I can't recommend DH Catering enough! Sakara and her team crafted a beautiful meal for our backyard rehearsal dinner. The food was incredible and the planning process was so simple. The food presentation was beautiful and everyone on the team was so kind. Thank you for a fabulous night! read more

I couldn't say enough good about my experience with this caterer! I got info from 10 caterers & bids from 5 & chose them because I liked their proposal, loved their Instagram photos & style & in the end had the best 'vibe' from them. I may have paid slightly more than planned but so worth it for attention to detail. I was putting on a female service members 2 day Spiritual Resiliency Retreat & wanted a spa like Hawaiian feel with delicious healthy food & that's exactly what I got! They provided some gluten free items upon request also. I got so many compliments on the food! We were served a full brunch with beverage stations (worth paying extra for on sight staff.) We also had a light lunch & breakfast day 2. Favorite items were crustless quiches, poke, fresh swordfish & tea sandwiches. Service was impeccable. I had just had surgery and needed great service due to this & felt pampered by this catering company. lol Thank you Sakara & staff for serving our bodies & hearts read more

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I was working at a wedding and got to try their food. The staff is amazing and friendly. The food is So good! read more

DH Catering + Event Planning - So good! - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We had the pleasure of working with Sakara throughout our wedding process. Highly recommend a tasting before your event because they have such an adorable cafe called Barefoot Beach Cafe which is right by the ocean. We held our rehearsal brunch there with our guests after our wedding rehearsal. Even though you can get amazing shrimp in the North Shore, DH Catering delivered delicious garlic shrimp that paired lovely with their prime rib which was amazing (and still talked about by our guests)! Tons of options that were all well executed. Loved working with this company and Sakara. She takes pride in her work and everything looked beautiful. read more

HIGHLY recommend DH Catering! We recently brought a group of 330 to Oahu and we used DH for 4 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 1 dinner so I can speak on their food for all 3 meals as being outstanding! Everything they catered was very good- and good-sized portions. Their customer service was above and beyond. They replied to all communication quickly and were accommodating to several of our requests. They were also right on time with every delivery. We have found that many catering services underestimate how long it takes to prepare food for 300+ but DH knew exactly what that looks like. Brittany, Sakara, and your staff...huge thank you for taking care of us! Your Texas Group read more

Perfect! DH Catering did an absolutely amazing job catering a wedding party for 60 people that I hosted last summer. Sakara has a superb eye for design and was so easy to work with that I had full confidence that everything would turn out beautifully - and it did. The food was delicious - I loved the Hawaiian flavors - the service impeccable, and Sakara and her husband were delightful and flexible too when I had to move the venue at the last minute. In addition, I held another party at the Barefoot Cafe which they also run, and Sakara reserved a section of tables for our party, right on the beachfront with a beautiful sunset view, where we could each buy our own dinners, while listening to live Hawaiian music. I highly recommend DH Catering. read more

This review is based on customer service and timely responses / follow-up. I was tasked to set up a last-minute intimate function and I went directly to Yelp to find some catering companies that not only cater food, but also could provide tables, chairs, linens etc. I first came across DH Catering and saw their 5 star review. I called the provided number on Tuesday (02/13) evening and spoke with Shatina. Let her know that at that time I did not have a confirmed date and time for our function, but was sure it was going to be the week of February 26th. She mentioned that they are available only towards the end of that week. On Wednesday, I received confirmation of our event date, called Shatina to inform her and she then instructed me to email them what I needed. I emailed her on Wednesday evening. The next day, I waited until approximately 4pm. Still no call back / response. I decided to call again, Shatina answered and I had inquired if she received my email. She stated that she would check, asked for my number and will call me back. It's 2:45pm, Friday, still no call-back. This leaves me to wonder if I didn't get the effort that other companies would normally receive because we could not fulfill their 50 guests requirement. If anything, we were willing to pay a supplemental fee and I believe I expressed that. I'm pretty sure they offer excellent services and provide great tasting food, however, this was not the first impression I was expecting especially with a 5-star rating company. Truly disappointed read more

