Featured Restaurants
Parties By Panache
Brea caterer and event planner since 1987 with priced menus from $27.50/pp for events of 50 to 2,500 guests; no dedicated wedding menu.
Love At First Bite Catering
Huntington Beach wedding caterer since 1982 with three tiered, priced wedding packages from $22.95/pp and 36 named partner venues.
Colette's Catering & Events
Fullerton wedding caterer since 1992 with 29 exclusive and preferred venues; two 2023 national ICA/ACE catering awards; wedding pricing by quote.
Jay's Catering
Garden Grove caterer and venue operator since 1967, third-generation family-owned, with priced event menus from $57/pp across its own venues.
Country Garden Caterers
Santa Ana caterer for 50+ years with its own 175-guest historic venue, priced event menus from $25.95/pp, and 11 years of WeddingWire's Bride's Choice award.
Taylor Made Cuisine
Irvine full-service caterer — Yelp 4.9 stars, 558 reviews. Corporate catering specialist serving Orange County and Los Angeles.
Six caterers, five ranked by current Google rating. Orange County wedding and event caterers almost always quote off-script too — "customized," they'll tell you, until you call. We looked for caterers that publish something concrete instead: a tiered wedding menu, an itemized event-menu PDF, a venue rental sheet, or an awards history, rather than quote-only pricing alone. A sixth caterer, Taylor Made Cuisine, is listed separately after the five Google-ranked businesses because its track record is tracked on Yelp, not Google. Ratings for the five Google-ranked caterers were read directly from each business's Google Business Profile on October 13, 2026; Taylor Made Cuisine's Yelp rating and review count were read October 1, 2026.
Michele Leocadio creates restaurant content for Elev8ed Table. We decide who's featured on merit alone and never sell placement or ranking — nobody in this guide paid for inclusion.
Pricing format varies as much as the caterers themselves. Love At First Bite Catering publishes the most detailed wedding-specific pricing here — three tiered packages from $22.95 to $55.95 per person; Jay's Catering prices its Social Menu (used for weddings and other events alike) at $57–$80 per person buffet, $71–$109 plated; Country Garden Caterers prices a fixed event menu at $25.95–$34.95 per person; Parties By Panache and Colette's Catering & Events publish no wedding-specific menu at all — Panache's lowest published rate is a $27.50 lunch, and Colette's only priced document is a weekday corporate drop-off menu; and Taylor Made Cuisine publishes no pricing upfront, quoting every inquiry through a written proposal.
Credentials vary just as widely. Country Garden Caterers holds the deepest award history in this guide — 11 years of WeddingWire's Bride's Choice award and seven years of an Orange County Department of Health Award of Excellence; Colette's Catering & Events won two national 2023 ICA/ACE catering awards; Love At First Bite Catering holds Best Small Business Huntington Beach (2019, 2024) and Best of Zola Vendor; Taylor Made Cuisine holds Best Caterer of Irvine and Costa Mesa; Jay's Catering carries no formal award but has drawn more press coverage than any other caterer here — a dozen-plus placements including Green Wedding Shoes and Junebug Weddings; and Parties By Panache carries no published award or press coverage of any kind.
Several operate their own venues. Country Garden Caterers runs its own 175-guest historic venue in Santa Ana and is the exclusive caterer at the Heritage Museum of Orange County; Jay's Catering operates Serra Plaza, Estate on Second, Hangar 21 South and several more, plus Grand Gimeno under the same legal entity. If a caterer here also runs a venue, confirm whether booking that venue bundles the catering, or whether bringing in your own caterer carries a buyout fee.
| # | Caterer | City | Rating | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parties By Panache | Brea | 5.0 (58) | Priced lunch/brunch/high-tea/cocktail menus $27.50–$55/pp; no wedding-specific menu published |
| 2 | Love At First Bite Catering | Huntington Beach | 5.0 (34) | Most detailed published wedding-package structure in this guide, $22.95–$55.95/pp |
| 3 | Colette's Catering & Events | Fullerton | 4.8 (64) | Two 2023 national ICA/ACE catering awards; wedding pricing by quote |
| 4 | Jay's Catering | Garden Grove | 4.7 (84) | Family-owned since 1967 (3rd generation); Social Menu buffet $57–$80/pp, plated $71–$109/pp |
| 5 | Country Garden Caterers | Santa Ana | 4.6 (95) | Deepest award history in this guide; own 175-guest historic venue, event menu $25.95–$34.95/pp |
| 6 | Taylor Made Cuisine* | Irvine | 4.9* (558*) | Yelp-sourced rating, not Google; corporate-focused, pricing by written proposal only |
Ratings for the first five caterers were read directly from each business's Google Business Profile on October 13, 2026. Taylor Made Cuisine's rating and review count are sourced from Yelp, not Google, read October 1, 2026 — marked with an asterisk and listed separately rather than blended into the same ranking basis as the other five.
What to ask before you book
- Is there a dedicated wedding menu, or will the wedding be quoted from a general event menu? Several Orange County caterers in this guide don't publish wedding-specific pricing at all — expect a custom quote built from their standard event, corporate or à la carte menus.
- What's the guest minimum, and does it change by service style? Delivered, staffed-buffet and plated service often carry different minimums from the same business.
- Is there an operational, administrative or service fee separate from gratuity? Several businesses here add a flat percentage to food cost that is explicitly not a tip for staff — ask what it covers.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I book a wedding caterer in Orange County?
Popular dates at in-demand venues can book out six to twelve months ahead; asking your top choices about their current booking window is a reasonable first call.
What's a typical per-person cost for wedding catering here?
Based on what these caterers publish, delivered or buffet-style event menus start around $22.95–$27.50 per person, and staffed wedding packages can run up to roughly $109 per person depending on format, bar service and staffing level — several businesses in this guide don't publish a wedding-specific price at all and quote weddings individually.
Can I do a tasting before I book?
Ask directly — not every caterer in this guide publishes a tasting policy, and where one exists, cost and lead time vary.
Why is one caterer's rating marked with an asterisk?
Taylor Made Cuisine's review history is tracked on Yelp rather than Google, so its 4.9-star, 558-review figure isn't on the same platform as the other five caterers' ratings. We've kept it separate and listed it last rather than blending two different platforms' numbers into one ranking.