Leonard’s Palazzo

i had my high school senior prom here. then i got a job valeting here 2 years later. thought my life would turn out different

Returned for yet another wedding. When I saw that it was here, I thought «oh no» but, at the prompting of my wife, I decided to keep an open mind.
Nope, still terrible.

Great spot for your event, be it a wedding/​reception, corporate event, birthday party, etc. The place is opulent (albeit slightly dated/​worn these days) and very spacious even for larger parties where attendees number into the hundreds. The waitstaff and management crew take great care of you. The food they’ve offered for multiple events for which I’ve come here has been very good.
There is also a HUGE parking lot and access is great since they’re locate on Norther Blvd. near Lakeville Road. Valet park is available or you can self-​park if you really want to (but you may get some glances from the valets if you do).
I hope they will spend some money to do some sprucing up/​renovations. Only downside with that would the expected rate increase if you’re trying to book an event there. Hey, someone has to pay for it and with the size of the place, renovations aren’t likely to come cheap!
I’ve always been a fan of Leonard’s and that hasn’t changed.

Large catering hall with gracious staff and parking galore.
Food is good. Not as good as the Mandarin Oriental, but probably ¼ the costs.

I was expecting bad service & food from previous reviewers but it was not bad at all. You really can’t judge it based on other people’s bad experience. You also have the option of self-​parking or valet.

Very beautiful place.
But don’t fall for this wedding factory.
Prepare for chaos and confused staff. Expect guests from multiple weddings and events all running into each other.

Beautiful elegant hall. I fell in love with the walkway to the bathroom. It’s just like you’re walking through an art gallery! Outside areas are absolutely beautiful and staff is very attentive and kind. The bars are surrounded by comfy lounge chairs. Outside is just amazing. Def love this place!

Last night was horrible.
I don’t usually throw the H-​word around like that, especially when it comes to happy occasions like a friend’s wedding, but if the event I’d attended at Leonard’s yesterday had been my special day, I’m certain that I would have been in tears. It all started with a disorganized ceremony, where the parents of the bride and groom and the bridal party were miscued by the attendants, leading to some awkward walk-​ins and do-​overs. The guests were then told to head to cocktail hour the next hallway over but once we got there, the door was closed and a woman in front told us they weren’t quite ready to receive guests yet. For the next fifteen minutes, a traffic jam of 100+ guests stood, waiting to get into a cocktail room that ended up being smaller than the hallway. That wasn’t the end of it — they ran out of forks and plates so that our family ended up hanging onto our dirty plates when we went back up for refills. I overhead another guest asking for more plates, to which a server shrugged and said, «I have no idea. Ask someone else.» The waitresses were so eager to clean up that they came by and tried to take the plates from us multiple times, EVEN AS our forks were going into the food. Another sloshed sauce all over our escort cards while she removed our plate, and when she saw me trying to wipe it off with a napkin, she rolled her eyes and muttered, «It’s just paper.»
The reception wasn’t much better. We were ushered to a room next door not much larger than the cocktail room, so that one of the servers kept bumping into my fiancé’s chair as she walked by. The eager beaver waitresses were back again in this room, clearing half-​filled champagne glasses the second the toasts were done and removing pasta dishes while the fork was on my way to my mouth. Another guest had his salad plate practically tossed to his table space, so that the whole thing topped over. The acoustics of the room were just awful, to the point where I ended the night with a ruptured eardrum (no joke — a trip to the ER this morning confirmed it). The food was mediocre, and for whatever reason, our entrees were given to us at 10:00 at night, during the last hour of the wedding, when most guests are getting ready to wind down and head home. Everything was lukewarm and over salted, and while I saw a few guests getting it packed up so they could take their meals home, I didn’t bother.
At far glance, Leonard’s looks like a ritzy venue, with beautiful décor and plenty of space, but the details are in the pudding. Much of the plates and silverware were stained (you know, once we could actually find stuff to eat on), and every chair or sofa that I sat in showed signs of aging — stains, small tears, and spotting. The service here leaves much to be desired and there’s no level of professionalism amongst the staff members. Some of the managerial staff chatted and laughed loudly as they set up the space, or made no effort to try to hide their frustration, especially with some of the first-​generation guests at our table who weren’t able to easily communicate their entrée selections. There were several weddings running simultaneously here and it made my fiancé and I wonder whether this wedding was a result of the staff being stretched too thin or if this was just poor training. We’ve already chosen our venue, but I know that if we were searching for a place to host our special day, I’d run far, far away from this place.

