Eat & Smile Catering Reviews
Reviews
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![Melissa]()
Melissa Sent on 12/23/2024Delicious 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! -
![Alena]()
Alena Sent on 10/27/2024Eat & 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]()
Amye Sent on 05/09/2024Consistently 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]()
Ryan Sent on 04/26/2024We 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! -
![Emily]()
Emily Sent on 12/03/2019Delicious 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! -
![Michael]()
Michael Sent on 12/03/2013Oliver 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.
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![Antonia]()
Antonia Sent on 10/18/2011Oliver 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. -
Michelle Sent on 10/14/2018We 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! -
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Mary Sent on 07/10/2018We 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!
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Ann Sent on 12/19/2017Eat 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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Elizabeth Sent on 11/19/2017Eat & 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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Neil Sent on 11/03/2017Katie, 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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