Simply Elegant Catering Inc

Simply Elegant was the caterer for my sister's wedding and they were so helpful that I wanted them for my big day. They were willing to travel to Simi Valley and they were a one stop shop! They handled food, dessert, cake , table linens/napkins, and all of my rentals. All of that and they were the most reasonably priced caterer that I found. The food was AMAZING! Everything tasted delicious! If I could do my wedding all over again , I would absolutely reach out to Mike first!

The food from simply elegant was great!!! All my guest absolutely loved it! Only downfall is, by being the bride and groom, we were not able to enjoy a plate like the rest of our guests. I wish they would have been able to give us a plate to take home, and the left over from the cake. Other than that, the service was great and everyone truly loved the food!

Simply Elegant did a great job catering our wedding in August 2017. We were impressed from the get-go by the complimentary tasting which was not only delicious but gave us enough food for a week! Mike, the owner and head chef, wanted us to see what the service would look like and brought out true to size examples of what he would serve. He took detailed notes on what we did and didn't like about each item and when it came to the day-of, the food was just as good as we remembered. We were on a pretty tight budget for our wedding and Paramount Ranch, a pretty bare-bones (but gorgeous) venue that had no kitchen. We went with Simply Elegant in the end because of the quality of the food AND because they were the most cost-effective when it came to the food related rentals. Trust me, my mom and I did our due diligence and Simply Elegant offered the straightforward process at the lowest price for building a kitchen on-site from scratch. Mike gave us a lot of great deals and did everything he could think of to keep us happy. My only complaint would be that we didn't hear from him starting about a month before our wedding but, Justin, one of his employees, took his place as our contact and was nothing but delightful. We went with family style since it was the same price as buffet. It was a) way prettier and b) meant we didn't have to rent all the buffet table stuff or worry about decorating that. I thought the presentation of the food at the guest tables and our sweetheart tables was very attractive. All of the waitstaff was very friendly and helpful the whole day, and even stacked our ceremony rental chairs that we had gotten from another vendor while people were dancing! They took great care to make sure my husband and I had water on hand at our sweetheart table at all times too, which I really appreciated. I highly recommend Simply Elegant for overall value, service, food, and most food related rentals.

Huntington Catering came recommended specifically by our planner and they really exceeded expectations for our Dec 2016 wedding at St. John's Cathedral in DTLA. Justin was very easy to work with and Vanessa was professional and prompt with our phone meetings. We attended two tastings and the food was consistently delicious. We asked for changes to be made regarding sauces and use of certain spices, accommodating the bride's nut allergy, vegan guests, etc. and all were agreed to and implemented. The cake was delicious! We know from experience that wedding cake can be tough to pull off but HC's was the best cake we have ever tasted. On the day-of, we had asked for some very specific accommodations, mainly revolving around the coffee. It had to be Stumptown and we wanted the barista to serve it up all night long as we did not serve alcohol at our reception. The barista was fantastic and everything went off perfectly. She even knew how to brew the coffee to Stumptown standards. As for the meal, we decided on family style at each table. Justin assured us this keeps the food warmer since it's in larger portions than when it's plated. Also, it creates some interaction at the tables since guests pass the serving plates around. It turned out to be a wonderful idea and their plates, silverware, glassware, and linens were all beautiful and perfectly elegant for our occasion. As for the food itself, Chef Lou pulled off a dazzler! Our guests were raving about it, especially the tri-tip. One guest even said it was the best tri-tip he had ever eaten, and he really meant it. The food really was surprisingly delicious and the service was respectful and attentive. The hero moment came when due to unseasonably cold weather, we realized at 10pm the night before the wedding that we'd need portable heaters for the venue. This was a major problem the day before the wedding since there would be older guests with sleeveless dresses attending. We either had to get the heaters or tell everyone to wear their jackets! We frantically called our planner and she was able to get a hold of Justin that night. Because it was unseasonably cold, all the rental companies were out of heaters. Somehow, Justin was able to source the heaters from some faraway rental company way outside LA and they arrived just before the ceremony was to start. He saved the day, the guests and most importantly, the bride was nice and toasty all night. Thanks again Justin for the amazing food, service, and heroics. We will definitely recommend Huntington to anyone who asks. John & Laura Niro