Leonard’s Palazzo is a great venue for parties, galas, and formal dinners. The location is very good if you like to drive (they have valet service and are located right off Northern Boulevard). The food and wait staff were excellent, but their valet service was slow to bring back our car. I had their filet mignon and it was tender and juicy. Would recommend for large family events, corporate parties, and weddings.

I had my wedding here back in 2008 when they were called Leonard’s La Dolce Vita. The hall is absolutely beautiful and the food was fantastic.
We had our ceremony in a corner room on the first floor, which was beautiful. Our cocktail hour and a half and reception were in two separate rooms located side by side upstairs.
We went over the top in many aspects. We had a 9 piece band (After Hours Orchestra) who were amazing! Lighting around the room that changed colors. A giant 8 tier cake from a food network star. Custom linens that mimicked a tropical sea.
We had our wedding on a Friday night and added so many extras to our cocktail hour and a half. We had sushi chefs, a lobster and seafood bar and much much more.
We added the full viennese hour at the end which was awesome! The side doors of the reception room opened up and revealed a room full of delicious desserts! To this day people still say that it was the best food that they’ve ever had at a wedding.
The outside vendors who did our linens were able to bring them to the hall in advance for a trial run. We also added tropical center pieces that we were able to bring in for a trial run. We were even able to come in one day to practice a choreographed first dance on their dance floor. The hall was very accommodating to us.
Our wedding at Leonard’s was great overall and we would recommend them to anyone, but there were a few issues. We were told by everyone that we know that the food at the wedding is ours, so what ever is left over should be packed up for us. However, according to the hall they can’t do that because its is and I quote «a health code violation». Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. We never looked any further into it, but we were disappointed by that. The other issue was that the wedding hall forgot to put out our custom made aisle runner that had our initials on it. The hall did pay us for it since we never got to use it. Since that was all that went wrong, we had a great wedding.
The hall offers tastings if you are looking to book an event, so definitely try the food. It is or at least was great!
I must say that I am absolutely shocked at some of the negative reviews. I’m sure that some of them are very exaggerated! I’m not familiar with the new management, but we definitely had a great wedding! I am very picky and if it was bad I would have bashed the hell out of them in my review!
Check them out!

Great venue. Have been here for parties in the past. Food, staff, etc. is great. The ONE downside is the valet parking, and I am not talking about the parkers. When I went in the past, you pulled up on the side under an awning, and it was very quick and easy. Now they put the valet right in the front, which caused me to wait on a line for about 20 MINUTES to get in. It is a horrible system.

«The Wedding of 9÷27»
All the worrying, all the stress… For nothing.
I was worried that the food was not going to be good. I worried for nothing.
The food was excellent. Cocktail hour, great… Dinner (6) entrees, great.
Viennese hour, great.
The Maitre D was excellent. Did the job to perfection. The bridal assistant also did job to perfection.
Leonards recommended Nancy Vargas as the officiant. Everyone loved her. She was great.
I knew going in that Leonard’s the place itself was beautiful. I was skeptical on the food. The food was great, 5 stars.
If you want a beautiful place to have a wedding and food that is great and a reasonable price, look no more…
Leonards Palazzo is the place to go…

