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MICHAEL’S HARBORSIDE Reviews

MICHAEL’S HARBORSIDE

MICHAEL’S HARBORSIDE

Newburyport, MA
4.6 out of 5 rating, 18 Reviews
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Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 rating
4.6 out of 5 rating
18 Reviews
92% recommend it
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Awards

18
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2010 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2009 Winner
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    Olivia Sent on 11/11/2019
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    Lovely Rehearsal Dinner Spot

    A perfect rehearsal dinner location! We used the upstairs space for a sit down dinner and invited additional guests for a cocktail hour at the bar afterwards. The food was delicious and they packed up all leftovers. Highly recommend!
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    Amanda Sent on 09/08/2015
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    Haborside catered the cocktail hour for my wedding and did a phenomenal job. They were super affordable and so flexible. They put in tons of work dealing with my difficult venue (so I wouldn't have to) and were so easygoing and calm and collected throughout the whole process. They were by far my easiest wedding vendor to work with. That being said, they also delivered high quality food at a very affordable price and were willing to make changes during my bridezilla moments up until the week before. Not to mention they made special plates for the bridal party to make sure we had enough to eat- so thoughtful!
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    Nichole Sent on 09/28/2010
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    I would, without a doubt, recommend Harborside for any catering job, not just weddings! The food was amazing, the service was great, prices you can't beat and Maura is wonderful to work with! Our first meeting went very smooth, we told her what we like and don't like, and she created an awesome menu for us. STaying very mindful of our budget. Then, after our meeting, we were treated to lunch at the restaurant. When we went for our tasting, we were expecting a couple little bites of food, but instead had a full spread! Way too much for just the two of us, but of course we still ate it! Serving the food at the wedding was so quick. The meals came right out, without having to wait at all, so when it was time to dance...it was time to dance! ANd your guests will absolutley think you dropped a ton of money, the food is just so good! Our breakdown was....110 guests. 4 passed apps-crabcakes, scallops wrapped in bacon, proscuitto crostini, stuffed mushrooms. Mixed green salad with cheddar, apples, cranberrys. Entree-petit filet mignon with diver scallops or rosemary chicken(and about 80/20% on the filet/chicken). With tax and tip was just about $6,000. In Boston area, that's quite the deal! And the quality is not at all missing, our guests are still talking about how good it was! And a lot of couple are planning date nights to Michaels Harborside!
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    Casey Sent on 04/12/2010
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    We had enough money in our wedding budget so we decided we could afford the better caters. Harborside was our choice, and they had great food! Our guests all loved it! Everything went perfect, the food was done and ready on time, everyone was served on time, and everyone just had a blast. Would recommend to anyone that wants to cater a wedding, because they are well worth it.
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    Angela Sent on 10/29/2009
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    I can not say enough great things about Harborside Catering and The Phoenix Room, and especially about Maura McCarthy, the event coordinator that we worked with through the entire process. She was nothing less than awesome, she answered all of my questions in a timely manner and always made me feel as though my vision for my reception would come out exactly as I thought it would, and it DID! The food was top notch, she worked with us and the chef to create a customized menu for our fall wedding that was absolutely delicious, everyone raved about the food, it was nothing like typical "wedding food" and the portions were great too. Also, the value you get for the money is unmatched anywhere in the area. I did a lot of research and The Phoenix Room and Harborside will work with your budget to create exactly what it is you are looking for.

    The Phoenix Room itself is a GORGEOUS venue in downtown Newburyport. We had 120 guests and it was the perfect size for that many people. If you have less people it would work great for that too, but I wouldn't recommend it for a much larger wedding.

    Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better experience than I had with Harborside, The Phoenix Room, and Maura. I would seriously recommend that everyone get married there! =)
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    Mallory Sent on 10/15/2009
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    Harborside has great food! There were numerous options to choose from, and I would recommend them to others 100%. Maura offered great advice on how to make anything work based on your budget and was extremely helpful. They work exclusively with my reception site, Groveland Fairways, and they go hand in hand!
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    Rachel Sent on 06/02/2009
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    I cannot write enough wonderful things about my wedding at the Phoenix Room! Ok, the top 5:
    1. Maura was unbelievably amazing to work with - she made planning the reception nearly stress free!
    2. The food was FANTASTIC!! At least half my guests have said it was easily the best wedding food they've ever had (and one of those guests had recently been to a wedding that was featured on WE TV's Platinum weddings!)
    3. I loved having a custom menu of unbelieveably delicious foods - it was great to be able to present our favorite foods to our guests the way we enjoy them. And the prices were wonderful as well
    4. I have some VERY SEVERE food allergies. Harborside was able to make my entire wedding completely nut free, which was such a relief, and something was wasn't possible with many other vendors I looked at. They also cheerfully accommodated 2 guests who must follow strict gluten free diets and one raw food vegan!
    5. The Phoenix Room is a gorgeous space, and was sparkling clean for the wedding (particularly important to a type A like myself!). The gold chivari chairs (included in the rental fee) and gold chandelier lend an upscale touch to the gorgeous historical space. And with a room that makes such a strong decor statement, I barely spent anything on reception decor and the room was still gorgeous!
    I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. The Phoenix Room, Maura McCarthy and Harborside was the BEST!!!!!
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    Catherine Sent on 12/01/2008
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    Food was exceptionally good. And staff was phenomenal to work with. Thank you Maura and Thomas!
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    Jill Sent on 10/13/2008
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    We got married at the Phoenix Room in Newburyport, MA, which is owned and operated by Harborside Catering. I cannot say enough good things about the venue and the people who run it. Maura McCarthy, the event coordinator, is a dream come true for a busy bride. She is friendly, always responds promptly to email and phone calls, and went above and beyond to make our vision come to life. She worked tirelessly on our wedding weekend to assure that everything ran smoothly, while always maintaining a sense of calm.

