Serves You Right Catering

My partner and I would highly not recommend Serves You Right Catering for your future event. That is, unless you are want to further challenge yourself in the wedding planning process and increase your stress level… Although the food itself was decent (aside from our miniscule portions of lackluster hors d’eouvres), dealing with Marcie was an unpleasant experience throughout. (Parenthetically, how strange is it to serve food at your wedding that you haven’t even tasted?! We were told that this was not an option… aside from what they present at the Brazilian Room open house). Instead of feeling that our caterer tried her best to accommodate our preferences and provide quality customer service, it felt like a constant game of tug-​of-​war. It quickly became evident that what was really important to Marcie was the financial bottom-​line$$$. She rarely said «okay» to any requests – she mostly provided excuse after excuse for their ambiguous and sometimes bizarre policies. For example, SYR is supposed to provide a free cake-​cutting service, but we had to fight tooth-​and-​nail for them to provide their own serving utensils for dessert (i.e. Marcie said that she would provide 1 ice cream scoop and 1 utensil for over 150 people and we would have to provide the rest). SYR also advertises «no hidden costs.» Judge for yourself: we found out at the last minute that there were no wine glasses included in our table settings because we had chosen the buffet option (!) Those cost EXTRA. Don’t believe everything you read here. The day of the wedding, Marcie was rude to our friends, who were delivering food and helping to set up. I sat down to eat at the bridal table and was confused why there was no pitcher of water on our table or on ANY of the tables! I asked her about it, and she provided me with the following malarkey: 1) that pitchers of water are not placed on tables for the buffet option 2) that East Bay Regional Parks does not allow pitchers of water on the tables due to the recent drought (I could easily fact-​check this and call her on her lie, but I am over it). After our wedding, I heard from our guests that she never called all of the tables up to the buffet and guests had awkwardly waited to get their food and were then rushed to eat. SYR also ran OUT of 1 of the 2 entrée options and, when asked by a guest what had happened, she retorted that we had not provided an accurate count and that is why they were short. Super-​professional, huh? A guest with a food allergy was asked if he wanted her to throw some lettuce into a bowl for his dinner (and that was her trying to graciously accommodate). All in all, we regret choosing this catering company for our wedding… Do yourself Right and do not go with Serves You Right!

Serves you Right did a wonderful job for our wedding at the Brazilian room the last weekend in September. Working with Marcie was easy (very responsive during the planning process), the food was delicious and the staff were so helpful. The gnocchi was one of our guests favorite thing on the menu so I highly recommend it!
Additionally, if you are getting married at the Brazilian room, SYR knows that venue so well which makes planning a wedding much easier. If you are considering doing candles at the Brazilian room, I recommend using SYR’s candles due to the candle policy (we didn’t and regretted it later).

My fiancé and I were looking for a spot to plan our wedding in wine country so we could get a rustic and romantic feel. We came across the Brazilian room and fell in love with how gorgeous it is.
We were told we could only use one of their contracted caterers and I immediately got nervous. We were on a pretty tight budget and I was worried about cost vs quality. I started looking at Unilocal reviews and went with SRY because of their reviews and prices.
I had not been out to do any tastings so I was truly putting the utmost trust in the reviews, but I honestly kept thinking «their prices are too good to be true m-they’re probably going to suck and my wedding will be ruined because we are budgeting too much.»
We signed the contract and from day one Marcie was extremely helpful (and patient because as you can tell I was a nervous bride). We worked through menu options, she helped me with my idea of a fall apple cider sangria (which was the hit of the night-​they did a great job), she recommended people for me to work with (Dj, coordinators, rentals, etc) and helped me
With my rentals and gave recommendations (most saved me money while still providing elegant atmosphere!).
I sent a million emails and she replied a million times and quickly-​she is one organized lady!
Needless to say the reception was more than I could have ever imagined. People LOVED the food (we had the chicken and trip tip with roasted potatoes and asparagus). I still keep hearing about the hour d oeuvres-​and Marcie had my fiancé and my food ready and waiting for us at our table with a plate of the hours d oeuvres (she said brides and grooms always forget to eat and made sure we did).
The food was amazing-​fresh, perfectly cooked and delicious.
I cannot recommend SRY catering enough. They were amazing-​do not let the prices fool you. When you book with them you aren’t just getting food, you really get the full package of assistance that you don’t get anywhere else.

