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Connie Sent on 10/28/2019

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If the quality of your food is important to you, hire Eat & Smile.

Making sure we had good food was one of our most important priorities for the wedding. Our guests certainly had lofty expectations of the food we would be serving! Oliver and the Eat & Smile team helped us meet expectations - and exceed them! A lot of other caterers in town will have you pick items you want to try or serve off a set menu, but Oliver tailored the menu based on what we like and what's important to us. It is also worth noting that Oliver was, by far, the most honest caterer we spoke to - he knew our venue extremely well and set realistic expectations with us about the kind of service that worked best with our guest count. Plenty of other caterers would have happily done a sit-down dinner at rounds of 10 for our guests, but only Oliver said that we should try it another way. We ended up with a menu that was extremely personal to us and our story, fantastic service, and things that were really delicious. Thank you! P.S. Everyone keeps asking us for the five-spice oatmeal cookie recipe; can you share?

Steven Sent on 10/29/2025

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Everything we wanted and more

Oliver and his team were super easy to work with. They catered our wedding. We talked budget and he designed a menu based on our preferences. We were even working with him about swapping ingredients. He had plenty of good gluten free options as well. The tasting is really amazing too, they prepare the food as it will be served to you on the day so you are getting exactly the same thing. Super nice touch that I really appreciated. Could not recommend them more.

Larissa Sent on 05/04/2025

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Yum! You cannot go wrong with eat & smile!

Oh wow, finding a food vendor for our banquet hall wedding was the hardest part of planning! We had tastings with two other vendors and had reached out to probably 10 others before we got to speak with Oliver at Eat & Smile. The first two tastings were a disaster, and we were feeling despondent! But from the first conversation with Oliver, we had hope! His whole approach to fresh, farm-to-table food is refreshing and delightful. He tries to keep his business as green and sustainable as possible while also keeping taste and experience at the forefront. And he's really awesome to work with. He knows this industry inside and out and is so helpful when helping you understand how much of everything you need and what not to spend your money on and stuff like that. And the food...the food is impeccable. So delicious. And he tries to make sure that it tells your story. He wants to know if you have a favorite snack or spent a year abroad and liked a certain treat from that country. He'll work it in some way. It's amazing. He makes your menu personal to you as a couple, not just some bland chicken and overcooked steak. Our guests couldn't stop talking about how great the food was and how different our choices were (we offered pollo guisado, which is Dominican stewed chicken, with black beans and rice, or shrimp and cheesy grits for the two main dishes). I can't recommend Eat & Smile enough!!

Melissa Sent on 12/23/2024

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Delicious food with a personal touch!

Oliver and his team were absolutely fantastic as our wedding caterers! From the very beginning, Oliver’s personal and friendly touch made the process so enjoyable. From our initial tasting to the final product, Oliver thoughtfully worked with us to craft a menu that perfectly fit our tastes and vision for the day.
One thing we really appreciated was how reasonable and straightforward the pricing was—there were no hidden add-ons or surprises, which made budgeting so much easier. Oliver’s clear communication and professionalism were also standout qualities. From the beginning, he laid out a timeline of when we would finalize the menu and guest count, which gave us so much peace of mind leading up to the wedding.
And, of course, the food was absolutely delicious! We received so many compliments from our guests about the menu, and the catering staff on the day were friendly, efficient, and a pleasure to have as part of the celebration.
If you’re looking for a caterer who combines incredible food with excellent service and a personal touch, Oliver is the perfect choice. We couldn’t have been happier and would recommend him without hesitation!

Barbara Sent on 10/30/2024

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Excellent!

Highly recommend Oliver and his team at Eat and Smile Catering. We were lucky enough to work with the team for a multicultural wedding. Oliver was extremely helpful in helping us craft a menu, work with us on tweaking menu items here and there, and keeping us within budget. I had so many people come up to me at the wedding and say, 'wow the food is actually amazing and wedding food is never amazing!?' The food was wonderful, the service exceptional -- highly recommend!

Alena Sent on 10/27/2024

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Eat & Smile is the best!

We had a fantastic experience working with Oliver and Eat & Smile for our October 2024 wedding. The food was fantastic! We got so many compliments from our guests all night. We love food and working with Oliver to plan our menu was such a fun and collaborative experience. We loved our tasting at his house and he was willing to introduce a custom appetizer to represent my husband's hometown that was so delicious (my cousin proudly announced they ate 16!). He is also incredibly conscientious about dietary restrictions and proactively suggested a super smart substitution for our salad when he noticed we had a number of gluten-free guests. The team goes above and beyond- Oliver personally attended our venue walk-through and stepped in to help us resolve an issue with the alcohol vendor days after the wedding. We cannot recommend Eat & Smile highly enough!

Amye Sent on 05/09/2024

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Consistently AWESOME

Every time we see Eat & Smile on the list, we breathe a sigh of relief. Oliver and his team are absolutely incredible to work with on the vendor team. Oliver himself is easy to reach, always customer-centered and holds the staff and himself to a high standard of excellence. Every single team member and catering captain that I've interacted with has been attentive, friendly and professional. As a Wedding Coordinator with Capitol Romance, we love working with Eat & Smile and look forward to the next great meal with them!

Ryan Sent on 04/26/2024

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We ate and we smiled. =)

Our venue had several pre-approved caterers, all of whom we met. While all of our conversations were good, Oliver came across as an honest, transparent chef-owner who was concerned about producing an amazing meal within our budget, rather than driving our budget through the roof. Oliver’s sparkling personality drew us to him and made planning with him a breeze despite the chaos of wedding planning.

We finalized our menu at a tasting 4 months before our wedding in Oliver’s home with an adorable dog. Our goal was to have a diverse menu that catered to all of our guests tastes and dietary restrictions. Oliver achieved that! Our hors d'oeuvres were butternut squash shooters, lamb meatballs with tzatziki, roasted cauliflower with saffron aioli, and crostini topped with ricotta, honey, and red pepper flakes. We had 3 main dishes – a beef short rib with risotto, pan-seared snapper with roasted potatoes and asparagus, and black-eyed pea cake with roasted potatoes and asparagus. For dessert, Oliver recommended a small, local baker – Sweets by E – who was amazing, too! We also purchased a semi-open bar with 2 signature cocktails – a blueberry mojito (vodka) and an apple smash (bourbon and apple cider) – beer, and wine. The bartenders allowed our guests to mix those liquors with available mixers to make simple cocktails.

Overall, Oliver and his staff were professional, personable, and detail-oriented. Apparently, there were several small issues (someone sat at the wrong table, a nursing bridesmaid needed some extra privacy and food, etc.) on our wedding day, but they acted promptly and addressed them before anyone noticed them. We highly, highly, highly recommend working with Eat and Smile Catering!

Thomas Sent on 05/05/2022

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Great Service, great food, highly recommend!

We hired Eat and Smile catering for our wedding, and they were incredible from start to finish. Oliver was amazing to work with and even during the height of COVID, was responsive, helpful, and flexible. Eat and Smile was able to deliver come through with both amazing food and critical behind the scenes aspects, which really helped our planning process. The food and service were both amazing and our guests were raving about how great the food was. I would highly recommend Eat and Smile to anyone in the DC area.

Katie Sent on 11/17/2021

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Simply amazing

One of the best decisions we made regarding our wedding. From the very beginning and right through our wedding, Oliver and his team were helpful, informative, upfront, and a lifesaver through a chaotic covid wedding season. So happy we went with Eat and Smile for our catering. The food was incredible and our guests couldn't stop talking about how delicious everything was. Cannot recommend enough!

Lee A. Sent on 12/21/2019

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We loved E&S!!!!!

Eat & Smile catered our 10/26/19 wedding at the Josephine Butler Parks Center. We booked Eat & Smile because of their commitment to local, seasonal food. Eat & Smile’s food totally delivered what we were looking for – we felt that Eat & Smile really “got” what we were looking for in terms of a menu after the questionnaire and initial menu consultation; Eat & Smile was also easy to work with in tinkering the menu.

Eat & Smile did a fantastic job on the day of the wedding. We opted for family style food, and dinner service went off without a hitch. Most importantly, the food was incredibly delicious – it was seriously above and beyond what we thought wedding food could be.

Along the wedding planning way, Oliver also had a ton of advice and helpful tidbits to make the day go smoothly. As someone else wrote in a review, Oliver was very honest with us along the way about what he thought would work or wouldn’t work in our space and with our timeline. We really appreciated Oliver’s honesty and expertise in the leadup to the wedding.

Emily Sent on 12/03/2019

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Delicious food, friendly people, amazing service!

I can't recommend Oliver and Eat & Smile enough! He worked with me and my now husband endlessly and was always patient and understanding. He worked with us directly to curate our perfect reception--from organizing our rentals, to determining the serving style, to the bar setup, to the exquisite food and beautiful presentation. Oliver and his team of servers and bartenders were cordial, friendly, and attentive. And then, there was the food itself! The food was superb and gorgeous and did I mention delicious? And all the food is locally and sustainably sourced and you can taste the difference! Bottom line, great food, great people, great investment, we definitely recommend Eat & Smile!

Michelle Sent on 10/14/2018

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We loved E+S! We loved their philosophy about using locally sourced food and we got the vibes that they treat their staff really well. We worked with Katie and Chef Oliver to weave together a menu that was inclusive of both of our heritages - Italian and Latina. We also had a number of guests with food allergies, and E+S did an amazing job of helping us find the right options to make everyone happy - and still celebrate the melding of our two cultures.

The food was delicious, and the catering team did an amazing job taking care of all of our guests. We wanted to give a special shoutout to Danny, who was so polite, pleasant, and thoughtful. Things got so hectic for me and my hubby, as we were trying to say hello to everyone, and Danny went out of his way to check in on us several times. He even hooked us up with a special plate of our apps - and even just his calm demeanor put us at ease. I wish I caught everyone's name, because there was also another gentleman and another young woman who made sure I stayed hydrated before the ceremony (it was such a hot day!) and they brought the whole bridal party water and champagne, which was so sweet!

