Berghoff Catering

Attention Brides: Berghoff is not just wienerschnitzel and beer!!! They are a Chicago Institution that should be seriously considered in your caterer search! Not only do they bend over backwards for you (thanks Randi!!!) the food is FANTASTIC and the prices are very reasonable. For our Ivy Room wedding in May 2011, we had a Mexican buffet and an Italian buffet -- a tamale bar with all the fixin's and a risotto bar with chicken parm and ceasar salad. The staff at the event were SPOT ON--instead of leaving a ton of food out to go cold and soggy they brought things out in smaller buffet dishes so everything was as fresh as can be! And there was no waiting -- the second the last chicken Parmesan cutlet was scooped up there was another waiter with a fresh dish -- I was very impressed. One of the bartenders (Matt, I think?) was the "personal" bartender to my bridesmaids and me, running to get us wine and tequila shots to calm our nerves before the ceremony! I had numerous compliments on the food. They did run out of some of the liquor brands (Belvedere, for example, was replaced by Gordons) toward the very end, but it's hard to blame them with the hard-partying crowd at my wedding :). Another plus: they have a pastry chef in house that did a beautiful job on our cake and cupcakes, so you can cancel out the need to find another vendor for the cake!

Berghoff did an excellent job leading up the event and the food quality was great - however on our actual wedding day, the service was a DISASTER. They forgot to bring CHAMPAGNE to the wedding reception (who does this??). They forgot to bring FORKS to the wedding reception (again, how does a catering company do this?). Instead, our guests had to eat their salad and one of the rice dishes with cocktail forks. Our dessert table was not set up as requested. Special dietary requests we had made for some of our guests were forgotten (and therefore they could not eat). And finally, the food was not replaced in a timely matter. It appeared as if we had run out of food so people moved on to dessert only to bring out the food later and leave us with pans of leftovers. The worst part of all of this was that the GROOM had to waste time at our reception trying to track down our catering manager and have these things fixed because none of the servers knew what was going on and would not work with the designated coordinator. This was extremely disappointing since we spent so much time leading up to the wedding making sure this would go smoothly. Up to the wedding, Berghoff's service was great. And the food that was served was delicious. However, after we expressed this terrible day-of experience, they took off a measly $80 for forgetting the champagne. I'm not sure how you can run a catering company with this type of service. Our catering choices were limited due to our reception location but you may want to consider your other options so your big day goes smoothly.

Berghoff catered my wedding at the Chicago History Museum in Sep'10. Overall, the service and quality of food were superb, but there were some minor details that were lost in translation along the way that were a bit disappointing. Over the course of the planning process, I worked with 3 different contact people here, which I think was part of the problem. I gave very clear and detailed instructions on what I wanted each time I was given a new contact, which is why I was so surprised that there were things that did not go according to the original plan. Some examples: one of the late night snacks was served as an appetizer instead of after dinner; the upgraded chargers we had chosen were not laid out when the guests walked in- they were only put out once the entrees were served; martinis were served in wine glasses even though martini glasses were on the premises; and the gelato that we had been told would be served by someone was laid out on the dessert table and was melted most of the night. Obviously, none of these are earth shattering mistakes and to be honest, I was probably the only one who noticed most of them, but I do think when a client is spending tens of thousands of dollars on something and has clearly laid out instructions, there should be minimal errors and if something doesn't go according to plan, the catering manager should be on hand to let the client or wedding coordinator know about it ahead of time. I would recommend Berghoff for the food and wait staff, but feel that the catering manager I worked with dropped the ball a bit on details that to the outsider may seem trivial, but to a bride who has spent so much time and energy planning each and every aspect of the day, make all the difference.

I had two different account executives while working with Berghoff's, Justin and then Nicole. Both were good at getting back to me on all the random questions I had. Sometimes it would take a day or two, but they always worked with all the random requests I had. When I was trying to make my decision on who to go with Berghoff's was the one that really worked with my budget and was willing to make the menu I really wanted. I told them about this one dish the other catering company made and they made their own version of it for us to try. They listened to me and really went back to change items I was feeling so-so about. Plus, they make the cake for you! I had a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a lemon cake with raspberry and crème brule filling. It was sooooo yummy! The staff was beyond attentive and the bartender we had, I believe his name was Mark, was great. Every time someone at my table had a low drink he would come up personally and refill it. The only issue I had was that the food could have used a little more salt, but then again that could just be me.

