Barbara & Company Catering

I’ve used Barbara and Company a couple times for private events and they exceed my expectations every time! Marina is an incredibly hard worker, and her staff follows suit. They go above and beyond to provide excellent service and delicious food, and make it look effortless. They work so well together as a team, and I can’t wait to hire them for our next event. They are my go-​to caterer in town, hands down!

Barbara and Company catered an SPCA Anniversary event I attended recently and I was very impressed. The appetizers they served were varied, unique and delicious! Highly recommend.

Barbara & Company Catering is fantastic. I’d never used a caterer before– so I didn’t know what to expect. I engaged their services for a birthday party and they exceeded my expectations. Everything went smoothly, from the first communication with Marina, through the food delivery/​setup and equipment pick up. Our guests raved about the food at the party– and 6 weeks later– continue to do so. The food highlights were the vegetarian rolls, Corralitos sausage, and chicken wings (just the right amount of spice). Marina was professional and efficient, and I won’t hesitate to use Barbara & Company in the future. I highly recommend!

Dido on everything fantastic everyone said. We only tasted one caterer for our wedding because this place was the bomb. IT felt so good to book a caterer early and not have to worry for the rest of our engagement. Marina helped order all of our dinner wear and the day of the wedding Barbara was there serving. Everything just magically appeared and disappeared the day of which is exactly how it should be.
We had lamb osso buco and bone in pork loin, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and two salads. The price was so reasonable especially since the food was so good and we have leftovers frozen for days. We didn’t really get to eat the appetizers due to all the photos but my guest said they were amazing. Even the bartenders were telling me how good the goat cheese crostinis were.
Not to be bias but the best wedding food I have ever had.

If I could give more stars to Barbara and Company I would.
Marina and her team catered our wedding in Santa Cruz and we got nothing but compliments about the food and the décor. The food was absolutely AMAZING and my husband has very high standards! Everyone was saying it was the best food they’ve EVER had at a wedding. They cooked the food at the venue on an open fire barbecue! Marina was extremely helpful throughout the planning process, helped us pick out rentals, set up the tables, and serve the food. She and her team really did an amazing job and I would recommend them to anyone who appreciates good food and a fun atmosphere!

If I could give this business a 10 star rating out of 5 stars I would!
I worked with Marina, who is an angel and has the patience of a saint. Marina and her crew catered my 170 guest wedding in July of 2013. She was recommended by the owner of the property where I had my wedding (who is a close family friend). I could not have been any happier and I can’t imagine having anyone else cater my wedding. She did a fantastic job.
From the first few conversations with her, she was so helpful and friendly. In the months leading up to the wedding, my mom and I changed our minds about the food selections at least a dozen times. We had hundreds of detailed questions that would have driven any sane person mad. But, Marina was extremely patient, answered all of our questions immediately, courteously, and respectfully. She was always calm and reassuring and told us that she would take care of everything. She even worked with the equipment rental vendor so that we didn’t have to. That was a fantastic bonus! What a great benefit not to have to worry about coordinating with yet another vendor!
The day of the wedding she and her staff arrived on time and set up everything early so that my photographer could take pictures before guests arrived. The presentation of the food and all of the tables was outstanding. They followed all of my directions exactly as I requested down to the type of napkin fold and placement on the plates. The catering/​food table looked unbelievably amazing. The dinner spread was just gorgeous. It was truly a work of art. The food was unbelievably delicious! Most of the food was cooked on-​site, so it was very fresh.
For appetizers we had spring rolls; crostini with red peppers, goat cheese, grilled onions, and pesto; coconut prawns with sauce; and beef satay. For dinner we had grilled tri tip and chicken breast; a fantastic penne dish in a white wine sauce; fresh grilled vegetables; italian potato salad; spinach salad; fresh fruit display; caprese salad; garlic bread; and rolls with butter.
All of her staff were professionally dressed and were very friendly and helpful. All of the leftovers were placed into covered foil containers and left packaged for my family to take home. All of the trash was sorted into recyclables and non-​recycling as I requested. Everyone was extremely professional. The whole experience was outstanding.
I received dozens and dozens of compliments from my guests during and after the wedding. Comments such as «wow, I have been to many weddings, but never have I tasted food so fantastic as at your wedding!» I highly recommend her for even the most neurotic of brides. She will take VERY good care of you!

We worked with Marina for our wedding on June 22^nd, and couldn’t have been happier. She met with us in our home in San Jose (quite a drive!) and was very organized and on-​top-​of-​it through the whole process. She responded to e-​mails quickly, met us to pick out the table rentals, and was flexible when we made changes. She was a pleasure to work with.
As far as the food: we were very impressed. I understand it’s hard to do a buffet and keep everything hot and moist and tasty – but they did just that! We had 100 people and everyone was very impressed with the meal. We had the BBQ chicken and Tri-​tip, along with Potatoes roman off, salad, a fruit tray, and rolls. For appetizers, we ordered bacon wrapped prawns, brick oven pizza, and brochette. It was all delicious and we had no complaints. Even people who «don’t normally like _​_​_​_​_​_​_​» (whatever they didn’t like) commented that they liked THIS _​_​_​_​_​_​_​. It was a great experience.
We also did crème brûlée through Barbara and Company instead of a cake, and everyone loved it!
To boot – they were one of the cheapest bids we found! So we didn’t feel like we paid an arm and a leg for the great food and service. Definitely a great find!

