Smokin Willy Reviews
Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 rating
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5.0 out of 5 rating
173 reviews
99% recommend it
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![Gabrielle]()
Gabrielle Sent on 10/14/2024Great food and service!
Smokin Willy catered our wedding on 9/21/24 at Riverside on the Potomac, and we are so happy that we chose them! We went with the Groom's Choice and added mashed potatoes, and people are still talking about the brisket. We had the bacon wrapped scallops at cocktail hour and they were delicious! Everyone at Smokin Willy was extremely professional, easy to work with, and alleviated our stress leading up to the wedding. Tom was great at our tasting, and Olivia as our main contact throughout the process was amazing to work with. She promptly answered any questions we had with a good amount of detail to make everything easy to understand. Holly was also great during our walkthrough at Riverside and made us feel so much better right before our wedding. I highly recommend Smokin Willy! -
![Rebekah]()
Rebekah Sent on 10/06/2024Stress Free, Impeccable Service
We used Smokin Willy for our wedding and it could not have gone better! From the initial quote to the wedding day, every single Smokin Willy representative we interacted with was responsive, knowledgeable, and helpful. We worked with Olivia throughout the planning process, and her knowledge about our venue was unmatched. She thought of small details we never even considered, and made my experience as a DIY bride as easy as can be. They made our day go super smoothly and stress free. Even without a florist or a wedding planner, all we had to do was leave our decor, centerpieces, and alcohol for them and they worked with our day-of coordinator to put together the reception of our dreams! They also paid special attention to us as the bride and groom we were taken care of all throughout the entire day with our appetizers, drinks, and food handed to us so we could spend as much time with our guests. The food was PHENOMENAL and the bartenders made sure the drinks kept flowing. At the end of the night, they neatly took down everything and packed in back in our boxes for easy pick up the next morning. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a more competent, thorough, and organized full-service caterer that went above and beyond every step of the way. -
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![Kaitlyn]()
Kaitlyn Sent on 09/10/2024Best catering team for my dream wedding!
I recently got married and had Smokin Willy cater my large wedding. They are absolutely fantastic and contributed to my dream wedding! From the initial tasting, through many planning meetings, and to the final walk-through, they made every step so easy. They were so organized and easy to talk-to. They provided many suggestions, photos, and menus, but also listened to what we wanted and envisioned. On the day of, they were so professional and quick at their job. The food was also delicious and cooked on site, which my guests raved about. Every detail was great and I would definitely recommend Smokin Willy to cater any event you need! -
![Katie]()
Katie Sent on 07/08/2024Perfect choice!
We had such a good experience with smokin willy! The entire catering staff was a joy to work with; everyone was so responsive and flexible. We made a bunch of last minute changes to guest count, menu items, signature drinks, etc and Sarah didnt bat an eye. It was so nice having a vendor team who truly wanted us to have the best day possible. We ordered off of the "beyond bbq" menu and all of our guests raved about the food! Would recommend 100% -
![Amanda]()
Amanda Sent on 05/09/2024Best caterer ever!
Smokin Willy’s was wonderful to work with for our wedding. Their prices are reasonable especially for the quality of service they provide. They were attentive to our needs as the bride/groom and to our guests needs. And the food was DELICIOUS! -
![Jennifer]()
Jennifer Sent on 08/23/2023Delicious food and great service
Working with Smokin’ Willy was awesome! They were kind and very easy to work with. The food was delicious! Lots of people were telling us after the wedding how good the bacon wrapped scallops were at cocktail hour. The buffet moved really fast and we (the bride and groom) were served at our sweetheart table. Everything was seamless. Highly recommend! -
![Kaitlin]()
Kaitlin Sent on 07/08/2023Smokin Willy's was exceptional
Everything about our experience with Smokin Willy's was exceptional. The staff was kind, thorough, and flexible, and the food was fantastic. -
![Christina]()
Christina Sent on 06/04/2023Delicious food and great service!
We had a 50 person wedding at Bear Chase manor and hired Smokin Willy as our caterer. Unfortunately the venue space did not allow for the set up of the full grill experience, but the catering dept helped us order from their takeout menu for catering the event, provided us with a bartender who set up our food buffet, tended our bar and went above and beyond putting left overs away and cleaning up the kitchen after. Rosa and Holly always responded to my emails promptly and thoroughly. The food was incredible and everyone raved about it at and after our wedding. We ordered pulled pork, pulled chicken, and brisket, macaroni & cheese, potato salad, green beans, and corn bread as well as deviled eggs and chocolate covered strawberries, and everything was delicious! We also rented tables and chairs from them and the delivery staff was professional and set up everything we needed. -
![Alex]()
Alex Sent on 03/24/2023Food is delicious!!!
