"It was an awesome wedding!" is all that I can keep saying. We chose this location because of beautiful views, the look of the bar area for the cocktail hour and the elegance of the ballroom. We wound up with so much more. Our guests raved about the food. During the cocktail hour the passed appetizers were hot and delicious (this is according to the guests since I was working with room with my husband saying hello to everyone). A favorite was the fried raviolis. There were plenty of wait staff with trays and guests were able to try everything. The entrees were served quickly and I heard from so many how much they liked the meal. The glazed carrots were cooked perfectly. The fried dough towards the end of the night was perfect and went quickly as guests are ready for a round of snacks by then. The views at sunset at Meerimack Valley Golf Club were gorgeous and we were able to take pictures on the deck overlooking the golf course. We had our ceremony upstairs with the sun coming down. Breathtaking is the only word to describe the backdrop. Carissa worked with us from our first visit to the club right up through the wedding. She and Sam made sure all of my questions were answered, that every detail was taken care of and that our wedding was exactly what we imagined. They were extremely responsive to my emails and calls and never made me feel like I was overthinking things. It was the perfect night at the perfect location! i gave not received my professional pictures yet but included a few that family sent me. read more

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Simply Elegant Catering caters a lot of our company meetings/events, most recently our employee appreciation day luncheon. This time they were set up in our Main Lunchroom with chicken, seasoned string beans, prime rib, salad, rolls, and mashed potatoes. The herbed chicken was surprisingly very juicy and flavorful, the prime rib was good with the creamed horseradish (but I prefer straight), the mashed potatoes were yummy, and the salad of greens, cranberries, bleu cheese and balsamic vinaigrette was very fresh. Also, there was a station with brownies, they were moist & delish!! :) Then came time for refreshments... there were so many different kinds of sweets!! There were lots of cookies and small bites. Some of my faves were raspberry gelee over choc cake wrapped in white chocolate, strawberry cheesecake bite, tuxedo cheesecake bite, and more brownies! All the servers were very personable and efficient. Everything was very elegantly displayed. I would recommend them! :) read more

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I can't say I've used them for a wedding which is what they are famous for but I did use them for a small fundraising event. I also have been to two other events that they have catered, one was a dinner mixer and the other a backyard family style bbq and picnic for Oktoberfest. At my event: Mike showed up early (about 40 minutes early) and asked if we needed help with anything as we were staging the event. He brought in what we ordered from him. It was professional, hot, and ready to consume. People especially loved the holiday drink they prepared. In going over and above, he even helped cut and plate the various cheeses and fruits I had purchased from the store and made them a nice lay out. I can't say enough nice things about Simply Elegant Catering. I know they do weddings, receptions, and corporate events mostly but they will even do baby showers or birthdays. Small job or big job... it will be simply elegant. read more

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My husband and I met with Mike a couple of times in September of 2015. First, for a consult and secondly for a complimentary tasting. We thought he was very detailed and thorough and he asked us many questions about what we wanted and what we liked. The tasting allowed us to bring 2 additional people and we tried a ton of food. It was a grand feast! Mike was a super nice guy and we enjoyed the food. The reason why we didn't go with him was because we didn't want family style (which was the cheaper option for his company) and we thought the food at another catering company was slightly better and prices were slightly cheaper and this was for plated (not family style). Price and taste were the huge factors for us, so we didn't use Simply. In the end, I regret not using Simply Elegant because I was not happy about the catering company we ended up with. Although from reading other reviews, I find that every catering company has flaws. I don't know if things would've turned out better or not with Mike, but if I ever need another catering company, I wouldn't mind trying him out. Thank you Mike for taking the time to meet with us and cooking us great food for our tasting! read more

It is almost my 1 year anniversary of my wedding so you might think I would be over my experience by now but I am not. I used Simply Elegant Catering through my venue Castle Green. Mike was super nice when we did our first meeting but that was about it. When it got closer to my wedding date I didn't hear anything from them so I decided to follow up. No one called me back, so I called again, receptionist said "they were busy." I run a business, I'm busy, I call my clients back. At my wedding everything went smoothly until the end of the night. Their staff smashed the top of my wedding cake supposed to be saved for my one year anniversary in a box. It was ruined. The staff and Mike did not care. I got married on a Sunday, my husband and I both woke up Tuesday night with what seemed like the flu. I come to find that 50 plus people were sick that attended our wedding. I don't think it's too far fetched to think there is a possibility of food poisoning. I call Mike and he is immediately defensive. No apology, just comments like "my staff tried the food and they said it was great." I start getting pretty upset because this is my wedding day and all my guests are sick. We have a few email exchanges and he says everyone is sick because everyone was drunk. My husbands 75 year old grandma who doesn't touch alcohol got sick, so that didn't seem to add up. So basically how I look at it the food from simply elegant catering got my wedding guests sick. It was embarrassing and it was the most important day of my life, and mike didn't even say sorry. I would never recommend his services to anyone and I hope no other bride ever has to deal with the experience I had. read more

