WOW - City View truly outdid themselves with the catering for our wedding. Rachel and her team were rockstars and almost every guest mentioned how this was the best wedding food they had ever had. The tasting process and meetings were so crucial and made us feel at ease that we were making the right decision choosing City View. Their ability to handle kids plates, vendor plates, vegan options, customer bride/groom options was unmatched and executed perfectly. A+ 10/10 - couldn't recommend them any higher if i tried! read more

Rachel and CVC provided an incredible experience for us and our wedding guests. Multiple people at the wedding mentioned this was the best wedding food they ever had (even at their own weddings). Moreover CVC helped us achieve our perfect wedding dinner while ensuring we met our budget constraints. Even switching over to buffet-style service so close to the wedding. Rachel was a joy to work with and during our tastings and conversation provided great ideas, pairings and overall guidance. We highly recommend CVC to anyone in the Houston area. read more

I want to be as fair as possible. We got excellent service in our initial tasting. Rachel took notes the entire time, and we emailed back and forth.We nailed down options we wanted, and some changes we wanted made. Then second tasting was quite different - Rachel had a family emergency and was not there understandably. Her mom Sharon took over, was clearly frazzled over the family emergency, and many of the items she presented we had already tried and the changes we requested for second tasting hadnt been done. We wanted grilled chicken with the picatta sauce and then also the poblano chicken grilled instead of breaded. Sharon realized this, the cook quickly tried to make it and they then proceeded to serve us raw chicken once we cut in, so we couldnt taste it. We did ask her to please note though that this is what we wanted (cooked of course ) . A few weeks before the wedding Rachel took back over, but emails were coming from the both of them. Forward to the wedding day, we paid for plated dinner service. They asked us before how we wanted to serve the steak and we stated medium. Some meat was served medium and some was served well done. They asked for a guest list with primary tables and we listed it. Those guests were served second to last ( parents of bride and groom ) and were sitting around waiting while others literally finished their meals. We paid for tea, yet no guests got tea or knew it was available. We asked after the matter from guests at 5 of the tables and they said they didnt even know it was available, even though City view assured us they would have it there. My Wife got the wrong food she requested. We both did not even get to try our chocolate cake because they served all of it to the guests. We had white cake left over and I saw the caterer taking it to the back and either threw it away or gave it to staff even though WE paid for the cake and asked them to give remainder to my parents. The biggest issue was when I presented issues to Van and the team. They denied everything, Van became loud and aggressive and took absolutely no responsibility. He stated not everyone will get the same even-ness of meat, but then why tell your customers you can do that?! he argued that all guests had to do was ask for another- but thats besides the point. Why are you serving overdone meat to begin with?! He said there were no notes about grilled chicken picatta and wanted to blame me. I stated thats the issue, there should have been notes! we talked to them in BOTH tastings regarding this. The tea issue he flat out denied, and the service to the guests of honor parents his argument was there was no way and they served people in 7 minutes. I know that is a plain lie, because we had the coordinator come over and ask us how we were doing and point out the time, and we knew what time we had out official entry. The point of all this is to say City view has the capability to make good food, but Van specifically was rude and argumentative to me when I raised concerns. He literally was trying to dismiss me and tell me that's not what happened, even though WE WERE THERE and he was not there. He was going off his staff, which of course would lie to protect themselves. I tried to be understanding stating that the family event and handing off back and forth probably caused things to fall through the cracks and to get lost in translation, but he just continued being belligerent and insisting they couldn't have done anything wrong. I was not going to write a review and instead just keep it to ourselves until the attitude I got from Van in my phone call after the fact. My issue falls in the way this company and Van responded to our wedding day issues and I cannot recommend this company anymore. In fact I will go out of my way to warn people. We really were hoping for a great day, but felt they really fell short- and more importantly, failed to recognize that there could have been improvement- instead being dismissive and trying to point the finger. There were a lot of promises of great service that in the end, just were not met. read more