This is a very unprofessional business, and would highly reconsider booking an event with them. I reached out to this company in June 2021 to potentially hire them for a mile stone birthday party at my home. They emailed me information about menu options and pricing. When it came time to potentially book them, I spoke with a girl named tessa on the phone about a proposal. I told her exactly which plate setting I wanted, and menu options as well as table rental options. She "supposedly" took down my information and told me she would get back to me in a week or so. I waited almost 2 weeks and finally decided to reach out to her again. When I spoke to her, she asked me all the same questions we had spoken about the previous phone call and asked me to email her the info. It was baffling considering we had just spoken about this a week ago. I emailed her that evening with the information she requested. We scheduled a phone call via email to discuss the detail on 6/15, she forgot about the call and I had to reach out to her again. We rescheduled for 6/22 which she then stopped responding. I reached out to the owner Sakara Blackwell a few weeks after to explain the situation before writing a negative review. She told me she was off island with limited email and phone contact, and promised to address this once back on island. That was back in July 2021. Super unprofessional and unreliable company. read more

Sakara and the team arranged a private wedding dinner at our rental house in Waimanalo Beach in the front garden. The styling was fantastic - I didn't need to be involved more than give a few suggestions - Sakara's instinct for the style and menu I was after was spot on - it was like a fairytale. I also cannot rave more about the food - it far exceeded any expectations we had and the service team knew the perfect balance between attentive service and giving you privacy to enjoy the event. They were so friendly and gracious and a true pleasure to work with. All I can say is if you are looking for an event planner and caterer in Oahu look no further - these guys are the bomb! Thank you Sakara, Shatina and your team for making our wedding so special! read more

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I work in film and TV production so our hours are not very typical like most businesses. Sakara and her team where amazing troopers when it came to our most recent film as we were filming at various locations all over Oahu and things were consistently changing. When you are working 12+ hour days, you want your crew to have at least two hot, delicious meals and that is exactly what they got. Sakara worked with me to design the menu ahead of time as there were some dietary restrictions with our actors in addition to some preferences. Every meal was itemized out in great detail since I was ordering multiple meals a day for weeks at a time for this particular job. I was impressed by everyone's professionalism and thoroughness as some meals had to ready by 4AM and others at 9PM. Every single meal was executed with such great thought and presented with the little details. I appreciated the the little orchids in the center of the dishes to making sure everything was labeled gluten-free or was the veggie options. Our film did not have the biggest budget so I was deeply grateful that Sakara and her team were able to make every meal work and offered alternative options so we could stay within budget. Our was not very big either. It was 45-50 people every day, so taking on a small job like this meant a lot to me as I never had the opportunity of working with DH Catering before. I would highly recommend HD Catering and Event Planning to anyone. Truly. Their food is delicious and leaves a smile on your face. Every single person on their team I met all have amazing work ethic and you can tell that they all enjoy what they do as they put their heart into it. I am now a loyal fan and will continue doing business with them whenever I can! read more

I'm reserving my five star ratings for truly exceptional businesses who work hard for it. This is one of them. Last nights dinner, refreshments and entertainment were truly exemplary and full of Aloha! read more

Big Shout out to Sakara, Shatina, and our officiant Richard for being part of our destination wedding! All three are true professionals and very beautiful people. Sakara informed me the ceremony practice will start at 330pm and sure enough its already 4pm and no one is ready. Rather than rushing us, she kept her composure and helped out as much as she can with what needed to be done. Richard was our officiant and he's awesome. calm, cool and collected is what I would describe him. I never got to meet Shatina in person but from our emails, she was very helpful in every way. Much thanks to these people read more

We celebrated our wedding on Valentines Day almost two weeks ago at Barefoot Beach and have not regretted it for a moment. Tessa worked with her company to make our celebration special. The restaurant is very local style-which is why I chose the location and owners because it is real and was an opportunity to show my friends and family to see why I love Hawaii as I have come to know it. Heart and ohana! Thank you so much! read more