Simply Elegant did a great job catering our wedding in August 2017. We were impressed from the get-go by the complimentary tasting which was not only delicious but gave us enough food for a week! Mike, the owner and head chef, wanted us to see what the service would look like and brought out true to size examples of what he would serve. He took detailed notes on what we did and didn't like about each item and when it came to the day-of, the food was just as good as we remembered. We were on a pretty tight budget for our wedding and Paramount Ranch, a pretty bare-bones (but gorgeous) venue that had no kitchen. We went with Simply Elegant in the end because of the quality of the food AND because they were the most cost-effective when it came to the food related rentals. Trust me, my mom and I did our due diligence and Simply Elegant offered the straightforward process at the lowest price for building a kitchen on-site from scratch. Mike gave us a lot of great deals and did everything he could think of to keep us happy. My only complaint would be that we didn't hear from him starting about a month before our wedding but, Justin, one of his employees, took his place as our contact and was nothing but delightful. We went with family style since it was the same price as buffet. It was a) way prettier and b) meant we didn't have to rent all the buffet table stuff or worry about decorating that. I thought the presentation of the food at the guest tables and our sweetheart tables was very attractive. All of the waitstaff was very friendly and helpful the whole day, and even stacked our ceremony rental chairs that we had gotten from another vendor while people were dancing! They took great care to make sure my husband and I had water on hand at our sweetheart table at all times too, which I really appreciated. I highly recommend Simply Elegant for service, food, and most food related rentals. read more

There simply aren't enough words to say how highly I think of Mike Faulkner and his team at Simply Elegant. My husband I had our wedding reception in February at the Historic Castle Green in Pasadena and Simply Elegant was one of the venue's preferred catering vendors. After emailing the other vendors and even receiving estimates from them, none of them really seemed like a good fit for us. After booking the Church and the Wedding venue (which we did a year in advance), the caterer was the next big vendor for us to book! Right out of the gate, Mike was so attentive and really excited to meet with us! He sent us a preliminary estimate based on what we had told them and was open to customizing the reception menu. We went back and forth a few times and updated the menu over a few weeks. About 2 months later, we went to a tasting at his shop where Mike and his team made everything from our menu (and some other options) for us and our family to taste. Let me say, that was the FUNNEST part of the wedding process...not kidding! Mike even provided cake samples from one of his bakery partners with no added charge. Even though we did not end up purchasing our cake from that business, it was still a very nice gesture to offer them. Mike wasn't happy unless WE were happy. Closer to the wedding, I found out that I was sick and needed to be on a specific diet that excluded EVERYTHING on our wedding menu. I was so disappointed because I LOVED our menu. When I called Mike to inform him of the change, he and his team were so quick to accommodate me and on our wedding day, his servers made sure that I got my special meal. Mike's entire staff: from his wait staff to his bartenders to his chefs, to his wife, Laura and even Mike's son - everyone is so helpful and cheerful. I've been to so many weddings and the serve staff is not always the warmest. Not the case with Simply Elegant. All the staff were so professional and pleasant - my husband and I received so many compliments about the awesome service and the DELICIOUS food. Aaah, the food. We wanted to have items in our menu that paid tribute to our heritage and Mike was psyched to help out! He even made a sweet and spicy side sauce for our Tri Tip made from peppers from my father in law's garden. Mike really does his best to make sure that the menu is a collaborative effort between him and his clients. In addition, he encouraged us to serve the food family style, which ensured that everyone got food at the same time and allowed all our guests to interact more at the table - such a nice touch! *He has signature chocolate chip cookies and milk shooters that are tray passed at the end of the night...OMG!* He is honest about prices and does an awesome job of staying within your budget. Simply Elegant is a fantastic choice for your wedding or any other special event. It is such a worthwhile investment! THANK YOU MIKE! Note: Sometimes, it does take a while for emails to be responded to, but the nature of their business keeps them traveling, so expect a few days wait between responses. read more

I just got married in December, and Mike and his team at Simply Elegant catered our wedding at the Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock. He did a simply amazing job! In the first place, Mike is very personable. He is very easy to contact, is happy to schedule around his clients' needs (for tastings and such), and never seems as if he is trying to up-sell or steer you away from anything. He is very straightforward, and if something costs extra, he tells you when you mention you might want it. His proposal is broken down for each and every cost, and if you have questions as to why your invoice/proposal costs what it does, it is very easy to see where you might revise things to fit your budget. His costs were very reasonable - from the food to labor and rentals. He also allows clients to bring their own wine and liquor, which he'll store for a week before the event, and then have his staff serve it. Mike's friendliness, customer service, and transparency make him an excellent vendor from the start. As if all of that were not good enough - his food is also excellent. We chose a menu of passed hors d'oeuvres (Argentinean empanadas, coconut chicken skewers, and a tomato polenta cake), and family-style dinner (maple apple salad, grilled chicken and tri-tip, au gratin potatoes, and seasonal vegetables). All of it was great, and we received many compliments from our guests after the event. One co-worker had just had his wedding in Sonoma, and said he wished he had known of Mike, because he really enjoyed his dinner. As my husband and I walked around greeting guests, we noticed many clean plates and happy guests! The cake was also great. Mike has a good relationship with Cake Sensations, which is about a mile away from his storefront. The cake comes at a really good price, and was delicious as well (we did vanilla with cappuccino chiffon). You can set up your own appointment for a cake testing, which was very quick and painless. Mike then coordinates with the baker, and you don't have to think of the cake again after placing your order. In all, I don't think you can go wrong choosing Mike and Simply Elegant. They have a great team, and we're really glad we chose them for our special day. You should definitely consider them for your event! read more