Huntington Catering Company was highly recommended so we chose our menu, attended a tasting (delicious food), and hired them for our daughter's 6/18/2016 wedding at Oneonta Congregational Church in South Pasadena, CA. Since most of the groom's family is deathly allergic to almonds, we (in person verbally and in writing) were adamant with Justin - no almonds! Justin confirmed the changes in writing, and we were looking forward to a fabulous wedding meal. Imagine our shock when we discovered at the reception that the salad contained almonds and guests had already begun to dine! We quickly retrieved those plates with the offending almonds and had Huntington staff remove the salad from the buffet. Huntington's solution was to serve a plain green salad drenched in dressing (even though we had contracted to exchange walnuts and cranberries for their standard almonds and pancetta). Near disaster averted (thankfully, no paramedics were required), food selections went downhill from there. None of the food served was as beautifully prepared or tasted as good as that provided at the tasting - so disappointing! About a week after the wedding, I called Justin to discuss the issues. He was reluctantly apologetic about the almonds, but adamant in refusing to accept the fact that the food served at our daughter's wedding was subpar. He asked me what I wanted - told him I'd leave it to his professionalism. He said he'd consider an accommodation and get back to me. I followed up with an email and waited. After more than two weeks, I called and emailed Justin; still no response. It took my disputing the service with American Express and their reversal of all charges (yeah American Express!) to get Justin to contact me. He offered and I accepted a partial refund - and I then recredited the charges with American Express. I wished Justin well but will NEVER hire Huntington Catering again - and NEVER recommend them! My daughter and son-in-law are still upset, but they're getting over it...we've all moved on. Justin said that he has "taken it to heart and plans to change the trajectory of his company to never have it happen again" - CAVEAT EMPTOR (Buyer Beware)!

Huntington Catering is wonderful! My husband and I did appetizers only as a main dish and cheese, crudite and fresh fruit for cocktail hour. The cheeses, fruit and vegetables were so fresh and the staff made sure everything was replenished when the food would start running low. The appetizers were amazing and heavy which was good, and what we were looking for, since we had no sit down meals. We kept the leftovers and we are still eating them a week later! The staff was wonderful throughout the whole night and they helped set everything up and tore everything down at the end of the night. As a preferred vendor of Castle Green they know the wedding business and they maintain a professional demeanor while still putting their clients first. Vanessa and Justin are pros at what they do and they will guarantee everything re:food & beverages are up to your standards.

I'll start by saying that Mike is incredible and Simply Elegant's food is terrific! We so appreciate his and Laura's help to make our wedding turn out as great as we had hoped and planned. Mike is all of the qualities that really made it a pleasure to work with him: responsive, organized, nice, caring, energetic, accommodative, and knowledgeable. Mike was great from the beginning (setting up our tasting), to all of the adjustments in between (yes, we made a lot of adjustments and Mike was always happy to help), to the end (packing up the equipment at the venue, settling the bill, giving us back the excess alcohol). The food is fantastic--we received a lot of compliments from our guests. Also, it was the best tasting and value of the 5 other places my wife and I tasted. We especially enjoyed the lamb chops, bacon dates, tuna appetizer, sundried tomato risotto, and hangar steak. Portions are huge! If there's anything that I could suggest for improvement, it would be that we asked for specific biscuits and chocolate chip cookies that didn't taste as good at the wedding vs at our tasting. Not sure why that is--using a different oven? Just something for people to keep in mind, but I don't think that is necessarily specific to Simply Elegant..or is it? They cook on site, while most other caterers cook at their restaurant then bring it over. In any case, I absolutely definitely recommend Mike and Simply Elegant, and would totally work with him again! We never ever had any problems working with him, so rest assured. Thanks Mike!!

The food amount was large portions but the only thing was my food was luke warm and steak was kind of dry. Other than that the service was great, the price was really reasonable. Mike will work with you on everything :)

Mike is a really nice guy and his food is really good. I received many many compliments about the food at the wedding. At the wedding, his staff was professional, nice, and efficient. The bartenders were especially good. By the end of the night, they knew which guest wanted what drink. I also had special drinks for me and my bridal party and they were on top of it and had them ready right away. The only thing I would say is that Mike, you need to hire a friendly office person to organize you. Your office staff is not helpful to clients and do not appear to be helpful to you either!