Custom Caterers

I hired Custom Caterers for my dads 80^th birthday party. And did a great job? There buffet table was very elegant and there food was even better. There was one server by the name of Irma she went the extra mile for my guest. Good job custom Caterers.

I have used Custom Caterer’s for a couple of years now. They never failed me! I used them for my own holiday party and my corporate parties. Richard and his team are very responsive, on-​time and go above and beyond with their level of customer service. Richard’s menu is very diverse and there so many varieties and options and sometimes Richard will just mix it up and create a custom menu based on your needs. Also, ask for Hector he is the guy that makes sure everything runs smoothly for you during your event. When it comes to catering they will always be my first call. They deserve more than 5 stars!

We had excellent service and have been customers by the them on numerous occasions. Friendly and courteous staff that are punctual and patient. we really had great service and the food was excellent. we will definitely recommend them!

Tried working with Richard Ortiz. He was initially responsive, but suddenly went M.I.A. when my husband asked to sample his food before ordering. He agreed to contact husband to let him sample food, but never called him or returned any calls or messages we left him. He left us hanging at the last minute with no contact and we had to scramble around to find a caterer at the last minute.
Richard…fyi, if you were worried about the price you quoted us, we would have paid more if it was worth it … But I guess we were asking too much when we asked to sample your food.

I attended a wedding this past saturday at the Ararat house in mission hills. I felt so embarrassed for the bride. First of all the table presentation was so poor. When they started bringing the salads out they were wilted and so full of dressing.
The chicken was so thick the inside was still pink and the dishes they served it all on was so cheap and chintzy. The staff serving the food looked like they had just walked out of prison (tattoos and piercing). They were so poorly dressed. They served rolls AFTER the salad and on a plate.
They ran out of plastic cups for drinks that you had to use the same one for refills so you had to take your own cup to the bar with you
When they served the cake they ran out of napkins so they used the trifold napkins from the bathroom.
Then when everyone was dancing on the dance floor two staff members started dancing pretty dirty with each other. It was pretty embarrassing.
I’ve seen this caterer at other functions and he seemed to do a good job but this one was horrible that I wouldn’t call him. Bottom line: poor service, poor presentation, poor food.

Exceptional food with beautiful presentation. A guest at my wedding was so impressed that he used Custom Catering for his wedding. I have used this caterer multiple times and have received many compliments. I highly recommend and could not be happier.

Richard, catered a wedding reception on the beach for 69 guest. For my company By The Shore Beach Weddings. He and his staff did an amazing job and the level of professionalism was unmatched. The food and presentation was amazing. The bride and groom as well as all the guest had nothing but good things to say.
Richard now my go to person for all my catering needs.

Horrible! Terrible! Do NOT use!!!
I am extremely disappointed with Richard Ortiz and his «service»! The service was extremely bad and his presentation was even worse. I would never recommend him to anyone. If I would have read Unilocal instead of HIS website I would have noticed all these bad reviews and never would have referred him to my client to use for her wedding which was for 100+ guests!
I was the event planner for this wedding, but did not create the contract with him, the bride did. I was referred to him by a very close relative and therefore thought he would be good, but he was NOT. Like one of the reviews here states — he brings his family to work with him and yes, he does. His kid «Junior» sexually harassed and disrespected my assistant Event planner. I was not made aware of this until we had left or else I would have kicked them out immediately!
His staff was an hour and a half late and Richard didn’t show up until even later. When I noticed his staff was setting up the serving tables, I asked them if they were going to put linens on the tables because they were ugly. He said, «no, because they will get dirty when we serve». I told him that’s why you use black linen. Then he told his staff that I was supposed to help them in setting up the tables for the event, which I was NOT.
I came back from a vacation I took after the wedding, and called my client and she also told me how disappointed she was with Richard and his service as well. How he didn’t do anything that was written in the contract. He forgot to bring a knife to cut the cake. He didn’t even serve the cake, when in the contract he wrote cake cutting included.
Beware of this type of business people! Richard will be nice and promise you the perfect catering service but once he has your first deposit, he will forget your name, what he wrote in the contract and will show up late or not at all.
He is low level, not worth it, a liar and a cheat!

