Jay's Catering

AMAZING quality and service -- thank you! We met the folks at Jay's Catering through our venue, the Ebell Club of Long Beach (exclusive catering vendor there, and that really works!!). We got to know them through our September tasing event, which was great fun and gave us lots to work with as we planned our January 2012 wedding. Teresa Karcher worked closely with us to plan a very special (buffet style, premium bar, cocktail reception preceding dinner) function. It was clever, creative, and yummy ... and met the needs of our very diverse group of friends and family. On our big day, the Jay's and Ebell team delivered an absolutely flawless evening. They worked brilliantly together -- cared for every detail -- and even packed up the wonderful leftovers for us to take home! I can't say enough about their great teamwork, their care for our guests, and the spirit of FUN they brought to our party (especially the bartenders!). Thank you for a wonderful evening!!

Jay's Catering did an amazing job. Their food is flavorful. You get a lot for your money. The staff is professional and ensures your event is run efficiently. We received a lot of great comments on the food. I would use Jay's catering again for future events.

Jay's is great! My guests loved the food and the cake was delicious!

If you're looking for french macaroons for your upcoming wedding or event Jay's Catering is the place to go. They can make them in any flavor in whatever color and quantity you want. I had them make the macaroons for my recent wedding and they were delicious. The pricing is extremely reasonable and they are friendly and easy to work with.

Jay's Catering was probably the best thing that ever happened to us. They were AMAZING. We got the best compliments on food from our guests, and many people told us it was the best food they had EVER gotten at a wedding. Also, Teresa (our event coordinator) made everything so easy and seamless. Nick (our day of event captain) was super friendly, and went above and beyond to make our special day perfect. We cannot even begin to explain how amazing they were, and how every penny was well worth it.

Jay's Catering did a wonderful job for my June 18th wedding. I really enjoyed the buffet dinner that they provided. We got the lemongrass chicken and miso salmon. I loved the chicken so much - I couldn't believe how juicy and delicious it was! My husband raved about the salmon. The hors d'oeurves we had (crabcake and beef skewers) were great at the tasting but didn't seem to hold up as well after being passed around at the wedding. Best of all was that they were able to make the special dessert we wanted - hot churros, fried onsite, with vanilla ice cream and two dipping sauces. The staff there that night were very professional and did a very nice job. I felt compared to other caterers, the value was great. It pained me to have to pay so much for every piece of silverware and linen, and I didn't realize I would need to rent extra tables for the caterers to set up on. However, this seems to be the case for many wedding caterers, so I can't fault Jay's for that. Jay's was also very flexible and allowed us to bring in one of our own special hors d'oeurves and alcoholic beverages for the bar.

Delicious and reasonable, what else can a bride ask for?

Jay's was amazing! We received so many compliments on the food, and we couldn't agree more!! Everything was so good, and the staff were so courteous and professional. We couldn't have asked for anything better, hands down! And, they even gave us the leftover food!!! Our consultant, Teresa, was a dream to work with the whole time, and no question or task was too big or small for her. She is absolutely one of the sweetest people in the business! Thank you Teresa and Jay's!

I recently had the pleasure of working with Nicolle on my big day. She was very responsive and professional and came in under my budget! And trust me, that was hard to do! The food was great and many of my guests asked me who the caterer was. They were very impressed! I had never used Jay's before but I will certainly use them again. Everyone there made my event very special! Thank you!

I use Jay's all the time for both personal and professional events. I find ALL of the coordinators and staff extremely helpful and insightful. I have worked with several coordinators and find them very professional and responsive. I am not very creative and they always find ways to make the events fun and interesting, with varying menus, decor, etc. I have been a customer of Jay's for 8 years and highly recommend them to everyone I know. There food is great and the prices cannot be beat!