I'll start by saying that Mike is incredible and Simply Elegant's food is terrific! We so appreciate his and Laura's help to make our wedding turn out as great as we had hoped and planned. Mike is all of the qualities that really made it a pleasure to work with him: responsive, organized, nice, caring, energetic, and accommodative. Mike was great from the beginning (setting up our tasting), to all of the adjustments in between (yes, we made a lot of adjustments and Mike was always happy to help), to the end (packing up the equipment at the venue, settling the bill, giving us back the excess alcohol). The food is fantastic--the best tasting and value of the 5 other places my wife and I tasted. We especially like the lamb chops, bacon dates, tuna appetizer, sundried tomato risotto, and hangar steak. If there's anything that I could suggest for improvement, it would be that we asked for specific biscuits and chocolate chip cookies that didn't taste as good at the wedding vs at our tasting. Not sure why that is--using a different oven? Just something for people to keep in mind, but I don't think that is necessarily specific to Simply Elegant..or is it? They cook on site, while most other caterers cook at their restaurant then bring it over. In any case, I absolutely definitely recommend Mike and Simply Elegant, and would totally work with him again! We never ever had any problems working with him, so rest assured. Thanks Mike!! read more

In the beginning, Simply Elegant was great to work with. Mike met with us on a couple of occasions before we signed the contract and was friendly. Mike made sure to explain everything in detail, expressed how we could call his cellphone whenever we needed him and that the process was very flexible and that we could add things to our contract even at the last minute. He insisted that the rentals provided were extensive and that we would have a variety to choose from. He even made sure there was always fresh, homemade cookies at every meeting. About 4-5 months before the wedding, we wanted to narrow down our rental selection. We were hoping that Mike had a large variety of rentals to suit or tastes such as glasses, silverware, plates, linens and more. Unfortunately, there wasn't the vast selection like he had said. Mike then insisted that if we changed our minds later, we were still far ahead w/ planning and that we had plenty of time to adjust our contract. I requested to meet Mike at our venue to discuss table rentals 2 1/2 months before the wedding. Due to our fickle venue, we were forced to reschedule but Mike's schedule wouldn't allow us to meet ANYTIME AT ALL until 1 month before our wedding to discuss. This was problematic as my florist needed the table count so that she could place her flower order and start her process. During the summer, I would frequently email and text him to verify our rentals and go over a "virtual" plan since we couldn't go to the venue and plan. Unlike his promise earlier, he would not get back to us for weeks at a time. When we were asking questions a week before the wedding (which was the only time they were prompt with responses because they needed payment), Mike's wife was short and annoyed. But what the company lacked behind the scenes, they made up for on the big day. The staff was nice, the food was good and everything ran smoothly. We had compliments that the serving staff was very nice to our guests and as individuals in the hospitality industry, we can REALLY appreciate that. However in the end, they lost our remaining liquor. We had gone to the bar towards the end of the night and the bartender informed us that we had a lot of wine leftover (not so much beer of liquor). We told the staff "you guys can have some leftover beer and liquor, but please leave us some wine." We wanted to be as nice to them as they were to us. When we went to pick it up, they couldn't find any of our wine and told us they would find it and call us. We told them what we told the staff and Mike's wife insisted that was against the rules and none of their staff would have taken any. We never heard from them again and still have no wine from our vineyard wedding on our special day. read more

Don't take my word for it, take the word of our wedding guests. We've been receiving non-stop compliments about how good the food is! Mike and his team were fantastic to work with. Simply Elegant made incredible food for our big day, and the price was very fair. We had some weird and specific requirements for our wedding catering, and Mike was completely on board from the beginning It was also FUN to work with Simply Elegant - we loved visiting their offices, tasting the food (make sure to do your tasting on a very empty stomach!) and of course playing with their adorable pug Sammy. Every time we came by, they fed us cookies! On the day of the wedding, they were very attentive to us as bride and groom. They made sure we had appetizers, a meal, water, and wine throughout the event. I appreciate that, since it's easy to forget to eat and drink on your wedding day. People loved the family style servings and we received SO many comments on how tasty the food was. My only observation is that you do have to stay on top of them for receiving updated quotes, emails, etc. But they always respond (you just might need to send a follow-up text or call). Thank you, Mike - your food was a real highlight of our wedding! read more