Things that went wrong at our wedding: We had 3 tastings and everytime we told Sharon to cook the beef loin a little longer so it wouldn't be so rare. Well more than half of my guests at the wedding said they were not able to eat their rare beef. And when they told the waitstaff to cook it a little longer, they were told it would take 45 mins. One of our sides was the risotto and again, it was poorly cooked. It was underdone and crunchy. Inedible. It's so embarrassing to serve mediocre food at your wedding. They were suppose to cut the chicken into 4 pieces but instead they left them whole. I also had 6 guests and 2 kids not attend the wedding , but there were no leftovers. How is that possible? I know they didn't go around with extra food. They also took forever to cut the cake and serve it. We were suppose to have Glassware for our champagne toast but were never given any. And they did not provide a cake serving knife like they said they would. Also, ice tea was not served to anyone unless they asked for it. How are my guests suppose to know there's ice tea if there's nobody walking around asking people what they would prefer to drink? All in all, the tastings at their office was nice and food was delicious. But at my wedding, the service and food did not meet our expectations. I do not recommend using them for a wedding. They promise you all kinds of things but don't deliver. read more

We just used City View for our daughter's wedding. They were AMAZING. Our guests haven't stopped raving about the food. The brisket was so tender, the mac and cheese was AMAZING, the chicken Wellington was to die for. The staff was wonderful. You will not go wrong if you use them. They were the best catering service I have ever seen. Our guests have not stopped telling us it was the best wedding food they have ever experienced. Thanks City View for the wonderful food that will be remembered by all our friends and family. read more

I am an event planner (DFINE EVENTS) and worked with City View Catering for a wedding on July 31st, 2021. I had the pleasure of working with Rachel at the wedding, but also the weeks leading up. Since I am a planner I work with all kinds of caterers and all I can say about CVC is WOW! The food and presentation were exquisite and working with Rachel and her team was a dream! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND! read more

I recently had a wedding catered from City View and overall, everything was great. I know some other reviewers mentioned they had a hard time with communication but this was not something we experienced. Emails were answered in a timely manner, usually 1-2 days at most. The tastings were fantastic. Everything was explained thoroughly to us up front and we had no surprises in terms of price or anything else. We were able to have two tastings to ensure our final menu was exactly how we wanted it. We opted for the family style service which is a semi-plated service, where guests pass around the sides themselves. Meats were served butler style. The sides came out slightly early which led to them being slightly cold by the time the meats came out. This was not a big deal since they were still delicious! The only other concern we had was in regard to special meals. We had several vegetarians attend and arranged to have special meals for those persons ahead of time. I provided city view with their name and table numbers. However, I was told after the fact that all but one of our vegetarians received their special meals. I was sad to hear that the vegetarians were not able to eat since we had arranged special meals. The one vegetarian who did receive her meal was sitting next to me and I told her to ask after she did not receive it. I take partial responsibility, as I should have told each vegetarian to request their food but as a bride, I was a little busy! This process should probably be worked out a little better by City View. All in all though I would use City View again- the food is fantastic. read more

We had City View cater my daughter's wedding. The entire experience was wonderful starting with the tastings! The team was wonderful adding selections to the tastings that really helped us get the perfect menu for the wedding. With covid, they were very accommodating and worked with us as the guest list was ever changing. Day of event, they were on time and very efficient! The presentation of all courses was amazing! The guest LOVED the food and made so many positive comments! It really helped push our event over the top! I'll use them again and will refer my friends as well! read more

We had city view cater our wedding this past April, after having booked them prior to COVID. Communication was very easy & timely, even with rescheduling & some last minute changes. We had 2 tastings, which were great. We were able to sample a variety of dishes & marrow it down. Van led both tastings & answered all our questions, & sent us home w a ton of leftovers. The wedding food proved just as good as the tasting. We had the sirloin & chicken w sundried tomatoes, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, & carrots. We received many compliments on the quality of the food and flavor. We had passed apps - tacos & coconut shrimp, and they were a great pick for an outdoor cocktail hour. All in all, I recommend city view & hope to use them again for another function. read more

