Looking for venue near Reading, MA

[gknow1]

Help..........! I am trying to plan my sister's bridal shower around the Reading, MA area. Looking for somewhere (30-40 people) for brunch/lunch. Any suggestions would be REALLY appreciated as I am not local and not familiar with the area at all. Thanks.

[RoyRon]

I would suggest trying the Horse Show Grill in North Reading. I'm not sure if they could accomodate a private party but it's a nice place and they serve a variety of American food with some quite good BBQ specialties. Another place that I feel is much better than the Mandarin in Reading is the Szechuan Garden right off Rte 128 in Woburn. They have a very nice function room on the second floor of and old colonial house and the manager, Michael, will work with you to put a nice menu together. The food is very good.

[TheWizard]

Most restaurants right in Reading aren't all that large, so 40 for lunch could fill places up.
You might try Kitty's up in North Reading http://www.kittysrestaurant.com/
They've been there for a hundred years and have a good local following...

[sinned61]

Kitty's should be avoided.......at any cost!

[gknow1]

Thanks for all of your replies! Anyone know anything about Thomson Country Club?

[Juswright]

I am in the area often – all these place are close to Reading.

Focaccia
http://www.focacciafood.com/home.asp
Café Scadrille
http://www.cafeescadrille.com
Hillview
http://www.hillviewcountryclub.com/in...

[sinned61]

I suggest avoiding Focaccia at all costs.....food is NOT VERY GOOD!
Also, it's Cafe Escadrille (more upscale).

[TheWizard]

Cafe Escadrille is OK, but it's 7 miles away on Rte 3A in Burlington.

[MenuPorn]

Agree...Focaccia is terrible. Cafe Escadrille has pretty good function food (substandard to its regular food) but it could be a budget buster.

[Ali G]

I've had several lunches and a few dinners at Focaccia and have never had a bad meal. They also have a separate room/lounge that may be available for a shower. I would check them out.

We have had some department lunches at the Mandarin Reading. It's your basic American Chinese, but the food has always tasted fresh and a notch above most Chinese places.

[sinned61]

Yes! Mandarin is good too! good call (they are closed right now for major renovations, but should be open in a couple weeks)

As for Focaccia,we went there in June or July, had never been, played it safe with the veal and it was of shoe-leather quality. The 5 other people in my group were also VERY disappointed with thier meals. I had high hopes....

[lulu806]

We've had a couple of family functions, including our rehearsal dinner, in the upstairs room at Harrington's in Wakefield. Food and service were good.

[sinned61]

Is there any specific food you favor? Asian? Italian? or???

[gknow1]

no Sushi for sure. American or Italian would probably be the safest bet. Thanks for asking.

[sinned61]

Well there is an Italian place in Reading Sq called Venetian Moon. You could inquire there. I know that Emperors Choice Asian has a small function room that would fit your group. Both places have quality food in my opinion.

http://www.venetianmoon.com/

http://www.ecreading.com/