We used Simply Elegant for our wedding last March and were very happy with the results, as were our guests. Mike came recommended by our venue (Neighborhood Unitarian), and since we were planning from out of town we were happy to work with someone who could handle rentals, etc for us and knew our venue well. Overall, communication was great although we did have some similar issues as others (menus not getting updated, etc) and we felt we had to stay on top of things. But Mike had lots of good suggestions on how to arrange things, and was great about meeting us when we came into town. And the end result was great; our reception was wonderful and we still get raves about the food. And no corkage or cake cutting fee, gotta love that! So I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mike, but it may not be an entirely hands off experience. read more

We absolutely love Mike and Laura! Their team was fantastic on the wedding day and our guests raved about the food for days! From the start we had such a good feeling about Mike who was so warm and helpful. He made us feel that he was on top of everything and that anything we wanted was achievable, and it was! My husband and I disagreed on our second entree and Mike and Laura were so helpful in finding a fish that was super tasty and also friendly to our budget - barramundi! If you haven't tried this fish you should it's perfect! The Tri-tip, fish, grilled veggies and mashed potatoes were delicious and everyone had plenty to eat. Plus my husband was obsessed with getting leftovers and Mike went the extra mile to package up togo boxes for us after dinner :) We opted to go for family style and our guests really loved it as it gave them a chance to talk and share like one big family. The service was excellent! Can't recommend them enough!! read more

Simply Elegant Catering - Our wedding at the Cree Estate in Palm Springs, catered by simply elegant - Caterers Near Me - South Pasadena, California

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Simply elegant was the caterer for my daughters wedding 7/28/13. I cannot say enough about how wonderful they were! People are still commenting about how it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding! Great communication, great service. We loved the family style serving option and so did our guests. The warm chocolate chip cookies and milk at the end of the evening was so special! Would highly recommend! Excellent! read more

First off, let me say that I write this negative review with a very heavy heart. We chose Simply Elegant to cater our wedding this past July. Throughout the entire wedding planning process we truly enjoyed working with Mike and his team. We went into the day fully confident that he and his team would execute the day flawlessly. We were blown away by his thoughtfulness, delicious tasting and overall kindness. We honestly had no worry at all. Unfortunately for us, when the day came we were incredibly disappointed. A few things went wrong the day of... I'll start off with some of the minor. First, we ordered a semi-circle sweetheart table; when we walked through before the reception started we noticed that we had a small rectangle. When I asked what happened I was told they had forgotten it. Though I was a bit disappointed I told myself it wasn't a big deal. I then noticed that our cake wasn't elevated on a cake stand, which I discussed with mike at our last consult. Trying to go with the flow, I said no big deal to this too... however, the biggest issue of the night had to do with our chicken. Several of our guests later told us that their chicken was undercooked and many people either didn't eat it or had it sent back. At first, we thought it was a fluke but as we asked more and more we found at least one or two people per table had undercooked meat. This was incredibly concerning. People could have seriously fallen ill at our wedding. When we confronted Mike he told us he had his best staff on hand. It's hard to believe this - how could such a huge oversight have been made? In addition to this our guests had trouble tracking down their servers for wine and water. On top of that, several bottles of champagne were left unchilled. I'm incredibly disappointed by what transpired. I had such high hopes and was so excited. All I wanted for our wedding was to have lots of drink and food. It makes me sad to think that when people think of our wedding they think of the undercooked meat. I'm still praying that no one got sick. I'm leaving him 2 stars because he was a nice guy through the process; he just didn't deliver when it counted. And they did refund us for the cost of the chicken, though the refund was pitiful considering. Otherwise, we're incredibly disappointed and not sure we'd recommend him to others. read more

