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Wedding Caterer
updated: Dec 05, 2012, 2:26 PM

I am looking for a referral for a caterer for a July wedding in Santa Barbara. The venue we are using really doesn't have a kitchen, so they would have to work with that factor. It is indoors. Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Places People Are Talking About:

Chicken Ranch	Island View Catering	Michael's Catering
O Street Truck	South Coast Deli

What People Are Saying:

COMMENT 350572	2012-12-05 02:31 PM
Island View Catering! Don't have their number on me but they are fantastic. Fabulous food, reasonable prices, always prompt, courteous, tidy and professional. It's a couple of young guys who work their butts off and always deliver. We have used them numberous times for work functions and I have recommended them to everyone I know. Never a complaint, ever. Always satisified customers. The guy's name is Avery.
COMMENT 350573	2012-12-05 02:34 PM
C'est Cheese is expanding and I believe they will offer catering. Great people run this store & the employees are always so helpful & cheerful
COMMENT 350577	2012-12-05 02:38 PM
Try the O Street Truck for a catering job!
COMMENT 350578	2012-12-05 02:39 PM
DJs catering is solid!
COMMENT 350579P	2012-12-05 02:42 PM
South Coast Deli does terrific buffet spreads. They have 4 locations - 2 in Santa Barbara - 1 in Goleta and one in IV.
COMMENT 350580	2012-12-05 02:44 PM
My son got married last May and we had reception at Maritime Museum. We ended up using Palazzio's since they too don't have a kitchen. Very affordable (and huge portions) and they do all the catering. Much less pricey and the food was delicious. Maritime wants a caterer to have a million dollar bond in place so check with your venue coordinator if this is required for your venue. We didn't find this out until last minute and that is why we had to change our caterer. They couldn't get a bond in time. Little problems like this arise.
COMMENT 350583	2012-12-05 02:51 PM
The Big Easy Catering Co did our wedding last summer - it was awesome! Dave was super easy going and much more affordable than the other ones I talked to! We had access to a kitchen, but only for storing stuff in the fridge and warming ovens - so we had chicken & tri-tip that he did off-site - Food was great, price was right!
COMMENT 350586P	2012-12-05 02:54 PM
Check out Ursula at the Catering Connection. She happens to specialize in wedding cakes as well. Ask for one with raspberry filling - yum!!
COMMENT 350589	2012-12-05 02:58 PM
Stanton's Gourmet Catering - they did our wedding, and Stanton and his staff were great!
COMMENT 350591	2012-12-05 03:06 PM
C'est cheese only does appetizers, unless they recently expanded their menu. Appetizers isn't right for a wedding. I second Island View. The food is good, fresh and fits into any budget, high or low. They also often use local food sourced from FMs or local growers. Fresh and tasty and local? Nice! Also, congrats.
COMMENT 350601	2012-12-05 03:22 PM
Best wedding food I ever had was catered by Chicken Ranch - who doesn't love Tri-tip and BBQ chicken It might not be fancy - but it sure is good. Better than rubber chicken, rice and over cooked vegis served at most weddings.
COMMENT 350602	2012-12-05 03:30 PM
I can't recommend Rincon Catering more strongly. Marc Borowitz and his crew are exception from beginning to end. He makes every aspect of the event easy and provides everything you need top to bottom. As clergy, I've officiated at many weddings where Rincon was the caterer. He knows how to make everyone happy and his food is exceptional in taste and presentation.
COMMENT 350607	2012-12-05 03:40 PM
Pure Joy. Very good food and I normally don't like catered food.
COMMENT 350609	2012-12-05 03:45 PM
Rincon Catering FTW. Awesome food, great staff.
COMMENT 350611	2012-12-05 03:49 PM
John Aspra of Epicurean Cowboy.
COMMENT 350613	2012-12-05 03:52 PM
we used Fresco 12 years ago, they were amazing then, and we still eat there all the time. We had an all-vegetarian meal, and none of our meat eating friends griped. I'd say that's pretty good.