It seemed like no task was too small or trivial. They took such great care of us on site, and all with smiles on their faces. As I told Danny and Katie, Eat and Smile was our favorite vendor! They were so easy to work with, and we worried about so many things on our wedding day, and our catering was not one of them. Everything from setting the menu to flipping the rooms was taken care of so seamlessly.

Thank you to Katie, Oliver, Danny, and the whole team, for taking care of us, and carrying out our vision on our wedding day. Our food was definitely one of our wedding highlights!

Megan Sent on 10/12/2018

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We could not be happier with how Eilish and her team helped our dream wedding come true. Eilish was incredibly responsive to our requests, and helped us plan out details that we hadn't even thought of. The quality of food and presentation was incredible. Our guests were wowed with their meals and the service. They were also considerate and creative with dietary requests. Most importantly, they work with local farmers and vendors! We highly recommend them for your event catering needs.

Sarah Sent on 08/16/2018

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We are beyond ecstatic that Eat & Smile were with us for our celebration. The food was phenomenal! Some of my favorites were the ceviche, red snapper, and the beef & potatoes. Everything was delicious though. Even when things went off schedule on our part all of the team adapted quickly and smoothly. They really went the extra mile to accommodate some last minute changes we made.

Also, they paid great attention to me (the bride) and my mother by delivering beverages to us personally in moments when we weren't in the reception area.

As D.C. residents, we were proud to have Eat & Smile who source from local vendors and farms for their ingredients, food and beverage items.

We feel very loved and fulfilled, and are grateful we could share this weekend with such wonderful people.

I don't know how to thank them enough for answering all of our questions, and keeping us on track! We couldn't have done this without them. If we ever have a big event again, we will definitely come to E&S.

Thank you so so much again!

Mary Sent on 07/10/2018

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We used Eat & Smile Catering for our wedding this past June and absolutely loved it. The food was by far better than any catering I’ve had before. When reviewing caterers, E&S stood out because the food was local, fresh, flavorful and fun! E&S worked with us to keep our catering budget centered, while allowing us creative license with menu options. We were happy to support a small business in DC, but even happier with the service and products!

Paige Sent on 06/30/2018

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These people ROCK!!! We requested an out-of-the ordinary menu- 4 passed appetizers and 4 small plates that went with an ampersand theme- mac & cheese, shrimp & grits, spaghetti & meatballs...etc etc. Our guest RAVED about the yummy comfort food! Katie was exceptionally easy to work with-replied to emails within minutes many times. All aspects of the process were EASY and the results were beyond our wildest dreams! Our venue was overjoyed with the condition our venue was left in-they said it was exceptional! Really cannot recommend Eat & Smile highly enough. Delicious food and great quality & value. Five stars all the way!!!

Jartan Sent on 01/26/2018

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Best company I seen ever ! Recommend them by my family !

Emily Sent on 01/24/2018

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This is the best place to invite your family and friends !

Ann Sent on 12/19/2017

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Eat and Smile catered our daughter's wedding. From the first email they were so delightful to work with. Katie was our point woman. She was wonderful, detailed, patient, filled with great ideas, and always very positive. We loved their philosophy of remaining a small boutique catering company using in season, fresh, and locally grown ingredients, and creating unique and delicious recipes for each client. Our wedding guests raved about the food. An excellent menu was important to our foodie daughter, who formerly worked for the International Culinary Center in NYC. Eat & Smile delivered. :)

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Simon Sent on 12/19/2017

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We used Eat & Smile Catering for our daughter's wedding and they did a terrific job. They were very easy to work with, the food and service were both outstanding and they had no problem dealing with dietary issues (gluten-free and vegan) that we required. It was a wonderful wedding and they made a major contribution to making it so.

Elizabeth Sent on 11/19/2017

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Eat & Smile is the realization of every couple's wedding cuisine dream! We worked with Katie primarily, who is just the most lovely person. Our wedding wasn't particularly easy - we had a super tight timeline (our venue had a wedding before ours, in the morning/afternoon!) and a strict set of venue restrictions on nearly every aspect of setup and service. Katie navigated every hurdle with the perfect blend of courteousness and knowledgeable advice. When we'd ask for something a little unusual food-wise, Katie and Oliver responded by figuring out the best way to make it happen. In our case, the request was Persian food for my husband's family from Iran; they created a lamb kebab dish with traditional rice that would appeal to everyone! It was to die for. But as crazy as it sounds, I think their fresh signature cocktails were the biggest pleasant surprise. Months later, I still have guests asking, "What was in that honey apple bourbon drink?" or "How can I make that fresh cucumber mint cocktail?" In summary, there's no reason to hesitate in contacting Eat & Smile if you're looking for a caterer. In fact, I'd reach out as soon as possible, because with the perfect blend of kind/attentive service, great value and incredible food, you totally want them on your wedding team.

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Faith Sent on 11/07/2017

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All the Eat & Smile staff were amazing, accommodating, and went well above and beyond what we expected! The planning process was easy and the food was delicious. Everyone told us what a fantastic time they had and how the party really suited us and the kind of people we are. This wouldn't have been possible without all the help from Eat & Smile and the amazing coordinator Elle.

Neil Sent on 11/03/2017

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Katie, Oliver, and the entire Eat & Smile staff were fantastic! We were planning our backyard surprise wedding within 3 months from getting engaged and they were great at helping us plan the menu (they even incorporated dishes from our backgrounds), suggested a great day-of wedding coordinator, and provided an excellent experience for our guests via passed hors d'oeuvres and provided a bartender and servers! They provided a great tasting session where we were able to narrow our menu for our wedding! All our guests were very impressed about their professionalism, service, and the food was delicious! We loved them so much that we are already hiring them for our next even in December!

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User3283314 Sent on 10/10/2017

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We used Eat & Smile to cater our wedding in September 2017 and we could not have been happier with the entire process, from the first email to the follow-up after the event. One of the reasons we were so taken with E&S immediately is that, out of all the caterers we contacted, they were the first ones who seemed to understand our vibe, our budget, and our tastes, and were willing to tailor the experience to us.

We loved working with the E&S team - it was probably one of the most fun pieces of wedding planning! Our team - first Keira, then Katie - always answered emails promptly and in detail and were beyond helpful in making suggestions on what would work best. We had a blast at our tasting and knew we had made the right decision. Plus, it felt so good supporting a local business that prides itself on supporting local suppliers and farmers.

For our actual event, E&S was a dream - the crew that worked our wedding was so kind, charming, and personable - we had compliments from guests on how nice the servers were. They went out of their way to accommodate our requests and made an extra effort to be sure the bride & groom were well fed. Not only that but one very kind server helped salvage some extra items left behind and E&S helped get them back to me - truly going above and beyond!

Finally, the food. The food is AMAZING. Every single thing we had to eat was incredible. They helped us incorporate hometown touches (lobster bisque for the Mainer and breakfast tacos for the Texan), which were both big successes with our guests but every dish we served was a winner. We especially loved the dessert options - gelato from Dolcezza and donuts from District Doughnuts. My only tip for planning is if you choose donuts, assume your guests will eat more than two and order extras - ours went flying off the platters at the wedding!

We cannot thank Eat and Smile enough for making our wedding so special!

Christine Sent on 10/04/2017

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E&S was beyond great for our wedding. Everything was amazing - the service (both day of, and working with Katie in the lead-up), the tasting, the wedding food, the decoration for our reception, and of course, their flexibility and friendliness through every interaction. We loved the food and so did our guests. How often do you hear 'the chicken was excellent' at a wedding?? I planned our wedding from the West Coast, and E&S made everything so easy, I felt I was in great hands with their team. I was so glad we went with them, and it was such an easy decision after the tasting. Not only was the food way better others we tasted, but we were very impressed with E&S' dedication to local sourcing. I'd love to check out their pop up restaurant when we go back to DC sometime!

Elijah Sent on 09/19/2017

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When we started planning our wedding, we learned pretty quickly that as excited as we were to have the celebration, actually planning it was going to be a lot of work.

Enter Eat and Smile.

Three things to know about them –
1) They will make the process of planning a huge element of the wedding (i.e. – everything related to food and drink!) easy.
2) You are going to actually have fun during the planning.
3) Most importantly - your guests (and you) will be blown away by the food and service.

From the moment we began talking to them, it became obvious that this was one big decision we did not need to stress over.

As we started the planning process, they brought us in to their kitchen, with its farmhouse table and cozy atmosphere – and fed us like royalty. They took the time to help us figure out what we really wanted in terms of the feel of the wedding, the experience we wanted our guests to have, and the memories we wanted to create. Then they guided us to build not just the perfect menu, but the perfect experience.

They coordinated with all our other vendors and took much of that work off our plates. During the wedding itself, they were so clearly on top of everything that we could focus entirely on how great it was to be getting married and celebrating with our friends and family (vs. being distracted by wondering if anything was going to go wrong.)

And the food. Oh, the food… Eat and Smile’s food is great. Period. We had a dozen dishes, and every single one of them was stellar. (We were not worried, as we had tasted all the dishes at the tastings, but somehow on the day, E&S outdid themselves.) Our guests noted again and again, both during the wedding and for months afterwards, how amazing the food was.

Bottom line – Go, do a tasting with E&S. You will not regret it.
- Eli and Heather Murphy

Melissa Sent on 08/25/2017

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We met with 2 catering companies and were blown away by Eat & Smile. From the start of the entire process, Katie and her entire team were very responsive to any questions we had. When it came to setting the menu - we had to go back and forth a few times to get the right vegetarian dish and Oliver was very patient with us and provided excellent options time and time again. When the time for the wedding rolled around, we knew we were in love with Eat and Smile and it turns out our guests were too! We opted to have mocktails - and the were such a huge hit. They even accommodated 2 of our gluten free guests with a different side dish. They are really lovely people to work with and I'd work with them again in a heartbeat.