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Recently, DH Catering planned my daughters 10th Birthday!!!!! It was beyond amazing! My daughter Karma told them the main things she wanted at her Party (Beach,Bohemian, seating on the ground, and flowers, and a few specific foods) and they didn't disappoint. Leaving the creativity in their FRIENDLY company's hands, they delivered all her wishes plus more!! They were even able to find someone to come and teach the guests how to make flower headpieces and the seating was stunning! Def exceeded our expectations. If your looking for the event coordination of an event for your business, or personal events this is your go to company. read more

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We recently held a smallish wedding in a friend's backyard on Oahu. With Covid restritions, we had to settle for the drop and go option so I was very uncertain how this would work out. There was no need to worry. The food arrived right on time, it was elegantly presented, and most importantly, it was scrumtious. As people left the wedding they consistently said, "Congratulations, and who was the caterer? The food was absolutely delicious." I recommend DH Catering without any reservations. read more

DH Catering has graciously agreed to donate catering services for a number of nonprofit events I have managed here in Honolulu. They always deliver quality food and quality service. The food is amazing, the communication is prompt, and the overall presentation is a crowd-pleaser. They have donated food/service for MDA's Spring Soirée for 500 people for many years, and also the MDA Executive Lock Up which over 100 Downtown Honolulu executives attend annually. Our guests always praise DH Catering. Personally, I appreciate the elegance and overall presentation almost as much as the delicious food! Mahalo to DH Catering for giving back to the community, and for always delivering quality. read more

We want to thank you for creating a magical evening for our guests. When we arrived (at the Barefoot Beach Cafe) the table was set beautifully and we appreciated you greeting us right away. The food was absolutely perfect, every guest was happy with their meals. Our guest who is Kosher let us know that in his history of traveling the only other organization that was able to provide a proper Kosher meal was the Belgium Government - he was so very grateful for the meal. Mahalo nui loa read more

I went to a tasting recently with Chef Tony and, wow, this food is delicious. A veggie burger that actually taste like vegetables. And the panzanella salad pictured below - it was crazily good. I've been to a few other DH Catering events and they are always extremely well organized, beautifully laid out, and most important of all, delicious! read more

DH Catering + Event Planning - Party & Event Planning Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Kekoa really went above and beyond to make our wedding day so special! We talked back and forth over email for a while since we live in Houston, but then we made a couple trips out to Oahu to meet with him and other vendors. Upon meeting him I was instantly relieved that we had chose to work with DH Catering. He is extremely laid back and helped us tremendously with the layout of our venue (Aquarium). Plus was able to set my fiancées mind at ease of some things which took the heat off me! Thanks! He also recommended our wedding coordinator to us who without the two of them working together our wedding would not have been anywhere near flawless....and it was flawless! Thanks to them. Kekoa and his team showed up and went to work as soon as they got there staging the dinner tables, setting up the buffet tables, handing drinks and pupus out, and helping out anywhere they were needed. Kekoa himself was running around like a mad man all night and still making time to stop by our table and ask us if everything was alright and if we needed anything! The food was fantastic, people are still talking about it! We really felt the love and Aloha from Kekoa and his team. Thank you so much for everything you did for us on our special day! read more

DH Catering provided food at a Welcome Dinner at Barefoot Beach Cafe for the night before the wedding. Having ordered everything online and from quite a distance (Virginia) was a little worried as never had a chance to taste test or anything. On the night of the event, we arrived to find everything set up to our specifications, the appetizers were huge and so super delicious (sliders and spring rolls) and the dinner was phenomenal (highlight was teriyaki salmon) AMAZING!!! Tons of compliments from all attendees and personally had to agree - super delicious. And the sunset that night was perfect! Exactly the setting and dinner we hoped for, great food, beautiful sunset and live guitarist singing lots of super songs. We paid extra for the festive table settings, shell necklaces, pineapple smoothies, and salmon but it was totally worth it. Would definitely repeat this experience. read more