Steve and I live in northern California and most of our friends and family live just as far, if not farther, away from Dana Point as we. So, when my son told us that he and the love of his life were getting married at a resort in the area, we wondered how on earth we could best host an event for the people we cherish most in this world.We decided that we needed to host both a rehearsal dinner on Friday evening before the wedding and a Sunday brunch the day after the wedding. Both parties needed to accommodate at least 130 guests as the majority of the wedding attendees were traveling thousands of miles to join in the celebration.Not to worry. Our contact at the rehearsal dinner venue pulled out her extensive list of dozens of caterers and said, “We work with many, many caterers, but Jay’s Catering is the one you want”. She was oh, so right!Our Event Coordinator, Lynn Likens, guided this bewildered duo through the process from start to finish with skill and confidence. She knew exactly what we wanted and helped us find the perfect expression of those thoughts whether it was helping us choose the entrees and linen colors for our Mexican Fiesta rehearsal dinner, or recommending a wonderful and reasonably priced florist to create our beautiful table centerpieces. Lynn’s recommendation of food to serve our guests was fabulous from the Fiesta buffet combined with wild cherry salads in martini glasses (a favorite with our guests) and the dessert table with caramel custard flan; to the delicious vegetarian quiche for our Sunday brunch. I have a special place in my heart for Lynn as she was always there for us even when all we needed was a bit of hand holding to settle our nerves. It felt as though we were working with a dear friend. Jay’s staff at both our events could not have done a more wonderful job. Shannon flawlessly coordinated the rehearsal dinner and Richard directed our Sunday brunch with ease. The presentation at both events was beautiful! The tables were always filled with sumptuous, hot food and were always pretty. I didn’t have to do anything. Shannon, Richard and their crews just knew what was needed where and when and did it with warmth and charm that was noted by our guests. Brilliant!At the end of the week, my son put his arms around us and thanked us for hosting the rehearsal dinner and Sunday brunch saying that the wedding, “would not have been the same without these two wonderful events.”Thank you Jays. You were absolutely magic!

I was reading a few of the reviews below and have to agree that Jays did an amazing job! We had our wedding at the beach and it's not the easiest task to have to set up tables and chairs, etc in the sand, but they pulled it off. Claudio came out for a walk thru and gave us a floor plan so I could see how everything would look. I was getting tons and tons of things from them, all my rentals and of course my food.I have to admit that Nicolle is nice, but I would try and get someone else as a coordinator. She wasn't always easy to reach by phone, but there were moments when we could communicate and than I couldn't reach her. I wasn't a crazy bride and I prayed it would all come together, which it totally did on my day! That's all that matters. Yes, you will have to repeat yourself, and it's probably best if everything is emailed so you have it in writing. I have no idea if were charged more at the end for certain things, since we did some last minute editing, but all our guests loved Jay's! The servers were awesome too! Making sure we were getting some appetizers and warm plates of food as well! Love it all and one of the more affordable options out there.

My wedding planner, Eulina Morris of Creating a Remarkable Event suggested Jay's Catering. I am so happy that she did. Their food was fabulous, the event specialist Toni Wiley was professional and provided so much insight on creating the best event. Toni Wiley is out of the Carson Community Center. There is a sub-office in that city; however, I did my wedding at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Toni did a walk through and worked with me on my roughest challenges.The day of the wedding, head chef Chuck was absolutely wonderful. He was patient, and very, very mannerable and made sure that I ate.My letter to Toni & Jay's Catering is below.Dearest Toni,I write this letter with the deepest gratitude to you and your staff at my 10-10-10 wedding. The food was absolutely delicious. The staff was this well-oiled magnificent machine. And the layout for my reception was excellent.First, I want to thank you for walking this journey with me since May. Your menu suggestions were given with the utmost knowledge and professionalism. Even when I was going back-and-forth with the menu, you were patient and provided a professional perspective that I needed and made me know that you sincerely cared. From the budgeting to the food choices, you were top-notch in guiding this experience.Your advice and genuine interest in ensuring that I had a grand day was the perfect ingredient to the wedding be such as success. Everyone, I mean everyone raved about the food. It was so good. Even my 92-year-old grandmother who rarely eats in public, let alone stay for a social outing cleaned her plate and ravaged the leftovers this afternoon.Also, I must commend the staff that catered the party. Chuck was such a sweetheart! He came over to my table several times to make sure that I was satisfied. His personable demeanor really calmed me down and got me to finally eat! And I was so glad that I did because I wolfed my food down. That red snapper Toni was amazing.The buffet line was perfect and moved with efficiency. And the rest of the staff were extremely nice to everyone and greeted folk as they were served. The food was the icing on the cake! Good food at my family functions is like blood and water to the bones.In closing, I am so proud to say that I used Jay's Catering and look forward to utilizing wonderful food and service again.Warmest Regards,Kaia Niambi Shivers