Stephanie Sent on 08/15/2017

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Eat & Smile was amazing. We were remotely planning our wedding from NYC to take place on a family-friend's horse farm in Markham, VA. Keira was so patient and helpful in answering all of my questions and making accommodations to meet up with me at the farm. She was calm and collected, making it easy to openly & honestly discuss everything from the budget to menu options to rentals. I never felt like there were "stupid questions", which made me feel a lot more confident that I comfortably understood the whole process.

And of course, THE FOOD. We still have wedding guests raving about the fried mac n' cheese. Undoubtedly, the best reason for choosing Eat & Smile Catering is that they shared our beliefs that food is a reflection of culture and it is a gesture of love. They took quality ingredients native to the VA/DC area and spun it into a menu that reflected us - Texans and Canadians and Latin Americans and Asians, etc. They took a lot of culinary diversity and made it a cohesive, yet distinctive, menu that made ALL of our guests happy.

We went with their signature Small Plates format, at Keira's recommendation. I was skeptical at first. I had never heard of this format and I was worried that it wouldn't be enough food. I also had to be open minded and re-think the overall design of our reception. It was totally worth it, and Keira helped me re-think the reception. Everyone LOVED it because it was fun and exciting and not the same old "chicken or beef" option. There was more than enough food. Everyone got plenty to eat. Our guests with special dietary restrictions (diary, gluten, vegan, vegetarian) were over the moon with how well the E&S staff cared for them...and we were over the moon with how easy & cheap E&S made it to include those special plate options! The professionalism of the day-of team was outstanding and the service was top notch. I was so impressed with every E&S staffer at our wedding.

We're so happy and very highly recommend!

Julie Sent on 08/08/2017

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Eat and Smile were spectacular!!! From the initial tasting through the breaking down of the party site they were professional, swift, consideration, and fun. Katie was fantastic to work with building the menu and the on-site team - led by the absolutely fabulous Lucy - was the best we've ever worked with - and my husband comes from the food service industry. We cannot recommend them enough and are still dreaming of the mac 'n cheese squares and the ice cream sandwiches! Our guests keep asking if E&S sells their cookies anywhere. Everything was a huge hit! We're grateful to have found such an all-around fabulous caterer. Many thanks and much love to the E&S team!

Kat Sent on 07/26/2017

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From my first email with Katie, I was impressed with Eat and Smile. My mother, fiance and I had a lovely tasting at their space in DC. As we walked to the car, the three of us blurted out "yeah, we are going with Eat and Smile" in unison! We wanted to give our guests a unique dining experience while holding tight to our budget, and Eat and Smile made it happen. I think my husband and I exchanged over 50 emails with Katie and she did not miss a beat! Eat and Smile was able to accommodate a few of my guests that were observing a religious holiday in addition a guest with a food allergy. The entire event team (servers, event captain, bartenders) were cordial and professional. My guests had nothing but wonderful things to say about the food and service. We chose the shrimp and grits as one of the small plates, and our guests devoured them! We went with the continuous cocktail option and were nervous with how our guests would respond. Everyone loved that they could try many several dishes and many people loved that they were full (without feeling overstuffed). Eat and Smile goes way beyond standard wedding fare and is great at taking your recommendations and turning them into a reality. In addition to hearing how delicious the food was, we kept hearing "this is so you!". That is the perfect compliment-it means that Eat and Smile was able to take our personality and aesthetic and translate it into food. We are so incredibly happy with choosing E&S and recommend them highly. I found them to be consummate professionals and a team comprised of dedicated, talented and diligent individuals. Huge thank you to Katie-always so patient, communicative and kind!

Robyn Sent on 06/11/2017

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We could not have picked a more perfect caterer. Katie & Keira were so helpful from my first phone call through the wedding day, answering all our questions and helping us design the perfect menu. While other caterers we spoke with offered completely uninspired options for our vegetarian wedding, Eat & Smile immediately presented us with menus of previous vegetarian and vegan weddings they had catered and showed that they cared about the level of quality and creativity on veg dishes in ways nobody else we spoke with did. And the food was so good! I still have people talking to me about the brussels sprouts and sunchoke caesar salad. They also worked so well with our other vendors to make our day run smoothly. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Brittany Sent on 06/01/2017

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BOOK THIS CATERER! I have been to soo many weddings with lackluster food. This one CERTAINLY gave us and all of our guests a great meal. Everything is fresh, sustainable, and locally sourced. We really cared about those elements. Working with the team - Keira, Oliver, and their amazing waitstaff was a dream. Emailing them was fast and easy - I asked a million questions and never felt like I was left waiting or annoying. Oliver asked us a few questions about our wants and needs for the meal and then produced the most perfect proposal. I wanted to serve 10 courses after I read it. Truly - pork belly baos?!?!?!?! They were heaven. The handling of rentals (plates, silver, linens) was totally seamless and something I had not prepared to talk about before hand. I loved this team and we had the most perfect day thanks to them!

Gaia Sent on 05/17/2017

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My husband and I had a wonderful experience with Eat&Smile Catering! We planned a small wedding, and our day was really made perfect thanks to Katie and the rest of the staff at E&S. They are incredibly responsive, professional, and friendly to work with. They provide a straightforward timeline that they stick to throughout the entire process and work hard to stay within your budget but still provide wonderful food and excellent service. I can't say enough about how much they contributed to our big day flowing smoothly and running perfectly. You will not go wrong with these guys! They are great.

Leila Sent on 05/15/2017

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Eat & Smile went above and beyond to make our wedding day special. Right from the initial email, Katie was incredibly helpful and provided an enormous amount of information not just about the food options, but about rentals, the hall, and other details to keep an eye out.

The day of our wedding, the staff was professional and courteous, and even made sure to keep an eye out on the bridal party to make sure during photos we had water and beverages to make it through all the photos!

The food (passed hors doeuvres, and a seated dinner) was a huge hit, with people raving about it. The food was one of the biggest reasons we chose E&S and we were not disappointed!

We highly recommend Eat & Smile Catering, they were absolutely fabulous!

Lucy Sent on 05/04/2017

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I'm the mother-of-the-bride and had no part of the decisionmaking. As a participant in a lovely wedding, however, I thought the food was delicious and the staff was efficient and friendly. In addition, they are eco-friendly and very proud of that. I hope I have the occasion to use Eat & Smile for a future event.

Sofia Sent on 03/14/2017

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Everything came out fantastic, guests raved about the food all night.

Holly Sent on 01/25/2017

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Eat and Smile are simply amazing! They took the time to listen to us to find out our likes and dislikes and even held a private tasting for us both at a time convenient for us. They answered my many questions leading up to the event and were always there. During the event the staff was attentive and worked seamlessly with my other vendors. I recommend Eat and Smile! They are local, easy to work with and do the job so you don't have to think about it! Thank you Eat and Smile!

Alyssa Sent on 01/17/2017

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Eat and Smile were just fantastic. They design a perfectly in season menu that fits your wedding - no set menus here. They catered our wedding on a farm where they only had a tent for prep and we asked them to do passed dishes all night, rather than a sit-down dinner. Despite these challenges, they created an unforgettable feast, always flexible and creative. I couldn't recommend them more. Just so you know, they're on the pricier side, since everything's local and organic, but they were worth every penny.

Erin Sent on 01/07/2017

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Both my husband and I have only great things to say about Eat & Smile, which we hired for our October 2016 wedding. We chose them because of their sustainable sourcing policies, environmentally-friendly dinnerware and clean-up model, as well as the quality and creativity of their food. Later, we were happily surprised by the professionalism, responsiveness, and experience of Katie, our main contact and guide leading up to the wedding. The rest of the Eat&Smile team, which we only met the day of the wedding, was easy going, attentive and kept everything moving like a well-oiled machine.

Our guests were happy with the food, as were we! The serving format we chose (passed hors d'oeuvres, passed small plates, and small bite desserts), while somewhat new and unexpected for our guests, worked perfectly to help create the friendly and light-hearted ambience we sought to create.

We would recommend Eat & Smile Catering without hesitation.

Jenna Sent on 11/03/2016

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Eat and Smile did a wonderful job catering my wedding! They were very responsive, answering all our questions and helping to find solutions that would work for a very diverse group of guests. Highly recommend!

Meredith Sent on 10/11/2016

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Not only was the food delicious, but Keira and Jamie were so wonderfully flexible and helpful in making the day go smoothly. We had to switch to the rain plan last minute and the E&S team did a fantastic job being flexible and making the space work. We had brunch food and everyone raved about how good it was! I loved that it was all local and seasonal too.

Meghan Sent on 10/09/2016

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We had an excellent experience with Eat & Smile from start to finish for our 100-guest wedding. They first caught our attention due to their commitment to local sourcing, eco-conscious practices, and small size. Their tasting is different from others in the industry. They have you come in to taste several courses, but not your actual menu. Since the food we tasted was great, Katie was very responsive, and the price was on par with others in the industry, we decided to go with them.

We opted for the passed small plates service option and were very happy with our choice. No seating charts, and lots of flexibility for the vegans and GF guests in our party. Katie was very helpful in giving us advice about how to set up the event because Eat & Smile had catered events at our venue before (Rockwood Manor). E&S provides bartenders and ice, but you provide the beer, wine, and liquor. This is a nice bonus for those of us who enjoy alcohol shopping and want to save money, though it requires you to schlep the alcohol to the venue.

The food was all delicious, and the day-of service was also wonderful. The communication between Katie and the event captain Meghal was perfect. The servers were very good about making sure the vegan and GF folks were fed on time even when non-vegan, non-GF menu items were being passed around.After the event, everything was cleaned up on time per the venue's instructions.

The one snafu we encountered was that the vendor E&S hired for linens and glassware didn't show up to pick up the stuff the day after, which didn't make the venue happy. However, E&S was great about mediating between the vendor and the venue, and the problem was solved without much headache on our end. We really appreciated that we were able to easily get in touch with E&S staff (on their days off!) to work on the problem the day after the wedding.

P.S. Make sure to book well in advance. They're a small operation and can only handle a limited number of events per day.