Serves You Right staff did an amazing job at our wedding at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park. The food was excellent (I highly recommend the eggplant layered with tomatoes and zucchini, the Mediterranean fruit salad, and the sausage lollypops, but everything else was excellent too). Everything was set up on time and came off seamlessly all the way to the end of the night. I only received positive comments from my guests. Also, Marcie provides so much information about the venue and everything ahead of time that it almost plans your entire wedding reception for you. It was great! I highly recommend this caterer if you are having your wedding at the Brazilian Room.

Phenomenal job by Serves You Right on my wedding day last month (Brazilian Room) and throughout the entire process. It wasn’t difficult to choose SYR because they had an awesome menu and were very well priced. Marcie was great throughout and we had a very solid email correspondence. Day of, they were so great, so accommodating. One of the servers tracked me down to get me some wine because I hadn’t had any yet (after the ceremony). Although we had a timeline established before the day, they were very flexible if something came up. We moved the pie cutting 2 hours up because people were desperate to get some and they just swooped in and got everyone a piece within 10 minutes. They were awesome throughout, very wonderful and I’m so happy we chose them. Also, all our guests raved about how good the food was, although I was too nervous to eat much. All in all, would recommend SYR to anyone.

«Serves You Right» was the caterer for our son’s wedding at the Brazilian Room. We were not impressed with the servers. We were the first table to go through the buffet line and they began to clear our plates before we were even finished eating. What about seconds? They failed to plate up any chicken for the bride and my daughter had a dead lady bug in her salad. When they cleared our plates, they wore blue gloves and scraped the plates onto a cart next to our table. Seriously? This was a formal wedding, not a cafeteria. The servers also kept removing our glasses (filled with beverage) every time that we would get up to dance. That was annoying. They got in the way of the videographer as they dragged a table over to the cake table. They also did not keep the bellini bar stocked, even though that only required opening champagne bottles, as the fruit purée was in its own bucket — provided by the bride. Our wedding coordinator said that they were the rudest servers that she has ever dealt with. Also, the bride did not feel that the caterer was easy or friendly to work with — before the wedding, but felt locked in. We were not «served right» and would never recommend this caterer to anyone.

This company and Marcie in particular was amazing to work with! If you are taking on the task of planning your own wedding Marcie’s expertise will be comforting and supportive. She is very experienced at what she does and really helps you save money on so many aspects of the big day… For us we were married at the Brazilian room and she knew the venue in and out. She was amazing with all the day of coordinating serving as a lead to all other vendors who all said they were so pleased and grateful to work with such a calm a knowledgable person. She really made sure everything went smoothly and most of all she helped me plan everything down to details in table settings, to a cookie bar… Most caterers will not go to such lengths to serve you, I know this having worked as a caterer and through interviewing countless caterers for this particular event. Now on to the food… I was a chef before I decided to stay home with my kiddos so I know a thing or two about good food and running a kitchen as well as catering, in looking for caterer for this event I interviewed a lot of companies and got many proposals and was absolutely blown away by the number of companies that overprice everything just because it’s a wedding ! Some of the bids were downright insulting what they would claim to be a «food cost» left me wondering if people really believed some of the crap… Serves you Right was absolutely honest and fair. We opted for a buffet with tri tip and salmon both of which were cooked perfectly, and may I also suggest the vegetable tian ! our guests were delighted to have delicious food and kind service, I will recommend them to anybody planning an event especially a wedding… you need kind quality service with attention to detail and this company provides that.

