Verandas, Manhattan Beach (New York Food Company)

Not only is the venue spectacular and unique, but the staff is attentive and professional at all times. I loved that we stumbled upon Verandas and were able to spend our reception in a cozy setting that didn't resemble just another hotel's ballroom. I can't say enough about the service we received, as it was above our very high expectations. I wouldn't change a thing about our night at Verandas, except that I wish it hadn't gone by so fast!

Verandas was everything we envisioned for our wedding and more. We still can't think of a more perfect place to have had it. The food is amazing, the staff is attentive and polite, and the wedding coordinators are essential! Lauren was ours and she made the day possible. I love Verandas!

We were so pleased by the exceptional experience we had at Verandas for our wedding that I wish we had another excuse to use their services again!We organized our wedding from across-the country, but it proved to be a breeze to work with the staff at Verandas.From the event coordinator, to the food, to the great service from waitstaff, we were so glad that we selected Verandas to have our wedding.

We were so pleased by the exceptional experience we had at Verandas for our wedding that I wish we had another excuse to use their services again!We organized our wedding from across-the country, but it proved to be a breeze to work with the staff at Verandas.From the event coordinator, to the food, to the great service from waitstaff, we were so glad that we selected Verandas to have our wedding.

We just finished our wedding and it turned out beautifully. Pros:*Our coordinator, Sara, was awesome; she really made the whole experience run smoothly. She is very experienced and running all over the place to check on everything while the event is going on. I was told at one point there were some people making noise outside and she bolted out to the parking lot to silence them during the ceremony. *lots of self-parking spaces; at many venues, especially on the westside, you need valet parking and this place has a lot of parking available. *flexible in catering choices, if you can meet the required minimum*not the cheapest facility but a good value for the services provided; we had a gourmet five-course meal for less than a competing venue would offer*location: very easy for everyone to find and get to; get off on the Rosecrans exit and drive basically until you see the ocean; you would never know this place is there, tucked away in a little corner of Manhattan Beach*food: excellentCons:*the location; because of the same positive note above, there is some car noise that is occasionally heard from the ceremony location. The noise of the water fountain area disguises most of this though. *you need to meet the required minimum, so probably best suited for about 100-120 people. A large wedding wouldn't really fit here and it would be too expensive for a small wedding. We had about 90 people and it seemed to fit perfectly.There is another venue owned by the same company, La Venta Inn, that has a better view of the ocean but is more expensive. It is also more remote so you have to drive through the winding streets of Palos Verdes. We chose not to use La Venta because it was harder for our guests to find and the view comes with a premium.New York Food has changed their pastry chef this year, so hopefully the previous comments about the wedding cake no longer apply. Our wedding cake was really well done. It looked and tasted great. You do not need to use their pastry chef. We did to simplify the number of our vendors. They allow you to hire an outside wedding cake company if you want a special cake.***addendum: someone asked me about how the two floors of the venue worked and how it changed the dynamic of the party. In short, I think the two-story layout actually works out very well, but make sure you have a DJ/host who is familiar with the venue.Here is what I think is fairly "standard" for Verandas:a) ceremony takes place outside, then guests are directed upstairs for the cocktail hour as photos are taken. Note: that you can do a group photo with everybody since the photographer can shoot down from the stairs, a nice added plus of the two stories.b) once photos are done, bride and bridesmaid can either mingle or hide out in the downstairs bridal quarters.c) guests are directed downstairs to dinner; wedding party assembles upstairs from the outside entranced) wedding party makes grand entrance through inside stairwelle) speeches can be done during the dinner downstairs; the bar is still open upstairs but only a few people go upstairs during dinner f) cake cutting happens upstairs after dinner; guests are directed upstairs and they effectively close the downstairsg) any final speeches can be done on the dance floor as they open up the dance floor; guests can form a big circle around the speakerAt any rate, our coordinator, Sara, was excellent at directing the guests (on top of everything else she did) and it helps to have your officiant or DJ make the appropriate announcements, so people know where to go. Really it would be helpful to have a DJ who is familiar with the layout. But overall with about a hundred people, the space feels intimate and more fun rather than one big room which would be half empty. The two-story layout works out very well, especially the bride descending from the staircase during the ceremony.