UMM...YUMMMM....YUMMMMMMMM!I used Jays catering for my wedding reception of 200 people in Sept 2010 and I must say they were AMAZING! I would never ever think of using any other catering company other than them for any future events, parties, or recommendations. Nicolle was my coordinator and she did a GREAT job of making sure everything was perfect for my wedding. Our wedding was in San Juan Capistrano which is about 30-40 minutes away from Jays and the food was hot and delicious for my reception. The staff was great and made sure we got everything we needed. For reference, our menu was: Chicken Veronique, Vegetarian Rotollo Blozano, Rosemary & garlic roasted potatos, hericot vert, and pear salad. I would recommend that exact menu to anyone- we had SO MANY COMPLIMENTS ON HOW GREAT THE FOOD WAS! Jays also did our cake which was the best wedding cake Ive ever tasted. I cannot say enough good things about this company and their level of quality and service. FIVE STARS!

Jay's Catering provided the food for our wedding and it was delicious. We got SO much food for the price ($36pp) and I couldn't find a better deal anywhere. Seriously the food was so yummy and there were so many choices of what to serve. In addition, the packages were very flexible when it came to combining packages and adding on. It was really great that we could do the party rentals from the same coordinating so it wasn't another thing I had to organize.Regarding the coordinator: Nicolle was the coordinator we used to plan the whole wedding. We mostly communicated over email but she was very flexible and accomodating when I wanted to come in and view what my rental options were. Towards the end of the wedding planning a couple days did go by before I heard from here, which I found frustrating but everything worked out in the end. The week before our wedding Nicolle went on vacation and Alayne filled in. In the short amount of time I worked with her, I bet she is an amazing coordinator. She responded right away and was very helpful and friendly.Regarding the captain and service the night of the wedding: Sofia was our captain the night of the wedding and she was great. She was very attentive to the bride and the groom and brought us everything that we needed. The servers were very friendly and on top of everything and the bartender kept the drinks flowing all night. At the end of the night Sofia arranged for all of our extra food to be boxed up so we could take it with us, which I had no idea would be happening.I definitely recommend Jay's Catering as your wedding catering. And it helps that they work with a number of venues in Southern California so they are pros at all of the hottest venues.