Overall we were happy with the pre-event preparing and Van was nice enough to have two tastings for us. However, there was a mix-up at the reception as the salad was not what we discussed and chose. It was pretty awkward to have the wrong menu details in our program as to what was served to our guests. Also, we noted the entrée was smaller and seemed about half the size of what we tried during the tasting. The homemade rolls were stale, we didn't even eat them because of that. We have to say everything was really different from the tasting, it did not seem fresh and well prepared. We asked about the salad mix-up and were told the paperwork was mixed up or the wrong info was sent from our planner. The thing was we had only chosen and discussed one salad so we were not sure of that explanation. Our wedding planner wrote to them about our concerns but none of us heard a single thing back, neither an apology nor an explanation. Overall this service was not too bad, but we were expecting much better. read more

I used City View for my wedding and the food and wait staff were excellent. They have really good food and are reasonably priced. My only complaint is that we picked a tentative menu then put a deposit down, a few months later they tried to charge us more for beef which was super shady! We had put a deposit down and they tried to change the price- thankfully we were able to get it resolved but it should have never been an issue.... I would still recommend them but make sure you get your menu in writing before you pay your deposit and bring up the fluctuating beef prices... read more

City View was our caterer for my wedding and provided an outstanding service. First we were offered a free tasting for our family and helped us pick out a set menu. Van was very familiar with the venue we selected, and everything was presented perfectly. All of our guest were very pleased with the food and kept going back for more. They made sure everyone was happy the vegetarians, and the few guest we had with food allergies all had something to eat. Wedding planning can be very stressful, but City View made it a breeze for us. read more

City View Catering went above and beyond for our wedding! The one thing that we wanted to make sure of was that our guests enjoyed their meals and had a great time. Every single person that we talked to said that they LOVED the food, not one complaint! City View even made sure to accommodate our guests with allergies to ensure they would be able to eat their meals. They made great recommendations for us at our tasting and made sure that we were 100% happy with our choices. I would definitely recommend City View for an event of any size! read more

I did not hear one complaint about the food at our DIY garden wedding hors d'oeruves reception. Our guest raved about all of the pass plates and the ravioli bar. We provided all of the liquor and the bartender perfected our signature drinks. Demetra worked with us tirelessly to perfect our menu and to ensure that we had more than enough food to serve at our intimate occasion. She was professional and always available for suggestions and ideas. Since we were busy enjoying our nuptials it was really thoughtful of her to pack us a doggie bag to eat at the end of the night. Although the execution of the food and drinks were great, I am giving City View 4 out of 5 stars because the execution of other aspects of the evening did not go as planned. First, the servers did not do an adequate job of clearing glasses and other trash once the party really got started. Also, we arranged for 4 servers so 2 would work on the flip from ceremony to reception but I noticed, as we were being whisked off to take pictures, the guest were picking up and moving chairs. Several of my guest asked me why they were having to pick up, move items, and clean which was embarrassing. I am not sure where the breakdown of communication happened between the event planner and City View but I do know that my guests should not have been clearing dishes and moving chairs. Overall I would recommend City View due to the quality of food and Demetra's professionalism and thoughtfulness. read more

My fiancé, his parents and I did a tasting at City View Catering as a potential option for our wedding. Most importantly, his food was mediocre and flavorless. And he served us with filthy water glasses, so we just painfully smiled and didn't drink the water. Then - to all the brides out there - it's YOUR vision. Trust your instincts. Maybe he's good for lawyer parties, or car shows, but there are much better, more professional options for your wedding. The owner (Van) is arrogant and rude. I asked basic questions about wanting to have my guests served instead of serving themselves. He aggressively stared me down, leaned over the table and said with his "40 years of experience" here are all the reasons why I was wrong, but hey, "we'll do whatever you want." Plus he just kept staring at me, and ignored my guests. Thankfully, the professional caterers we spoke with afterwards all looked horrified at the idea of having people serve themselves at a classy wedding. It's not sanitary, and there are portion control issues -which Van claims to fix by providing an abundance of food (i.e, with cheap ingredients). We went with Dario's Steakhouse - absolutely amazing, phenomenal food and service. read more

Van was very rude. Its my first wedding and I'm looking for a caterer and I had a few questions. He would never follow up, so I had to email few times before I got a response. Also, when I asked him a question about price, he said it was boldly stated before. I am planning my wedding by myself so it can be confusing sometimes. I wish he was more patient and polite. read more