We used Simply Elegant for our wedding in April '14, and overall the experience was very nice. Mike, the owner, is truly a good guy. Nice, genuine, and earnest. We dealt directly with him the entire time. Sometimes his response times seemed a little slow, but perhaps we were being brize/groomzillas. Maybe not perhaps. More like probably. I will go into more detail, but I would say the strengths of Simply Elegant were: *price *food *ability to provide your own liquor (savings) *partnership with a bakery that lowered cake costs *the fact they handled all the rentals (tables, chairs, linens, plates, etc.) *other small touches Weaknesses were some minor menu changes that were not relayed to us in advance. PRICE Perhaps it's gauche, but when I was planning my wedding, I always wanted people to list the price of their vendors. So I'm going to do that. Our final bill with Simply Elegant was $7934. This was for 75 guests., and it included ALMOST EVERYTHING (food, labor, non-alcoholic drinks +mixers, rentals, cake). It did NOT include alcohol, which I purchased separately. It was a great value, especially considering the quality of the food and service. If it looks expensive to you, remember, it ALSO INCLUDES CAKE AND RENTALS. FOOD The food was a hit. At least, people say they liked it. Who knows if they'd say otherwise to your face. I thought it was pretty good, personally. We served: --4 appetizers (chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, chicken coconut skewers, baked brie + caramelized onion flatbread, and caprese skewers --Family style dinner (apple avocado salad, skillet seared flank steak topped w bleu cheese and caramelized onions, cilantro lime chicken, twice baked potatoes, seasonal julienne vegetable medley, assorted breads and butter) --cake. It was made by cake sensations, and it was a runaway hit. And because of Mike's deal with them, it's included in the cost at a much lower rate than you'd get if you went cake shopping. And it was good. Really good. --tray passed cookies and milk shooters (people went crazy for these. Literally crazy. Like running around and screaming. They were also maybe drunk.) BOOZE We bought that shit at BevMo and just handed it off to Mike. So there are no crazy-ass markups on liquor. He also lets you store it at his place, and he brings the leftovers back to his storefront and lets you pick them up at your leisure. Because we bought from BevMo, we were able to return all the unused stuff. That means SAVINGS, BITCHES. Also, he provides all the non-alcoholic stuff and mixers. CAKE As mentioned above, you can get it discounted through him. It was really good cake, too. You can also get one elsewhere with no discount. If so, your funeral, bro. RENTALS Mike can handle all rentals for you if you choose. I didn't really comparison shop this since the last thing I wanted to do was coordinate another vendor. It seemed reasonably priced. There were tons of colors and options. It was very worry-free. SMALL TOUCHES I mentioned most of this above, but the cookies and the fact he will store stuff at his place and bring it for you (we also stored our candles with him, which he brought) were really nice touches. I believe he also went above and beyond in helping set up before the wedding. STAFF His staff was very friendly and great at their jobs. No complaints. The only reason I didn't give five stars is that we had requested pumpkin ravioli for our vegetarian meal but got vegetable wellington instead. By all accounts it was good, but it's still not the kind of surprise you want on your wedding day. I believe there was a small change on the kids menu, too, but honestly, who cares about those grubby little punks. THEY'LL EAT WHAT THEY GET, AND THEY'LL LIKE IT. read more

Bad experience. The food tasted fine the FIRST time, but it got half of my wedding guests food poisoning. The trouble didn't start there, however. They were extremely difficult to communicate with. They never responded to emails or called back prior to the wedding. I had to repeatedly call in order to get ahold of someone, even within a few weeks of my wedding. I needed to confirm payment and that they were set on instructions... don't you think that's important when you're paying someone $10k to cater a once-in-a-lifetime event?!? When it came to the wedding day, they saved the top of the wedding cake (as per common tradition), but they nonchalantly put it in a box for trash and it got smashed. When I brought these issues up to Mike, he didn't care. Not even a sorry for me and my new wife spending the first day of marriage throwing up... not to mention the countless other guests who had the same problem. Everyone remembers our wedding as the one that got them sick... pretty great, eh? Even if it wasn't his fault, he should feel bad and say sorry at the very least, instead of being defensive. He offered no solution to the problem and didn't care in the slightest that he ruined our cake. STAY AWAY FROM THIS CATERER unless you want to taste your wedding food multiple times and deal with the stress of a non-communicative vendor. read more

I hired Simply Elegant Catering for my daughter's September 20th wedding. When meeting with Mike Faulkner in April my daughter, son-in-law and I were very excited. After our tasting with him at the end of April we were happy to know that our search for catering was over. Some weeks later Mike informed us that because of a schedule conflict he would not personally be in attendance at our wedding, but would make certain that everything was handled as discussed. The first glitch came when the day before the deposit was to be paid I was informed that because an individual that Mike intended to have cover our wedding was unavailable he had to add $500 to our agreed upon total. Stating that he had to hire 2 people to cover this one. I did not understand why his problem became mine, but we went along with this non-negotiable requirement because we really liked Mike and were beyond the point of searching again for a caterer. There were minor miscommunications as the date approached, but no biggie. The issues came the day of the wedding. We were promised when meeting with Mike that there would be cocktail hour food packed for the bridal party to take with them as they went from the ceremony to take pictures before returning for the reception. That did not happen. We were told that cocktail hour food would be put aside for the bride and groom to have upon their return and that did not happen. In fact, they never tasted cocktail hour food. I had a very specific conversation with the lead server, before food was served, to have her box any extra food and get it to me. (Mike had explained that there would be to go boxes for this purpose). She agreed that she would do so. That never happened. There was definitely food left. The Matron of Honor, Mother of the Ring Bearer, saw trays of cocktail hour food when requesting some for her son after Reception food was being served. She offered to take some up to the bridal party and was told that cocktail hour food would be supplied to anyone who asked for it. Certainly no one would ask for something that they did not know was available. Unfortunately, in the busyness of my role as Mother-of-the Bride I didn't realize until in my hotel room, hungry, wedding night that I had not been spoken to about the extra food and certainly did not receive any. It actually disturbed my sleep that night that one of the largest expenses for a wedding is catering and promises had been broken. I sent a text early the next morning to Mike (having been told early on that texting is the best way to communicate with him). Mike and I finally spoke on Tuesday. He had spoken with his lead server. She had admitted that there had been food left over. Mike asked for a couple of days to decide how he might resolve the issue. That was more than 2 weeks ago. He has since not responded to my text and phone messages. My son-in-law also attempted to contact him, to no avail. At the very least, a conversation saying that there was nothing that he could do would have been appreciated. Instead we've been ignored. As read in other Yelp reviews we are not the first to have no follow through once the bill is paid and the event has ended. Catering was the only downside of a beautiful wedding. It is for the above reasons that I cannot recommend Simply Elegant Catering for what is such an extremely important event as is anyone's wedding. I liked Mike. It makes me sad to have to write this review. read more