We were looking for a fun, out of the box, yet yummy catering company for our wedding. Smokin' Willy's hit the bill! The food was delicious and it was unique (they cook the food on site!!). We did family style and would highly recommend. Their service was speedy, food tastes homemade, Sarah (our lead) was amazing. Look no further!! -
![Katie]()
Katie Sent on 11/07/2022Food was incredible
We are big foodies and wanted somewhere that actually tasted good and Smokin Willy did not disappoint! Everyone was raving about the food days after and even though I didn’t eat too much of it since I was mingling what I did have was incredible. The fact that they cook on site was a game changer for me. 100% book them for your wedding! -
![Katelyn]()
Katelyn Sent on 06/07/2022Best Food Multiple Guests have had at a Wedding
Smokin Willy was recommended to us by the manager at our wedding venue and she was ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about how DELICIOUS the food was! Oh my gosh! Multiple guests said it was the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding, and they’ve been to a lot of nice weddings. Our wedding was in a winery/ barn where our theme was ‘rustic elegance’, so bbq hit the spot. Smokin Willy was already there when I arrived at the venue at 10 am setting up and starting to smoke the brisket. We had them do a buffet with foods that you can eat with a fork and knife: brisket, chicken, roasted vegetables, cornbread, mac and cheese, and potato salad. Everything was SO GOOD. We also had them make a pretzel bar with chocolate and cheese sauces for a late night snack, and that was delicious, too! And went over very well with the slightly intoxicated guests! The price was reasonable, and it was very nice that we were able to supply our own alcohol and have the bartenders from Smokin Willy serve it; that saved a lot of money versus having to use a caterer’s drink package. Everyone who we worked with at the company was extremely nice and professional, too. Especially on the wedding day; they even brought hor' dourves to my husband and I as we were taking pictures! I’d recommend Smokin Willy in a heartbeat! -
![Kristine]()
Kristine Sent on 04/03/2022Absolutely delicious!
When me and my fiancée were planning our wedding, we knew we wanted BBQ. Smokin’ Willy’s was the first caterer that we did a tasting with, and as soon as we tried it, we knew we had to have it at our wedding! The food was delicious at the tasting, but it was even better at the wedding! All of our guests could not stop raving on how good the food was! My husband and I will definitely make a visit to Smokin’ Willy’s soon just to have their BBQ again. -
![Madi]()
Madi Sent on 12/27/2021Delicious and Professional Catering
Smokin Willy was the BEST caterer for our wedding. The planning process with Smokin Willy was easy and professional. They had so many options for food, drinks, decor, linens, and anything else you may need! Not only is Smokin Willy an affordable option, it was also SO DELICIOUS! We got a ton of compliments on how amazing the food was, and I was so happy when I tasted my own dinner. I highly recommend this caterer for your next event! -
![Alexandra]()
Alexandra Sent on 12/16/2021Best food ever!
Smokin Willys is AMAZING! First of all, best wedding food EVER. We got comments from so many of our guests how our food was literally some of the best wedding food they had ever had! We even all sat around and ate the leftovers at the end of the night they were that good!!! Logan was our event lead and she was absolutely awesome! She was so nice, so responsive, and so on top of everything! She triple checked everything with us to make sure it was exactly how we wanted it to be. The catering team even brought us a special plate of appetizers and drinks during our quite moment before the reception. They also checked in with us throughout the night to make sure we were happy with everything, which of course we were!!! Thank you so much to Logan and the Smokin Willys team!!! -
![Nate]()
Nate Sent on 11/08/2021This caterer was incredible to work with from start to finish!!!
This caterer was incredible to work with from start to finish. Their response time is so quick and they are really willing to do as much as they can to cover all of the little details and requests you have. Every single staff member was so nice and accommodating the night of our wedding and the food was AMAZING. We got so many compliments the next day. They also made sure myself, the groom, and the bridal party were fed immediately following the ceremony, which was so important to me. They also packed up and labeled all the leftovers, truly going the extra mile. Thank you all!! -
![Christine]()
Christine Sent on 09/06/2021The best caterer around!
Not only was the food amazing but Ashley and the Smokin Willy team made the planning process completely painless! -
![Claudia]()
Claudia Sent on 07/11/2021Truly Phenomenal Wedding Caterer. 1000% Recommend
Going with Smokin Willy as our caterer was truly one of the best decisions we made during our wedding planning process. We can’t say enough good things about both their food and their service; everything was phenomenal. We would choose Smokin Willy again in a heartbeat and can recommend them without reservation to anyone planning their wedding.
