House Of Broel

Proceed With Caution: The venue is nice and my groom and I had a very professional and attentive attendant, Denise. The D.J. (Carl) was awesome and did a great job. The food was plentiful and good. Drinks were good. But unfortunately the unprofessional actions of the owner is the reason I have to give this rating. I want to give as much detail as possible to explain my low rating so apologize for the lengthy review. First, after being told about them in writing, Ms. Broel was agitated that there were children there and expressed this to several people. She actually told the groom that she «had no idea» there would be children there. She was clearly unhappy that they were there and complained about them. It was very upsetting since they were my grandchildren. Even if they weren’t part of the wedding party they would have been there. State up front if you don’t want children in your venue. It was never stated! Second, I had several guests and family members who reported that they felt they were treated rudely by the owner for one thing or another. Specifically, my son-​in-​law was yelled at by the owner for using the wrong door to enter the reception from the outside garden. There was no signage indicating that guests were to not use the door. Very disappointed that my guests and family were stressed out. Third, Ms. Broel, at the end of the reception, loudly and in front of several people informed me that I still owed her money for her services as Officiant and gratuities for her staff (which was all discussed up front and agreed to). My problem is that she should have just pulled me aside and quietly reminded me of the fees owed. There was no need to shout it out in front of everyone. It’s not like I was leaving, I was still inside and standing right in front of her when the outburst occurred. I have no idea what prompted it, but it was uncalled for, unprofessional and completely rude. My daughter and friend standing right next to me were embarrassed and quietly walked out the front door feeling very uncomfortable. Fourth, my entire (small) wedding party (2 bridesmaids, 2 groomsmen, flower girl and ring bearer) reported that the short rehearsal before the ceremony was very stressful and that Ms. Broel was clearly agitated and stressed and barking out orders to everyone and being extremely rude when they didn’t know where they were supposed to stand. There was no other rehearsal… how were they supposed to know until they were told. We were all on time, we were all ready and they all felt like she was extremely agitated. Whatever the reason for her stress, it was totally unprofessional to take it out on my bridal party! I wrote a short review on a piece of paper before I left which said that everything was wonderful. I didn’t find out about everyone’s experiences until that night and the next day. The outburst regarding the money didn’t really set in with me until my daughter pulled me aside after I left the building and asked what was that all about. I then realized how many people actually heard it and was so embarrassed that such an outburst happened. I emailed Ms. Broel and gave her the opportunity to address everything. She only addressed the incident regarding the children and said that it was a misunderstanding. Nothing else was addressed.

I attended a dinner at the House of Broel this past weekend. The venue is as unique as you can imagine — a Victorian home filled with doll houses and event spaces. The place had quirky people on staff and hosted a fun-​filled, exciting event. The food was average — nothing really wowed me. We didn’t have enough to eat and left to head through a drive thru on the way home. That being said, everyone had a lovely time at the event because we all wanted to be together.
We also were given a tour of the doll houses and frog collection throughout the house. It was extremely «lively» and honestly a bit creepy. I wouldn’t take a lot of kids on that tour if they’re afraid of dolls!!!

In New Orleans the party doesn’t stop, but at the House of Broel, they’ll shut off the lights and kick you out when they’re ready to go. A tip to keep in mind: have an after party location decided!
The space is lovely. It has a very antique NOLA feel. If you’re looking for culture, this is a great spot for it! House of Broel is located on the St. Charles streetcar line, with steps leading up to the entrance. There is also a beautiful lit courtyard with tables and chairs in the rear.
The bartenders are courteous and heavy handed with a good selection to choose from. Overall, the staff was attentive and friendly.
There are several rooms that separate the dance floor from a place to kick back with your cocktail and some small bites while you chat with others in attendance. There is also a bridal room upstairs for any needs in wardrobe changes or just a moment to take a short rest.
It’s a nice place for an event!

I attended a wedding here, and the site was beautiful. The staff was excellent, and the wedding went off without a hitch. The main drawback was that the reception space inside the house, from the dance floor to the bar to the room where the food was set up, was cramped, and the wedding guests were scattered across a handful of rooms. It was hard to know what was going on from one room to another. Everything was beautiful, but the layout of the space made the wedding logistically hard to navigate. With everyone milling around and talking, it was easy to get trapped in rooms without a way out.

I have been to several splendid events here over the years. They have a beautiful ballroom for events where live bands can set up and where we enjoyed some dancing.
I really liked how the house is conveniently located on St Charles next to many hotels and the St Charles Streetcar line.
The tour guide of the house reeks of Southern charm, he was so friendly and entertaining. He explained to us all the history of the home and the Madame that owns it. Apparently he is also an amazing chef!
I loved the back patio where we could sit outside and enjoy the frog pond as well! I can’t wait to go back.