Barbara & Co did the catering for our wedding in May, 2013 and they were amazing!
Marina was fabulous and absolutely knew what to do every step of the way. We only met in person once before the wedding and otherwise communicated through e-​mail, but everything turned out great!
She facilitated the cutlery, glassware, and plate rentals for us, I just had to tell her which ones I wanted and she did the rest.
We had a variety of appetizers which all turned out great, but our main menu for the reception consisted of tri tip, teryaki glazed chicken, polenta, a couple of different salads, and garlic/​regular bread. I tried a bit of everything and it was all yummy! All of my guests complimented the food as well, it was freshly prepared on site too!
It was great to have a large variety of menu options to choose from, especially to accommodate vegan/​vegetarian guests or other important family members who might be otherwise picky eaters.
Would highly recommend them for a wedding or any other event! They are also very reasonably priced, without losing the quality :)

Let me save you some time from reading my review and tell you to just choose Barbara & Company Catering.
We had her host our wedding and we could not have been happier. Unlike the other reviewer this was the best catering I’ve ever had. We selected the bbq chicken and tri-​tip. I live in San Francisco and I would consider myself to have a very educated palate. It impressed all our friends from San Jose, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz. It really is the best valued catering in town. I guess being able to afford something other than hot dogs helps.
The service was phenomenal, the waiters were extremely attentive and cleared our plates quickly. I made some jokes to my wife that they were ninjas. Let me give you an example; my wife and I were moving toward the cake to have the official cake cutting. Barbara came up and gave us a mini lesson on how to correctly cut the cake after we told her we had never cut a tiered cake before. My wife threw cake in my face, per tradition, and before I knew it Barbara came out of the kitchen with a wet napkin to help me clean up. She then took control of the cake cutting and had her waiters cut the cake for the rest of the guests. Other than that I can’t remember seeing her too much. This is exactly the kind of service you want. There when you need it and hidden when you don’t. A lot of our friends from throughout the Bay Area asked us for her number.
Barbara & company had initially done a lot of the setting up for the event. We had our wedding at 2 and reception around 3. I can attest that her company was already working to get everything finished by 10am.
The best catering I’ve ever had, perfect service, what’s not to love about Barbara & Company’s Catering.

Barbara and Co have a wide, sometimes overwhelming number of choices, and if there is something that you don’t see, just ask. I have primarily used them for appetizer events, which were good, but their real strength lies on their entrée variety. Customer service was also excellent, and they are easy to work with. They are also experienced and know how to work with the local party rental places. Bottom line, while there are other caterers who might have the edge in small appetizers and deserts, for weddings and large party events, I can’t imagine working with anyone else.

Barbara & Company Catered our wedding of more than 200 guests, at a location way outside of town. They were the perfect choice. The food was perfect, we had tri-​tip, green salads, fruit salads, grilled veggies, and the best part, which was a pasta bar! Our guests were able to order the type of pasta they wanted along with their favorite sauce, each dish was made inidvidually! Marina and her staff were perfessional in appearance and performance. We would hire them again in an instant!

Marina worked with us on our wedding menu and it was exactly what we wanted. Fresh Californian food. We had 3 passed apps, Smoked Salmon, tomato basil crustinis, and spanicopita. All were delish! Our Tri tip and chicken was cooked on-​site and the salads, garlic mash, asparagus, and breads were all wonderful. She brought plenty of staff to help, and they were all there early. It was such a gift to get to drive off and not worry about breaking down the venue. I work as a waitress at a local venue that hosts large weddings, so I know what to look for and what to ask. But I didn’t have to supervise this event at all, because I could tell right away that I was in experienced and skilled hands. As a result, we had the greatest day of our lives, didn’t stress, and basked in the compliments we received for all of Barbara and Co’s hard work!
I will call them again, and so should you!

Barbara and Company catered my wedding this summer in the Santa Cruz mountains — We had a sit-​down dinner with passed appetizers before dinner. The food was FANTASTIC. I am a vegetarian but my husband and most of our guests were not. The menu was grilled steak, potatoes, grilled vegetables, vegan polenta lasagna, and several salads. I heard from all of my guests that this was the very best food they’d ever eaten at a wedding. It was certainly one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, at a wedding or anywhere.
Not only was the food amazing, but the service was incredible. The food was served piping hot and very promptly, with no one waiting for the next course. And all of the staff at Barbara and Company were so professional, friendly, and gracious.
Barbara and Company also rented all of the furniture and place settings for our wedding — And the tables were GORGEOUS. We had the wedding in a very rustic outdoor setting, and this could not have been easy for them to accomplish — but they made it look easy. My guests were wowed! I can’t thank Barbara and Company enough for making this day so beautiful and full of so many pleasant memories.