User2854536 Sent on 10/06/2016

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I can't say enough good things about Eat & Smile. They were the first vendor we found for our wedding, and the only caterer we visited. (The food during our visit was that good!) Katie was so friendly and helpful and gave us tons of advice about our wedding planning. Eat & Smile partners with many other vendors and gave us plenty of references that helped make our planning easy. She was responsive and patient throughout the process, going above and beyond with advice and suggestions. They were extremely helpful with planning and executing setup for all vendors at the venue. And, of course, the food at the wedding was fantastic. More than highly recommended!

User2641642 Sent on 06/09/2016

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Eat & Smile were absolutely terrific. They checked all the boxes: great food, reasonable pricing, and execution. They made everything very easy for us as they took care of most of the wedding logistics during the reception. When there were some (minor) issues during the dinner, they moved fast to quickly resolve them. I highly recommend E&S.

User2637639 Sent on 06/07/2016

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My wife and I had an excellent experience with Eat & Smile, to whom we were referred by our coordinator, Candy+Co. We loved their vision for passed small plates, and highly recommend this format for couples who want to do something a little different. It was great being able to mingle during the reception. The food quality and presentation was top-notch, and we received so many compliments. Service was professional and unobtrusive. We also liked their use of biodegradable plates and silverware and focus on farm-to-table and procuring local ingredients. I feel the price was extremely fair for the level of service provided. Highly recommended

Katherine Sent on 06/03/2016

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I first discovered Eat & Smile since they are a recommended vendor for my venue, and I can see why. Their food, quality of service, and responsiveness, made it so easy to choose them as our wedding caterer! Throughout the process, Katie was SO helpful, answering all of our questions, even about other wedding-related items beyond catering. Our tasting was so good, trying the different small plates that they are so good at producing. I appreciated that I had a request for a customized type of hors d'oeuvres to represent my grandpa, and they were able to do that with no problem. We went with two stations (tacos and crepes) plus two small passed plated at our wedding and it worked really well. Guests really liked the stations, especially the crepe one since it turned into sweet crepes for dessert time. We also got two of their drink mixers for guests to pair with alcohol or to enjoy with sparkling water. Guests really liked our two seasonal flavor options, which fit well with our spring wedding! I also loved their partnerships with local businesses, so we had District Doughnuts instead of cake! The staff the day of was also great, getting us anything we needed and making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. And once again, I can't say enough good things about Katie who was beyond helpful through the entire planning process. And I might be a little biased, but I think it was easily the best wedding food I have ever had!

Caitlyn Sent on 05/17/2016

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If you want a unique, fully-tailored catering experience for your wedding (and why wouldn't you?), contact Eat & Smile immediately! Every experience we had with them was absolutely fantastic. From the initial meeting with Katie for our pre-contract tasting, where we were able to savor a number of samples that Chef Friendly and his wonderful team created, through the sub-vendor contracting, through the day of and after our wedding, everything was flawless. My husband and I wanted the food to be the main focus of our wedding day, and Eat & Smile's "we cater to your tastes and aren't limited to pick-and-choose from a limited number of items" attitude was perfect for us. We chose to do a laid-back, cocktail and small plates-style dinner, which E&S excels at. Every dish wowed our guests (as did our signature cocktail, Gnome's Water, a refreshing cucumber drink that perfectly matched the vibe), and looked absolutely beautiful. E&S prides itself on working with local farmers as much as possible and tries to keep the food seasonal, which makes the flavors shine. The day-of wait staff and bartenders were so friendly and seemed to be enjoying our wedding just as much as we were. Payment was a breeze, and Katie and the team really listened to our wishes. We couldn't have asked for a better caterer - I'm just upset that it's over and we won't get to eat OMFG pork sliders unless we order them again!

Megan Sent on 05/06/2016

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Eat & Smile catered our 100 person wedding at Josephine Butler Park Center, and they were absolutely amazing! From the beginning, Katie was really responsive, even though it was peak wedding season. After we had a great tasting and meeting with Katie, we knew E&S would be perfect for our wedding. We really wanted to support local businesses, and through E&S we got to support a great local business and local farmers. Katie was super organized and followed the timeline they laid out in the contract, which helped us keep on schedule. She also coordinated our rentals through one of E&S’s partners, which was especially nice when we hit some planning fatigue. Plus, E&S is really familiar with our venue, which made planning a lot easier.

When it came to the food, everything was awesome! We loved that they asked about the theme of our wedding as part of the menu planning. Chef Oliver did a great job of capturing our DC theme in the menu options, including mini half-smokes as one of passed hors d’oeuvres and The Rickey as one of our signature cocktails. We ended up doing two signature cocktails, three passed hors d’oeuvres, and a plated dinner with salad and three meal options. All the food was delicious, and our friends are still talking about the Mac and cheese bites. E&S also handled all our bartending, and made delicious Rickeys and Apple Shrubs as our signature cocktails. We wanted a simple dessert that would be a sweet treat while people were dancing, so it was perfect that E&S has a relationship with District Doughnuts making it super easy to order some delicious donuts for the end of the night. Every single person working our wedding was really nice and professional. Everything went so smoothly, and we are so happy that we chose to E&S as part of our wedding!

Keely Sent on 05/05/2016

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I would highly recommend Eat & Smile as your DC-area wedding caterers.

We had Eat & Smile cater our 100-person wedding at St. Francis Hall, which included passed hors'doeuvres and a plated dinner. Katie, Chef Oliver, and the rest of the Eat & Smile team were fantastic to work with. Chef Oliver worked with us to create a menu that was perfectly set to our preferences and budget, and the food itself was well-prepared and delicious.

Katie was our main point of contact starting with the tasting all the way to the wedding day. She is awesomely communicative and fun to work with. Katie provided valuable input not only on the food, servers, and linens which we contracted for through E&S; but also on things like beverage service (we used Ace Beverage for alcohol), table placement, timeline, and guest flow.

On the day of the wedding our guests also pointed out how personable and professional the entire E&S serving and bartender staff were during the event. They also took care of the setup and the breakdown of the venue and it all went very smoothly.

Laura Sent on 04/17/2016

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Eat & Smile was fabulous! From the tasting, to working with Katie, to having Jamie as our day-of lead, everything was excellent. We choose Eat & Smile because the food was great and Katie always got back to our emails extremely quickly. Throughout the whole planning process, I could always count on her to respond to our questions and concerns very quickly, and this really reduced the stress. They were also excellent day-of. The staff was friendly and did a great job working with our friends who were our day-of coordinators. They also worked well with the extras that we brought in (home-made cookie table, challah, etc.) They also set out the centerpieces and decorations that we made and everything was beautiful. I give Katie and the team my highest recommendation.

User2543965 Sent on 02/28/2016

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I don't know if I can put into words just how wonderful Eat and Smile was to work with. From the first email to the first tasting, from last minute adjustments to a perfectly choreographed reception, Eat and Smile was simply the best. They adapted to a venue with considerable restrictions and pulled it off without issue. Eat and Smile offers packages at every budget level.

We went on the lower end, with Eat and Smile charging about half of what other caterers in the DC area charge, and were blown away by the quality and the options. Eat and Smile also offers an option that we didn't see with anyone else, a "party style," with 5 hors d'oeuvres and 3 small plates, that is a playful alternative to a sit-down dinner. This style means that you don't need seats for every guest, as people can grab food as they please, and it saves you the headache of figuring out that seating arrangement. This also means that food comes to your guests, and there are no lines at a buffet table or cold food waiting at pre-set tables.

Not only were the mechanics seamless, but the food itself is amazing! We had many guests comment to us about how great the food was - and that NEVER happens at weddings! Eat and Smile embraced our preferences and provided a custom tailored menu that was also incredibly inclusive to those with any sort of dietary limitations.

Other bonuses:
You can rent their liquor license, which saves you the hassle of getting approval from the DC government and also allows you to choose your own alcohol vendor. We were able to get beer, wine, and three types of liquors from Costco, for 120 guests, for about $700. It was incredible.

They have a relationship with a rental company and handle all the logistics. It was great and saved a lot of energy.

I would recommend Eat and Smile to every friend and stranger who is getting married. You absolutely will not be disappointed.

Amanda Sent on 01/28/2016

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Katie was fantastic to work with. Great at being flexible, but also keeping me on track. The tasting was fun, but not drawn out and a great chance to get a sense of the type of food they create. The chef was flexible in creating a menu that reflected our personalities and the food we love, like a biscuit bar and a cheesy grits station. Our guests really loved the food and I appreciated their willingness to work with me on keeping the costs affordable. All together a wonderful experience!! I hope you'll love working with them as much as we did.

Suzanne Sent on 01/22/2016

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When I was planning our wedding, we knew we wanted to do a full dinner but served "cocktail style". I didn't think I'd be able to find anyone willing to cater this - in walked Eat & Smile. Not only did they understand my vision, but they assured me that they did more than 1/2 their weddings that way and were pros at it. We went for a tasting and were blown away by how delicious everything was. I expected to think it tasted good for "wedding food". It was beyond anything I expected. We worked with Oliver to craft a custom menu for our reception. They worked with our dietary restrictions (nut allergy) and made sure to provide a few gluten/dairy free choices as well for some of our guests. We worked with Katie Rotramel who held our hand through every step of the process. She directed us to several of the other vendors we ended up using and went above and beyond to highlight things we had forgotten. They did an amazing job at service - despite not having set tables - every guest got every bite of food.

Hilary Sent on 12/09/2015

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After reading so many positive reviews, we had our eyes set on Eat & Smile even before we were set on a venue, and I'm still so happy they were available on the day of our event. We love their local approach to food, and reuse and recycle mentality, and I can't say enough about their services and the entire staff!

Within a few hours of contacting E&S we heard back from Katie, who was our contact all the way through to the wedding. She did a fantastic job hosting us for the tasting, explaining about the services, answering our questions, keeping track of our orders, helping with the venue walk through and layout, and coordinating all of the rentals. Working with Oliver on the menu was a breeze, especially after we received such amazing initial menu options - just choosing was the hardest part! We knew for our venue and space that we wanted to do an hors d'oeuvres/small plate format for the reception, and Katie helped guide us on the flow and optimal set up of the space.