I worked there for 3 months did all the dirty work that no one had done since they moved there. you know there a bad roach problem when you have to use glue rat trap as a roach trap, I removed a celling tile just to find rat shit falling from the roof, there rat piss all over the cutting boards that have been PREWASHED ready for events and expect one person to do seven jobs I was hired for event staff....but they had me washing dishes.... they picked me up off the streets then threw me right back out.. I was fired for being late.... no write up or anything.... But staff can drink alcohol in the cooler and drive to an event? Health code and Human resources.... I'd check on them just to be safe read more

I used City View for my wedding six months ago. I have no regrets. The food was fantastic. Guests told me that it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding. Plus, the price was very affordable, especially when compared to other caterers. Demetra provided us with excellent service. They provide you with three private tastings to get your menu just right. If there is something you want that is not on their menu, they will make it happen. They will also provide decorations and centerpieces like lanterns and candelabras for no extra charge. Our menu included smoked brisket, blackened redfish with a creole mustard sauce, cheesy white truffle risotto, grilled veggies, hashbrown casserole, and a salad with fresh gulf shrimp and a creole tomato dressing. For hors de vors we had mini crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, and little steak bites with chimichurri sauce. This food was the best part of our reception. Not only was the food excellent, but CV staff cleaned up my reception hall kitchen and dining room better than it was before they arrived. Check them out! You can't go wrong! :-) read more

When we first met with Stephanie a sales coordinator for city view catering she was great she made us feel completely confident and even sold us a wedding coordinator package. We totally went for it, a few months later I was trying to contact her over and over, we finally called her & she said she wasn't with the company and hasn't been for over a month! No one felt the need to tell us.We were pissed but they fixed it&gave us another coordinator, I got comfortable with him&did a second tasting because they LOST all of our notes and even some checks. Well we felt comfortable with Robert, about a month later we call him to ask about sending a check, he wasn't working with the company, this was about 2 weeks after he was let go, apparently he was stealing from the company. This time around I could not believe them. Van made sure we were taken care of and upgraded our package, but it didn't make up for the fact that we were getting screwed over&continued to get screwed over. This time they finally let us know that they don't even sell wedding coordinator services and that Stephanie was selling it for herself on her own! The general manager decided she would be our coordinator & we met at our venue. The meeting was awkward. Van also came & him & the new coordinator (Sharon) were bickering the whole time. We later found out during the meeting they are husband & wife. We were talking to Sharon, Van would interrupt and either tell us how bad our ideas were or was trying to sell us more stuff so that our wedding would "look better". Sharon would roll her eyes at him and give him looks & it made us feel very uncomfortable. Since our wedding is on a Sunday we had discussed the possibility of doing a day of rehearsal. She knew this was possibly the only way we could do a rehearsal. I contacted her a about 2 weeks later confirming we would do a day of rehearsal and she said that she wasn't going to be there until 2! WHAT! What is the point of getting a day of coordinator when they aren't even going to be there for the majority of the pre ceremony? She made it seem like it was my fault and later told me it was cause she had to teach sunday school. I understand people have religious beliefs, but don't sit there and lead your customers to believe that you would be there for DAY OF COOR. and not even get there until 2. I was so upset & this was a MONTH away from our wedding! We had to get our venue involved since they were a preferred vendor of our venue & Van got so mad cause I told him I was going to report him to the BBB cause I have the RIGHT to and told us he would have to get his lawyer involved because I "threatened" him. We asked him to make it right by getting a coor. we approved of but he refused. He made it seem like it was our fault the entire time and told us later he would have gotten us a replacement (yea right) if we would have waited longer. (this is a MONTH away from our wedding) He then said he would upgrade our package to have a carving station totaling $811 which was more than the cost of a coordinator. So he could "upgrade" everything but never solve the original problem. He talked to my fiance over the phone & was yelling at him my fiance got so upset he was on the verge of tears! He had never been more stressed out in his life & we should have never had to deal with this, much less a month away from our wedding. This was by far the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. He & his company are deceitful, malicious & manipulative. He finally gave us the option to get out of the contract which we absolutely did & said they'd get us our money back immediately. Still waiting! We have a meeting with a new caterer now & our venue PAID a coordinator for us. I could not say enough good words about our venue owner. (Olde Dobbin Station). Worst experience of my life. It made our entire wedding experience dreadful & even started to affect our relationship. If it weren't for our venue I was ready to just give up on the entire wedding. read more