All I have to say is....THANK GOD FOR ALAYNE of Jay's Catering! She is their saving grace for sure. My husband and I booked Jay's Catering to cater our wedding reception, as they were one of the preferred vendors of Casa Romantica (our reception site) and their prices were very decent and affordable. We were assigned Nicolle as our event coordinator. BOY WAS SHE A NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you decide to have Jay's Catering cater your event, I highly recommend you avoid this woman at all costs as your event coordinator. When we first met Nicolle, during a tasting at Jay's back in September, she came off as friendly and easy to work with. However, that all seemed to change after we booked with Jay's. Thank God, my husband and I had hired our own wedding planner as she mainly dealt with Nicolle. We wanted to have a martini bar at our reception and our total guest count was at 126 adults and 10 children, a total of 136 people. On our contract, Nicolle kept trying to charge us for 136 people. Hello! Children aren't allowed to drink! Our wedding planner had to tell her numerous times that we were paying only for 126 adults and to stop including the children into the head count for alcohol. For our menu, we were going with a polynesian theme. Nicolle got us a separate tasting, which was nice. But when it came to communicating to her about what exactly it was that we wanted she again, just didn't seem to understand. When we went for our tasting, we were offered two different chicken dishes, the polynesian chicken, which was basically teriyaki chicken with a fancy name to it. The other was chicken with mango papaya salsa. We told Nicolle numerous times that we specifically wanted the Polynesian chicken and wanted to add the mango/papaya salsa on the side. But I don't know what part of this she did not understand so she kept going back and forth with our planner and telling her that the Polynesian chicken did not come with Mango salsa. Or she thought we wanted the Chicken with the mango/papaya salsa instead. ARGGHH!!! It's not rocket science! How difficult was it to understand that we wanted the POLYNESIAN CHICKEN AND WANTED TO HAVE MANGO/PAPAYA SALSA SERVED ON THE SIDE?!?!?!?!?!When we were finalizing everything during the last few days before the wedding, I noticed we had a bunch of little charges here and there on our contract that were not there before. For example, we had extra glassware we never agreed to have in the first place, we were being charged 5 cents per plastic spoon for our dessert shots, and more chairs were being ordered than what was actually needed. I found this very frustrating as I felt Nicolle was trying to nickel and dime us for everything and add stuff that we really didn't need. This just added MORE STRESS to what I was already feeling. Thank the almighty Lord above that Nicolle went on vacation before our event and that Alayne took over. My planner and I found Alayne much easier to deal with. She understood our wishes on the FIRST try and basically cleaned up the mess that Nicolle left. She was our saving grace. Unlike Nicolle, she was readily available to help as she could be contacted on the phone from opening til 5pm. Nicolle on the other hand, had the oddest work hours as she seemed to only be available from 11am-2pm. After that she would out of the office. Despite everything, I must say Jays did come through in the end. The food was delicious and we received many compliments. For appetizers we had: mini beef wellington (super yummy!) and the chicken spring rolls with EXTRA peanut sauce. For dinner we had the POLYNESIAN CHICKEN WITH MANGO/PAPAYA SALSA ON THE SIDE, macadamia crusted mahi mahi, wasabi mashed potatoes, wild cherry salad, vegetable medley, fresh fruit and Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. Our martini bar was a hit as was our dessert and coffee station. Servers were courteous, polite and professional. I still would recommend Jays to others who are looking for affordable catering. Jays overall score: 3 stars, as I took two stars away from the fact that dealing with Nicolle was stressful. Food was excellent, day -of service was excellent. Would have given them 5 stars though, if we had dealt with Alayne from the get-go.

My wife and I live in Las Vegas. We came to Laguna Beach to get married, and Ann Taylor from Jay's Catering was so amazing. She made us feel so comfortable and she was very flexible with our schedule.Jay's did evreything, the food was amazing, the wedding cake was so delicious and they made it exactly the way my wife wanted. The staff went above and beyond to make our wedding so special. My wife and I never had to worry about anything they did it all.Thank you Jay's Catering and especially Ann and StephanieNicole & Danielle Miller

Great food, great service and a great price. Our wedding at the Ebell club was fantastic thanks to Jay's. Jay's made our wedding GREAT!!!. The food and service were excellent. Their staff was professional and courteous. We are so happy that Jay's was our caterer. Our guests are still commenting on the food. I cannot thank them enough.

Fabulous! Our guests continue to rave about the wonderful food that Jay's provided. Our tasting was delicious, but the food at our reception was much, much better than we remembered. The professionalism of the entire staff was exceptional. We will definitely use Jay's Catering for future events.

Most importantly the food was amazing!! Service was great. Even when I labled things wrong they were right there to help when it was not their responcibility. Spilt chocolate on my dress and the servers helped me scrub it out. Working with them was an absolute joy. We are planning on using them for my sisters shower!