On the day of the wedding, the Eat and Smiling staff were so impressive from start to finish. They were incredibly helpful with setting up the space and offering assistance where needed. When I first entered the reception, the first things I heard were how good all of the appetizers were! The food was absolutely incredible, so fresh and beautifully plated, and we are still receiving compliments to this day. We used the compostable dishware which was also a big hit and helped compliment the local and fresh food vibe. Our guests loved the small plate format, and the staff and servers were so tuned in to our guests and any requests they had.

We couldn't be happier about our experience with Eat and Smile and highly HIGHLY recommend them!

User2415678 Sent on 11/08/2015

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Eat & Smile did a fantastic job catering our rehearsal dinner at The Gibson in Washington DC. Katie, Erin, Oliver and the whole team were incredibly collaborative and responsive, and helped us plan and manage every last detail. Highly recommended.

Sarah Sent on 11/03/2015

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From the very start working with Katie was a dream. She was so responsive to our inquiry and any follow up questions. After tasting their delicious food it was clear that we had to have E&S cater our day. We loved how their food seemed to be exquisitely well-done comfort food with an elevated twist. Every step of the planning was so easy with Katie- she gave us wonderful advice, took care of our rentals, our dessert/favors, and probably so much more that we were unaware of. The small changes that we suggested were taken into account and executed perfectly. We absolutely loved working with E&S- their staff, their talented chefs, and incredible service is second to none. If you want the highest quality food and service, with incredibly down to earth, professional staff- then you need to have E&S cater your next event.

User2404307 Sent on 11/01/2015

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Hire Eat & Smile for your next catering need and you and your guests will be gushing for weeks about how amazing the food and service was! We cannot say enough great things about this group of people. Katie was our point of contact for the planning process. From the first phone call to the last email right before our wedding, she was always kind, upbeat, professional and timely. She and Chef Oliver made the entire planning process so easy and was extremely patient with my never ending list of questions. Michael was our day-of captain/show runner. He too was a delight and kept me confident that the service would be top notch. Seeing as I was the bride, I relied on my guests to evaluate the service. There was not a single complaint. Guests said the staff was friendly, helpful and funny. Michael made sure my husband and I ate, and the food was everything we had hoped for. It was also very cool that this company is very green and Eco-friendly. One of the best decisions we made for this wedding was hiring Eat & Smile.

Shaina Sent on 10/18/2015

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Eat & Smile went above and BEYOND all of our expectations both for service and for the delicious, locally sourced food.

We met Katie after a particularly terrible experience with a caterer recommended by our venue. We truly did not know what to expect and thought we may have to lower our expectations for wedding food. As food lovers, this was disheartening to us as we wanted to showcase our love of food on the big day almost as much as we wanted to showcase our love for each other. Enter Eat & Smile - on Day 1 we were able to try a menu they had put together for another wedding and we were blown away. The flavor profile was so complex and the menu so tailored that we felt as if we were eating at one of our favorite restaurants and not wedding fare.

Katie and Oliver worked with us over email to create a menu that reflected our Indian-Italian background and were so amenable to any changes that we had related to family recipes. Not only did the actual fare come out awesome, but the team was able to work to create an entirely different style of distribution than we had originally agreed to when unforeseen space issues made small plates not an option for us - we were able to transition to family style seamlessly.

On the day of the wedding, the food that we were able to eat tasted even better than that at our tasting - even though it was made for 20x as many people. Not an easy accomplishment and a real testament to their ability to bring such complex flavors to such a large scale under high pressure.

Bottom Line - Book Eat & Smile, trust their ability to enhance your vision and definitely get the signature drinks (ours were an old-fashioned and a tom collins- ah-mazing).

Mary Sent on 09/08/2015

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We can’t say enough about this wonderful caterer!

We chose Eat and Smile to cater our wedding reception. Our experience was extremely positive throughout the planning period and during the event. We were delighted to have the opportunity to taste from their menu, provide input for planning based on our favorite cuisines, comment on the proposed menu, and work closely with a terrific liaison, Katie, who was accessible, pleasant, organized and responsive.

Our guests were delighted with the food and raved about the freshness of each dish, combination of flavors, and how well dishes complimented each other. We had five appetizers passed when guests had cocktails: gazpacho soup shots, jalapeño hushpuppies, mini crab cakes, salmon tartar in cucumber cups, watermelon and feta skewers. Every single one was outstanding and it is impossible to pick a favorite. The small plates offered as the main meal also were just amazing! These included a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, a beef dish with ratatouille and vegetables, and fresh Maryland rockfish. Finally, in lieu of wedding cake we chose to offer small bite sized desserts and they were the perfect sweet ending to the evening and included key lime tartlets, Mexican chocolate truffles, baby strawberry pies, and pear tarts with spiced pecans.

The fact that Eat and Smile works with local growers and is environmentally aware also appealed to us. They serve the small plates to guests with implements which simplifies the reception after the passed appetizers.

We were able to obtain tablecloths and glassware through a vendor coordinated by Eat and Smile and that also streamlined the set up and breakdown of our event. We did our own decorating with sentimental family items and Katie ensured nothing went missing after the event. The whole thing was perfect, met out needs, made our guests happy, and created a happy and relaxed atmosphere. Call Eat and Smile for your next event!

Grant Sent on 08/20/2015

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The team at Eat & Smile is incredible! We had a wonderful experience with them at our wedding on 8/15/15 (and over the past year during the planning phase!). We worked with Katie, she's a gem! She was professional, passionate, knowledgable, and quick to respond to all of our requests, questions, and changes. Eat & Smile was flexible with our budget, and never sacrificed service or quality. Our menu was customized perfectly for us, and we heard nothing but rave reviews about the food! We are so happy we went with E&S as our caterer, we wouldn't change a thing! If you care about food, menu creativity, and making sustainable choices, then please check our Eat & Smile. We highly recommend their services :)

User2350304 Sent on 08/16/2015

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Eat & Smile delivered a delicious, personalized menu for our wedding, and we couldn't have been happier! Katie was our main point of contact, and she was always very quick to respond to all of our questions. I felt like she and the team really made an effort to get to know us, and the types of food we liked, which really showed when it came time for the tasting as well as the final menu for our wedding. Instead of a traditional sit-down dinner, we chose to have a cocktail-style reception where small plates were passed throughout the night. Part of the reason we chose Eat & Smile was because they are very experienced in this style of reception, and we trusted their expertise. We made a request for a specific dish to be added to our menu, and they were more than happy to oblige. Our menu included a variety of cuisines, and they excelled in executing all of them. They also have partnerships with other local vendors and can offer unique services for your wedding. We took advantage of their partnership with Vigilante Coffee, and added their pour-over coffee service. It was a big hit with our guests, especially those that aren't familiar with that style of preparation. All of their staff that worked our event were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. One of our guests is a chef and owns his own catering company, and was not only impressed with the quality of the food, but also with how knowledgeable everyone was about the food and where it came from. Anytime I approached the bar, the bartenders always remembered what I was drinking, and had a beer ready for me as soon as they saw me. We had an all-around great experience with Eat & Smile and highly recommend them for any event.

User2268278 Sent on 08/12/2015

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The food was absolutely amazing great experience very professional couldn't of had a better place thanks so mocha

Laura Sent on 06/01/2015

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If I could do my wedding reception over, I'd choose Eat&Smile again in a heartbeat! Katie and her staff are FANTASTIC. I emailed Eat&Smile through the generic email address and within hours Katie called me. I knew after talking with her over the phone that they were the caterer for us. Your event will be one-of-a-kind thanks to Eat&Smile and their insistence on not using pre-planned menus, but instead truly catering the menu to each individual event/couple. Katie and her staff kept us on track with planning with friendly reminders/gentle nudges to get our menu choices, head counts, etc. in and were so helpful in planning the table set-up, timeline, etc. Katie is responsive and calm. I felt like she was my right hand woman through planning the reception in regards to the food/timeline/how things would go. She is awesome. I had every confidence that when I told her something on the fly, she'd make note and follow-through and that things at the reception would be exactly as we had discussed-- and they were-- BUT BETTER!

The food was AMAZING. The staff at the reception was AMAZING. Jillian and her crew know how to be relaxed while providing EXCELLENT service. As soon as my husband (!) and I walked into the reception, a staff person with a smile on her face approached us with a board of appetizers. Throughout the evening, the staff made sure we had food and anything else we needed.

We requested a special signature cocktail and Eat&Smile absolutely nailed it. It was a Spicy Gnome's Water and it was delicious. Go for the signature cocktails!!!

I cannot say enough good things about Katie, Jillian and the staff and chefs at Eat&Smile. CHOOSE THIS CATERER FOR YOUR EVENT. You will NOT be disappointed!

User2148525 Sent on 05/26/2015

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We absolutely loved working with Eat & Smile. We worked primarily with Katie, who did an amazing job helping us to come up with a perfect menu of locally-sourced hors d'oeuvres and small plates for our wedding. Even though we had never been to a wedding without a sit down dinner, everyone raved about our "reception-style" format and we wouldn't have had it any other way. What's more, the Eat & Smile staff were incredibly fun and courteous throughout the entire evening -- and helped give our reception the relaxed vibe we wanted. We cannot thank Katie enough for all of her responsiveness and help throughout the way. PS - Don't skip the signature cocktails...our guests loved them!

User2039865 Sent on 02/14/2015

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We hired Eat and Smile for our wedding a month ago and could not have been happier. The most frequent comment we've heard from guests (and the other vendors!) is how fantastic the food was. We did a small plates format and people were fighting over the extra dishes that came to the tables. We worked with Katie who was so organized, professional and responsive (would usually hear back the same day!), that we knew we were in good hands and didn't have to worry about anything on the actual day. Another thing we really appreciated about Eat and Smile was that we were able to work directly with one of their chefs to design the menu we wanted - there was no picking off of set lists and the presentation of the food was great. We highly recommend them.

