Elmcrest Banquets By Biancalana

This is most definitely a 5 star establishment very professional greeting as you walk in hat and coat check upon direction and yes was very professional as well the service was simply amazing I truly enjoyed my experience here.

We had our wedding reception here in May 2013. It was AMAZING.
We had Simon as our coordinator and he went above and beyond my expectations. At one point, one of the bus boys took my hankie and Simon went and dug through all the laundry to find it and even washed it for me. He made sure we had our own platter of food from cocktail hour since we were greeting our guests. He was absolutely the best!
The food here is so delicious! That is what sold me on this place. They were the ONLY banquet hall that let me try their food BEFORE booking them. We went to their monthly tasting and were blown away. And at our reception the food was just as good. It is also very plentiful. Not a single soul went away hungry from our wedding!
Overall, just a great venue and very easy to work with. People are still telling us how great our wedding was, even 2.5 years later. I totally recommend Elmcrest Banquets.

I was here for a professional organization formal dinner. When we arrived we were met by the valet parking attendants. As the parking is located in a private lot across the street. The valet staff was very friendly and drove my vehicle with care. The facility was carpeted and very clean. They also appear to be handicapped accessible. The hall itself was carpeted with a hard surface for dancing as well. A bar located in the corner was staffed by two nice and well trained bartenders. The meal was served family style with the entrees and sides being delivered to each table. The wait staff was very friendly and made several return trips to see if any entrée or side needed to be refilled. This was a very pleasurable experience, and was worth the drive across the state line.

Having moved out of Elmwood Park about 33 years ago, this place, as is, did not even exist. Biancalana’s existed, but not in this exact location, and not just as a banquet hall.
Fortunately, we did not valet park, because that is an accident waiting to happen. You can make a left turn, into the driveway, off of Grand, but if there are multiple events, the back-​up of cars is inevitable.
Décor is not a surprise, given it is Elmwood Park. Everyone was very nice. There is a coat check, clearly marked to the left of entry room.
The room we were in for a wedding reception, had a very funky, noticeable smell. Eventually when the room filled with people and the food was served, the smell dissipated. Unfortunately, during introductions and speeches, the 50^th birthday party in the room next door, was in full swing and became part of the wedding reception.
Servers did a good job of distributing the food in a timely manner so that one table was not finished with a course before the last table even received their food. Food was «okay» and served warm. This is not a unique problem for a banquet facility.
We were there to party, which we certainly did.
Back up at the coat check and valet parking upon leaving.

just went here the other day foe my high school senior banquet. the place looked really nice and kind of ur typical banquet hall. we had soup, salad, entrée consisting of green beans, baked potato, chicken and beef. all the food was pretty good and was so much that i couldnt finish it all. we also had vanilla ice cream for dessert. (i prefer vanilla bean to french vanilla but whatevs, no big deal) the servers were nice and took care of us pretty well. since this was a school function the dance floor was enough for us but if it was a wedding it wouldve been too small.

Your typical banquet facility with a few details that I believe make this place better than average.
First off, I must say I am not a fan of banquet type facilities. But we needed a place to hold a luncheon for approximately 100 people after my brothers funeral. We were recommended to Elmcrest by a couple of sources, our funeral director and the cemetary which is in close proximity to the Elmcrest. The staff at Elmcrest was absolutely wonderful to deal with. They were friendly, professional and beyond accomodating.
The service the day of the luncheon was very good. The servers were prompt and attentive and although I did not get a chance to eat much all of our guests really raved about the food. And yes, they RAVED about it. Many said that the Grecian style chicken lemon soup was the best that they had ever had. And coming from a whole room full of Greeks, that is saying a lot! We had a family style menu of beef and chicken and everyone really liked the meat. I am a vegetarian but I can tell you that I was surprised to see the large pieces of Chicken that were served.
I felt that the beer selection was a bit lacking and I wasnt crazy about the table wine… but I do confess to being a bit of a snob in the alcohol department. Everyone else felt the wine was just fine.
All in all, I felt that Elmcrest was a supurb choice for our luncheon and I would recommend them to anyone needing a similar function in that area.

We had our wedding reception here in April of 09. My friend had had hers there the previous year and honestly I went back because the soup was so amazing.
The price was beyond amazing. I felt like I should have paid at least $ 50 more a person. Everyone got more than enough food and a few had more than enough drinks.
The staff was super nice.
Thank you Elmcrest. You guys made my day

i attended an event catered by elmcrest yesterday. i was very satisfied with the quality of the food. my favorite was the potatoes. they were delish, and i couldn’t get enough. the were seasoned perfectly, and was perfectly moist– not drenched, not dry.
the ham & beef were good, i didn’t have as much of those, however. but the portion i did have, it was great.
thanks for the teriffic food. everyone was happy about the variety, and quality of the good eats.

