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Any ideas for a venue for a surprise anniversary party on the water?
Was looking at Madison Beach Hotel as one option. Anywhere from, say, Fairfield to Madison would be fine.
Willing to do an all-in-one venue where food is provided, or rent a space and have it catered. I was looking at renting a beach house for a weekend, but most are 7 night min. in the summer. Looking to do this in July or August.
I recently attended a function at the Milford Yacht Club and found it to be very nice. The views are nice, and the service was excellent. I didn't have much of the food since I was coming from another party, but what I did have was very good. I'd highly recommend it if it's not too expensive.
We also did a weekend last summer at the Saybrook Point Inn. It's more upscale and probably more expensive, but quite an amazing place.
I recently attended a function at the Milford Yacht Club and found it to be very nice. The views are nice, and the service was excellent. I didn't have much of the food since I was coming from another party, but what I did have was very good. I'd highly recommend it if it's not too expensive.
We also did a weekend last summer at the Saybrook Point Inn. It's more upscale and probably more expensive, but quite an amazing place.
Maybe it was just my friend, but my friend went there and he said that "the service sucked." But, that is his opinion, if it is true.
Since your group is smaller, I would recommend checking out the place where I got married last year - Pequonnock Yacht Club/Sage American Grill in New Haven. It is on the water, and the food at Sage is really great. They have a few options for private parties and the size is perfect for your group (we had 37 guests at our wedding).
The Sage American Grill restaurant is on the 1st floor of the building, and you can only rent it privately for parties that will end earlier in the day (like a brunch or luncheon), but that might be an option. I believe the restaurant opens for the public at 4 or 5.
The 2nd floor of the building is the Pequonnock Yacht Club, which is where we held our wedding, and you can do daytime or evening events there. It was a $350 room rental fee, the club handled the bar (which you can do open, cash, or some combo), and Sage catered the food and handled most of the setup (their food packages for dinner are around $35-$40/person, but would be less for lunch or brunch). The club has all the tables and chairs, but Sage added white tablecloths to make it a bit fancier. There is a small deck w/tables overlooking the water, a small dance floor, a sound system you can hookup your iPod or laptop to, old photos of boats and nautical stuff on the walls, and it's really beautiful. They let you decorate any way you want and they are very laid back; there wasn't any limit of how long we could stay, we basically had the space for the whole day.
The only caveat is that the Club cannot close their bar to members, so depending on the time of day you hold your event, you may have a handful of yacht club members sitting at the bar. This didn't bother us because otherwise the space was perfect, and their members did not come into the rest of our room so we really barely noticed them, but that is not for everyone! They were looking into separating the bar area from the rest of the room back when we rented it, so it's possible this has changed since then. Otherwise, we really had an awesome experience having our wedding there, and I would highly recommend it!
If you are interested, I would start by looking up Sage American Grill, and then just let them know you're interested in the yacht club and they'll get you in touch with those folks.
Also would echo others who have recommended Anthony's Ocean View or Amarante's Sea Cliff, also both in New Haven on Morris Cove, just not sure how they handle smaller groups, but I think they may have smaller function rooms?
If you can do Fairfield, how about the Jacky Durrell Banquet Facility (next to Penfield Pavilion, which is still closed). I went to an event last summer, it's bare bones but cheap-ish and you can bring in a caterer (we did Swanson's Clambake).
Also maybe check out Dockside Seafood & Grill in Branford. It's in a marina so water views but maybe not exactly direct ocean views .
I am very familiar with Dockside (belonged to Bruce and Johnsons for years) and was never impressed. The food is good, but just good - not great or excellent. The service has always been mediocre, and the view is nothing to write home about. You're surrounded by a gravel parking lot which leads to boat slips. Nice for those who have a boat, but not nice if you don't belong to the Marina. Dockside is also adjacent to the marina pool, which means the area can get crowded. If you're trying to have a nice, business casual event, you can be near people wearing board shorts and bikinis. Sorry to poo-poo your suggestion. I often refuse to go there for dinner, nevermind hosting an anniversary event, so I felt compelled to comment on it.
Anthony's has a much higher minimum unfortunately. Great options from everyone, time to explore!
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