Kekoa is awesome. It has been 8 months so I have had time to reminisce on the night. Still amazing. They went overboard making sure that the evening was crazy awesome. They even helped out us since we were on such a tight budget. Showed up early to set up and made sure that everything was cleaned up before leaving. The food was great, three different types of fish and amazing appatizers. Plus they took a space that was not great and made it look five stars. They were totally flexible to our needs and worked hard to make our vision come to life. read more

I have never felt the the need to post reviews about businesses or services used, but in this case I just had to. I found Sakara Blackwell just by chance while googling from my home in Las Vegas trying to find a place to do my wedding in Hawaii of all places and what made it extra hard was not knowing the island or anything except a map. She was amazingly helpful right from the start, and had some wonderful creative ideas and best of all always kept my really tight budget in mind. Through her and her great ideas we got our dream wedding that looked super extravagant that my family is still talking about and cannot stop raving about how absolutely beautiful it was.(80 People). Everyone told us that we were looking to have "a champagne wedding on a beer budget" and it was not possible. But she proved everyone wrong. It is really hard for me to trust anyone especially not knowing them except by phone and email, but from the first time we talked she made me feel comfortable and it felt like I had known her forever. I can honestly go on and on but I don't think i have the room. To top it all off and make it even better and easier her husband Kekoa Ornellas is an officiant certified through the state of Hawaii. He performed our wedding and he was great too. He called us a few weeks before our wedding and talked to us to get to know us and ask what we wanted in our ceremony and we got it all the day of. Both are very friendly and fun to work with they felt like a part of my ohana (family) by the end of our event. Definitely a true spirit of Aloha! I would recommend her over and over again and hope that she is still around in 10 years so we can do it all over again for our 10 year anniversary. read more

We used DH Catering for a family gathering in Kailua, for two group dinners (12 guests) and a full-day tour of Oahu. The dinners blew us away, coming from our group of foodies this is a high, high compliment. Their service and laid back attitude was an added bonus, as the food would have had us coming back regardless! The tour day was an unexpected treat, we really thought we knew the island well but Kekoa showed us some of the coolest lil hideaway beaches and other secret spots we never heard of. I adore this company on so many levels, they showcase true Aloha Spirit and some seriously amazing food. You will not be disappointed! read more

Sakara and Kekoa helped me plan a party for 30 people. They made the planning and decisions so easy and worked within my budget. Everything was wonderful! The food and presentation was more than I could have asked for. Everyone had plenty to eat...service was attentive...music was great and of course the venue can't be beat! The food was delicious. They made my mainland family and local family feel very very blessed! Very highly recommended!!!!! read more

Sakara is amazing! I'd been "planning" my wedding for almost a year, with 3 months till the big day, and no vendors actually booked when I came across her by chance. It was the perfect one stop shop for everything I needed for the wedding. The food was delicious. The DJ/Live Guitarist David that she selected for the music was a hit with all the guests. The staff were very professional and attentive. The day went with out any hiccups, even the rain went away in time for the ceremony to be outside (even though Sakara and team had a back up plan ready to go if needed). Kekoa conducted our ceremony and it was exactly what we had in mind. Flowers and decorations-- everything was better than I imagined it would be! Thank you Sakara and team for making our day absolutely perfect! read more

These guys are the best! I wanted a simple 1st birthday party in the park and they delivered much more. The flowers, crafts, food... Everything was fantastic. It was so nice to just show up to my party and have everything prepared and ready to go. The attention to detail was phenomenal, I didn't have to lift a hand the entire time. I'll definitely use these guys again. read more

Sakara Blackwell and Kekoa Ornellas of DH Catering and Event Planning created a fabulous dinner event for 40 scholars and community leaders of the Manoa Forum, a town and gown group sponsored by the University of Hawaii Foundation. We dined at Ms. Blackwell's Barefoot Beach Cafe on the edge of Waikiki Beach. Our dinner included some of the freshest fish I have ever eaten. After dinner, Ms. Blackwell surprised us, serving each guest a small glass of milk with a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie. Ms. Blackwell is a calm professional. She is always willing to work with her clients to come up with a price they can afford. read more