We had our wedding reception at House of Broel in February. Everything was exceptional. The food was great. Everything was included in our package, no surprises. They did a good job on the bar and had an extraordinarily attentive waitstaff. The owner, Bonnie Broel even helped me with planning issues that were not even remotely connected to the reception– very helpful, and very connected in the community.
House of Broel has a tremendous history and charm that adds a lot to the event. Yes, the ballroom is small, but we had approximately 70 guests and the space was absolutely perfect.
Bonnie definitely does things her way. That’s how we ended up with a flawless event. She manages every iota of event prep for you. Even though the menu and the program is basically set, Bonnie is flexible where it counts– she modified her whole menu to accommodate a number of my gluten-​free guests.
Our package included:
cake
dj
spirits
food (tray service and buffet)
champagne toast
We had our ceremony down the street at Zion Lutheran Church, then we did a second line down St. Charles to arrive at House of Broel. It was just perfect, Bonnie and her staff greeted us at the door and made the whole party feel very special.
In any event, you’ll need a photographer, and have them come by and talk to Bonnie ahead of time.
This is not the place to experiment with cute or trendy wedding ideas, this is a classy place with a set program that works well at an incredible value.

Came here for a Mardi Gras party event. It’s along the St Charles parade route, so it’s automatically a convenient venue (clean bathrooms? drinks? food? yay!).
The courtyard wasn’t open, nor was the upstairs. That was a little disappointing since I heard such awesome things about the creepy dolls.
Still, efficient bartenders with good drinks, plenty of food, and clean bathrooms, that earns 4 stars in my books.
The bottom floor of the house itself is actually pretty cool, and I could see this being used very effectively for a beautiful wedding.

Future wife and I recently went here to take a tour and find out about their wedding event options. Two things really struck me: the owner seemed very set in her ways, and that the place wasn’t as well maintained as it could be. These two things ultimately turned us off to having our wedding here.
To expand a bit, the owner (at least I assume she is the owner) Bonnie is a typical older Southern lady. You could tell that they do things a certain way at House of Broel, and she bristled whenever I tried to gently ask her about changing some things.
For example, she was very insistent on the timeline of the day, namely that my FW and I go sign a marriage license after the ceremony. When I pointed out to her that we are gay and gay marriage is illegal in Louisiana, she insisted that we sign a marriage certificate or something, even though it would be meaningless and we explained that we didn’t really feel that it was necessary. When I mentioned that we had been thinking about doing a sit-​down dinner reception, she replied that we just don’t *do* such things in the south. Um, okaaaaay. She kept mentioning having a DJ although we stated a few times that we were having an iPod reception to cut down on costs. When I mentioned that my future mother in law was excited about doing the flowers and asked her if we could put in our own arrangements, she said that most people liked the silk flowers that are already there because they didn’t have to do anything. She also ANSWERED HER CELL PHONE in the middle of our meeting. WTF! She was talking about what she wanted for lunch with the person on the other end, so it’s not like it was an important phone call.
The house itself is beautiful, but it feels cluttered and there are certain parts of it that have seen better days. The dolls everywhere were, quite frankly, creepy although the level of detail in the dollhouses was beautiful.
This place would be great for someone who wants a package wedding in every sense of the word. If you want every decision already made for you, and want a wedding that is a good value for the money, then House of Broel is for you. If you’re OK with being a doormat in every detail of your wedding and want basically all of the wedding planning done for you, this place is for you. If you prefer to do things your own way, then maybe stay away.

I’ve been here for a wedding and a few other events. Its an interesting Victorian house and there are some rather eclectic decorations inside along with the sort of spooky «Doll House Museum.» The outside courtyard is a nice space for an event and makes a good wedding spot. This is definitely a uniquely New Orleans location to host any type of event.

The house is gorgeous. They host weddings there, which is cool. (Don’t expect to host a whole lot of dancing at your wedding; the «ballroom» is quite small.)
As for the tour: I wouldn’t spend $ 10 on that. (Except, I did.) Although our guide was very friendly, I didn’t feel that I had the time to look at everything at my own pace. (She even commented that it was «too much to see in one visit.»)
The doll houses are truly wonderful, though!
For around $ 5, I’d go back, but not for $ 10.

Minus one star because the door was locked and I had to keep trying to twist the handle until the tour guide opened the door.
Not the tour we expected (we were thinking it was going to be a self guided tour) but our guide was friendly and informative. $ 10 per person for a tour for about 1 hour, nobody else was with us not sure if that’s normal but good bang for your buck and you get to see hand crafted dolls and figurines.

We recently held our wedding here on a Sat afternoon. I can’t say enough about how wonderful the food, the service and the ambience was. It was the best day of our lives thanks to Miss Bonnie Broel and the folks at the House of Broel. We married outside in Ms. Broel’s gorgeous courtyard with Jerry Embree playing saxophone during the reception and as the guests arrived. Jerry’s band the taste of New orleans played at the reception and all my guests said it was the best and most fun wedding they’ve ever been to! The band played in the gorgeous ballroom and I truly felt like a princess! You must see this place to believe how elegant it is! I grew up in Nawlins but live in Ca and can’t imagine a more Nawlinsy wedding than we had here!
Ms. Broel’s mansion is so gorgeous and elegant and she is a real pro who puts you right at ease and knows how to put on a wedding… her package is also very reasonably priced! I couldn’t believe it!
Thanks so much for all! Debbie and Charlie Dragna!