First, the food. Everything was delicious; we loved it, and our guests loved it. I could eat their cornbread and mac and cheese all day long. Smokin Willy clearly knows what they are doing and how to prepare food for a large group like at a wedding. Sometimes at weddings the food can be underwhelming due to the challenges of cooking for a crowd; at other weddings I’ve had lukewarm food or food that was just average. This was absolutely not the case at our wedding thanks to the talented chefs at Smokin Willy. We went with one of their pre-set menus (the menu with salmon, shrimp and carne asada as main dishes) and it was served buffet style. Our guests loved getting to try a little bit of everything, or load up on their favorite items. They also had good options for vegetarians, so there was truly something for everyone. The food was also very reasonably priced, and the prices were more than fair given the amazing quality and service.
Speaking of the service, Smokin Willy seriously excels on that front as well. Our contact during the planning process was Ashley; she is wonderful, super responsive, incredibly helpful and accommodating. She worked with us through a date change due to COVID as well as numerous adjustments to our quote as we navigated changing restrictions on guest count. Her kindness and professionalism truly made the process of planning and replanning a wedding much, much easier. The other individuals we worked with from Smokin Willy were wonderful as well: friendly, professional, and hardworking. We also loved the rental options that Smokin Willy offered; the farm tables we rented were beautiful, and it simplified our lives during the planning process to know that they would handle not only the food but also the rentals.
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![Derek]()
Derek Sent on 06/10/2021Thoughtful, intentional, and most wonderful catering experience. 100% recommend.
I cannot say enough good things about Smokin Willys. First off, the food is amazing, and was a huge hit with the guests. There was something for everyone there and was absolutely an incredible part of our wedding. But the food is only a quarter of what makes them incredible (albeit an important part of any wedding, and 100% would pick them on food alone). For starters, I had the pleasure of working with Ashley to help coordinate and set up everything for the wedding. Ashley is incredibly detail oriented, and so kind and patient. She walked us through every detail, constantly made changes to our quote and helped us talk through decisions when we really didn't understand what was happening. Coming from someone who has never planning a large event, I found this to be incredibly helpful. We didn't have a coordinator, but Ashely very much helped to fill those gaps in our planning incompetence. Then we had the good pleasure of meeting with Holly (who would be our day of lead from SW) at our venue to review the details from the contract, and made sure to walk through the entire day with us. Holly was wonderful and a joy to work with! And was such an amazing coordinator for everything. Smokin Willy, come to find out, was not just a caterer but dang near a work crew for the entire event. They set up centerpieces (under the instruction of family/friends), they would have set up the ceremony site for us (although we were there the night before and set it up ourselves), but the tore everything down for us when it was over. They again cooked delicious food on site that was a hit, but then also stayed and helped to clean everything up when the night was over and removed trash. We picked a venue where we were responsible for a ton of things because the venue was a small team (also highly recommend Briar Patch B&B), but SW made things so much easier. We also had them cater the Rehearsal Dinner the night before and received the same sort of attention to detail and level of service from them (without Holly: smaller event). I HIGHLY recommend going to a food tasting and talking with them about all that they do. It is a bit pricey, but 100% worth every penny. You won't regret it. -
![Ben]()
Ben L. Sent on 11/09/2020Great organization, incredible food, and above and beyond service
Smokin Willy was both our caterer and our rentals for the wedding. Everyone we dealt with (Ashley, Olivia, and Holly especially!) was super helpful and did everything they could to make sure the day was special for us. The food and hors devours were incredible and everyone's only regret was that they were too full to eat more! The service was incredible and everyone went above and beyond in setting up chairs, moving tables, and running the bar all night. We would definitely choose Smokin Willy again! -
![Daniella]()
Daniella Sent on 10/29/2020The BEST to work with!!
Smokin Willy was such an amazing caterer to work with! They pay attention to every little detail to make sure your wedding day goes perfectly! Their food is so good and their rentals are so nice! Ashley was the best to work with and always responds to you so fast! And Jackie is so sweet and ran our wedding so smoothly on the day of! Our guests are still talking about how much they loved the dinner! Highly recommend them!
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![Joe]()
Joe C. Sent on 10/21/2020WOW just WOW - 4 days to plan for a 58 person wedding
First I just want to say WOW we had our wedding this past Sunday, October 18th, 2020; and everything was absolutely AMAZING. I 100% have already recommended them to literally everyone I know.
Now let's get to the nitty-gritty! We found out our wedding caterer went out of business on Tuesday afternoon (our wedding was on Sunday) we immediately began calling other vendors to see availability, only a couple of caterers were actually available on such short notice. Smokin Willy did not originally have the staff to work our event on such short notice, however, after hearing our story Chris the owner was able to work with a couple of other restaurants in the area and was able to work our event. We literally had a 1-hour planning call with him at 10 pm on Tuesday night.