User1972050 Sent on 12/16/2014

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We had a wonderful experience with Eat and Smile Catering. They worked with us to create a delicious and locally sourced menu that was a big hit with both us and our guests. They were incredibly flexible throughout the planning process, especially in helping us keep our costs down by using lower-cost ingredients and sticking with passed hors d'oeuvres and small plates. Beyond the delicious food, the team day-of was incredible! They always made sure the we had food delivered to the bride and groom personally and reminded them to eat instead of socializing all night. And when a guest accidentally spilled a glass of wine on the bride's dress, an amazing bar attending came running over and saved the day with cold water. We can't recommend them any more!

Ryan Sent on 10/17/2014

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My wife and I had an amazing experience from start to finish with Eat & Smile.

We'd met with a couple potential caterers for our wedding before finally finding E&S. We envisioned a casual wedding atmosphere featuring passed hors d'oeuvres and small plates, but every catering manager we met with discouraged us from doing so and would steer us toward their way of doing things.

When we finally sat down with the folks at E&S, they "got it" right away. They are amazingly flexible, which they proved time and time again as we planned our wedding. We got advice, suggestions and help throughout the process, and I doubt some of their larger competitors could have matched their level of "can do."

Our guests came to us throughout the evening of our wedding with praise for the food ("This is the best wedding food I've ever had!"), the people ("Everyone on the catering staff is so friendly!") and the service ("My glass was never empty!"). A friend from Chicago (a huge foodie) even tried to convince E&S to travel to cater her wedding next summer. They're that good.

User1727152 Sent on 07/22/2014

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We were extremely happy with the services provided by Eat & Smile. The staff was very accommodating to our preferences and went to great lengths to ensure that we were satisfied with the menu options. Throughout the process (but particularly in the months leading up to our wedding), E&S stayed in close contact and ensured we had all the necessary details sorted out, removing a great deal of our stress. The food served at our wedding reception was delicious and beautifully presented, and the staff was very professional. We would not hesitate at all to recommend E&S to anyone in need of catering services.

User1708266 Sent on 06/22/2014

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Eat & Smile catered our outdoor wedding, and we loved every part of working with them. Looking for a caterer was the part of wedding planning we dreaded the most, but our tasting with Chef Oliver was really fun and it was much easier and more comfortable to pick the caterer first, and pick the exact menu later on - we hired E&S on the spot. We worked with Erin on logistics, and she was extremely organized and attentive to detail, which put us at ease. On the day, the food and service was phenomenal (thank you Michael and team!) and all of our guests loved the “small plates” format, which we felt was a fun, unique and more fluid way to have our wedding dinner. The staff was also extremely adaptable throughout the event, seamlessly taking on dessert service when our dessert vendor broke down en route and also handling requests from guests with dietary restrictions. We found the entire team to be professional, well organized, and just a joy to work with, and have already sent engaged friends in for their own tastings.

User1657017 Sent on 06/11/2014

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My husband and I knew that we wanted our wedding to be less formal - think more cocktail dance party rather than sit down dinner full of toasts and speeches. After an exhaustive search of many caterers in the area (some of whom wouldn't even talk to us when they heard what our budget was), we contacted Eat&Smile based on a referral from friends who had used them for our wedding.

Oliver was wonderful right out of the box. He completely understood what kind of wedding we were hoping to have and the fact that we had very little wiggle room within our budget. He crafted menu options that were delicious, fun, locally-sourced, and did I mention delicious? His team was fantastic to work with, responsive, and transparent so there aren't any surprises the day of.

I wholeheartedly recommend Eat&Smile.

User1629626 Sent on 05/23/2014

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We really wanted to have local food, if possible. We weren't sure it was something we could afford, but Eat & Smile sources locally as much as possible and is priced similarly to other caterers in D.C. And the food was really, really good!

The pricing was very transparent -- they're only caterer I saw that does not include an automatic service charge, which lets you decide how much to tip. They also are very willing to work with you on price. They have an option for heavy passed hors d'oeuvres, which we didn't end up choosing but was much more reasonable for the area.

During the planning, they were very responsive -- it was pretty impressive, considering how many emails they must get per day.

They also were great on the wedding day. A plate with a selection of all the appetizers was brought to us as soon as we walked into the reception. (Actually, we hadn't even made it past the driveway.) The event "captain" was cheerful and easy to work with whenever I had a question. All the staff were great, in fact.

They were flexible when our plans hit a snag. We rented tableware from a separate company, and they failed to deliver most of the plates for the entree. Not a problem; the catering team came up with a plan to move the toasts in between the first course and main course, and then washed all the first-course dishes to use for the entree! No stress for me at all, and the guests were none the wiser.

Great food and great attitudes.

Michael Sent on 12/03/2013

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Oliver and his team at Eat & Smile were fantastic! From the very beginning at our food tasting, it was obvious how much he loves what he does and how much thought and preparation he puts in to all of his work.

My husband and I are from very different backgrounds – he’s from the South where the food is more buffet style and I’m from the North where everyone is used to a cocktail hour followed by a sit-down dinner. So, we needed a caterer that understood both of those traditions and would meet all of those needs. Oliver delivered!

What’s great about Eat & Smile is that they will work with you to come up with a menu and a style of dinner exactly how you want. Oliver and his team design your menu to whatever price point you want to spend and they will work with you along the way based upon that price point.

After telling him what we were looking for as our food options, he came up with a menu that exceeded our expectations – a true representation of the North and South. Everyone is still raving about the fried green tomato sliders and the braised brisket and mashed potatoes!

A special accolade must be given to Erin, Eat & Smile’s operations manager. With Oliver’s business (rightfully so) becoming so popular, Erin came on during our wedding process and from day one, handled everything for us! She was extremely responsive to all of our questions and concerns, highly organized and very attentive to detail. We didn’t have to worry about anything when it came to catering because she was so on top of everything!

The night of the wedding, Oliver lit up when he saw my husband and me when we arrived at our wedding venue and he gave us a huge hug – a testament to how personal he treats his job and his clients. The rest of his staff - from the bartenders to the servers - were attentive, friendly and seemed to really enjoy themselves at the wedding.

We would recommend Oliver, Erin and Eat & Smile Foods in a heartbeat and hope to work with them in the future.

Maria Sent on 11/08/2013

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We can't say enough good things about Eat & Smile Catering. From our first contact with them through to after the wedding, they were absolutely amazing. Chef Oliver and his team were extremely knowledgeable, easy to get along with and work with, and very flexible. The philosophy of using local, fresh ingredients to make innovative yet familiar and approachable dishes was right on point for us. Also, everything was tailored for us as a couple and to our vision for our wedding. There were no preset prices, no preset items to choose from like at so many other caterers. There was no having to sacrifice anything because of our budget. E&S started with our budget and then told us how much we could do within it, rather than making us fit into a standard package. Compared to other caterers with preset menus for every couple to fit into based on a price range, that alone made going with them a no-brainer. We were asked for our favorite foods, favorite cuisines, favorite restaurants, and the aesthetics of our wedding in order for them to prepare a menu specifically for us. What came back was so thoughtful and creative that we could hardly choose between our options. Anything from the list they sent us would have been perfect. And what we went with WAS perfect. Our guests raved about our food and we couldn't help but just say "I know! Wasn't our wedding dinner fantastic?!" You would have thought you were at a 4 star restaurant rather than being served along with 130 other people from a warming kitchen. That's the magic of E&S. The service was impeccable as well. They made everything work so perfectly and handled everything so seamlessly that the night flowed without any hiccups and we didn't have to worry about a thing. If I got married a hundred times and with a hundred different budgets, the only things that wouldn't change each time would be the groom and Eat & Smile as the caterer. We absolutely recommend them without reservation.

Scott Sent on 11/03/2013

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My wife and I hired Eat & Smile to cater our 90-guest wedding on October 26, 2013. Oliver was one of the first vendors we hired, and it was one of the best decisions we made. His staff were miracle workers, Erin, the office manager, was amazing and helpful. Most importantly, the food was delicious. Many of our guests commented that it was the best wedding meal they'd ever had.

Before we signed a contract, Oliver cooked us a meal in his home. The items were based on what produce looked best at the time rather than a list of items he provided to every couple. We found it really helpful that he cooked the items as he would at a wedding with many guests, rather than taking out all the stops to cook for two.

Oliver worked with us to design a hybrid dinner service with heavy appetizers and a one-course plated meal, and kept to the budget we were willing to spend. My wife is vegetarian, as were many of our guests, and he was able to provide a off-menu meal for them that wasn't just an afterthought. Many veg guests were appreciative that they could eat most of the appetizers, too. Oliver took our suggestion of "comfort food with a twist" and was able to provide delicious options such as fried mac-and-cheese, fish tacos, and baby pizzas (the last was especially nice, since when we first set out to plan the wedding, we just wanted to do pizza and beer but had long given up on it with only a warming kitchen to work with). For dessert, Eat & Smile was able to make any cupcake and macaron flavor we wanted.

Eat & Smile's staff were miracle workers. During set up, we found that some of the tablecloths that we'd purchased were too small, but Eat & Smile were able to find a solution using other linens, and nobody noticed anything. During cocktail hour, they made sure that my wife and I were able to sample everything that was served.

We would eat Eat & Smile's food any time and any place. If Oliver opened a restaurant, we'd be the first in line.

User1415226 Sent on 11/01/2013

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Choosing Eat & Smile for our wedding was the best decision we ever made. They were great to work with: responsive, flexible, and reasonable. I've already recommended them to several couples looking for caterers for their weddings and so have my guests.

Nikki Sent on 10/25/2013

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Eat and Smile Catering was incredible! Their food and service was absolutely perfect at our wedding!
Eat and Smile was recommended to us by one of our vendors. From our initial communication with them, we knew they were different from any of the caterers that we had talked with - in a really good way!
From the tasting, to menu planning, to pre-wedding plans, to the wedding day, they were professional and always ready to work to achieve any requests and plans that we had.
We asked them to cook in a garage because the venue did not have a kitchen that they could use, and their food was phenomenal! It is a few weeks after the wedding, and we are still getting compliments on how great the food was!
I would recommend Eat and Smile to any bride in this area. They are the best!