Everything was great! Fantastic! Best day of my life! Natalie at the Verandas made all my dreams come true!

Verandas was the perfect place for us to get married. The venue is beautiful, from the waterfall and pond, to the dining room, to the gorgeous ocean views, it was eveything we wanted and needed in a venue. We loved working with Verandas' helpful and friendly staff, and were grateful that they made our wedding-planning experience so effortless. They provided us with a list of preferred vendors that really made it easy to book all of our vendors because we knew that we couldn't go wrong with anyone that Verandas recommended. The event was picture-perfect and went off without a hitch. We would definitely recommend Verandas to anyone wanting a wedding with a cool, comfortable elegance, while being classy AND beachy all at the same time!

Perfect. They made our day wonderful and were with us to help with planning all along the way. The location was phenomenal and everyone loved it.

I can't imagine the wedding being any better.. Everything was perfect. The food, the service, the care and attentiveness. Sarah was the best, and made it all happen!

They provided excellent service and made our day really special. It goes by so fast with all the things you want to get done during a wedding and we did not have to worry about anything.

Verandas is absolutely spectacular!!!! I could not imagine a more perfect night, nor would I change a thing! We even recieved countless complements from our guests about the venue from how great the food was, to the service, to how gorgeous it was there. The service is over the top, and the planners are extremely experienced. They made our day exactly what we had always dreamed about and more.

Great venue, we still hear it from our guests that our wedding was "fun". Which was what we expected. It really depends on what YOU are looking for in a wedding location. We wanted GREAT food, food is key. NY Food Comp. delivered on this part. Venue was good, easy parking, convenience was our 2nd priority. Lastly the staff was much better than I had expected. Everyone was tip-top shape, it went really smooth.Pros : - Food. It's like eating at a fancy restaurant. If you want to impress your guests with great food, this should be a big consideration in getting NY Food Comp. to do your wedding. We come from a typical traditional Chinese family, expecting the BEST food possible. In the end, our families only talked about how good the food was. - Location. Parking lot was huge. Next to ocean, so you can take some nice pix. We had our ceremony there too, which is good.- Staff. My wife and I did not go home hungry. They were great in making sure we were fed too.- Bonus stuff. Our bartender that served the wedding was fun and knowledgeable on drinks. We asked if they could make some random drinks, and our coordinator (Jason) came up with the idea to incorporate our names into the drinks... which was cute and unique. Our guests that don't normally drink, tried the 3 signature drinks, and loved them. The bartender (Mark) made some pretty good drinks. Cons : - Cake. I read somewhere that they hired a new pastry chef. We ordered a cake from them because the cost to bring an outside cake would be too much. Also by the pictures they showed us, they looked good. Cake was dry... But the creme that was used on the outside was good. It just wasn't all that. Luckily most of the guests didn't get to eat the cake because they were already full from all the great dinner and drinks that were served. This was the ONLY thing I wish was better. I gave the rating of 4 1/2 stars for Flexibility due to the fact of the cake. Wish they didn't charge a "serving fee," that was pretty expensive. In the end, you definitely get what you pay for. A VERY memorable wedding.

This place was amazing, they made my wedding everything I ever thought it would and so much better. Their garden was a beautiful place for the ceremony didn't need any decorations it's gorgeous as is. The food at this place is amazing, we got a lot of comments from our guests about how great the food was. The place provides a wedding planner that helps you turn your dreams into reality and if it wasn't for our planner, Nancy, I don't think our wedding would have been the same. She just made everything go so smoothly she coordinated the ceremony exactly the way I wanted it, helped with the transitions between the ceremony the h'orderves hour and the dinner. I (the bride) felt like I was treated like a queen on my wedding day, which I did not expect but it certainly was nice. They also did our wedding cake which turned out beautiful and delicious. They are also a few blocks from the beach so after the ceremony we walked down and took some pics during the sunset and came back in time for dinner. Over all this place was amazing if I were to do my wedding again I would not change a thing. I highly recommend Verandas in Manhattan Beach.