COMMENT 350620	2012-12-05 04:12 PM
Use Nancy Weiss from the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Her staff does catering and is absolutely super for any type of event. Nancy Weiss Director of Food Services (805) 963-4338 extension 6387 E-mail: nweiss@sbsdk12.org
COMMENT 350621	2012-12-05 04:12 PM
Omni Fresco. You're welcome.
COMMENT 350624	2012-12-05 04:18 PM
613, who would gripe about a free meal at a wedding or party? that's not to take anything away from fresco, they do awesome catering, but i doubt you'd have heard anything from your guests, unless they were the exceedingly rude sort.
COMMENT 350630	2012-12-05 04:40 PM
Fresco has awesome food, I second (third?) that one. Make sure you get a large tray of their Macaroons; a huge hit with our guests! Also consider a Santa Maria style Tri-Tip BBQ, it is less costly per person than most other catering (originating as a way to feed lots of hungry ranchers cheaply) and it seemed to go over VERY well at our wedding. The out of town guests especially loved it. They usually have their own trailer and cook it in the parking lot. We had been to a LOT of weddings in the couple of years before our wedding, and when we started talking food for ours, we realized that only the extremely good (think Emeril-quality) or extremely bad food was even remembered. We went cheaper on the food with the BBQ, and it even ended up being such a big hit that people STILL rave about it, 8 years later! And I don't want to make it sound like it was paper plates and plastic forks; our reception was actually very elegant and the BBQ still worked wonderfully.
COMMENT 350638	2012-12-05 04:59 PM
And in addition, RIncon has their own kitchen truck so they can work anywhere.
COMMENT 350653	2012-12-05 05:28 PM
You just can't go wrong with Rincon Catering or Pure Joy. Both are professional companies that have been around for years. I work along side both of them about 30 times a year. I've had their food hundreds of times. Great staff!!!
COMMENT 350682	2012-12-05 06:45 PM
There certainly are other good outfits out there, but Epicurean Cowboy "takes the cake."
COMMENT 350711	2012-12-05 07:34 PM
Specialty BBQ Catering - check out the website (specialty barbeque).
COMMENT 350713	2012-12-05 07:46 PM
we used Killer B's from state street. The food was amazing..and wonderful...
COMMENT 350714P	2012-12-05 07:54 PM
If that type of food is what you want, I can't say enough about Dave at Big Easy. He's simply one of the nicest, kindest human you will ever meet! (I'm having serious grammatical trouble with that last sentence...) I haven't seen Lorraine Lim since working with her at some non-profit events decades ago, so can't give detailed info. She was great to work with and has varied menus. http://lorrainelimcatering.com/ Seems it would be hard to go wrong with Fresco.
COMMENT 350716P	2012-12-05 07:59 PM
Another vote for Island View. They've catered weddings in some outlandish and inconvenient places, and always do an amazing job at a reasonable rate.
COMMENT 350717	2012-12-05 07:59 PM
Costco
COMMENT 350764	2012-12-06 07:02 AM
Cindy Black at The Blue Owl caters and is very experienced at working without at kitchen. Crazy good food. Another fine solution would be to use Alvaro Rojas and Weston Richards (Spare Parts Bistro - find them on Facebook) Ashley and Brian at Duo catering are also great.
FRESHPAVEMENT	2012-12-06 07:07 AM
Rincon Catering did a wonderful job at our wedding and no kitchen needed.
COMMENT 350768	2012-12-06 07:18 AM
Delgado's - (Same as Pepe's and Delgado's restaurants) We had a large beautiful wedding July 2011 and were so happy with Delgado's! Our guests still talk about the great food! Christina from Delgado's is so nice to work with! They served really good and healthy food. We also had appetizers and drinks served (while we were taking photos) in a courtyard between the ceremony and the formal seated meal that were amazing! We go to dinner at Delgado's monthly now and it reminds us of our wedding too! It's so nice to see Christina and her staff that worked at our wedding when we go for dinner too! Delgado's is family run and I love that they brought their good energy to our wedding too!