    We had both our ceremony and reception at the Phoenix Room, which is a beautifully restored historic building (a former ship-captain's club in this quaint seaside New England town.) It was romantic and cozy. It has beautiful hardwood floors, working fireplaces, a stately chandelier, and is classy and charming without being gaudy or over the top. We had just under 100 guests, which is about all it seems would fit comfortably in the room if you need room for a band or dj and dancing.

    We thought the food was delicious and we heard from our guests that it was some of the best wedding food they'd ever tasted. If you want to try out the food, eat at one of the company's restaurants in Newburyport- Ten Center Street or Michael's Harborside. You won't be disappointed.

    The rental price includes tables, gold chivari chairs, floor length white or ivory linens, all china, silverware and glassware, and lots of extra little touches like votive candles placed around the bar area and hurricane candles in each window.

    A few things you should know: if you hold your ceremony here, your tables will need to be set up before the ceremony and pushed to the side. We thought this would look funny, but it ended up being barely noticeable. Also, there is no second room for cocktail hour. All of your guests will need to go outdoors for 15 minutes while the staff sets the room up for cocktail hour. This didn't bother us either- we just all went outside for a group photo.

    There is a lovely bridal suite on the top floor for getting ready and two bathrooms on the ground floor and on the top floor (no bathroom on the level where the reception is held.) Again, this was not a problem for us since we didn't have any elderly or handicapped guests.

    We chose the Phoenix Room because we love Newburyport, and the prices were far below anything we found in Boston. We could not have been happier with our decision.



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    Chandon Sent on 08/04/2008
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    Harborside Catering has delicious food and an absolutely marvelous event planner, Maura McCarthy. Maura acted as a wedding planner even though she wasn't officially hired or paid to do so at our event. I believe you can hire her to plan your wedding as well, and I'm sure she would be wonderful. She has good taste and is very conscientious. She quickly understood what we were hoping for at our wedding and managed to provide it. She was wonderful at keeping the stress level to a minimum. The food was delicious and everyone raved about it. After the wedding, all the close family members that were involved in setting up the wedding said, "Maura is great." If people are looking for a caterer and more, she is the person to see. I'd recommend her and Harborside to anyone in the area.
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    Di Sent on 08/26/2009
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    OUTSTANDING...It took me awhile to find exactly what I wanted. ...a rustic, cooked on site elegant dinner. Maura came through above and beyond also using quite a bit of produce from Smolak Farm--our venue A taste of our menu for your..bourbon marinated hanger steak, pineapple grilled chicken, summer veggies on the grill, a caprese salad with fresh mozzarella...and more.. So many compliments over and over on the food. Harborside provided mint ice tea with peaches and raspberries.
    The chef staff was amazing as they cooked in front of everyone! So talented, entertaining and kept an amazingly clean site.
    Maura McCarthy is a patient, creative, talented planner. I would select her to anything from A-ZZZZZ!
    Tasty. I really can't say enough about them. I wish I would have signed them when I first met them. They made my day easy.
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    Dana Sent on 06/02/2011
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    The food was amazing! Service was extremely well done, all guests at the table were all served at the same time. Servers were extremely attentive as well. Multiple guests commented on how hot the food was once served, it was definitely not sitting around at all. Portions were extremely generous as well. Some slight negatives were we did not get a variety of the passed h'ordourves during wedding pictures while the rest of the wedding had their cocktail hour, even though we were told we would have everything everyone else had. Some were passed, but not everything. Also, response times on some emails took awhile as they were experiencing email problems on their end. Also, we were supposed to have a cake/coffee station, rather than passing out cake for dessert, and some of the servers actually served cake to tables which caused some confusion. Overall, a great choice though.
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    Melissa Sent on 06/02/2008
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    The Phoenix Room was the perfect place for my wedding. Small and personal, it was incredibly easy to make sure everything was handled how we wanted it. With Maura we easily created a personalized wedding menu and she was able to help us lay out the plan for our day. All the details were handled wonderfully and the flexibility and professionalism shown was nothing short of exceptional. Everyone who attended our wedding still tells us that it was one of the most fun they have attended and they all rave about the food. I would absolutely recommend checking out the Pheonix Room and the catering by Harborside catering was phenomenal.
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    Juno Sent on 02/25/2010
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    Great Food! Awesome Service!
  • User1407022 Sent on 10/28/2013
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    The food was great not only during the tasting but at the actual wedding. Working as a chef it is hard to impress and all my guest that were either chefs or servers still talk about the food.
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    Juana Sent on 02/03/2010
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    the food was so cheap for us it was crazy. i really loved the fact they were very flexible and were able to organize themselves accordingly.
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    Lydia Sent on 09/17/2014
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    My rehearsal dinner was held at Michael's and it was a beautiful setting on a beautiful night. The staff was helpful and the food (especially the shrimp!) was delicious. Jen was fabulous to work with and helped us out with all of our needs. Thank you, thank you!
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    Michelle Sent on 03/14/2012
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    terrible!!!! The communication was horrible. The price was disgusting! I was appauled at what we were charged for! getting a simple call back from the manager when i was inquiring was near impossible! I should have known then, but alas I really wanted to have my reception there. I will say that the room was beautiful. that is the ONLY nice thing I have to say about the whole experience. I felt like my wedding was ruined because of them. always remember to go with your gut, if you aren't happy don't settle, like I did.
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