I just ordered outside catering from Biancalana for a baby shower that I threw yesterday. I had ordered for 50 people though I had expected 80 people for the event. To my surprise, about 90 actually attended. However, I had also ordered outside food from other locations, and some guests had brought in their own dishes.
I had ordered the basic outside catering which came up to about $ 7/​person, not including tax. This included 2 choices of entrees, 2 choices of sides, rolls, garden salad, utensils, napkins, serving spoons, and plates. We ordered Italian beef, baked ham, roasted potatoes, and mixed veggies. People loved the food. They kept commenting about it throughout the event.
By the end of the party, there were tons of leftovers. Probably enough to feed another 50 people! I would definitely order from Biancalana again.

Better late then never, my husband and I had our wedding reception back in March 2009. My brother also had his wedding reception there as well. We had a great experience. Before the wedding you are allowed to go for a sample of their food, drinks, and dessert. You are also welcome to take about 4 people with you (I don’t remember the exact number). The lady that assisted me on the phone was very friendly and helpful. On the day of the reception, everything was to our liking. They would ask us if we needed anything and were there to help our every need. Before we left, they had already packed up our wedding cake topper and our toast glasses. They cut our wedding cake so that everyone could take a piece as they exited out. I would definitely recommend this banquet hall to anyone that asks. We had a great experience both times that we attended. Not one complaint.

This past weekend I returned to Elmcrest for the first time since we had our wedding reception here 9 years ago. We were attending our friend’s baptism party. It didn’t take long from the moment that I walked in to remember why we picked this place for our wedding banquet. The spacious front entrance, the beautiful carpeting and clean floors. The elegant dining room does not have the gaudy, bejeweled chandeliers you see at other banquet halls.
The locals still call it Biancalana’s, which was the name of the original restaurant about 15 years ago. It got torn down and replaced by the Elmcrest, though the Biancalana family continues to own it.
While they can serve meals family style, our luncheon happened to be served by the plate. The meal began with a fresh-​baked loaf of bread, which was so good it made it hard to take just 1. People at my table passed the bread around repeatedly. I took 3 or 4 pieces. Italians really know good bread. And the softened butter was extruded into the shape of flower blossoms on leaves. Their salad was decent with enough ranch dressing piled on. Iceberg lettuce, tomato wedges and some cucumber slices don’t impress me. However, I loved their minestrone with noodles.
Our waiter working the table was pretty reliable, bringing us drinks and anything else we needed promptly. One complaint on the drinks. The Coke and Diet Coke are not really Coke. We’re thinking it had to be some knockoff brand, because the flavor was not quite right.
On to the main course… Their chicken breast with mushrooms was very good. Their roast beef, which was served family style on a platter, did not attract much interest from others at my table. That just left me more to enjoy. The roast beef slices really were the highlight of the entire meal. Excellent texture, not chewy or veiny at all. I passed up some of the chicken to have more of it. Best of all, at the end of the meal, they allowed us to take it home too. I got to enjoy the leftover roast beef for dinner the next 2 days.
Valet parking across the street and curbside service in front of the restaurant make parking a breeze.
And contrary to the review by Emily C from last year, there is no smoking here anymore.

Just got back from a retirement party here. What can I say, the décor reminds you of something out of a spoof on Italians, pink formica countertops in the ladies’, silk flowers, red carpet, lots of ashtrays.
My biggest complaint was the smoking, by everyone — but hey that was the guests (though they could require no smoking here — but when half of the guests are police or firemen I guess you can’t say much).
The food was excellent as always, my inlaws get a lot of parties catered from here, and it is pretty darn good.
The servers need a refersher course on how to serve. #1 tip, don’t throw the food down so hard that soup splashes all over the charger #2 the are multiple utensils because they go with each course. There is no need to remove the salad fork from a plate to take it because there is a dinner fork for the entrée, etc.
However, these matters aside, the servers were friendly and accomodating and kept up with a 6 year old who was told by the guest of honor that he could eat as many bread baskets as he wanted (he at 2 worth).

For the best time ever…
1) Book at room at Elmcrest for your big, fat, italian wedding shower (and eat damned decent italian food in a charmingly cheesy room).
2) Add about one hundred italian women.
3) Talk with your hands all night.
I’ll never have that much fun again.