We booked Martin Fierro Asado (MFA) for our wedding in March because we wanted a unique and…read morememorable experience for our guests. Having Martin and his team cooking on-site was a key part of our vision, so much so that we specifically searched across Los Angeles and surrounding areas to find a venue that could accommodate their setup requirements, including the 7-hour preparation time and outdoor space they needed.
Leading up to the event, MFA was great, they were responsive, communicative, and easy to work with. Unfortunately, our experience on the wedding day was very different.
We later learned that Martin had threatened to leave midway through cooking, which was extremely concerning. Additionally, both our venue staff and other catering staff mentioned that MFA was difficult to work with that day.
While the food itself was excellent, the service fell short of what was promised. Our contract included two courses:
First course: ribs, sausage, chicken, empanadas, and salads
Second course: tri-tip/steak
The second course was never properly served to our guests. When guests returned for the steak, they were told service was over and staff had already begun cleaning up. Some guests even tried requesting steak during the first course and were denied. To our knowledge, only maybe one or two guests were able to receive steak after insisting.
We had also rented chafing dishes so that leftover food could be made available later in the evening. However, only chicken and salads were placed out, no beef.
We didn't realize the extent of this issue until the day after the wedding. When we went to retrieve leftovers, we found multiple full trays of food, including large portions of uncut steak and ribs. There was clearly more than enough food to serve all guests the second course, yet it was never distributed.
Many guests later told us the food was amazing--some of the best wedding food they've had--but also shared disappointment that they never received the advertised beef course. This was especially frustrating since our menu cards specifically instructed guests to "save room" for it.
After the event, we learned that Martin had a planned medical procedure the following day. While we understand personal circumstances arise, it felt like the service was cut short so the team could leave early. This resulted in an estimated $2,000 worth of food going to waste, food that could have been served, offered to guests to take home, or at minimum communicated to us.
Overall, while the food quality was outstanding, the execution and service on the day of the event were deeply disappointing and did not meet expectations for a wedding of this scale (160 guests).