The Local gave us an incredible experience from start to finish. After having eaten at their restaurant multiple times (including for our first date), my husband & I knew we wanted to have them as our caterer, and they exceeded our expectations.

From the very beginning, they were consistently prompt in their communication and flexible with what we wanted in our contract. The food packages they offer are generous for the price with endless options to customize everything to our liking. The quality and portion sizes at the actual event were exceptional - exactly like in our tasting - and we are still getting compliments on our food months afterwards. We also were able to provide our own alcohol (except wine, as per our venue's rule) that they used for bartending purposes, which helped with cost. Their staff even helped set up desserts we purchased from other companies.

I also really appreciated their contracting services through MS Rentals, which was included in our price. When we first started planning, we hadn't even considered where to find linens and flatware, but luckily we didn't have to. The MS Rentals team helped us piece together our table settings with little more than a color palette to start with, and they were more than accommodating with any changes we decided to make before the event.

Cost is a big part of catering, so I can't emphasize enough how mindful of our budget The Local was throughout the planning process. It's easy to get nickel-and-dime-d when deciding on vendors, but we had the complete opposite experience with them. The contract they provide is very clear about the cost of each item and kept up to date, there are no hidden fees, and they even provided helpful suggestions for various items based on our guest count that ultimately decreased the final bill (which they didn't have to do).

All in all, this company provided excellent catering & dinner service for our event while supporting us throughout the entire planning process. We feel extremely valued and satisfied as clients and can't wait to go eat at The Local again soon!

We cannot recommend The Local - both the restaurant and their catering team - highly enough! We got married on November 1 at Eastwood Farm and Winery in Charlottesville. The Local's catering services were exceptional from start to finish and truly elevated our entire wedding experience.

I had no idea how complex the catering process for a wedding could be, but The Local guided us through every step with ease. We opted for a sit-down dinner with grilled chicken, fried chicken, or steak, served with green beans and fingerling potatoes. The food was delicious, beautifully prepared, and perfectly warm when served, even on a chilly fall day!

Our catering coordinator, Eleanore, was absolutely fantastic. From our tasting, to helping us select rentals through MS Events, to the final walkthrough at the venue, and being on-site the day of, she was thoughtful, organized, energetic, and genuinely fun to work with. Her experience showed in everything she did. Knowing that The Local had worked many weddings at Eastwood also gave us so much peace of mind. They knew exactly how the day should flow, and it showed, and they worked cohesively with our planner and venue staff.

Eleanore and the entire team went above and beyond in every way. If you’re considering The Local for your event or wedding, do it. They’re an absolute standout.

We worked primarily with Helen as our catering coordinator, and she was amazing every step of the way. She was very knowledgeable about our venue, having catered there many times before, which contributed to our reception going over so well. She was super friendly and easy to work with. She worked very well with our day-of coordinator, and her team was very well-prepared, competent, and professional throughout the night.

Outside of just Helen, the rest of the catering staff was all very friendly and hard-working. They were constantly asking if we had everything we wanted, and did a great job of packing some food up for us to take with at the end of the night. Even early-on in the process when we were still getting estimates for the catering from multiple places, we were impressed by how thorough The Local was with their cost breakdowns. It was very helpful for us to see what costs were going where, since we really had no experience in this realm beforehand.

Additionally, the whole catering team was very helpful when it came to accommodating our guests with dietary issues. Cheese crumbles came on the side of the salad for those who didn't like cheese, and vegan plates were specifically prepared for the couple of vegan guests that we had in attendance.

Aside from all of the excellent service that I've mentioned, the food was absolutely delicious. Everything that we decided on during our tasting with the Local tasted just as good the night of the wedding. The guests loved it as well - we received multiple comments during the night and after about how good the food was.

I've got to stop somewhere, but I cannot say enough good things about Helen, the rest of the catering team, and The Local. Would definitely recommend them to anybody! We will definitely be stopping back by their restaurant for dinner the next time we are in Charlottesville!

It's been weeks since our wedding, and we're still getting an insane amount of compliments and questions on our wedding dinner! One of my bridesmaids even asked if I could get the recipe for The Local's truffle mushroom pasta (the resounding favorite from all of our guests, and for good reason). The other favorite (especially from my husband) was their apple crisp.

