Have used Balboa twice already - once for a private dinner and once for our wedding at his venue. Both times I'd say our meal was phenomenal. Alex and Jocelyn are an amazing duo and I would highly recommend them to anyone. Everything he makes is personalized to you and your taste. Because of that, the experience is truly one of kind. All the ingredients he used had also been what was freshest and in season. So good!! I can't wait until next time we can enjoy another night of his cooking! read more

Balboa Catering - Our personalized menu - Supper Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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We hired Balboa Catering for a private dinner after attending a dinner they catered for a friends birthday. I was blown away with both meals, that were completely different from one another. The process was seamless and they curated a creative menu on a collaborative phone call. All of my guests were thrilled with the meal and couldn't stop raving about it. I can't wait to have another meal from Chef Alex and his team. read more

Balboa catering gave us such an unforgettable night! I've been wanting to host something like this in my home for a long time and the chef and service team were accommodating in everyway and delivered such a special experience for us and our guests. We hosted an intimate dinner party for 10 people to celebrate a special birthday everything was truly perfect. Chef Alex worked with me to create the perfect progressive meal based on the preferences of the group and dietary restrictions and offered creative dishes that built a spectacular menu. Chef Evan and Len were so gracious in our home to make the evening just perfect. Everything from the prep in our kitchen to the menu cards and presentation, and the clean up absolutely exceeded our expectations! It was a night we will remember for a long time and I can't wait to have another excuse to use them again!! read more

Working with the Balboa team was an absolutely amazing experience. Not only did they make INCREDIBLE food for our wedding, They helped with so much more than that. We had a 200+ person, very DIY backyard wedding. Yes, I know. Crazy. Balboa helped so much, though. Not only did they make delicious food... they had live chefs, provided the staff, the bartenders, helped me with the rentals for the ENTIRE wedding (glassware, tables, linens, forks, etc.), came to my rental appointment with me, did head counts to make sure that we would have enough of everything, helped with setting up & breaking down the whole event.... And so much more. We worked very closely with Jocelyn, and she was absolutely incredible. We have a not so easy to please crowd & we have heard nothing but raving reviews about everything. The food, the experience, the staff members, the list goes on. We've actually heard from several family/friends that they contacted & hired Balboa for other events immediately after the wedding. Usually wedding food gets a "it was fine" review from me, but not with Balboa. They go above & beyond. The food is absolutely divine. I can not wait to experience it again. Jocelyn, Alex, & the entire Balboa team... THANK YOU. We could not recommend you more & look forward to hiring you again in the future for other events! Your team is the absolute best! read more

Excellent job from Balboa Catering! We attended an outdoor event where the food was provided by Balboa. They had a few grills and stations setup where they were firing out delicious food! We enjoyed chicken thighs, veggie skewers, 48 hour smoked brisket, and various toasts. Talented Chef with a hard working team behind him! Well done! Cheers! read more

Balboa catering was a huge disappointment and they completely misrepresented themselves to us . They did not deliver the product that was contracted or paid for. They made my experience a nightmare. They sucked the joy out of planning my daughter's wedding. On one occasion, Alex (the owner and chef) made my daughter, the bride cry.  When asked,  "Do you  want to continue working with us",  Alex emphatically answered, "yes".  I believed Balboa and Alex when he promised, " We are the best at what we do. We will deliver the most amazing product. You will not be disappointed." They could not have been more wrong, these were just empty words. Alex and Jocelyn( wife and co -owner) were dismissive, intolerant and condescending of any conversation.  I never felt validated nor received with kindness... only annoyance and a sense of urgency to move on because they  were "busy" and just wanted this done. They began charging a $100.00 consulting fee for any communication over 5 hours.  This was not in the contract and frankly unheard of and completely insulting. This was their last attempt to shame us.  I became anxious and nervous at the thought of communicating with you.  The result,  I stopped trying.  I had many sleepless nights feeling awful and feeling anxious about the way things were going.   I realized viscerally that I was not in a partnership with my caterer; there simply was no collaborative relationship. I didn't change the caterer because the bride and groom didn't want to make waves or start over.  They believed in the end Balboa would come through.  We could not have been more wrong. The menu and food were all over the place; the event didn't flow smoothly,  food came out at random times; people were confused; the grill was slow and the stations were never prepared or presented as discussed or  contracted.  Yakitori skewers that were being served for dinner  had only one piece of shrimp, chicken or meat,  grill was too slow and too small.  People had to stand around and wait.   Vegetables skewers and salad arrived almost with dessert.  The salad was over-dressed and there was not nearly enough to meet the demand. French fries appeared cold and late, not part of dinner.  Lamb chops came out at the end of dinner.  The crostini and rice cakes were soggy.  Not everyone got cake.  I  tried many times to ask all of these questions about set up, flow, stations format etc. but I was met with hostility and anger by Balboa.  This is unacceptable.  I will give a shout out the servers and bar tenders, they we friendly and professional.  The food that was served minus my comments was fine.  Its such a shame that I cannot compliment or recommend Balboa catering or chef Alex because of this horrible and negative experience. I highly recommend you go elsewhere. read more