Heather Sent on 10/23/2013

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My now husband and I are the type of people who research and think through all of our decisions so thoroughly that it annoys even us sometimes. However, making the decision to hire Eat & Smile was a fairly easy one for us. I researched a number of companies, contacted about 5 for quotes, and then we narrowed it down and went to tastings at two places (we would have gone to three, but one place wanted us to pay over $100 just for a tasting!). The tasting with Eat & Smile blew the competition (a very reputable caterer) away! The quality of the food (fresh, local, and prepared with skill) was above and beyond that being offered by the competition.

Working with Oliver and Erin was also a pleasure. I must have exchanged over 100 emails with Erin when it was all said and done, but she was always responsive and incredibly helpful and friendly.

And when it all counted on our big day, they did such an amazing job! The food and service were exceptional. Many of our guests told to us how wonderful the food was, some of them saying it was the best they had ever had at a wedding. We agree completely. Our wedding day was absolutely perfect, and Eat & Smile was a big part of that success. We would hire them again in a heartbeat.

User1377635 Sent on 10/14/2013

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The food was absolutely delicious, their professionalism was way beyond our expectations, the night flowed so smoothly that if there were any glitches, I never would've noticed because they ran the show!!

User1374390 Sent on 10/11/2013

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We refer to them often and are always thrilled to have them working with our production team here.

User1369598 Sent on 10/08/2013

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The food was delicious! Everyone was professional and kind. They offered suggestions that turned out perfect and were able to make my fiance and my favorites deserts in miniature version to pass around after dinner. Just lovely

Stephanie Sent on 10/01/2013

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Oliver and his team at Eat & Smile did a FANTASTIC job with our wedding. From the get-go everyone was very friendly, helpful, and flexible. Oliver hosted us for a tasting at his home that was delicious, as was the food that was served on the big day. He did a great job coming up with creative ideas that catered to our interests, including a honey lager he brewed himself! Our guests raved about the signature drink they did as well (which we changed on them, btw, with no hitch) that had local apple cider and homemade ginger syrup.

Erin was also a pleasure to work with. She was very communicative and helpful when we were dealing with rentals, the cake etc. The staff the day of was wonderful, everyone very professional. My only complaints would be that the napkins were not folded the way we had discussed (very minor), and they did not start serving wine early enough in the dinner service. Maybe it was intentional, but for the whole first half of dinner no wine was poured and guests had to keep getting up and going to the bar in the other room. Of course, this did not ruin the evening.

In fact one of the things that made my evening was Oliver showing up (he was actually working another wedding that night, so it meant a lot that he showed up in person) to deliver a gift basket of homemade jams & sauces to my husband and me. Maintaining a personal touch, while knowing how to execute things on a grand scale, is what makes Eat & Smile the extraordinary company it is.

My advice: Hire Eat & Smile as your caterer (get the Vigilante coffee service, amazing), and get Alex Friendly as your photographer. They provide quality service, and you get a discount if you hire both since Alex is married to the head chef!

User1242995 Sent on 07/15/2013

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We had a standing reception and these guys fell perfectly in line with our budget! The menu is highly customizable (our theme was "Kentucky meets Korea") and it was great. The staff was amazing and even sought us out to make sure we were eating enough. I was a bit worried that there wasnt going to be enough food, but there was PLENTY! I highly recommend Eat & Smile.

~J.D.

Cristina Sent on 07/08/2013

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The two easiest decisions I made for my wedding were choosing to marry my husband, and hiring Oliver. Working with Eat & Smile is like having your best friend cater your wedding. They care about you, they are passionate, they are organized, they are patient, and most importantly, they UNDERSTAND you. There is absolutely no way you can go wrong with Eat & Smile. We spoke with many different caterers and it felt like talking to a wall. In bullets, here are the reasons you should hire Eat & Smile:

- The food is incredible. Our guests raved about it, and I still drool when I think about our tasting. (Please make sure you eat at your wedding, we didn't!)
- They can make you pretty much whatever you want. If you think you have something that might be too specific or too customized, they can do it.
- When you want to talk to Oliver, you get to talk to Oliver. No jumping through hoops and calling 4958 different people just to talk to the chef.
- They are so organized.
- They are not ripping you off. If there is something you want but you can't afford, they will help you think of other options that will work for you. And it will be perfect.
- The presentation is wonderful.
- They work so well with other vendors - they are respectful, considerate, and professional.
- You will want to be friends with them, like, actually hang out with them after your wedding is over.
- Their dog is awesome and closes kitchen drawers with her paws.

We absolutely loved working with Eat & Smile, and cannot recommend them enough!

Tim Sent on 07/06/2013

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Eat and Smile Catering worked our wedding in May and we could not be happier with the experience! From our first tasting we knew that Eat and Smile was the perfect caterer to service our local DC themed wedding. Oliver and Alex were welcoming and inviting throughout the process, answering all of our questions and really helping to tailor the catering experience to our needs. They offered a wide menu of food choices for us to select from as well as additional add-on services (the Vigilante coffee service was fantastic!). The food was amazing, not your typical “Meat with red wine sauce” that you get at every other wedding you go to. The food felt more like a restaurant experience which is exactly what we were looking for. We would highly recommend Eat and Smile for a wedding or other special event!

Chris Sent on 06/26/2013

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Overall a really excellent caterer. The food was awesome and Oliver helped us figure out how to do an all passed hors d'oeuvres menu which the guests loved because they could mingle and do whatever and not have to sit down to an assigned seat. The staff was all friendly and helpful and they made sure to bring many trays of food to the groom and me. I wasn't a total fan of the desserts but I don't think a lot of people had room for them anyway. The mini pie was a little runny without any food chunks and the mini cupcake was a little dry. The rest of the food was crazy good and fun. Jalapeno poppers, fish tacos, savory tartlets, mini grilled cheese, etc.

Shirley Sent on 04/28/2013

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Eat & Smile catered our wedding in April 2013, providing 8 passed hors d'oeuvres and a bartender, and they were fantastic. The food, service, professionalism, and value were outstanding.

Oliver and Alex were extremely easy to work with. They were very responsive, and always clear about what they could or would be able to do (and provided suggestions for alternatives when our initial idea wasn't going to work). From the start we were excited to work with Eat & Smile after they had us over to their house for a lovely tasting.

Eat & Smile is a great value. The food they prepared for our wedding was delicious, exciting, and local. Our guests were all in love with everything they ate. They take a lot of pride in the food they serve, and it shows. Some of our favorite dishes were the fried mac n cheese, mini crab cakes, and tuna tartare. (As a side note, we initially decided on the passed hors d'oeuvres approach because it was more affordable, but in the end it proved way better than a seated meal; guests could mingle freely without being confined to a table and they got to taste 8 different mini-dishes; and trust us, everyone got plenty to eat!)

The service at our wedding was also outstanding. The servers were friendly, helpful, and ever-present without being in the way. It was a special treat to have food sent downstairs to us (the bride and groom) while we were signing paperwork and doing pictures so that we were able to eat something in the midst of the revelry. Michael, who ran the show during the wedding, was very nice, attentive, organized, and professional. It was such a great experience being able to just enjoy our wedding, and the food, without having to think about any of the behind-the-scenes logistics.

We really can't recommend Eat & Smile enough. If you want delicious food, good service, and care at all about your wedding food being sourced locally, go with these folks and you'll be happy.

Nikki Sent on 03/24/2013

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I hired Eat & Smile catering for my wedding, and they rocked my world. I really cannot say enough good things about Oliver, his team, and the overall experience, but I'll try.

FOOD: Delicious. We chose to do passed hors d'oeuvres, per Oliver's recommendation after we told him the vibe and budget we were going for. This approach worked perfectly for us, and allowed us to have a variety of foods served. Our wedding guests were raving about the food, and everyone had a favorite dish. My favorites were the mini BLTs, roasted red pepper soup shots, hearty steak tacos, mini grilled cheese, and oh my - the brussel sprouts.

SERVICE: The serving team was beyond fabulous. Attentive, friendly, and always where they needed to be. The head server even helped to keep me sane throughout the evening, mostly because he was always there when I needed him and was a calming presence. Eat & Smile provided our bartenders, who may have actually "made" the reception. They were so much fun and really encouraged the party atmosphere we were going for, while also tactfully pushing waters for those guests who over-indulged. ;-)

VALUE: Compared to other DC caterers, I felt that Eat & Smile was very affordable, yet also provided the highest quality ingredients. Oliver was so accommodating to our budget. In the end, I felt like this was one of our only "deals" of the wedding. Also, worth noting is that when I made the final payment, Oliver noticed that there was an error in the invoice and that I had over-paid. Yep, you heard that write. Very high integrity.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Oliver and his team really strive to make your day exactly what you want it to be. I haven't seen this from other caterers. From the day we met him, it was clear that he was open to customizing each and every menu item to meet your unique needs.

In short, I love Eat & Smile!

Danielle Sent on 10/23/2012

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Eat & Smile foods made the catering process so flexible and produced excellent food and service for our wedding! There were no prepackaged menu selections so we were able to craft exactly what meant most to us for a reasonable price, based on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Alex and Oliver worked through a new venue for Eat & Smile facing many hurdles and challenges in a way that was seamless to us. They were great to work with, the food was delicious, and we couldn't have been happier with Oliver and his staff.

Lauren Sent on 10/19/2012

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I found Eat & Smile Foods on an amazing food blog (The Bitten Word) that I follow a few years ago. I bookmarked it thinking that if two foodies writing a food blog used Eat & Smile, they had to be good. A few years later, when my now husband, and I got engaged, I looked back at my bookmark and gave Oliver Friendly a call. He was warm and easy to talk to on the phone and wasted no time inviting us to his home for a tasting. My husband was hesitant as he thought it was strange to go to the house of the caterer for a tasting but Oliver wowed us both with his food, his charm and his knowledge about weddings. My husband and I were in awe over the home smoked bacon, the fresh quality of the food and the small bite combinations and we knew right away that we would use Eat & Smile.