We have used this company for years for all of our family functions and parties. Unfortunately we used them for our wedding back in August and lets just say things were not up to par. Food was not served properly, they ran out of food for a station, no mix was added to the signature drink so all guests got straight liquor, they didn't save any cake for the bride/groom, etc. Afterwards, I adised the owner of the company about our issues and no apology was ever given. Seriously? After all the business we have given you? At the very least an apology was in order and a $30 cake topper would have made us forget all the negative. Unfortunately we were simply just shrugged off. To pay $6000 for passed appetizers and to be shrugged off is just terrible. In the future we will think twice about what Pasadena caterer to use. read more

When my husband and I were planning our wedding, I pretty much went exclusively though Yelp. I'd say 90% of our choices were good. Simply Elegant was definitely one of them. Looking at the end result, everything turned out great, but lemme break it down- -Mike is a great guy, super responsive to calls and prompt. His wife/partner seems to run the business end of things and that's where things got messed up. Mike sent us a preliminary menu to look over and we were to go to a tasting the following week. We reviewed it, made major food changes and emailed him back, thinking it was all ok.... Since the Hubby and I worked in the commercial industry, finding time to take off for a mutual event is like trying to align planets. We basically had a death race to the tasting in South Pasadena from NoHo because our schedules are so whack. When we got there, Mike began to serve us everything on the menu we specifically asked to change. (WHAT?!). Apparently his wife never fwd him the email, thus wasting our trip out there and royally pissing off my Hubby. Not only did we lose money from leaving work early, but we didn't even eat the "free" food because none of it was what we liked! -We still kept in contact with Mike and decided to go with him anyways because he seemed to be bending over backward to accommodate us (Without another tasting of the food we wanted!). We had our wedding at a historic residence thus we were in charge of getting EVERYTHING for the wedding (tables, napkins, chairs, etc). and Mike seemed to have an answer and setup for anything anywhere. The day I had to drive to deliver the deposit (idk why I drove instead of mailed, but anyways). I walked in and Mike's wife/partner was in the office, playing with a puppy (yea like a real puppy) and gave a look like she had no interest in finding out what I was doing there or even cared. I basically threw the check at her and she just sat there squishing that poor dog as I left. I immediately contacted Mike to tell him we dropped it off and make sure he knew we were squared away because we didn't trust her. -Come wedding time, food turned out amazing, it is literally the one thing that everyone at our reception talked about. We had a tri-tip bbq with buffet of salads and sides (we had an August wedding so cooler picnic food was a necessity). It turned out great, they took care of everything, and were respectful and cleaned up prompt and fast. The caretaker of our venue literally died the next day having never seen the place so clean! Overall, I'd recommend Simply Elegant, but DO NOT attempt to do any business with his wife/partner as I am sure she only sits in her office chair and coddles dogs all day. Mike will give you his cell# and literally, whenever you call he will respond or call right back. That was the most reassuring thing, minus the major flop in messing up our tasting. read more

We used Simply Elegant Catering for our wedding in August 2010 at Castle Green. They provided us with a very affordable quote for 180 guests and were very patient and flexible with us when we made requests to adjust the menu and order. The owners Mike & Laura are both very friendly people, and they went out of their way to accommodate us and our requests -- even at the last minute. They delivered great service & great food on our wedding day. read more

We used Simply Elegant for our wedding on 10.23.10 and they were wonderful. Food was delicious and I loved their presentation. Mike was easy to work with and available all the time when we needed him. The only thing is that their menu is not very creative. HOWEVER they are more than happy to work with you to bring in your ideas and suggestions. I am already trying to figure out another event in the future so that we can hire them again. :) read more

I have had the opportunity to sample the catering from Simply Elegant on a couple of occasions. The food service in each case was exemplary and the types of servings offered were varied and delicious. The business is big enough that they can handle larger groups and still be imaginative in their offerings. I would not hesitate to recommend Mike and Simply Elegant Catering to anyone I knew who was about to have a wedding, a party, or office gathering. read more

great food & great people! Mike was soo soo friendly during our planning & our tasting. he made us so much food and changed anything we wanted with no hesitation or attitude. he was always early to every meeting & prepared. most importantly our wedding day went off without a hitch & everyone RAVED about the food! i heard from multiple people that they LOVED the food so that was all i wanted! read more