A horrible experience. I wish I’d read all the negative reviews on Unilocal before hiring this company. (The only good reviews are written by their staff, I am sure.) The owner did NOT SHOW UP at the event and when his staff (who also arrived late) tried to reach him by phone, he was UNREACHABLE! The staff was mediocre, they were unprofessional, barely knowing how to set up their stations for food. And GET THIS: THEY FORGOT TO BRING KNIVES, when the main course was prime rib!!! This meant there was no way to eat it. They also provided too few forks and napkins and everything. The table-​set-​up looked like a Boy Scout or PTA amateur event. One food station was so amateurish that it looked far worse than the counter at a food truck. Because they were so late, the bars were not set up while guests were arriving, and the cocktail-​hour passed appetizers were not ready. Guests were hungry and thirty. The whole event was a disaster. AND TO DATE, THE OWNER NEVER RETURNED A PHONE CALL nor did he respond to email. It is off to Small Claims Court for me, since he didn’t provide what he promised even though I paid in full up-​front. My advice: DON’T RISK A HAPPY FAMILY OR BUSINESS EVENT with these people!!! And look at lots of the negative Unilocal reviews, not the fake good ones the owner might have placed!!!

I used Custom Caterers for an 80-​person wedding reception in June of 2013, and was completely satisfied. Richard and his assistant arrived early, set up a very nice looking presentation, and the tacos were truly outstanding — my favorite was a delicious pineapple/​chorizo marinaded pork, but all of the food was terrific. They also lent us a hand with setting up our tables and glassware, which they didn’t have to do. The only thing that I wasn’t exactly expecting was that the quesadillas did not have a lot of cheese, but I think that was the more authentic Mexican style than I am used to. I recommend them without hesitation.

As expected– a slanderous/​libelous response from the owner. (Read his response and think about whether you want someone like that to work one of the most important days of your life)
If you notice, the owner didn’t deny the wrong-​doings. Instead, he sheepishly attempts to deflect with names of supposed guests that left good comments and by trying to blame poor financial budgeting on my end– which of course, neither have any merit. I guarantee the names on the guest comment cards will not be found on my guest list, and my honeymoon was paid for by a family member as a gift so we were well under budget. What other lies can I disprove? I like this game.
If it was more money he wanted, the owner should have said that from the get go instead of booking someone who he felt was not worth his time.
Richard, you did not fulfill your promises, but you’re absolutely right about one thing. The big man upstairs does know the truth, and he will remember the bull you’ve pulled on myself and others. Remember– God remembers every lie/​sin. You have a blessed day now. ;)

My experience working with Richard and his crew was nothing but superb! Richard was fantastic in terms of communication and reliability; my phone calls were always returned within the hour, and intensive projects such as revised catering proposals were completed within 24 hours of the client’s request. He was flexible, attentive and accommodating throughout the complex and unique process of planning the perfect menu for this wedding, and he worked his hardest to provide the most competitive price without sacrificing on quality and taste.
On the day of the wedding, his staff were punctual, polite and wholly focused on meeting needs of the bridal couple and wedding guests. Richard himself was a great leader, and kept the whole reception running smoothly and on time. The food itself was delicious, plentiful and innovative, and the catering staff created a gorgeous arrangement to showcase the reception dinner that complimented the beauty of the reception hall.
I highly recommend Custom Caterers for your wedding and special event catering needs!

I used custom caterers for my sister in law’s party recently. The food was outstanding and the presentation was superb. The attention to detail on their spices and sauces was great.
I will use them again and recommend them to any person that is going to have a special event.

I had a fantastic experience with Custom Caterers. Nicole was SO helpful, flexible, friendly, and overall fantastic to work with. I changed my menu so many times, but she never was anything less than professional. We even had all of the flatware, silverware, glasses, etc. included in our costs.
We had many people tell us how great the food was, which made us so happy! The servers were friendly and very professional.
My only semi-​complaint is that the bartender was a little heavy-​handed with the alcohol. By the time our ceremony started (30 minutes behind schedule) we were out of vodka! Guests who got mixed drinks were all pretty drunk by the end of the night, but they had a great time!
Overall, the value was outstanding! Shopping around for a caterer was fairly depressing given the high costs, but when we found Custom Caterers, we were hooked!
I’d recommend them to anybody who is looking for great food at a great price.

