Lesner Inn – Catering Club

2 Reviews on “Lesner Inn – Catering Club”

• Jim Gitman

  Pushed my luck.. So, I spent another Thanskgiving at the Lesner Inn, and regret having done so. I wasn’t expecting any great feats of innovation, but was disappointed to find that several aspects of the meal were decidedly worse than on my previous visit. To start with, they stuck us upstairs so that we had to walk down a relatively-lengthy staircase, through the lobby and past the bathrooms every time we wanted to visit the buffet line. I didn’t mind so much (especially as the view was pretty great up there), but they also seated an elderly couple and a family with a small child in this area. It made me nervous watching them come tottering up the stairs with plates full of food, but no damage was done.The menu was exactly the same as last year, except that they swined everything up and had half as many desserts (my beloved banana cake was nowhere to be found). The macaroni and cheese, which made up the majority of my meal last year, was full of ham, and two of the cold salads included bacon. They had the labels reversed on the oyster and turkey stuffings, and though I found it easy enough to identify the one that was peppered with oysters, other patrons seemed confused. One older gentleman even asked the hostess about it, and she assured him that the labels were correct. That’s just a dangerous level of incompetence. The service was fine, at least. Our middle-aged busboy and teenaged waiter were both friendly and attentive without being intrusive. I think I’ve spent my last holiday at the Lesner Inn. I can replicate everything but the view at home, and won’t have to worry about any surprises.17 Dec, 2010Nice.. Lesner Inn (the former location of Henry’s and The Inlet), is a catering hall that opens to the public for certain holiday services. I ate there on Thanksgiving, and found little to fault in the experience. The buffet had the usual holiday standards, done very well. The oyster stuffing was top notch and the banana cake was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had (though I’m generally not a big fan of sweets-so take that for what it’s worth). The main draw is the location and the view of the inlet. My only wish is that they’d had more of a seafood selection to complement the natural surroundings. The salmon and shrimp on offer were the definite low point of the spread.

  February 27, 2012, 1:32 am

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• Caitie

  Rude and overrated. I had my wedding at Lesner Inn in March because, like many before me probably thought, the site is beautiful. I have never planned a wedding before so I wasn’t exactly pro at spotting shady business and warning signs that would indicate a venue was not a good choice. So to my untrained eye Lesner Inn was perfect. Unfortunately for my wedding day, they were most definitely not. First of all, for any newly engaged girls checking out locations, make sure you CAREFULLY read the contracts they present to you. A wedding planner is great for this because they are well aware of what not to sign. I chose not to get a wedding planner so that I could better afford the over priced Lesner Inn event. Our biggest problem with the day was the staff. Especially the manager of the establishment! She was rude and abrasive, she insisted on yelling, not talking, to me the bride, and anyone else who disagreed with her. We were supposed to have the wedding ceremony out on the deck, and due to rainy conditions were told at the last minute that we would not be allowed to do the ceremony or cocktail hour outside. It is 600 dollars to rent the outdoor space, so when it gets canceled, and you don’t get that money back, you would think that they would be accommodating to the best of their ability to find a solution. Instead we got alot of yelling from their part about how the ONLY option was to do EVERYTHING in the upstairs space we had rented for the reception. We were the only event of the day and they have alot of space as anyone who has been there knows, not to mention that downstairs is a screened in outdoors deck that would give you the same feel as upstairs but dry. They will tell you that to use any other space you would have to pay for that space. None of this was explained kindly. It was my wedding day and the only thing that was happening in my bridal suite the hour before my wedding day was the manager repeatedly barging in to yell orders about what was going to happen. No compromise and no kindness in finding a solution. She caused a scene in front of half of my family and preceded to verbally attack my grandmother who just wanted to come see her only granddaughter all dressed before the biggest day of her life. Following the ceremony guest were talking about what had happened before hand…Why did they know what happened?? Because the whole staff was rudely gossiping about it in front of them all throughout the night. Also, this woman had no problem picking up and roughly relocating the ring bearer when she felt he was in a place she didn’t like. I spent the better part of an hour before my wedding crying thanks to this woman. We never got an apology for any of the rudeness, and the only time I have heard from them since was on my birthday a month and a half later when they sent me an email saying we owe them 300$ for damaged linens. The scenery is beautiful, but not worth the price or the hassle. They were never even all that pleasant before the event I just kept choosing to ignore it because I loved the view we didn’t even get to use. I guess if you don’t spend 50,000 on your wedding there you aren’t a valuable enough bride to be worth any effort. You can find prettier friendlier venues in Virginia Beach.

  July 17, 2011, 12:50 am

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