As I write this review I realize how lucky I was to have truly wonderful vendors. Berghoff and our contacts, Justin and Nicole, were no exception. Out of all of our tastings, I felt like Justin was the one who went most "all-out" to impress us. You could have rolled me out of there I was so full by the end. I instantly felt comfortable with Justin and like he really understood what we were looking for. We settled on passed hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour, seated dinner with salad and choice of 3 entrees and passed late night snacks. On the day of, everything was set up perfectly and the room looked just like I'd hoped for. The service was great...they somehow managed to sort of blend in to the background while ensuring everyone was served quickly, glasses were kept full, etc. The bar lines moved quickly and drinks were nice and stiff :) Several people commented to us about how friendly the servers and bartenders were. But most importantly-the food was awesome. Any time food is produced in mass-quantity there's a fear that the quality will suffer. That wasn't the case at all and dinner actually exceeded my high expectations. Our only complaint is that they didn't server our champagne toast. However, we didn't even notice until we picked up the leftover alcohol, so it clearly wasn't a huge deal to us. Thankfully we were able to return the champagne, so no harm, no foul.

Kelly Parker and the team at Berghoff Catering did such a FABULOUS job with my wedding at Cafe Brauer in July 2009. I knew when I was hiring a caterer that it would be one of the most important vendor decisions I would make for my reception, but I didn't even realize how much so until I saw how much work they do on the big day. First of all, Kelly was very willing to work with me on my budget...and let me say, not all caterers were. She provided multiple options for my consideration, and we decided on a sit-down dinner. She worked with me to make the right choices in order to keep certain things simple but add some really nice personal touches with interesting appetizers, a dessert buffet (even including my favorite -- french macaroons!) and a special lemonade cocktail. My guests cannot stop talking about the GREAT food. The sauce on the chicken, the "awesome" potato gallete, the "life changing" cheesecake lollipops. I also want to say that Kelly was a great guide throughout the process. She answered my endless questions -- always promptly and always thoroughly -- and helped me to coordinate with the venue and florist. The food and dessert tastings were fun, and every detail was attended to with ease. It was a pleasure to work with Berghoff. My parents, my husband and I were all VERY happy with the experience.

We booked The Berghoff for our wedding catering services and were very pleased! From the first tasting to the wedding day, Justin Snodgrass was an absolute pleasure to work with. I was very picky about the vendor contacts because I wanted to make sure I was working with someone that I would want to be with on my wedding day. Justin had fantastic ideas and allowed me to change my mind numerous times without any issues. He was extremely flexible and came through on all of the plans we had. We are still receiving compliments from the day especially on their creative and tasty appetizers. They level of service they provided was top notch and I would not hesitate to work with or recommend The Berghoff.

Justin and the staff at Berghoff were amazing. The food at our wedding was so good and everyone loved it and we got tons of compliments. The vegetarian option and the desserts were a particularly big hit. Justin is an absolute wonder to work with.

Our experience with Berghoff was exceptional. They were very flexible, had great ideas and worked to personalize our menu. They were personable, organized, and gave attention to every detail. I was able to relax and enjoy the day because they took care of everything...which was all perfect!

Very friendly. I felt a little bit like I was sold a higher level of service than was actually delivered on the day but they still did a very nice job.

I highly enjoyed our experience with Berghoff's. They were very responsive, did a beautiful tasting and were very flexible with the different kinds of things we wanted to do. They were also very responsive. I thought they made everything look wonderful and taste great.

Justin at Artistic Events is AMAZING to work with. He is super responsive and so friendly, easy to work with. I KNEW all woulld go smoothly with him and it did! The food was to-die-for and all of our guests practically licked their plates clean they were so pleased with the food. He also did an amazing job with the set-up/equipment rentals. What I loved most about him was his friendly/professionalism and his quick responses to the MANY emails I sent him. He was very understanding of my many questions and so easy to work with. Overall, I am so extremely pleased with him and with the Bergoff.