Barbara and Company catered our wedding for a 108 people in August in Santa Cruz and they were fantastic from beginning to end. We chose their appetizer menu with 12 different appetizers set in three stations (Mediterranean, Californian, and Island) and their fresh berry display. Our guests were raving about our food for days afterwards, including many hard to please guests who are involved in high end restaurants and/​or catering in San Francisco. Not only did Barbara and Co. produce fantastic food, but they were easily the best priced caterer we met with. Also, they accommodated every request without blinking including food allergies, vegan, sustainable fish, and special straws for non-​alcoholic drinks. There were absolutely no hidden cost or mark-​ups including no cake cutting charge, no corkage, no extra cost for passed appetizers and drinks, and no service fee for rental co-​ordination. In addition, they itemized the cost of every item so it was easy to eliminate items that were out of our budget. Our bill came to exactly the amount quoted to us.
I can’t even begin to tell you how smoothly the whole process was. Marina, their main contact, is calm, professional, and unbelievably accommodating. From the first email, Marina answered every question promptly. She suggested we go to Alexis Party Rental’s Open House to get a quick taste of her food. I thought that was very bold, since other caterers were at the event. Once, we tasted her polenta lasagna we understood why she didn’t mind us tasting the competition. I don’t even like polenta and I loved her polenta lasagna. We then scheduled a more formal tasting. Right before we arrived, we found out our venue had double booked us. We arrived at our tasting distraught. Marina sat down with us and gave us a list of 10 possible venues that fit our criteria for price and location including venues that had had in-​house food. Then we went ahead with the tasting. Everything was fantastic!
Once we booked a new venue, we contacted Marina and told her she was the caterer for us. It was super easy to co-​ordinate with her. Every email I sent no matter how ridiculous the request, she took very seriously and did her best to accommodate. Plus, she never charged us any additional cost. She also picked-​up our special delivery fish on the day of the event and didn’t charge a dime. We didn’t even confirm the guest number until a week before the event, and there were no issues when we reduced our guest list by about 15.
The day of the event went very smoothly indeed. All of our rentals were exactly what we ordered from linens to silverware, plates, and glasses. Everything was set-​up in the right spot and the food kept coming out like clock-​work despite their working in a very small kitchen. They cleaned up everything except the left-​over food for our guests to snack on.
We only have two regrets. One is not being able to have a drink with Marina after it was all over. The other is not setting aside a plate of appetizers and fresh berries for us to try because we were so busy entertaining all of our guests. We are planning on having Barbara and Co. cater our anniversary with the exact same menu.
Here was our menu:
Station 1:
Phyllo Triangles
Polenta with Bruschetta– yum
Mediterranean Pizza — yum
Whole Cooked Salmon with Yogurt Dill Sauce, Sliced Lemons and Cucumbers
Station 2:
Vegetable Platter with Macadamia Nut Hummus and Spinach Dip and Pita Crackers
Fried Plantains * extra yum
Ahi Tuna Tartare * extra yum
Fresh Fruit Salad with Mint and Lime
Jerk spicy Chicken Bites * very spicy with great flavor — our friends from Philippine and Haiti loved, people from the mid-​west had a hard time eating because of spiciness.
Station 3
Corralitos Sausage — local Santa Cruz treat
Rumaki Chicken
Crostini with Goat Cheese, Pesto, Roasted Peppers and Caramelized Onions
arugula Salad with pine nuts
Fresh Berry Display ** very beautiful and guests loved all extra treats
Whip Cream, Brown Sugar, Yogurt, Powder Sugar and Chocolate Sauce

Okay, I’ve given this catering company more than enough chances to satisty my taste buds. Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed.
I’ve eaten their lasagna two years in a row and it was terrible. Greasy and tasteless. Nothing like what I’m accustomed to. Their garlic bread was nothing to write home about, either. They did have a decent salad with all sorts of goodies in it. But that wasn’t enough to make me want more of anything else.
Then I tried their menu for a BBQ. Yuck. I can’t believe I paid $ 25 for this! Soggy hot dogs wrapped in foil. Cold corn on the cob. Disgusting, equally soggy salad with a mish-​mash of who-​knows-​what was in it. Crummy tasting vegie burgers. But the worst was their so-​called potato salad! Ewwww. Absolutely tasteless. I have no idea what they put into it, but I would be embarrassed to serve it. In fact, as I was eating the meal, I wondered how this business was able to STAY in business! This area must be pretty hard up for caterers. I’m not kidding. I’m sure Barbara is a very nice lady. She just can’t cook. :(
I hope I never have to taste any of her food again. I know I won’t be hiring this company.