good spots it is hard to pass up. The bride is dropped off with a tinted window van (so comfortable) and then it naturally drives away to reveal the bride. Then your wedding party comes in on golf carts and leaves on golf carts, but they are parked nicely and away from the ceremony site. If you like whimsical, woodsy, and green this place is for you! Note the drapery in the reception were not apart of the club and are additional charges from Party Pleasers but they have a Trout Club Swag set that you can order with Amanda's help if needed.

Flowers - Fuhrmann Orchards LLC Table Decorations - Amazon Bridesmaids - Revelry Groomsmen - OP Gallo Lancaster Groom - Indochino Bride - Andi B Bridal Cupcakes - Kemmerer Cakes and Birdies Cupcakes (pies homemade) Father of Bride - Men’s Wearhouse Grooms Hat - Tommy Bahama Grooms Tie - Brackish Animal Cut Outs - AlmostRealStandUps on Etsy Custom Wedding Papers - Designed by me on Canva - HMU and I’ll design for you! Brides...

So much potential squandered. Beautiful setting and really nice facility. The menu is diverse with well planned and upscale options alongside more casual fare options. I had the pork chop and was not disappointed in the least. Whoever set the menu knows not only how to design a nice dish but also how to prepare it. All of our food was very good.

Where everything fell apart, and hence the lowered rating, comes down to the service and the ambiance.

We were seated and ignored for about ten minutes. Then someone dropped off water but did not stick around to take a drinks order. Finally we ordered drinks and then waited 20 minutes to get two beers and an Old Fashioned. I wish the chef who made my food was responsible for the bar as well because the drink was pretty bad. Not well balanced, not well mixed. An Old Fashioned is not a complex drink but this one was pretty terrible.

We ordered our food when the first of our drinks was delivered (beers came first and five minutes late the cocktail arrived), and it was apparent that our waitress really didn’t know anything about the menu, the specials, or what came with each entree. But we muddled through and eventually got an order in. After another half hour wait our meals were finally delivered, slowly, one plate at a time and then the waitress had to be reminded to get our sides. The food timing wasn’t terrible - had we not already been waiting a half an hour before we could order. Fortunately the food was all very good and I felt like maybe we had turned a corner.

However it was at this time that the the groundskeeper fired up a weed eater just across from the patio and proceeded to drown out any semblance of normal conversation. We had to yell to hear each other. Which meant soon enough the porch was full of tables of people yelling at each other just to carry on a conversation. They were still going at it, taking their good old sweet time to trim the bank of the creek, when we finally left an hour later.

The only upside of the weed eater serenade? At least we didn’t have to continue to listen to the insipid children’s music that was playing over the restaurant speakers the whole time we were there. I could understand it if the music was being played for a child’s birthday party in the middle of the day, but during the dinner hour, and at a time that the youngest person in sight was the kid seating people? It was obnoxious and distracting.

Bottom line? I would suggest waiting until the chef gets hired by another restaurant and then go eat there. The Trout Club, despite obviously spending a lot of money to create a beautiful restaurant and hire talented kitchen staff, doesn’t seem to understand what it means to deliver a quality dining experience. Roaring lawn equipment, squeaky voiced children’s music about dinosaurs, and a wait staff that kept forgetting everything, plus a bar staff that leaves a lot to be desired is no way to get the deliver on the promise that the facility...

Edit of Review: I updated my review from a 2 star to a 4 star. Management went the extra mile and reached out to my husband by phone call in less than an hour or so after posting this review. (Must've went through their reservation list from night before and found our last name, since reservation was made by my husband and this review by me - no phone number listed.) They were very pleasant and invited us out for dinner to make this right. I informed them we were not going to be traveling back that way that evening. I'm choosing to edit my review on customer service, I can't unfortunately vouch for the food. But everyone around us looked like they were enjoying their food. When we're back in the area we'll give The Trout Club another try.

We were visiting the area and The Trout Club came highly recommended by our host. The grounds and Club were impressive - way to go. When we arrived we were sat immediately at a great little outside table with our name on it, which we had called in earlier in the day for a reservation. We were excited about the menu and had all of our menu items picked out. We are fully aware of staffing issues currently going on in our society and are very understanding in this case. We sat there for over 21 minutes without even a simple Hello. I was going to wait 25 - my husband was over it at 15 minutes. There were 2 servers that had looked over at us - but more of in the instance of “who has that table”? So we left. Ended up at the The Red Oak Pub where we were greeted with fast and friendly service and the food was good. Just a courteous Hello was all it would’ve taken to get us to...