Del Ray F.
Yelp
TLDR: Fine for grabbing a drink and food, terrible for event rental
I'm sad to have to write this review as we love supporting local businesses and have had positive experiences in the past getting food/drink at the Garden, but we were very disappointed when we rented their private event space and even more so by the lack of response we've received afterward.
For the interest of being succinct, the day of the event we were disappointed by: QR codes that didn't work as designed and discouraged our guests from ordering (we were told the same intuitive QR code ordering from the rest of the space would be in effect for our event, and it wasn't, and we were left fielding questions from our 50 guests on how to order the entire time), negative attitude from management (no apologies or understanding about the QR code issue, fans not working on a 90+ degree day, and general attitude that the event space wasn't their concern and they couldn't be bothered), and general lack of infrastructure/planning to support events with food and drink (another example is that we had a 2 hour event with food, but there was nothing available to keep the flies off despite it being an outdoor space in the summer). In general, it feels like their event rental is an afterthought, which is not acceptable as the space isn't cheap (they have a $1,000 food and beverage minimum for a 2 hour event).
Our last issue was that we received a charge that was labeled strangely and didn't make sense to us. We've tried for the last 4 weeks to get a response from the owner, Jeremy, to understand this charge, and despite providing multiple days and times that would work for us it's been radio silence. It's one thing to disregard or disagree with feedback (their prerogative), but another thing entirely to not provide insight into a charges on a customer's bill.
Very disappointed with our experience. If you're looking for event rental in Del Ray, look elsewhere (e.g., Evening Star).