The very next day we had another 1-hour final planning call with our wedding planner and their event planner everything went smoothly and we were excited about our wedding again!
Fast forward (just 4 days) to Sunday the 18th our wedding day and I was absolutely astounded for only 4 days notice, the staff was amazing, the food was amazing, the service was amazing; Chris himself was there for at least some of the night if not all of it! Everyone couldn't believe how delicious everything was and they absolutely loved how we had everything plated. We did "family style" but plated so everybody got a little bit of everything!
They made sure the bride and groom got appetizers while we were taking photos and let me tell you those bacon-wrapped scallops are something to die for! They also made sure that during dinner we got our plates towards the beginning of service.
This review can only do so much, all I can tell you is I highly recommend them, and if you are on the fence on them just hire them! If they can handle an event in 4 days and make my Italian family happy they can make anyone happy!
Thank you again Chris/Ashley and the whole Smokin Willy team that made my event such a success, we are so appreciative of you guys coming in, at the last minute and saving our wedding.
Love,
Joe + Katherine 10.18.2020
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![Ashley Polk]()
Ashley%20Polk Sent on 10/21/2020Fan freakin tastic
AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, FLEXIBLE BEYOND WORDS!!! My experience with Smokin Willy was fan freaking tastic in every way possible! Ashley is so detailed oriented and so, so friendly! They made everything I asked of them happen! And this was not easy stuff people let’s be clear I’m a COVID bride lol! The stuffed pork chop is my personal favorite but you can’t go wrong with any of it honestly. My friends and family could smell the deliciousness in the air as they cooked on site. The food was incredible and fresh and so warm. I can’t thank your team enough for everything you did for us!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! -
![Lindsay]()
Lindsay Sent on 10/19/2020Fantastic, Yummy, Professional
My fiance and I knew we wanted to serve BBQ at our wedding. We didn't want the typical dry chicken breast, mashed potatoes and green beans that is served so often at weddings. We wanted food that we wanted to eat and that our guests would enjoy. We quickly learned during our venue shopping that Smokin Willy was a popular choice in the Leesburg area. We actually stopped by their restaurant one afternoon after touring a venue to have lunch and to test the food out. It was delicious! We knew we wanted Smokin Willy to be our wedding caterer. We started working with Ashley on the catering team. What a joy!! She was so smart, attentive, professional, quick to respond and gave us GREAT advice. She was there with us every step of the way to help guide us through the planning process. We rented our tables, chairs and linens from the SW team. The SW team helped us navigate COVID wedding planning and worked with us when our headcount dropped from 120 to 70. Our team lead, Olivia, was such a rock star! Everything was executed flawlessly. Our guests enjoyed the food and drinks served up by the SW servers and bartenders. Our guests went back for 2nds and 3rds at the buffet!! When does that ever happen at a wedding?? We love you Smokin Willy! Thanks for making our day so special and YUMMY! -
![Iris]()
Iris Sent on 07/21/2020Amazing food and experience!
Smokin Willy was the best choice we could have ever made! Not only was the food fantastic, but their rentals (tent, tables, chairs, etc) were great quality! They cook food on-site so it's extremely fresh! They were extremely understanding when we decided to postpone our wedding. We cannot thank them enough for the smooth transition! Ashley was easy to work with via email and phone. The event staff were all in masks and gloves and taking extra steps to ensure social distancing. My guests are still raving about the people and the food! We ordered brisket, chicken, shrimp, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and mac & cheese.And the members of our bridal party were super excited when a staff member walked from the tent to where we were taking pictures (quite a walk!) to deliver appetizers (crab cakes, bacon wrapped scallops and caprese skewers) during cocktail hour! We got so much food for the money! Thank you for a wonderful experience! -
![Rachel]()
Rachel Sent on 12/05/2019Buffet BBQ for the win!!
Could not recommend Smokin Willys more!! Their food is fabulous and incredibly fresh (grilled on site!), the price is right, and Ashley their event planner is just a dream. I asked at least 1 million questions, made an additional 1 million requests (including severe dietary restrictions) and was probably a complete pain the butt throughout the planning process but Ashley was always quick to respond, courteous, bouncing around ideas and just generally amazing to work with. As a fellow event industry professional, her communication was above and beyond even my incredibly high expectations. The wait staff and bartenders were wonderful day of and people raved about the food.
We also did all of our rentals through them and they were perfect for our rustic, barn wedding. Wine barrels, tables, chairs, the works! After getting quotes from a lot of rental places, they were also the least expensive. Having rentals and catering through the same company made our lives even easier.
The food and ambiance of your wedding is something that guests really notice and Smokin Willy DELIVERS in BOTH! There is a reason they have 5 stars!
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