I was referred to Richard by a great friend who promised I wouldn’t be dissappointed and he was right! After many tasting I was really impressed with the his amazing food. Although I wasn’t too sure if we would be able to afford to hire him since he was a bit out of our budget. Richard was more then willing to work with us. Richard was very patient with me and all my questions and request.
The day of my wedding not only was the food amazing but the customer service was Outstanding! To My surprise Richard and Erik went out of their way to show up to my wedding to make sure everyhing went smoothly. Even Richards son was there to help and he was very polite, attentive and professional.
As for the food I couldn’t get enough compliments on how delicious everything was. The D’oeuvres of mini tostadas w/​red snapper cevich was amazing and was a real hit with all my guest. The food portions were more then enough even after we had a bit more guest then planned.
The only regret I had was I tried the Chipotle mashed potatoes during the tasting and I don’t know what I was thinking but I didn’t choose it as one of my sides. I think my guest would have really enjoyed it. Try the chipotle mashed potatoes!
I will definitely be using CustomCaters again and reffering them to all my friends and family!
Thank you guys sooo much for making my special day just a bit more memorable!
Karen Quinteros

Wow… thanks sooo much Richard. Everything was wonderful. It was such a difficult time and to have to rush and put everything together so fast. The service was great, the food and presentation was perfect and not under the best conditions. Many words of appreciations to you, Eric and Jacob. May God Bless you all. Nikki

This review really saddens me to write, but I understand good customer service, and I feel I owe it to the people searching for that… a heads up.
I used this place for my daughter’s wedding… if you had asked me for a review 6 months ago… I would have said 5 stars, decent food, and really cool guy. Now…8 months later, I see why others have left him negative reviews. He does the job, at the time of the event, but if a problem should arise, later? He bails. He brings his sister’s and kids to work the event, and they seem nice enough, until things start going missing… then the mood changes.
He showed up, did his thing, people ate… and I lost an eirloom piece at the end of it all. Funny thing is… his staff seemed cool, but I heard all these people telling me about lost cameras, lost garments… and at the time, I would have NEVER thought it would be the catering company… I DO now.
I have a table cloth, from Ireland, that was used during the Sand Ceremony, that was never returned. I called the next morning… talk about QUICK! I was told, yes indeed they had it, and he would ship it to me… NEVER happened. OK, I get it, he forgot, lost it, kept it… whatever, but I called (on record) 15 times, I emailed about 20 times… nothing. NO return calls, no explanations, no apologies, no, «I’m screwed»…nothing!
Today…I called from a number he does not know, he answered, but when my cell died out, I immediately called from my home number… guess what? He KNOWS that number, and guess what again? Yep, he didn’t answer.
In his defense… maybe the phone company has a rule against answering calls from the 310, God only knows, I would! Maybe he gets another call or email, as soon as he receives mine… it could happen. What I would hate to think though, is that he is just a flake. He is just not answering my call, because he knows that he lost my precious, irreplaceable Irish garment. that holds super powers to those who hold it! That is what I think!
Sooooooo…can’t refer him… just can’t. The food was not worth someone else going through a communication gap or losing something valuable, like this one. It was ok… I didn’t get poisoned, but it was not great. Hope this helps anyone seeking good customer service and good morals. If you decide to use this guy… watch your stuff like a hawk! I probably will not get my linen back now for sure… but sort of expected that :(
Last note… I needed glassware and linens… Custom Caterers did not offer that, but I paid up the tush, to have him find a company that did… so he did do that. He rents the linens, glassware… but make sure you get them back, before they end up with some other company!
I know him and his staff will think I wrote this review out of anger/spite…after the fact… because that is what he said about his last bad review, that I actually helped him get removed… so I am expecting that too… but guess what? It is true… it IS out of anger and spite, with a bit of stupidity mixed in, because I believed some guy who claimed to be a Christian! Over $ 3,000 dollars later and an irreplaceable garment… here I am! Can I cuss here?

Richard and Staff are remarkable! He is very professional, understanding and delightful!
From the first time that I did the food tasting for our wedding I knew that we had to book him. The beef was so tender, and the mashed potatoes flavor was more than I could imagine. The salad and it’s dressing were to die for. I could call Richard with a question each day and he always responded with pleasure.
At the wedding everything looked so elegantly displayed on the plates, and we got nothing but rave reviews about the chicken in the empanada’s. Everyone kept telling us that the skewers were off the hook and the meat just melted in their mouths. Our wedding will be the talk for a longgg time and we can thank the catering services for this as well!
Thanks Richard and staff for helping make Rick & Maya’s Summer Love more than special! Rick and I will be forever thankful for you and your patience, and understanding and Awsomee Food!