SYR catered our wedding at the Brazil Room and we couldn’t have been happier. Marcie is extremely organized and detail-​oriented, which helped everything run extremely smoothly and kept stress levels low. She was very responsive and thorough by email. In fact, we planned the entire thing by email, which worked out fantastically with our busy schedule.
The food itself was wonderful. we’re still receiving compliments on it! The salmon was a huge hit; even my husband’s mother was raving about it and she purportedly hates salmon. All of the staff were very sweet and helpful during the event.
They really went above and beyond to make sure that everything was perfect. For example, we were planning to serve mulled wine as our choice beverage for our March wedding, assuming it would be a chilly day. The day before the wedding, it was forecasted to be 75 to 80 degrees in Berkeley, and Marcie emailed me suggesting we switch to Sangria and to let her know if I agreed so she could buy the fruit at the farmers market. This struck me as really thoughtful and I felt that she truly wanted to make sure that the menu /​offerings were coherent and enjoyable for our guests.
I have to say, working with SYR was probably the least stressful part of the entire wedding planning process. I would hire them again in a heartbeat!

I am so happy that I chose Serves you Right for our Brazilian Room wedding.
Marcie was more helpful than she needed to be.
They have easy online forms to fill out at your leisure. Marcie is so easy to contact by phone or email. She helped me even with things that didn’t involve catering. In fact she pretty much ran the show and I didn’t have a wedding coordinator. They were that on top of their time lines and business. I couldn’t believe it.
Marcie even came and gave me and my husband a plate in the room we were catching our breath in after the ceremony. I think my husband and I were both overwhelmed with all the attention and guests. She gave us some great advice and we felt more confident about just enjoying the day and just being so happy that we were married.
Both sides of the wedding kept complimenting us on how good the food was. Saying things like, «wedding food is usually blah, but I loved everything!». They even accommodated some family members with pretty unusual dietary restrictions.
Marcie made everything so simple that I want to get re-​married again! Haha… well maybe not anytime soon. :)
Thank you so much for making my wedding amazing! I can’t thank you enough for all your help.
Tiffany

I didn’t actually use SYR catering for my wedding, however my experiences with them were pretty dismal.
First of all, they told me they only do tasting at the Brazilian Room open house days. Being from out of town I could never make it to the Tuesday tastings so instead I had to send a family member as an emissary. All other caterers I came in contact with were more than willing to do a private tasting on the weekend.
Second, when I wanted to meet with SYR to discuss potentially using them at my wedding Marcie suggested I meet with them at the Brazilian Room a couple of hours prior to a wedding they were catering. This was really bizarre to me since it seemed like we would be potentially meeting with them while they were supposed to be setting up for someone else’s wedding, but I agreed to it anyway.
Third, two days prior as I’m at the airport about to fly out to the west coast from the east coast to meet SYR I get an email from them telling me they are no longer available for my wedding date. This came out of nowhere and I was super shocked since I was flying all the way from the east coast (which they were aware of) and they dropped my appointment just like that. There was no initial heads up that there were other people interested or anything.
Really horrible experience dealing with them from out of town.

Working with Serves You Right Catering was one of the best wedding decisions I made. My event was at the Brazilian Room.
What I loved about Serves You Right:
1. Marcie was so on the ball. She responded to emails very quickly and never made me feel dumb for asking a million questions. She was honest and helpful.
2. She served as a quasi-​event planner and helped us create a timeline for the day.
3. The food was just delicious. I got a TON of compliments from guests (both vegetarians and not) that it was the best wedding food they’d ever had. These compliments were definitely accurate because my friends and family are great cooks and eaters. My favorite dish was the pesto gnocchi.
4. Their staff was friendly and professional.
5. Friends of mine at the event who have worked in catering said they felt everything ran smoothly and there was no negative feedback.
6. Marcie made sure that my husband (Matt B.) and I got some appetizers because we were taking pics during the cocktail hour.
7. Matt and I also ate first so we could do our table rounds after quickly eating.
8. The whole event ran seamlessly thanks to Marcie and her team.
In response to any negative reviews, I wouldn’t listen to these. They were totally professional and great.
If you’re having a wedding or event in the Bay Area, this is the best you can do, so book ‘em.