Mike was such a pleasure to work with for our wedding at Castle Green. The food was delicious, and he accommodated all of the dietary restrictions that were needed for our event. He worked hand in hand with our wedding coordinator to ensure everything went smootly. 5 Stars Mike!!!! read more

Mike Faulkner of Simply Elegant Catering is without a doubt the best wedding vendor a couple could ask for! Not only was the food delicious, the price affordable and his services top notch but he is also the nicest man. My wife and I could not have asked for a nicer or more helpful caterer. From the moment we met with him we knew we were in good hands and he did not disappoint! He worked with our modest budget, gave us excellent ideas and tips, referred our sound and lighting vendor, handled all deliveries and additional rentals AND helped our friend/day-of-coordinator as she was setting up our decorations and centerpieces. I cannot say enough amazing things about Mike and would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone in need of an excellent caterer! read more

AMAZING food, great staff. Mike was a dream to work with. Thank You

Simply Elegant Catering is absolutely amazing!!!! We used them for our wedding at the beginning of the month and everything was great! They were accommodating, professional, always responsive and available, and sooooo yummy! Best wedding food I have ever had and all of my guests said the same thing. The food tasted exactly like it did at our tasting, which is always something you worry about. We were able to bring stuff to them early to take to the wedding and set up and they brought back all our extra guest gifts, alcohol, and table accessories and held them until we were able to come pick them up. We even ran out of beer in the middle of the wedding and they went and got us more!!! That was a huge help!! They set up our venue exactly like we wanted. The service staff was on it!! We never didn't have a full glass of wine or dirty dishes in front of us. I seriously couldn't of asked for more!! Everything was perfect and exactly as I pictured it and wanted it to be. I will definitely recommend them to all and for sure use them again!!! Thank you soooooo much Mike and Laura! You guys are the best!!!! :) ~Oh and they have signature milk and cookies that they pass out at the end of the night. Huge hit and the perfect touch!! ;) read more

We used Simply Elegant for our wedding in June. From start to finish, they were helpful and communicated wonderfully. All our guests complemented us on our choice of caterers, the food was fantastic, they set up everything as asked, cleaned up, served everyone. I would recommend them to everyone. read more

Simply Elegant Catering, Mike and his A-class team of workers made our wedding celebration go off without a hitch. The food was delicious and everyone loved the family-style serving. No one left the meal still hungry, as the amount of food was ample. Beyond the food, the service that we received from Mike, his wife and all the servers was excellent. Our guests loved everything from the cocktail hour and the hors d'oeuvres, to the salad, to the main course! The cake, from Cake Sensations (they work with Simply Elegant extensively), was both beautiful and delicious. Mike's signature chocolate-chip cookies and milk shooters at the end of the evening were also a big hit! Mike took care of all the planning and updated us as the time came near. We highly recommend Simply Elegant Catering with a million stars. Our special day was carefree, allowing us to enjoy the day, because of Mike. MP and V read more

Simply Elegant catered my wedding just last weekend (1/16/16) and did a phenomenal job! The food was incredible, service was attentive and courteous, and logistics were handled professionally and effectively. While planning our wedding my now wife and I focused equally on the quality of product we would receive as well as the experience we would have while interacting with the business. Simply Elegant made the decision an easy and comfortable one for us on both accounts. Mike and his wife Laura were incredibly warm from the first time we met them to the last phone call we had the day after the wedding. Mike made us feel excited, comfortable, and accommodated every step of the way. In addition to the wonderful interaction, the food received nothing but incredible comments all night! Each guest thought every dish, from appetizers (for which he made us chicken and waffle bites, which were not on his menu) to entrees (amazing tri-tip and sides) was delicious. They even included kids meals of chicken and mac n cheese which every parent appreciated so much. Overall, we have nothing bad to say about our experience. We loved working with them, loved the food, and loved the people. read more

Mike is a really nice guy and his food is really good. I received many many compliments about the food at the wedding. At the wedding, his staff was professional, nice, and efficient. The bartenders were especially good. By the end of the night, they knew which guest wanted what drink. I also had special drinks for me and my bridal party and they were on top of it and had them ready right away. The only thing I would say is that Mike, you need to hire a friendly office person to organize you. Your office staff is not helpful to clients and do not appear to be helpful to you either! read more

Simply Elegant Catering was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding reception! The team at Simply Elegant is extremely responsive, flexible and great to work with. My wedding coordinator and I worked directly with Mike. He made me feel as if he truly cared about the success of our wedding and that it was not just another catering job. Since June is a prime time for weddings in Pasadena, CA, it is certainly a busy time for Simply Elegant - however, Mike was on top of it all from beginning to end. My guests thoroughly enjoyed their meals and we really appreciate the time and effort Mike put into working with our modest budget. I HIGHLY recommend this catering company. read more