Okay, I saw 3 stars for Leonard’s and almost thought that this wasn’t the same Leonard’s we had my sister’s wedding reception at. If there were more stars than 5, Leonard’s deserves it. We’ve planned many events at a lot of other venues, as a family, and as a community, but this was the first time I can’t find a single thing wrong.
To start off, Eric, the manager is a complete delight. He works with you and spends time with you as if you’re the most important person he knows and nothing else matters while he’s with you. He answered all our questions the multiple times we went in to review the details, he was patient with us and the vendors we hired for the centerpieces, and he was completely accommodating. Speaking of accommodating, our maitre’d, Natalia was god sent. She really was. I don’t think anyone can be more empathetic and caring as she was. Her efforts showed how much she wanted the event to flow as smoothly and successfully as possible. She really made us feel as if the event was her own.
The rest of the staff were amazing, from the doorman to the busboys, they all knew who the family was and they rushed to complete all our requests.
I didn’t speak about the décor because look at the pictures, Leonard’s is as beautiful as it gets; each floor and each room is just perfect.
Overall, holding the reception at Leonard’s was the best decision we made. It has been about two months since our reception and we have been to some six other weddings since, and at each wedding, people tell us how ours was just phenomenal, and the best that they’ve ever been to.

This would probably be one of the places I would recommend if your planning for a wedding banquet. The Major D, was very nice and a team player. He knows how to treat guests and run the show smoothly. The food is top notch and the drinks hits the spots. Definitely stop by for a tour and see if you like their ballrooms.

I went here for my wife’s cousin’s sweet 16. The place was clean, fully staffed with kindness and care. We were greeted warmly at the door, and I loved the fact every single staff spoke Spanish since my mother-​in-​law doesn’t speak a word in English.
The room we were in was overly pink, but I guess it was befitting for a sweet 16. Décor was nice, and so was the sound system. Any sound system that doesn’t blare to punch a hole in my ears is a good sound system for me.
Almost all of the food that were served were individually monitored by staff to make certain all the needs are met for the guests.
I’ve been to quite a number of party halls, but this was one of the smaller (the hall I was in holds about 150), but cleaner and nicer ones.
I would book an event here for sure.

Recently was here for one of my cousins wedding to his newly wife and this place is just amazing!
From the wedding hall to the reception hall to the catering hall… was truly impressed. I don’t go to too many weddings so maybe I might be overselling the luxury of Leonard’s Palazzo but from what I have seen this spot it really is a nice place to hold a wedding and post-​wedding party. I think if I ever decide to get married that this place is a possibility to hold such an event, it really is that classy, not to mention the food from the calamari, breads, pastas and entrée choices taste F’N delicious!

I been to this venue for a few events and have always enjoyed myself. The place is beautiful and the food has always been good. Also, I love the fact that it is very close to Queens not like other halls in LI

I went to an event here years back, which was pretty good, but with new management, and a boss who doesn’t want to book his appointments evenly this place NOW gets 1 star.
This place is a mess, and renovations aren’t occuring fast enough!

We went to ‘A Night in Vienna’ function. Horrible. Happy hour from 6−7pm.we got there at 630pm. Waited on line till 7pm and nothing was replenished.
Food was horrific. My hubby’s filet mignon was cold and the gravy was horrendous. I got the salmon which was worse. Salty and over cooked. Our waitress was horrible. The Viennese dessert hour was at 11pm. Our waitress stopped serving us at 10pm. At 11pm we went up for dessert and had no coffee or tea to enjoy with the desserts. I wouldn’t recommend this place for anything. Truly a rip off

I’ve been to 3 events here and all have been about the same in terms of quality. What can you expect? Heaps of very average catered food, pleasant staff that tries hard to please, and bar service that’s quick with refills so long as you tip well from the get go. As for the décor, I find it to be gaudy & complete overkill but a lot of people seem to like it, so what can you do?
I’d never held an event here myself, but you’ll definitely get something professionally done if you do choose Leonard’s. Three stars.