Verandas is a fabulous location for your wedding. It is romantic, convenient, beautiful and the service cannot be beat. The food is fantastic - even 6 months after our wedding, I still get comments on how wonderful the food was from friends and family. We had about 70 people and it was the perfect size venue, although could easily have handled more people. The nice thing was that since our wedding wasn't huge, it didn't feel like we were a tiny crowd in a huge cave. The size of the location felt intimate without being cramped.The tasting gave us a good idea of how our event would be set up so we felt prepared on the big day. We chose stations and I highly recommend going this route. Everyone got up and mingled and yet there weren't huge lines for food. The Sea Bass is out of this world - again, 6 months later people still remember it. Our wedding coordinator, Sara, handled everything with efficiency and ease and just made it feel like planning a wedding was no big deal. She made sure that we were aware of all the details, and basically it felt like she held our hand every step of the way - before, during and after. The wait staff always made sure that we had a drink or food or whatever we needed so that we could focus on each other & family & not growling stomachs or dry mouths!Everything was so easy at Verandas that we got to focus on what really mattered - enjoying our big day with family and friends. Thanks NYFC, Sara & Verandas crew!!

The venue is beautiful! New York Food Company offers great meal options and delicious desserts and wedding cakes! My wedding coordinator is from the corporate office but everyone on site is very helpful! They keep very detailed notes, so anyone in the office can pick up your file and know exactly what was discussed/decided in previous meetings. I highly recommend Verandas :)

Beautiful venue. Staff was quick and professional.

When selecting a reception site, my husband and I were choosing between Verandas and an equally beautiful (and actually more unique) historical site. We initially chose Verandas because of budgeting reasons. While not the cheapest in the area, we knew what we had to pay (they charge based on minimums for day/time as opposed to # of people). As long as you met the minimum, you could spend it on 200 people or 50 people. This was very helpful as the majority of our guests were traveling from the east coast, and we weren't sure how many would come.However, as we worked with our coordinator (Sara), we became convinced we made the right decision. Verandas went out of their way to make our day special - from setting up all of our tables with centerpieces, to checking in that our vegetarian guests had enough to eat, to baking a cake for my new sister's birthday (same day!), to making sure I had a drink in my hand all night. They also reserved servers for us to make sure that we actually ate during dinner. They did all of this in a professional, unobtrusive way - another fork simply showed up on the table after you dropped yours without having to ask for one.The food is delicious - we went with dessert (fabulous creme brulee!) so I can't comment on the quality of their cakes (my sister-in-law liked her birthday cake, though). Despite the beautiful location and amazing food, what makes Verandas a great reception site is the commitment and attention to detail. I didn't have to worry about taking care of ANYTHING that day. Sara handled everything and made sure that we simply had a great time. I would definitely recommend Verandas to anyone looking for a great reception site (we had ceremony at a church).

Verandas is really beautiful and a great venue for the size of our wedding (130). There were 3 minor things that bothered me: 1. They aren't flexible with pricing of anything and nickel and dime for most everything, but that's to be expected from most places 2. We got our cake from them (they charge you some ridiculous amt for bringing in an outside cake) and it turned out pretty ugly. It didn't look anything like the picture and it was dry 3. We paid for the cash bar for the last 2 hrs. With half hour left, they told us the tab was at $300, but our bill ended up being $550. How in the world did the last half hour end up costing nearly the same amount as the first 90 minutes? When we approached them about it, the coordinator just told us the wedding party started ordering shots at the end, which was a lie since they were with us at the end and half of them are underage or don't drink. We didn't argue it since it's not much money. It just seemed weird.