The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 7 letter word WARM WELCOME
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
W
A
R
M
W
E
L
C
O
M
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Such a reception may please friends/annoy enemies" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case such a reception may please friends/annoy enemies = warm welcome.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.