Simply Elegant catered our daughter's engagement party last weekend and we absolutely loved them! Mike Faulkner and his wife and staff were so easy to work with. We met with Mike to review his menu and give him an idea of our guest number and budget. The goal of our party was to meet everyone before the wedding and serve some fun and interesting food. What we liked best was that Mike uses this as a framework for you to start with but reminds you often that he can create pretty much anything you would like. And can he! Mike came to the house a few weeks before the event to provide suggestions how best to set up the event to maximize serving area and guest area. The day of the event, he and his catering staff set everything up (on a hot, hot day) and were so pleasant and friendly. They felt like family helping out with an event. The food was over the top!!! All of our guests commented on how this was the best catered food they had tasted and the variety was fun and interesting. Many also asked who the caterer was for their future use! We like food that is 'fun', not your typical vegetables and appetizers. We had yummy Mac 'n cheese, killer coconut chicken skewers, potstickers and caprese skewers. Not wanting your usual pastries/cookies for dessert, Mike came up with the idea for donut holes and various sauces to accompany them. Everything was a hit. We had almost 75 people and there was very little food left over! His staff provided outstanding service. They were so easy to work with, had great ideas, packed up extra food for me, and cleaned up. Everything was put away at the end of the night. We all had such a great evening and Simply Elegant was a big part of our special night. Simply Elegant is catering our daughter's wedding and we are thrilled. I highly recommend them. You won't be disappointed. Great bang for the buck and great people to work with! read more

Mike catered our wedding in Palm Springs, In the blazing 110 degree heat his whole staff had smiles and made my day seamless. FOOD! I got more compliments on the food than my dress. read more

Mike Faulkner and his team at Simply Elegant are absolutely the best! The food they prepared for my daughter's wedding reception was excellent and abundant. His wait staff is highly service oriented and made the evening so enjoyable. Mike is so easy to work with and eager to embrace any concept you would like to pursue - including your own special recipes. He was always easy to contact and very responsive to any questions or needs. I cannot imagine anyone easier to work with or offering a more economical and high quality service. The last review from Elizabeth details out many of the same things we experienced - they are not overstated. Our guests were also very impressed and complimentary. Simply Elegant will not disappoint! read more

Mike and team are amazing! As a wedding coordinator it was a great experience working with them. The food was delicious, the staff was very professional and they provided great service! They were very flexible with the schedule and their main concern was making the bride and groom happy. Great job! read more

Mike was the best cater we could of gone with for our BIG day. With over 200 guest and a complex menu Mike knocked it out if the park. The food was great and was one of the biggest complements we received during our wedding. Working with Mike was awesome. He is very easy going and attentive. We could not imagine our big day with anyone else. Mike would make time for us when others wouldn't. He made our day that much more enjoyable and relaxed. I would reccomend Mike to everyone. Thanks Mike from Gladis and Oscar. read more

We booked Mike and his company for our wedding this November. I will say right away that he was a very nice guy and we got many compliments on the food at our wedding-almost everyone said it was delicious. I think the main issue with the company as a whole is that it needs a diligent office assistant. We started to contact Mike regularly in the month before our wedding. We emailed him several times without receiving a response and it was difficult to get a hold of him even by phone for awhile. Most email communication was disastrous-he would say he had sent information via email which we never received, and vice versa. Unfortunately, there were some things that needed email, like quotes, table lay-outs, and contracts. On the day of the wedding he did not have the table lay-out that we had sent him several times (luckily my sister had brought hers so we had something to give him). The head server, Angie, was very nice, bringing us hors d'oeuvres and wine during dinner, though we didn't have water at our sweetheart table for the first fifteen minutes of dinner (which was significant because we were dying of thirst from all the nerves and adrenaline), and we had asked Mike to make sure we had doggy bags at the end of the night, which we never got. Once again, I think most of these issues would be fixed with an office assistant to keep track of files and emails. Mike is definitely great on the food-side of things, just needs some work on organization. read more

I found Simply Elegant Catering on Yelp a few months ago when I was looking for a caterer to supplement the In N Out truck I will be having at my wedding. I was so impressed with the reviews that I immediately booked an appointment with Mike to start planning. In the mean time, my mom and maid of honor decided to throw me and my fiancé an engagement party and decided to use Simply Elegant Catering. Mike and all of his fantastic employees made the party absolutely perfect. Now I really can't wait for the wedding!! Aside from having amazing food, beautiful decorations, and friendly and easy to work with employees, Mike also made sure that the whole event was personal to me and my fiance. For example, during the planning Mike asked my mom what my favorite dessert is and surprised me with raspberry tarts from Trader Joe's. I was sooo touched by his thoughtfulness. I'll be sure to post a review on yelp after the wedding (next August). I'm so grateful to have found them and highly recommend them!! read more