We had an event catered by City View and we can't keep speaking on how delicious the food was. OMG! Chicken with Lemon Butter Wine Sauce, rice dressing, green beans and the BEST Beef Short Ribs I've ever eaten in my life!!! I won't begin to share how many pieces of cake I indulged in. Everything was cooked to perfection!! I have to find a way to have these dishes again. read more

If I could give this place more than 5 stars, I would. I was lucky enough to be invited to a pre-wedding tasting here. I really didn't know what to expect. I had never been to a tasting before and when we pulled up, I was a little taken aback. The area is not the greatest and the outside of the business isn't much. However, I can tell you that my mind was completely blown as soon as we stepped foot inside. Our whole group was escorted into the kitchen area where we sat down and waited for our "samples". I was impressed that we had a full menu of everything that we were going to try. Mind you, at this point I'm still thinking samples, but definitely intrigued by the atmosphere and the length of our menu. But then, Van, our caterer, comes out with the first tasting option. By no means was it a sample. It was a good full on size of food for all of us. After probably an hour and a half, we finished all of our food that Van presented to us. It was pure perfection and such a culinary experience! Van is great in the fact that he has ample recipes, can tweak anything that you like or don't like and is a fabulous host. Even though the sampling was not for my wedding, I can tell you that I will use him in the future for anything that I need a caterer for. What a fabulous experience with wonderful food. Please at least schedule a tasting with him! read more

Wow! That is the complete opposite experience we had with our wedding back in October. The whole team couldn't be nicer or more helpful. They went out of their way to make sure our day was special. Sharon was there for our 6:00 pm wedding at the reasonable time of 2:00...why would I expect her to be there longer than that? I guess I just don't have "the whole world revolves around me" attitude. It sounds like they tried to make things right but nothing was going to be good enough. I can't recommend them enough...their venue is beautiful, customer service is awesome, and their food is AMAZING! read more

My experience with Van started off as very pleasant. We did a tasting at which my husband and I brought both of our parents. Everything at the tasting was delicious and it all sounded like the answer to our prayers. Van told us at the tasting he would provide everything we needed (outside of alcohol, which we provided) and we wouldn't have to worry about a thing. This included tables, linens, all plates and silverware, glasses, complimentary champagne flutes for the toast, ice, water/tea/coffee, and they would even cut the cake for serving. We were never given a price but told him our budget and he told us he would make it happen. Getting everything in writing for the contract was extremely difficult with City View due to our time constraints- we were about a month out at the tasting and had only 3 weeks when we received a contract from them. When we got it, there was a service charge of $500 added to the final amount. We asked at the tasting if there was any sort of catering fee, which Van said there wasn't. When I inquired about what the service charge was for, he said it was for all the small costs that add up, like linens, ice and transportation. Instead of listing out each cost, they did a flat rate as to not "nickel and dime us." There was no percentage included in this number to reflect the total, as it was a flat rate. I decided that it wasn't worth arguing about because of my timeline, as well as feeling that for what I was getting it was worth the fee. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of our issues. On our final walk through with Van, he notified us that we needed to provide a tent for his food prep area, an additional $200. We were blindsided by this. We asked Van why he didn't mention this before, and he told us that it was our venue's responsibility to notify us. Our venue does not require a tent, the City of Houston ordinance does, making it Van's responsibility to let us know. 2 weeks before the wedding, I got a final guest count to Van, which was higher than the original number. Van said it would be no problem to accommodate the additional guests and sent me a revised contract. The new contact did not have any of the changes we spoke about for the food and had an additional $140 added to the service charge (for a total of $640), this time at a rate of 20% (we were told it was a flat rate). I went to City View catering on that Friday (1w 1 d out) to pay my balance and got a receipt saying I had a $0 balance. Yet on the following Monday, I received an email saying that I owed more money because they forgot to increase the number of attendants to reflect our increased guests. I'm sorry but in my mind, it should've been their mistake, their loss. I told Sharon (his wife/business partner) that I would not have time to drive to their office and asked if a check was ok, she replied yes. The check was sent out on Tuesday, but they did not receive it by Saturday, our wedding day. Van had the audacity to ask my husband about the $100 or so balance that we supposedly still owed. We were in disbelief that he would do this to us on our wedding day! My husband gave him the cash and asked our planner to get a receipt. We did not get a receipt until the week after the wedding, with our check. If you are going to ask for payment in the middle of our reception, I expect you to be able to produce a receipt. Prior to the ceremony while my planners were setting up, Van immediately started yelling and cursing about things being in the wrong spot. After getting Van to calm down, my planner explained to him that everything that was "in his way" was the alcohol and bar necessities. It was completely unprofessional! In addition, City View did not bring water, tea, or coffee to the reception, so our guests had little to drink outside of alcoholic beverages. Luckily, we brought Coke and sparkling water as mixers and we were able to serve those. When I sat down to eat, I asked for water and was given sparkling. I was in disbelief when the server kindly told me that the sparkling water was all they had to offer. When it came to the toast, the champagne flutes were MIA as well, even though on the final contract it stated, "champagne flutes for toast charge of $4.50 a person waived." My husband and I requested multiple times that to-go boxes be made for us to take to our hotel because of the lack of time you actually get to sit down and eat. Van assured us it was no problem at all. We never got our to-go boxes of food. I was severely disappointed with the way Van handled business. Even though his food is good, he really ought to hire people to run the business operations. His staff gives excellent service and was very friendly to my guests and I, however, this does not make up for the way Van handled his business. I would only recommend Van with City View based on his delicious food, but I would make sure to get EVERY SINGLE TINY detail in writing because relying on his word didn't work out for us. read more