I am so happy I went with Serves You Right for my wedding at Piedmont Community hall in Sept 2014. Marcie did an excellent job from the initial emails all the way up until the actual event. I live in NY which was already a challenge when planning a wedding in CA. My family attended the tasting and gave me a thumbs up on the taste of food so from there I figured, great I found my caterer. Now overtime I realized many things could go wrong during wedding planning. However, Serves You Right was my favorite vendor out of everyone I worked with. NO ISSUES and TOP SERVICE!
Marcie was ALWAYS responsive to all of my emails. She provided me with menu and timeline suggestions as well helpful wedding tips that I would have never thought of. Because I couldn’t attend the tasting at the Brazilian Room, Marcie arranged a to-​go tasting box for my husband and I during one of our short visits to CA. This was really helpful in deciding our menu. She really did an excellent job easing any worries and is an expert at what she does.
The Serves You Right crew was awesome too. My crowd was really rowdy but the staff handled them very well. They were professional and friendly, always with a smile. Marcie and her crew made sure my husband and I had a plate of food and drinks during the reception. All of the guests raved about the food even after the event. People especially loved the salmon. So go with Marcie, Chef Matt and crew if you are looking for an All-​Star caterer. Thank you SYR for making my wedding night amazing!

Serves you right is awesome! They just catered my wedding last week at Piedmont Community Hall and they did an amazing job. I’ve never been married before, so really I had no idea what I was doing! Marcie was so patient with me and always returned emails promptly. The food was absolutely delicious and the set up was beautiful. Marcie made sure I had a drink and a plate within 2 minutes of walking into my reception.
Serves you right staff is an upstanding bunch! We had a pretty rowdy crowd, but they kept a smile on their faces all night and kept the food and drink coming. I would definitely hire serves you right for any catering I need in the future. I did a ton of research on caterers before picking them and I’m SO glad we chose them. I honestly think they’re the best!

My husband and I got married at the Brazilian Room in April of this year. We did not have an event planner to organize our wedding, but relied on our family and friends to pitch in and make our wedding special and keep it affordable. We fully believe that our choice to use Serves You Right catering made this homegrown wedding as amazing as it was. Marcie of Serves You Right was highly accessible, walked us through the process, and patiently answered questions that we perhaps asked multiple times as nervous planners. I could not have asked for a better guide through the planning and organizing. Thank you, Marcie!
Now, the food! We had several vegans and a guest with a severe food allergy. No problem! For weeks afterwards, our guests kept telling us about how delicious they found the food. I hoped the food would be fine (like most weddings), but we truly felt it was fantastic. I am so happy that, as bride and groom, we did find time to sit and eat it ourselves. We have some food snobs (that we love dearly) who attended and they were very happy. Lastly, the serving staff was courteous, warm, and attentive. I would use them again in a second.

This is a limited review for just the initial communications with Marcie. We ended up going another route with the ethnic type of food we wanted for our wedding, however I was still really impressed with Marcie’s communication.
Out of over half a dozen caterers that we initially contacted in order to get questions answered, quotes, etc. Marcie was one of the quickest and most detailed in her responses, and also gave us feedback on the two different venues we were considering and comparing.
Plenty of other caterers waited 5, 7, or 10 days to get back to us, if they responded at all. By that time I had already had about three rounds of communications with Marcie.
I felt immediately comfortable with her. Just based on comfort level and communication (which, actually, my guidebook says should be the #1 factor for choosing vendors) 5 stars.

My fiancé and I have been on the search for caterers for our upcoming wedding. Fortunately our venue has a open house every Tuesday night with the exception of the fourth Tuesday of the month.
Walking into the grand room was intimidating. There were three different catering businesses present and we were greeted by a woman representing Serves you Right Catering. At first she was friendly — she handed us this big packet of information that was a bit overwhelming. I had specific questions that I wanted to ask — I didn’t want to read a dissertation on the company history or any of that. When I asked her my questions, she gave me this passive aggressive attitude and said all my questions would be answered in the packet. I was really polite (considering this was my first time at this open house) and I had no intention of getting nasty at all what-​so-​ever.
After noticing her resistance towards us, my fiancé and I went to the other caterers that were present and they were more than happy to fill us in with their company and what types of accommodations they have for our guests.
Prior to leaving the premises, I wrote my information down on all caterers sign in sheet to have them e-​mail me additional information. I’ve received information from all caterers from that night and all the leading Tuesdays open houses, with the exception of Serves You Right.
I did research on this company and noticed that there were a handful of negative reviews posted on Unilocal from prior clients of SYR (see hidden reviews). Although the hidden reviews are hidden for a specific purpose, I couldn’t resist crossing this company off my list because of the consistent problems each client had with the representative (woman that we met).
All I’m aware of is that I’d hate to have to deal with a woman that can’t assist, be flexible, or understanding if a family emergency were to pop up (knock on wood). The last thing that I’d want for my wedding is shelling out a few thousand dollars and having to bicker about expectations or having my day ruined.
Be careful if you chose this company and trend lightly if you feel like you’re walking on egg shells with Marcie.