It's common knowledge that the bride and groom don't get a ton of time to eat on the wedding day. We'd built out a private dinner right after cocktail hour but before sunset photos, and we got to eat a little bit of everything. Let me tell you -- I'm still thinking about the scalloped potatoes I had. I could have had an entire plate of those and still have been happy. We also had the chicken and green beans, and it's an understatement to say everything was incredible. Every dish was high quality, remained hot through the buffet, and were filling but didn't make you feel too heavy/sleepy to dance all night afterwards.

Not only was the food amazing, but working with Helen and her team through our engagement was so easy. The Local is very thorough and sends over clear paperwork, including a contract with all items and payments broken down, and they were really responsive with any questions we had along the way. They even had a specific food option for those with allergies or dietary restrictions. Their team also helped set up and take down everything, and really made our dreams come true with the place settings and floorplan. It was absolutely beautiful.

Overall, we could not recommend them more, and are hoping we get to attend a wedding where they're the vendor so we can eat more of their food! Thank goodness they're also a restaurant; we'll definitely be going there to relive our wedding dinner yet again :)

We are so glad we used The Local as our caterer for our wedding! We are also glad that we got to work with Helen exclusively. She guided us through the most stressful part of the wedding – the catering. We were a long-distance couple and she was so accommodating. She helped us create an excellent menu that our guests loved. We also had some specific guest dietary restrictions that she helped us navigate and execute. She was an excellent communicator throughout the entire process.

Our wedding day food was absolutely excellent. Each dish was beautifully presented and packed with flavor. The service was impeccable. The day of catering team was incredibly professional, attentive, and friendly, ensuring that everything ran smoothly and that our guests were well taken care of. They were able to quickly pivot when we needed to move our ceremony indoors as well.

We couldn’t have asked for a better catering experience. If you’re looking for a caterer who delivers exquisite food, exceptional service, and a truly memorable dining experience, The Local is the way to go.

A wonderfully successful rehearsal dinner - from initial contact through to the very end. I could not have been happier with the planning process, setup and food. We received so many compliments of how delicious everything was (very tender beef and delicious crab cakes) so my hats off to your kitchen and staff.
Nichole, thank you for being there Friday to help with my setup requests and prompt follow through. Bar staff was pleasant and I never noticed people waiting around for a cocktail. What more can I say - everything was perfect! Thank you!

Do yourself a favor and book the Local for your wedding. I had multiple people at my wedding come up and tell me it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. Not to mention their day of planning services made ALL of our dreams come true. Book them now!

We first saw The Local as one of our venue’s preferred vendors and they were actually recommended to us based on our budget. My fiancé and I decided to try out their restaurant, just to see. When we told them why we were there they were so pleasant and welcoming and we talked with Jeff at length about all of our options and who we should connect with about details. He even gave us a tour of the restaurant after dinner. We worked mostly with Samantha Clarke who was ON TOP OF IT!!! She was so kind and patient with us throughout the whole process. She was responsive and always ready with answers to our questions especially when parents and outside opinions got involved haha. The process was so smooth and gosh darn their food is SO FREAKING GOOD! Food (quantity and quality) was a huge priority for us and wow did the Local seriously deliver. Our guests were raving about how delicious all the food was and how generous the portion sizes were. This was such an easy decision for us and we love that we can still visit their restaurant whenever we want! 10/10 highly recommend, would chocolate them over and over again.

We loved working with The Local for our wedding! They were very responsive via email during the planning process. Our tasting was magnificent, and the food on the day of the wedding was just as excellent as we remembered! Our guests raved about how tender the meats were, and how delicious the truffle Mac N Cheese was. Our event captain Samantha was very attentive, and humored us with our silly questions along the way. Hiring this catering team should be a no brainer for your event!

Eleanore is incredible, she ensured that our wedding was easy, seamless and amazing! The food was delicious, loved our tasting (which was after we signed our contract, but we had eaten at the Local restaurant before). She worked well with our planner, and made sure that all details were attended to (food allergies, etc). The servers were wonderful, we had many compliments on our signature drinks and food (especially appetizers, late night snacks). She made sure all rentals were ordered as needed, and matched our wedding day needs, we are lucky that she worked with us. The Local took care of all labor and was very efficient in setting up/taking down wedding day rentals, even when it rained briefly before our ceremony, it was no issue. The only thing (which may have been related to our own oversight/miscommunication with King Family), was the Croze wine was served with ice, would have specified chilled or ordered more ice buckets/fridges to keep them chilled for guests.