Balboa catered my small outdoor wedding on 10/10/20. After all of the compromises we had to make due to Covid, it was wonderful to have the food be as excellent as possible, and without compromise! Our guests were in absolute shock and are still raving about the food. Balboa actually catered 3 separate meals - a Friday night welcome dinner that was heavy on appetizers, a seated, 5 course meal for the reception, and a casual brunch buffet on Sunday. They worked with us to develop the menus, had smart ideas to save money on food cost and maximize the quality of the experience, and, very importantly for us, were genuine, kind, and compassionate people to work with throughout. All three meals, especially the Saturday reception meal, was honestly some of the best food I've ever eaten. The service was excellent as well - everyone got each course at almost the exact same time and the entire event was run with a smooth, gracious and capable energy. My husband and I are very careful about covid, and we were hesitant to have an event of any size, even outdoors. Balboa was extremely professional and responsive to our preferences in that regard. They happily agree to wear masks and face shields, brainstormed service style ideas with us to limit contact, and were nothing but helpful and concerned. A note about price: Balboa offers a very high end product, and we chose pretty expensive items (oysters, octopus etc.) Although we knowingly prioritized food above all else in our budget, paying the invoice prior to the event did sting a bit. On Friday of the weekend, I knew we absolutely made the right choice. On Saturday, I actually remember thinking that we didn't pay them ENOUGH for what they delivered. We actually had a certain amount of cash set aside in advance for gratuity, and we decided it wasn't enough and dropped off additional cash the Monday after the event. If you're someone who values food, stop hesitating and hire them! You'll be happy you did. read more

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My family had an absolutely horrible experience with balboa. They lacked in professionalism, communication and human decensy. They made my family cry on multiple occasions, arrived late to all meetings (yes the zoom ones too), ignored emails, belittled my family's questions regarding presentation and flow of the food and name called. Rather than asking what my family wanted to make the wedding day special, they were condescending and stated, "we know how to cater a wedding, we have never worked with such difficult customers". ....Who says that to a customer??! They had the audacity to charge extra for "consulting" fees aka time they spent discrediting our thoughts, opinions and questions . They were so unhelpful with the menu and did not serve my family a single thing she asked to try at the wedding tasting. This made the process much more difficult. When the day finally arrived all the concerns that we had tried to address were borne out. There was no decor with the food. Not one ounce of thought went into making the display look nice. The food was presented on wrinkly tablecloths, which Jocelyn had said was not her problem. Balboa was rude and not once treated my family as if we were the customer paying top dollar. read more

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT, TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, DID NOT DELIVER AS PROMISED, TREATED RUDELY AND WITH DISRESPECT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS. First, I want to say this is my first online review. I have spent the last 40 years servicing customers and I pride myself in positive interpersonal relations. I like connecting people and I know what it is like to go the extra mile and put my best foot forward. Every client should be a happy client. A vendor's reputation is always on the line. I don't want even one unhappy customer. Balboa apparently doesn't care about any of these basic principles of customer care. At every opportunity, Balboa misrepresented themselves. They did not deliver the product that was contracted or paid for. They made my experience a nightmare. They sucked the joy out of planning my daughter's wedding. On one occasion, Alex made my daughter, the bride, cry.  When asked, "Do you want to continue working with us", Alex emphatically answered, "Yes!"  I believed him when he promised, "We are the best at what we do. We will deliver the most amazing product. You will not be disappointed." They could not have been more wrong. Much assurance... no delivery. Alex and Jocelyn were dismissive, intolerant and condescending.  I never felt validated nor received with kindness... only annoyance and a sense of urgency to move on because they were "busy" and just wanted this done. They began charging a $100.00 consulting fee for any communication over 5 hours.  This was not in the contract. It was never mentioned, and frankly, it was completely insulting. This attempt to talk down to us and shame us caused me to became anxious and nervous at the thought of communicating with either of them.  The result... I stopped trying.  I had many sleepless nights feeling anxious about the way things were going.   I realized viscerally that I was not in any sort of partnership with my caterer. There simply was no collaborative relationship, but the bride and groom didn't want to make waves or start over with someone new.  They believed in the end that Balboa would come through.  Again, we could not have been more wrong. At one point I asked for a conference call between Alex, myself and my daughter to "get on the same page". Alex tuned into the call 35 minutes late, yet there was no acknowledgement of his lateness and no apology. This behavior flies in the face of basic decency and thoughtfulness. And as for the actual "product" ...the menu and food were all over the place; the event didn't flow smoothly; food came out at random times; people were confused; the stations were never prepared or presented as discussed or contracted; Yakitori skewers that were being served for dinner had only one piece of shrimp, chicken or meat; the grill was too slow and too small.  People had to stand around and wait.   Vegetables skewers and salad arrived almost with dessert.  The salad was over-dressed and there was not nearly enough to meet the demand. French fries appeared cold and late, and were not part of dinner.  Lamb chops came out at the end of dinner.  The crostini and rice cakes were soggy.  Not everyone got wedding cake.  I tried many times to ask reasonable, but necessary questions about set-up, flow, stations, format etc. but was met with impatience, hostility and anger.  This is simply unacceptable. I will, however, give a shout out the servers and bar tenders. They we friendly and professional.  Some of the food items were well-prepared and well-received.  It's such a shame that it is so hard to compliment the chef because of the unnecessarily negative experience he fostered. GO ELSEWHERE FOR YOUR CATERING NEEDS. DO NOT USE BALBOA.  NO FOOD IS WORTH THIS EXPERIENCE.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MESSAGE ME WITH AN ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.  I WISH I HAD KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOIW NOW. read more

