Anthony’s Pier 9 Banquet Hall

I am only reviewing the Easter brunch that they have here. My family and I have been coming here for the Easter brunch for many years. I personally think this place is outstanding. For the amount of guests they have at any one given time, this place runs like a well oiled machine. The food is very high quality and the variety is terrific. They are never out of any item at any time from what I observed. Yesterday we were here for Easter and we had requested a table near the buffet due to a family member with a handicap. I was expecting a slight headache with this but they literally put us right in front of the buffet. That is the main reason why I am writing this. Thank you Anthony’s Pier 9. You truly are a wonderful asset to Orange County.

We had high hopes for Anthony’s Pier 9. The venue is gorgeous, but our experience was very disappointing.
Anthony’s Pier 9’s delays resulted in lost time (money). We were ready for the ceremony by 2pm sharp. Our sales rep called us out 20min late. We were concerned and asked why, but no reason was given, they assured us time would be extended to compensate. The ceremony started about 2:20pm and ended by 2:50pm.
40min later our sales rep argued that cocktail hour should still end at 3:30pm, no extension! After expressing our frustration, she extended it another 15 min.
15min later, we were waiting again to be called out. 20min went by and we were told they were «having difficulty moving guests», but our guests did not agree with this. This resulted in an additional delay, which was not added to our reception time. We lost video coverage of the father/​daughter dance and cutting of the cake due to these delays because our videographers were scheduled until a certain time.
Our request to be careful with my moms hand-​made sugar flowers from our cake as a keepsake, was not honored and flowers were damaged as a result of being tossed into the box. Two of our tables were not served cake and had to ask for it. On top of that, our guests felt the waitresses were rude.
**My documented sesame allergy was NOT taken seriously and there was cross contamination in my food! I immediately had irregular heartbeats, headache, faintness, bowel movements and numbness in my extremities that lasted the entire night! Thank GOD I only took one bite or I could have ended up in the hospital. I was SO upset about this.
We reached out to the manager with our complaints and waited months with no response. After a few more attempts to connect, he emailed us saying he was «sorry that Anthony’s Pier 9 did not meet our expectations and wished us the best».
I felt my complaints were not at all taken seriously.
Would never recommend.

Yes, Anthony’s Pier Nine is definitely as good as it gets. My daughter’s wedding was held there yesterday, and honestly, it was a perfect event put together by a personable with a picture perfect idea of loveliness. Our compliments++++ to Chip and company for making dishes that had guests going up to the buffet for seconds and thirds. Thank you Wanda for organizing the affairs and George for always being there to help anyone in need. In fact, thank you to the entire Staff for making this a one in a million afternoon.– Bonnie Lieberman, Beacon

They cut us short by an hour for our wedding reception despite my clear objection and our «honeymoon suite» was unfinished at a hotel ripped apart by construction. Will update post with the case # for the lawsuit in the near future.