The best caterer that we have used. We had our sons wedding last weekend and they catered the wedding. The food was great and they were so easy to work with. I promise you won't be disappointed read more

City View Catering helped me plan a rehearsal dinner for 100 guests at Noah's of Katy. Van was quick to respond to my inquiry and arranged a tasting for myself, my husband, my son and his fiancé. At the tasting he gave us a good idea of what to expect from the taste of the food to the presentation. Because we are from Atlanta we were at a disadvantage in planning this event long distance. There were a few occasions when the response time was not as quick as I would have liked. However Van assured me that everything would be taken care of in due time - which it was. Van did a great job making suggestions of items that would fit within my budget and compliment each other. He even helped me with the table layout and arranging delivery of the wine and beer to the venue. As the event drew closer I was a little nervous that things would not turn out as well as I hoped. However, I was delighted by the presentation and delicious food at the event! Many guests complimented me on how wonderful the food was including my sister-in-law who is an executive chef. I honestly can't imagine the event being more successful and am thankful to Van and his team for their help and hard work. I think a key in the success was trusting Van with his expertise. Suzanne K read more

My daughter's wedding was on November7, 2015..Van and his employees could not have done a better job!!!! All the food we had tasted at the tasting was exactly the same and we had added some items after the tasting that we had not tasted before and they were perfect also, we had to change our wedding layout and plans the day before and he told us no problem and it wasn't, he got to the venue and tables were all placed (we did a cocktail wedding) but he asked if he could move them around and I said yes and he made it even better. we had so much food we had 7 stations and 3 passed items, 2 different levels (would have been 3 except for the rain and it was all exceptional...for those who complain about costs and final billing that is their faults you have to follow up with EVERY vendor and get final invoices and make any changes 2 weeks out....we didn't exclude anything but kept adding more and he always updated our invoice and sent them to the bride, the mother of the bride and the father of the bride so we always knew where we all were on all of the costs....whenever we had a question we could call and Van himself always took our calls and answered anything and everything we asked about...not only would I highly recommend City View to anyone for any occasion I personally will be having him do my Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.....Van again I cannot thank you enough for all the time, effort and beautiful food you gave us that made our daughter's big day as great as it was...I will be posting photographs as soon as the photographer gets them to us....Van again I love you and thanks!!!! read more