Love this place. Had some great meals there. You make reservations on the website and dine in a communal table for different themed dinners, different menus cuisines and chefs. Had upscale 7 course cocktail paired dinners as well as causal dim sum or taco nights. Always nice friendly folks, you come for the evening so you don't feel rushed like in a restaurant where you know they are waiting for your table to turn. Alex is a great chef and a gracious host. read more

Wow! Time and time again I'm blown away by Balboa "catering". The first time we hired Balboa was for an intimate business dinner in one of our showrooms and we were blown away by the quality of food they delivered and the level of service. Since then, we have done with balboa a few more of those intimate dinners, a cocktail party for a grand opening, a baby naming, and several large family gatherings. I was sick of typical caterers who more often then not show up with frozen spanikopita, cocktail weenies, and coconut shrimp and just heat up. I asked around and a friend gave me their name. I'm based out of NY, but Balboa has no problem doing events here. Each time, it gets better and better. Everything is original, made from scratch and made well. My favorite experience with them was when my mother hired them for a large BBQ in her backyard. Alex made this sea bass with black bean sauce and scallions, over couscous that was just bursting with flavor. I previously did not consider myself to to either seabass or couscous, but this changed me. Other standout dishes to me are Lamb rib tacos, thrice cooked fries, any steak he cooks, smoked carrots, tuna tartar cones, he once made this salmon skin cicharon that was mind blowing. Just really amazing food and great friendly service and they can handle anything thrown their way as far as format goes. read more

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It was great working with Balboa for our wedding weekend. Chef Alex worked with us to create perfect menus after we talked with him about our favorite foods, and the dinners turned out delicious. Thanks! read more

Started working with Balboa (Jocelyn and Chef Alex) in December 2019 for a clients wedding in Philly. They were always very responsive, accommodating, and helped us pick a menu to fit within our budget. COVID hit, and plans completely changed. Our indoor wedding in Philly turned into a smaller backyard wedding in NJ. Chef Alex again gave us a menu that fit in our budget (cocktail reception) and people were raving about the food. Everyone loved the amazing appetizers! Chef Nick was great to work with. The top three favorites were: grilled steak on crostini with roasted garlic chèvre and pickled onions, roasted corn and tomato bruschetta, and mini chicken empanadas! read more

Had a great experience working the the team at balboa catering. Chef is inventive, passionate about food, eclectic and creative, accommodating, responsive and professional. Our guests are still talking about how plentiful and wonderful the food was at our recent cocktail party. Highly recommend this outfit for your next catering needs, either small or large. read more

I've gone to 2 Balboa events, and both food and service are just incredible. Chef Alex can cook, and their facility is intimate and fun. I can't wait for their next event. read more

I recently had a private surprise birthday dinner for my wife at Balboa Supper Club. Alex and Jocelyn were fantastic! Communication was prompt and they were exceptionally accomodating. Alex and I met in person, talked about my wife's favorite food, and he prepared a phenomenal bespoke menu. Our guests were amazed by how delicious and beautiful the plates of food were. Alex is an incredibly gifted chef - he's detailed oriented, inventive, technically proficient, diverse, and just a great host! The space itself is warm and inviting, although it does get a bit smoky from the cooking. Alex and Jocelyn have something special going with Balboa Supper Club. Everyone agreed that this would be a meal they would remember forever! read more

I just attended an event run by them. It was pretty bad. A very limited selection of food that was OK and you had to wait about 10 minutes for a small bite of the food. Iit was not as advertised at all. On the website they remind you that all fees are nonrefundable. After attending the event I understand why they say this. read more

I am thrilled with the quality of food and service provided by Alex, Johnathan, and the team at Balboa. We selected them to cater a luncheon for 70 at a private home and we made the right choice! All our guests raved about the food, which was a lovely and eclectic mix. We had some food restrictions to cater to yet nothing was "lesser" because it was gluten-free or vegan - everything was just delicious! Our family has some good cooks so we expect a lot and we were blown away. Highlights for us were the Potato Latke with Apple Compote and Creme Fraiche, Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad, Charred Broccoli Salad and Albondigas with chipotle dip. Yummmmm! Beverages were just as strong - we had Bellinis and a Citrus mocktail that were both incredibly fresh and flavorful. To accompany our beautiful cake, Chef made the most delicious mini (3 oz) milkshakes (Chocolate which tasted like liquid chocolate mousse and Salted Caramel which was like liquid heaven). If Yelp allowed half stars, we might dock them a little for mild disorganization in communications in advance of the event, but the results made up for it. Definitely recommend and would use again for anyone who wants high-quality food and service. read more