My wife and I had our wedding reception here 26 years ago and since then I have been here and eaten here at many occasions and business events since. This time we came for the fixed price Thanksgiving dinner buffet. While there were things I would definitely change, overall I thought the meal was fantastic.
My family was given a friendly greeting as we approached the hostess. While we had reservations for 1:00pm, the time the buffet was to begin, there were already people seated and eating. There was a phalanx of employees, all impeccably dressed in a line as we entered. One broke off and brought us to our assigned table and assigned server. A woman in a tuxedo-​like outfit who explained that she was there to help us with anything we needed. We were given a drink menu, placed our drink order and proceeded to the buffett.
The Main Meal — Terrific. Fresh carved turkey breast with all the trimmings, fresh carved prime rib, ham, fish dishes, pasta dishes, vegetable dishes, mashed potatoes, soup, fresh rolls and salads. We tried it all and it was all great. There were little touches that stood out. While most people like stuffing cooked outside of the bird these days, for those of us who prefer dark meat and stuffing from the bird, the thighs were de-​boned, stuffed, roasted and sliced. I couldn’t get enough. They even had turkey drumsticks for those so inclined. Outside of the overwhelming taste of modified food starch in the corn chowder, it was all just perfect. We has more than our fill. Nothing disappointed.
The Service — Our server, Beth, did a fantastic job. She explained our selections, removed our dirty dishes with amazing speed and frequently told us to take our time and not rush. She really made us feel as though we were at home, even taking pictures of my family when asked. She was genuinely nice and it was obvious that she enjoyed her job. As we were enjoying conversation after our meal I ordered a Hard Cider as I never had it before. I ended up having an allergic reaction to it after the first sip. Nothing life threatening outside of a very, very flushed face. My daughter finished the drink and enjoyed it. Our server insisted we not pay for the drink and removed it from the check.
The Desserts — This was the one downside, all because of their choice of «whipped topping». The desert servers called this substance whipped cream but it wasn’t. Not even a good imitation; and it was on everything. Where it had been put on slices of pie and into tarts that were later refrigerated it became a solid lump of chewy oil. On items that hadn’t been refridgerated it coated our tongues and mouths with a greasy coating. It was nasty. Outside of that the cheesecake was delicious, the chocolate covered strawberries were good and my son loved the apple crumble and the Bananas Foster. We didn’t like the brownie and the rice pudding was just OK. The vanilla ice cream — what was called vanilla ice cream — was another item, like the «whipped cream», that was artificial and nasty.
Overall it was well worth the money, we’d do it again and we’d recommend it to others.

We came here for a wedding, we had a decent time. The food was alright, nothing spectacular.
I thought the staff were very far sub-​par. The biggest complaint with the wedding was that we had an hour gap between cocktail hour and being served in the dinning room. Also, the bartenders seemed poorly skilled at best. One might wait at the bar up to 20 minutes where newcomers were served first.
Most egregious, we were given wine bottles with our name on them as wedding favors. All mostly sealed. The staff tried to clear these away from our tables, and gave attitudes when some guests asked for them back.
And they also locked the door on the smokers, repeatedly. Just seemed like they had very sloppy staff.

Beautiful space, but the service has been going downhill. I have been to many events here and each time they get more crowded and the service gets slower. I attended an Easter Sunday brunch and there were dirty plates that stayed on the table for over an hour, even when the waitress was asked to take them.

BEAUTIFUL venu! very spacious and classy! Décor is amazing! Attended a wedding in September so the weather was beautiful… appetizers and desert were served outside in the veranda which adds another beautiful charm to your experience!

The «signature» sangria tastes a lot like crappy red wine from a box with some fruit floating in it (I may be on to something there…) Other than that, nice place. Good service.

Anthony’s Pier 9 is real asset for Orange County. I’ve been to countless business functions, dinners and gala“s at this OC mainstay. The staff is quick, efficient and friendly. They know how to manage a crowd and the food is always good. Parking is tight, but AP9 is the only large banquet hall in the region. I wish they had an Anthony’s Pier 9 on the other side of the county.

Now this is a catering hall!
Sucky location, beautiful place. I mean Beautiful.
Even the hall where you walk in is so classy. The waiting areas and bathrooms, you feel very pampered.
Cocktail and venetian hour were fantastic. Main courses were so-​so. You’ve got to go to the Chrystal Room! That’s the place to have a memorable wedding. A+.

I’ve gone to three weddings here and the place looks really nice but the food is terrible. At first I thought it was just the hosts of the party being cheap but having been to this place so much recently I haven’t tasted any food worth while.

Impressive banquet hall found wayyy out in the boonies. Somewhat chic. Definitely Anthony’s has a few memorable features to their banquet rooms.
For instance, their «Crystal room». Dimly lit waiting room, serves drinks, cool, crystal chandeliers all about. Also the main banquet hall. Has direct access to a bar which can be accessed.
OR if needed, hidden from sight.? An up and down divider which can completely disguise the bar.
There was a full stage with a special booth that rises from a lower floor. For example, the reception I attended. The newly weds sat in this booth that rose from the ground, while flaming sparklers shot wildly into the air. Pretty wild.
One of the transition rooms, the garden themed area used for appetizers, they had a/​c venting, but it could not be felt. Too many windows allowing outside light in, garden theme seemed a bit tacky.