Oliver and his wife, Alex, were amazing throughout the planning process. We had a "cocktail" reception with 12 rounds of heavy passed appetizers from goat cheese stuffed mushrooms to a soup shot trio and caramel macaroons. We had a number of food restrictions: gluten free, vegetarian, etc and with the help of Oliver and Alex, we had options for everyone to eat and be full. The venue where we had our reception is a historic site that just opened their doors for large events- and there were some strange requirements and rules- but, Oliver and his staff navigated through it all and truly helped us to put on an amazing event. The food was prefect. The staff was amazing- I had servers who ensured that I was eating and drinking all night and that even packed us a "to go" bride and groom bag (since we were too busy hosting and didn't eat much).

I can't say enough about how wonderful our experience with Eat & Smile was (our guests loved the food too!) and I only hope that we have another event to plan where we can use their services again!

Thank you to Eat & Smile Foods for an amazing wedding experience!

User904508 Sent on 08/20/2012

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We cannot recommend Eat & Smile highly enough based on our experience with them catering our wedding. We came across them because they were committed to locally sourced food. Oliver helped us develop a menu that fit our personalities, and helped to make sure we got exactly what we wanted without straying beyond our budget. And Oliver and his wife Alex went above and beyond in terms of helping make sure the event went well--they made suggestions when there details we hadn't considered, but were never pushy, and were flexible enough to accommodate all our requests and last-minute adjustments. The end result was fabulous--great food, locally sourced, prepared by wonderful people who were a positively a joy to work with.

Our only regret in choosing E&S was that our dealings with them came to an end after the event was over. But then we found out that they are opening a restaurant! We cannot wait to go so that we can re-experience the great food and atmosphere again and again.

Lanae Sent on 05/26/2012

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We couldn't have asked for a better caterer than Eat & Smile. Oliver was a pleasure to work with from the outset, and he bent over backwards to work within our budget while still giving us outstanding food for our guests. He was supremely helpful well beyond his own services, providing us with advice about how to save money on everything from linens to alcohol to flowers to wedding coordinators and beyond. His recommendations were invaluable, and every single person to whom he referred us was exceptional, warm and friendly, responsive, and affordable. He was much more than a caterer--he was a wedding planning guru!

When it came to the food, it was impeccable: classy but not stuffy, and every bite delectable. Our guests couldn't stop talking about it! We had quite the variety of tastes at our wedding, from Midwesterners who abhor spice and vegetables to vegans and vegetarians. Oliver created a menu that accommodated them all beautifully--not an easy feat--and ensured that his fantastic servers took care to find the vegans and vegetarians throughout the night to ensure they got enough of the veggie-friendly food. We couldn't recommend Eat & Smile more highly!

Christie Sent on 04/18/2012

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First things first: Eat & Smile's food is out-of-this-world delicious. The staff is helpful in doing much more that cooking and serving food. Oliver Friendly, the owner, is incredibly accommodating and will work with any budget. We were sold on Eat & Smile from the minute Oliver has us for dinner at his house. Everything is local; his dishes are so creative. His customer services is outstanding; he was responsive within the hour on 99% of my 66 emails (yes, I just looked up the chain). He even gave his cellphone number to one of my guests with Celiac disease to discuss her specific dietary requirements. Beyond all this, he's beyond helpful in recommending venue setup ideas and other vendors. We received many compliments on the food; our guests loved Eat & Smile's unique twists to traditional dishes.

Jon Sent on 03/13/2012

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My wife and I absolutely loved working with Oliver and his staff. For starters he is one of the nicest guys ever and was incredibly responsive to our endless amount of questions throughout the planning process. He worked with us to produce a menu tailored to the season as well as our different heritages. As for the food, it's out of this world good! At the end of the night, Oliver and his awesome staff left the venue cleaner than how we found it.

Antonia Sent on 10/18/2011

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Oliver created the most fantastic menu - and with me as vegetarian but the grooms family very meat and potatoes! Can you believe the best Chickpea Fritters with Roasted Garlic, Caramelized Onions, Cilantro and Homemade Cornichons. This is someone who will work with you on food and gets excited that you care about food and want something offbeat. All this ingredients are local and the quality is therefore excellent.

Oliver is incredibly personable and enthusiastic. He also knows his stuff, will head off any problems and anticipates needs and has good ideas. For example - he asked about a wedding cake. I said I was in two minds about having a wedding cake at all and he replied that a number of his couples like petits fours at their wedding instead of cake. He has a wonderful pastry chef who does great petits fours. This immediately caught my fancy and they were indeed delicious (hint - order loads!).

Oliver also has the most wonderful staff who, he says, will not start out at weddings. In fact, he says that they stay with him - which says something about Oliver. You can rest comfortably in his capable hands.

User596573 Sent on 08/07/2011

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When we first started planning our wedding, we didn't think that we would find a caterer that we could use. We are both vegetarians, and try to eat only local, humane dairy and eggs.

Fortunately, we came upon Eat & Smile Foods on a popular food blog, The Bitten Word. It sounded too good to be true: Eat & Smile Foods got all of their produce, dairy (and meat) from local farmers markets, fresh every week.

And while that would have been enough, it turned out that the food was incredible. Oliver, the owner and chef, listened to what we wanted, and prepared a spectacular tasting menu that was not only local and humane, but also mouth-watering.

As vegetarians, we have come to expect rice and grilled vegetables at weddings. Eat & Smile was far from that. Here are just some of the highlights: Fried Mac & Cheese, butternut squash soup shots, grilled cheese with olive tapanade, falafels with chili and yogurt, and mushroom fricase spoons.

Not only was Oliver respectful and careful to adhere to our dietary restrictions, but we also had guests who had serious nut allergies. While some chefs will make separate dishes, Oliver did not want any incidents, and so did not use any nuts in the menu.

Eat & Smile Foods also offers signature cocktails, and ours were a big hit. Oliver works with a stellar mixologist and they complimented our food wonderfully.

We wholly recommend Eat & Smile Foods for any event. While ours was a wedding, I am already plotting some big party for something so we can use them again! :)

Katie Sent on 06/20/2011

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I don't even know where to begin at explaining how amazing the experience of hiring Eat & Smile Foods for my wedding was. I originally came across E&S because of their commitment to local foods, a passion of mine. I was delighted to find that behind the shared passion was a dynamic, friendly, brilliant and organized chef running the show. Any bride will tell you how many times you need to communicate with the catering company - never once did Oliver make me feel like I was bothering him. He offered mounds of advice, was incredibly flexible, extremely understanding of budgetary restrictions (and has VERY fair prices), a creative problem solver, and passionate about locally sourced food.

The day of the event his staff and he were all incredibly accommodating, helpful and pleasant. Every single one of them wore a smile while working hard. They arrived on time, set up the space and worked with my team of friends, had the venue ready for action in record time, and cleaned out the place so efficiently that I didn't have to worry about the venue being anything less than perfectly cleaned at the end of the night.

On to the food. Oh, THE FOOD! Let me tell you, I have had, no lie, SIX people tell me the day after the wedding how they were craving another one of his sliders. The ironic and sad reality is that I barely had time to eat anything myself. But I can tell you that an abundant amount of people told me how much they loved the food. Oliver even added some surprises, like a fresh watermelon he picked up at the farm stand just down the street from the venue. We chose to have wine and beer and one vodka-based signature drink for the evening. By far, the signature drink creation of Oliver's stole the show and now we have more leftover wine than we know what to do with and half-full wasted kegs of beer. Who knew?!

I can't rave enough about hiring Eat & Smile Foods for my wedding. I can't think of a single negative thing to say, which is a rare occasion for a somewhat picky person like myself. BRAVO, OLIVER!!

Tina Sent on 09/18/2018

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Eat and Smile just catered my son's rehearsal dinner - and oh my! What a fabulous job they did!! The food was simply superb - delicious and fresh - and all our guests commented on this! The servers were completely professional, gracious and hospitable, and everyone went out of their way to be sure every detail was perfect. I have never before worked with a company so top notch, attuned to client needs and wants, and as super communicative as Eat and Smile has been. Katie Rotramel (affectionately known by us as "Katie the Caterer" was amazing in her rapid responses to every inquiry. She worked seamlessly with our venue to be sure food was able to be set up and served according to what worked best for that setting. I cannot say enough good things about our experience, and I am grateful we chose Eat and Smile for this event!!
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Ashley Sent on 07/16/2017

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The Eat and Smile team is a passionate, quirky and dedicated group. We had the best time planning our menu with Chef Oliver. We created a unique menu that was an excellent representation of me and my husband. They were flexible with payment schedules and made the entire process really easy. We felt like they were ready and available to answer any questions we had throughout the planning process. They really made us feel like our day was important to them too. Thanks, guys!

Lydia Sent on 11/22/2011

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We were so happy with everything about our wedding food. Living in the DC area, it was a big challenge to find a food vendor willing to provide local, seasonal, and humanely raised food for a big event. Fortunately, this is the only type of food Eat & Smile Foods provides. The owner, Oliver, was easy to work with, and he helped us save money by pointing out some things we could do ourselves (such as purchasing tablecloths instead of renting through him and supplying our own drinks). We had a fairly complicated bar set up, and he moved a person from working in the kitchen to working in the bar to back up the bar tender, and it worked out perfectly. All of Oliver’s recommendations were spot on, and the food was excellent. Additionally, it was great to have Oliver there in person on the day of the event working back in the kitchen, so we had no doubt everything would be as great as it was during our sample tasting. We've heard a lot of catering companies will have you meet with their chef for the tasting, but on the day of the event everything is farmed out to a bunch of catering staff you have never met. This is not the case with this caterer. We also used the baker who is associated with Eat & Smile (Samantha), and our cake was amazing. We’d highly recommend using both Oliver and Samantha.

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Eat & Smile Catering