Z Catering - Granby, Connecticut

Joshua D.

I wasn't going to leave a review because my wife already did, however the owner commented back with an attempt to place some blame on us for their lack of communication.

Don't use zen catering group if you want to be ignored up until 1 week before the wedding. We reached out many times over a month prior to our event to ask questions and make sure we knew exactly what they'd be doing on the day. We wanted to plan for what they might not include in their service. When they finally replied our event was handed off to another person that had no clue about anything of our event. She was great with what time she had to plan.

There was a good amount of paperwork to be filled out which included what everyone was eating at each table. We were informed 3 days prior that they didn't have this paperwork so we would need place cards, and meal choices on the place cards. No time to do that. So I spent the day organizing an excel sheet with the info needed. sounds easy except I'm not savvy with excel.

We were informed as a full service caterer they don't flip the room from ceremony to reception, but they would in this case given the circumstance. We talked to the venue owners and got approval to make it as easy as possible for them. They let us stage tables in areas where foot traffic wasn't permitted. (Barn wedding)

On my wife's review the owner responded and said there was miscommunication on both sides. This is not the case not only did we try to communicate on multiple occasions more than a month out, but our venue coordinator also tried and was also ignored.

If all you care about on your big day is good food and good service use Zen catering. Just be aware you will be ignored and blamed for the mishaps leading up to your day.
My wife had spread sheets and check lists, and had they replied back to her, and answered her questions the things they don't usually take care of would have been properly taken care of.

Zen catering should learn to take responsibility for their mistakes and not try to blame the customer when the issue was very clear. Multiple emails and phone calls from us without reply is not miscommunication on both sides.

There's other places with good food without the additional stress and scrambling.

Joseph C.

We could not get over how good Z Catering's food was. Wedding food can occasionally be underwhelming, but Z Catering made us feel as though we were eating at a high-end restaurant. Our guests loved every meal, appetizer, and dessert. There was an incredible variety of flavors - from the arancini balls, salmon with blood orange sauce, and cannolis to close out the night. All food we tasted was delicious, and the servers were very friendly, making sure glasses were refilled and plates turned over promptly. We also opted to get our day-of coordinator through Z Catering, and Deanna was lovely to work with, making sure everything went smoothly and that our decorations were set up and taken down at the end of the night. You will not be disappointed booking with this talented team!

Kelly D.

We used Z Catering for full service catering for our wedding. The coordination and planning process with them was extremely disorganized. We tried to stay on top of everything on our end, but communicating with the company was very difficult. We had filled out all the online forms for seating arrangements and what each guest was eating at each table. This was all submitted 3 months prior to the wedding. I had sent multiple follow up emails to ensure that the company received the google forms, and I either got no response or very delayed responses (over a month later). 2 weeks leading up to the wedding we still had not had a formal meeting with the company to go over the day (and they had never been to or catered at our venue before). We emailed and called numerous times to get a hold of the company to set up a meeting. We finally received a text (the Saturday before the wedding) from the point of contact stating that they were ill. By Monday (the week of the wedding) we had not heard anything else and struggled to get a hold of anyone. We finally were able to have a meeting that day (with someone else who had no idea what was going on with our wedding). In that meeting we found out that cash bar was not offered once the open bar time was over (so guests would no longer be served), so we were forced to buy an additional hour of open bar.

On Wednesday (3 days before our wedding), the company told us that they did not know what each guest was eating (when all of this information was given to the company 3 months prior). My husband spent the entire day piecing together the information again to give to the company. The entire week leading up to the wedding, our month of wedding coordinator could not get a hold of the company. They tried calling, texting and emailing and got no response.

We complained to the owner of the company, and he had his assistant email us to offer a complimentary dinner 2 days before our wedding (after we had paid thousands of dollars to this company-for them to be so disorganized and cause incredible levels of unnecessary stress).

The day of the wedding, the catering crew did a nice job and everything ran smoothly. After the wedding, the company asked for feedback. We told them how terrible and disorganized the planning process was, and that we wanted to be compensated for the trouble they put us through. The company proceeded to put the blame on us for not having a fulltime wedding planner and only having a month of wedding planner.

We chose Z Catering because we liked their restaurants and the food was good. If we knew the planning, communication and coordination would be so poor then we would not have chosen this company. It was not worth the incredible amount of unprofessionalism and stress just days leading up to the wedding. We paid a premium for full service catering and the company dropped the ball on the planning leading up to the wedding.

Megan P.

Z Catering did an amazing job for our son and daughter-in-law’s wedding shower! We served the Farmer’s BBQ, and it was delicious. Deana and Larry went above and beyond making sure our event ran very smoothly and our guests had a great time.

Molly M.

We used Z catering for our wedding and their food trucks for a rehearsal dinner and Jack and Jill. Not only was the communication amazing, the food was outstanding! Everyone raved that we had the best food at our wedding. Our wedding day was stress free, as well as the events with their food trucks. The service is always excellent, such kind people working for them. They even went above and beyond on our wedding day and gave my dad an extra meal because he loved his so much. I cannot recommend them enough!!!

Cat C.

Hired them to cater my wedding and could not have been more pleased. The tasting was amazing, they gave us extra food to sample and were incredibly nice. At the wedding, they were professional, kind and efficient. They were able to quickly switch they're plan and work with my mistakes when I had given them the wrong times. On top of their outstanding work ethics, the food was delicious & presented nicely. People couldn't stop talking about how impressed they were with the meal. They even took all the trash with them. The serving area did get a little messy and the dessert tray was a bit too small for us but overall they were really great. Highly recommend this company for your event.

Stella C.

I highly recommended Z catering! The coordinator Shawnna, the onsite manager Heather and the owner James, everyone I worked with were very kind and responsive. Z catering was the first catering I booked a taste with and I decided there is no need to try others. The food is super delicious and the presentation is pretty as well. The fried chicken served as late night snacks won the hearts of all the guests. I kept receiving compliments from my guests. Lots of them said they have never expected the wedding catering can be at this level! I give 200/100 to the team!

Kayleigh B.

The food coordinator (Shawnna) and the beverage coordinator (Kurt) who stepped in to support were great to work with and super responsive. Once we put down a deposit, we got to enjoy a free tasting and cocktails, which was an awesome bonus. Although it was expensive to have them cater our wedding, the food was good. The happy hour appetizers were the best by far! It was a stress free experience working with Z catering because we felt confident that they would handle all of our worries professionally, which they 100% did. Our head server the day of the wedding was exceptional! Grateful!