COMMENT 350770	2012-12-06 07:21 AM
Jolly Brothers
MARJELK	2012-12-06 07:58 AM
A second vote for Stanton's Gourmet Catering. He is reasonable and really works with your budget.
OOHLALA	2012-12-06 08:18 AM
I roared with laughter at the post recommending the Santa Barbara School District Food Services Dept! Hilarious! Can we all stand up and say YUM! So a wedding can be catered by the lunch ladies? Does the wedding cake get served up on one of those plastic trays with sections for your different food groups? Does everyone get to eat with a recyclable SPORK?
COMMENT 350829	2012-12-06 09:16 AM
Pure Joy.
ARCHIE	2012-12-06 09:18 AM
Rincon Catering. They catered many events I organized, and many event where I have been a guest. Wonderful to work with, and everything delicious.
ZEBRA STRIPES	2012-12-06 09:45 AM
Kim Schiffer: http://kimschiffer.com/ Fabulous food, wonderful enthusiasm! Loves to source from local farmers & ranchers.
COMMENT 350857	2012-12-06 09:49 AM
Rincon Catering catered our daughter's wedding -- they were fantastic! The food was delicious and the attended to every detail. Talk to Marc.
CLAWMARKS	2012-12-06 10:01 AM
There is really more information needed unless you're just starting the planning. ;) Sit-down dinner? Gourmet or casual? Cocktail hour? How many guests? Venue? JoJo at A Savory Fare can work with a budget and has a lot of experience with weddings. 805-966-2809 http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/savory-fare-catering-santa-barbara/cffc9cc547d48052.html
COMMENT 350876	2012-12-06 10:28 AM
I love Tamaras Catering. Tamara is great to work with, her food is awesome. We love that she was very hands on and organized. She has been catering for at least 20 years in Santa Barbara. Good Luck
COMMENT 350877	2012-12-06 10:29 AM
OMG - you have to speak to John at Creative Services Catering. I have done many events in town and he is the best!!
COMMENT 350896	2012-12-06 11:07 AM
Second for John Aspra
YIN YANG	2012-12-06 06:04 PM
Dear Oohlala, Have you ever eaten at SOhO or heard of it? Please get some info before ridiculing Nancy Weiss and casting aspersions on the SB schools food programs. The healthy and improved school food movement is driven by people/cooks/chefs whose food I would be more than happy to eat. Ever heard of Alice Waters or Jamie Oliver, just to mention some famous ones? I'm not saying the school food is like restaurant food, but your attack is specious. "Nancy Weiss has more than 20 years of experience in food service. She was the founder, owner, and operator of SOhO Restaurant for 13 years." An Independent article about her: http://www.independent.com/news/2008/jun/15/santa-barbara-schools-switch-homemade-foods/ SB School District mobile cafe: http://roaminghunger.com/mobile-cafe
KIDS	2012-12-06 06:39 PM
Yin Yang......thanks for sharing this information!
COMMENT 351170	2012-12-06 08:27 PM
mad props to Nancy Weiss - her food is really wonderful, she has a terrific, pleasant and authentically kind group of people working for her, and you can't get more fun than a food truck serving high style accessible food. As a longtime caterer I can say that while the food is really really important, the ability to be organized, accomodating and pleasant thru all is what makes or breaks a happy day. Phillipe Sutout is a top coordinator/caterer if you plan on going super duper fancy!
COMMENT 351633P	2012-12-08 07:51 AM
Michael's catering does a great job and they will help you make your decision regarding what to serve. There are many great caterers in the community now that City College is putting them out. Talk to Isidro in the catering department and get his recommendation. Also Renato at "Via Maestro 42" is a great person who can help with referrals if you do not like his prices. Renato is a wonderful human being who gives freely to many charities. His prices may be high but he is very honest and I guarantee no one will be disappointed with the quality and taste he offers.