Orchard Park Country Club

My family has been a member of this establishment for several years now. And the list of our grievances with the place will exceed the allotted space for a review. Don’t get me wrong, we are patrons of local restaurants, diners, breakfast houses, etc. as well as the finer restaurants so we are not overly needy. But we do want quality, and that is one item you will NOT get at this country club. The attentiveness of the staff is mixed: One moment they are all over you, and another time they will snub you with sour faces. The chef knows what he is doing, but when you eat his food you get the sense that he prepares everything a month in advance and microwaves the dishes upon request. The waitstaff in the Grill Room is indescribable: they tend to slap you on the back and call you «honey» and wink at you, others will be scaredly running away and hiding in the corners upon spotting you. They tend to ignore your requests or special needs: on one occasion my significant other had asked for a glass of ice on the side of his drink and the server gave him a blank stare, turned around and walked away. No ice ever made it to the table… Now how difficult is it to bring a glass of ice? Similarly, the bartender is flat out refusing to honor your requests to lighten up on the alcohol usage in the drinks. We have asked EVERY SINGLE TIME to get the head waiter to make our Cosmos, and the bar tender refuses, makes it himself, and sends us undrinkable poisonous mixture that you can easily pour into the gas tank (and the car will run).
On the positives, the Grill Room and the ballroom are very nice since they have been recently renovated. The manager is consistently pleasant and attentive, but that’s about all of the positives that I have to say for this place. This establishment has table cloths and napkins which I get the distinct feeling they had purchased in a hospital back in the 80’s, and butter knives are something nonexistent. I do not wish to even mention the pool and its service!

I’m not usually a «Country Club Kinda Gal». I mean… sure I eat in fancy-​schmancy places once in a while (as in pretty frequently), but COUNTRY CLUBS? Hey… I’m a jeans and sneakers person. I’ve never golfed in my life (except for «Putt-​Putt»). Most of the tennis I play is on my driveway with my son… with the net and boundaries drawn with chalk.
But hey… I was invited by a guy who is a member to join him and his family for dinner. And, I was curious. AND, I like this guy. So I put on a pair of khakis and loafers and a preppy sweater (gotta look like I belong) and made the drive to the South-​towns.
Well, my friends… this place is GORGEOUS! The grounds are like something out of a fairy tale… rolling hills and trees and flowers. There’s a golf course and tennis courts and a swimming pool and a club house. Everything I’ve never really experienced. And once inside the restaurant and banquet area I was forced to glance around in awe. I mean… it looks like it’s been recently redone, yet it feels kind of old… you know… that understated elegance. And although the rooms are huge and bright (thanks to lots and lots of very large windows) it also feels warm and welcome in there. And the service is terrific. Of course the guy and his family are members, so they are known… but even I… the stranger… was made to feel welcome… like I BELONGED (gotta love that!)
Now me being a foodie, I happily looked over the wine list and the menu and was impressed by both. Great wines both domestic and international… by the bottle and by the glass. And the menu had lots and lots of salads and appetizers and entrees to choose from. Everything seemed kind of traditional, but kicked up a notch with some more contemporary ingredients.
I started with a wonderful glass of California Pinot Noir (better than those from Oregon, in my opinion). WONDERFUL bread and rolls were brought to the table along with an AMAZING trio of butters. One was regular whipped butter, one was an herbed butter, and the last (always save the best for last) was a hot pepper butter. SPICY and delicious I could have that spread on every sandwich for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.
For an appetizer I chose the «Chopped Salad»: romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes, roasted red peppers, and cubes of feta cheese. YUM! It was accompanied by a little cup of raspberry vinaigrette, but I thought that just wouldn’t go… so I requested balsamic vinaigrette and it was brought to me lickity split.
It was difficult to choose an entrée among all of those chicken and fish and pasta and steak and… items, but finally picked the sliced flank steak with demi-​glaze, garlic mashed potatoes, and carrots. The meat was cooked to my specifications, but it was honestly a bit lacking in flavor. It could have used some marinating or a good old rubbing with pepper. Lucky for the demi-​glaze. The potatoes and carrots were PERFECT though… especially the carrots. They were long and thin and still had their little green caps on and were cooked to the point of perfect tender crunch.
When it was time for dessert I felt like I was back in 1980 when the dessert tray was brought to the table. Everything looked wonderful though, and I chose a mini chocolate walnut cake and asked for a scoop of vanilla ice cream to accompany it. That cake was DELICIOUS! Dense and flavorful… and the addition of ice cream made me feel like I was at a fancy birthday party. Sometimes, I guess, it’s nice to feel like a «Country Club Gal»!

Beautiful space! Was there as a guest, but hope to be back soon. Great parking. Great environment.