Serves You Right catered our wedding at the Brazil Room in November and we couldn’t have been happier.
From our very first inquiry to SYR regarding pricing and menus, Marcie and staff were extremely fast and thorough in their responses. I worked with Marcie for about 9 months and could always count on her responding in a timely manner (she even answered a few of my questions while she was on vacation). Marcie was extremely knowledgeable about our venue and was able to provide me with the insight I needed to plan a smooth event.
The day of our wedding was wonderful! The venue looked amazing (Marcie and staff set up the linens, place settings, etc.) and the staff was friendly and efficient. All of our guests had drinks and appetizers the second the ceremony ended, which was important to us so we could sneak away to snap a few final pictures. Marcie called my groom and I to the buffet first (which was great because it gave us time to actually eat) and ensured we always had drinks at our sweetheart table.
The food was absolutely wonderful (better than I expected, honestly) and we had numerous guests tell us during (and are continuing to tell us after) how amazing the food is/​was. One of my friends got married a month before me and said «Your wedding food was so much better than mine…»
The day of the wedding was stress free and Marice made sure of it. Not to mention, Marcie helped me create a menu that was perfect for us and was also exponentially cheaper than any other vendor I researched — extra money in your pockets is always a massive plus!
I would recommend SYR to anyone catering an event — especially a wedding!
Thank you, Marcie and the SYR staff for a wonderful wedding!

We had Serves You Right cater our wedding in September at the Piedmont Community Hall.
To this day, guests still tell me how good the food was. Serves You Right was able to accommodate a wide variety of dietary needs (vegan, gluten free) while serving very tasty and non-​generic food for us meat-​eaters and vegetarians!
Marcie was a pleasure to work with. Throughout the event she checked in on me and my new husband to make sure we had everything we needed and that our glasses were topped off.
They worked well within my day of timeline and were ready to go when the ceremony was finished. When everything was said and done, they left the space as they found it — which was all I could have asked for.
Having Serves You Right recommended by a friend was the best suggestion for a caterer ever. We were getting very frustrated with the catering selection process and found a lot of caterers in the Bay Area stopped returning our emails and phone calls when we started to discuss our budget (which was not cheap, but we still had a budget to consider). We did not have this issue with Serves You Right. They were very upfront about costs and it was greatly appreciated.
Do yourself a favor and end your frustrating wedding caterer issues with Serves You Right.

I officiated two ceremonies this weekend at the Brazil Room at Tilden Park in Berkeley. The second was catered by Marcie Wyss and I couldn’t help but notice how calm and organized and prepared her people were compared to what I had seen just the day before (I didn’t notice the name of the other catering company). It was well before the reception and Marcie and her people were busy in the room but moving about quietly and calmly; I could enjoy the peace and beauty of the place even while they worked. The previous day was characterized by noise and haste and restriction, even a hint of chaos. Not so Marcie and her crew. That’s the way it should be done!
Reverend Tim Mills

We booked SYR catering for our wedding last week and loved the food and service! From the beginning, Marcie and her staff were very organized and communicated every detail with us up front. We feel that their prices were the most reasonable compared to most catering companies. We had our wedding at the Brazilian Room and SYR is pretty comfortable with the space and rules so that made my organizing easier.
It is a bummer they don’t accept credit cards but to be honest, most wedding oriented anything wants cash… plus in the long run, I’m glad we didn’t put that cost on a credit card.
YAY SYR!
–Sarah