How to choose a catering company in Los Angeles
Name the event before you name the food
A caterer that excels at boxed lunches may not run a plated dinner for 200, and a wedding specialist may not deliver a Tuesday office breakfast. Write one line about your event first: what it is, how many people, where, and how they will eat. Then shortlist caterers whose own websites show that kind of work.
Service style sets most of the budget
The same menu can cost very different amounts depending on how it is served. Drop-off trays are the most economical, a staffed buffet adds labor, and plated or family-style service adds more staff and rentals. Settle on the style early so every quote you collect describes the same event.
Read what is and is not in a quote
A complete quote shows food, staff hours, rentals, delivery, any service charge and sales tax as separate lines. If one caterer includes plates and serving gear and another does not, the lower number may not be the lower cost. Ask what happens if the guest count changes and when the final count is due.
Questions worth asking every caterer
- Have you worked at our venue, or in our part of Los Angeles, before?
- How do you plan vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergy meals from the start?
- Who will be our contact on the day of the event, and how do we reach them?
- What is the deposit, and what does your cancellation policy say?
- Can we taste the menu, or see photos from a similar event you catered?
What it costs in Los Angeles
Catering prices in Los Angeles depend first on service style. The table shows typical per-guest ranges across event types, drawn from LA caterers' own price lists and recent cost guides, so you can sanity check any quote.
Typical per-guest ranges across Los Angeles catering| What | Typical range |
|---|
| Drop-off trays or buffet | $20 to $45 per guest |
|---|
| Staffed buffet or stations | $60 to $130 per guest |
|---|
| Plated dinner | $90 to $200 per guest |
|---|
| Wedding catering, The Knot national average | about $80 per guest |
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| Service charge on staffed events | 18 to 22 percent |
|---|
| Sales tax, City of Los Angeles (October 2026) | 10.25 percent |
|---|
Staff are usually billed at about $40 to $60 per server hour with a four or five hour minimum, and rentals such as china, linens, tables and chairs typically add $8 to $25 per guest when the venue does not supply them.
As one reference point, Marbled LA's own menus are $24, $48 and $70 per guest and breakfast is $22, and orders add $2.50 per guest for disposables, delivery from $150 per drop and a 15 percent service charge, plus tax.
Tips
- Settle the service style before you collect quotes; moving from plated to a buffet changes the total more than moving between caterers.
- Ask which fees scale with the guest count and which are flat, so you know what happens to the bill if 20 more people say yes.
These are typical Los Angeles market ranges drawn from public price lists and cost guides, not quotes. Every caterer prices its own menus, so ask each one for a written quote.
