Without having tried their food but from the reviews on Yelp, I decided to hire Hola Paella to cater my birthday party. I couldn't be happier that I made that decision. Not only was the food delicious, but Fernando and his wife Vicky were so gracious, professional, friendly, and helpful that I don't believe I could have done any better! First, the appetizers were freshly made and delicious. Because of a gluten intolerance, I had only the mini-skewers and stuffed dates, both of which were delicious. My guests raved about the mini-empanadillas and the caprese. It was very entertaining as well as appetizing to see and smell the paella being made right in front of us. Because it was such a hot day, I thought they'd want to be inside, but apparently, they enjoy the hot weather, plus it's probably better for them to do the cooking outdoors. They were so well-prepared and made it all seem so easy. The food was really fantastic. All of my guests couldn't stop talking about how delicious it was. Many people went back for seconds and a few even went for thirds! When it was time for my birthday cake, they offered to cut and serve it. That wasn't part of the agreement I had with them, so I was pleasantly surprised that they were willing to take over that duty. I had never had a party before where I hadn't made the food myself, and giving up that control was a little bit difficult. However, since it was a milestone birthday for me and I had guests from out of town to entertain, I didn't want to have to do all the work. Fernando and Vicky made it really easy on me and made me feel very comfortable that they had everything under control... and they did! I highly recommend Hola Paella without reservation for your special occasion. For those unfamiliar with paella, it would be a great introduction! We were all very happy with the food and the fantastic service. Thank you, Fernando and Vicky! read more

Hola Paella catered our end of the year fiesta at Santa Clara University on Wednesday. The food was delicious with high quality ingredients and authentic flavors that made for a tasty and festive gathering. The sangria and appetizers were also delicious. Fernando and Vicky were friendly and professional. Our guests enjoyed watching the paella cook and the smell filled the air making everyone ready for a great meal. Look no further for the best catering service to make your party a memorable event. Thank you Fernando and Vicky! read more

I hired Hola Paella to provide a Paella feast for my son's graduation party. Fernando was organized, responsive and easy to work with. He came by a few days before the event to review the outdoor space and arrived on time! Equally important, the two types of Paella, salad and appetizers were fresh, delicious and served with a smile. I am still getting emails from my friends about the fantastic food served. Thank you for making this party unique and effortless for me! read more

My wife arranged for Fernando from Hola Paella to cater my birthday party. Fernando was fantastic all around: on time, organized, a clean and tidy cook, and his food was a hit! He made hors d'oeuvres of savory skewers (chorizo, manchego, roasted red pepper and green olive) and dates stuffed with goat cheese and chopped walnuts. Then for the main event, he made an inspired paella of chicken, sausage and shrimp, accompanied by a delicious green salad. There was plenty of food to go around and the whole party loved it! Thanks, Fernando! read more

The best!!! I hired hola paella to cater for my mom's 70th birthday last saturday and they didnt disappoint.. Appetizers are very good very tasty simple but very tasty!!! And the paella... It was hit not only that it looks too pretty to be eaten .. D aroma is a killer and sooooo yummy!!! I am a FOoDIE and so d rest of my family and after a bite of the paella valenciana very good!!! Fernando and vicky are very sweet couple i will definitely recommend their service!!! read more

I visited their food booth during Midsummer Night Yelp event. It was one of the more efficient booths as they hardly ever had a line and their food was piping hot. The paella was really good although I didn't get to try any of the seafood. I'm probably going to hunt them down now and eat all of their paella. Mmmmm read more

I never want to eat another Paella that isn't made by Hola Paella!!! The chefs are amazingly skilled and nice! Can't wait to throw a party and have them cater it! YUM! read more

We asked Fernando and Hola Paella to come for a Sunday lunch for a surprise birthday for my wife. They came right on time, prepared flawlessly for 30 people and made very very flavorful paella, better than I've had in a very long time! Complete professionals, and fun to watch their process. Thank you for your fantastic service! read more

AWESOME! They are the best! We had them over for my beau's staff dinner at our home in January and we were so pleased! We had about 25 guests and everyone was raving about how good ALL of the food was! From customer service prior to our dinner to the quality of their food! We cannot wait to have them cater for us again! I highly recommend them and yes! leftovers were a bonus! Thank you again! Salud, amor y dinero! :) Chef Fernando and his wife are like family now! read more

The Occasion: Our Wedding Reception When: A very very cold December day in 2008 Location: Our small flat and backyard in SF Head Count: 75 Fernando and his crew arrived on time and with every last ingredient or piece of equipment that they needed to make one of the best paella's that I have had. We had the seafood paella with some added sea bass. All of the ingredients were very fresh. No fishy smelling seafood here! He set him self up in a part of our backyard that was not tented so he could be where the party was. Good thing he did since everyone wanted to be around him! It was great entertainment watching him create our dinner before our very eyes! It's all about the presentation and he doesn't fall short in that department. There was more than enough paella for everyone to have as much as they wanted. To this day, people are still talking about how amazing the paella was at our wedding and want get people together to have a party just so we can have Hola Paella come out again to make paella! read more

This review is far overdue, because we hired Hola Paella for our rehearsal dinner back in 2012. We started going through some pictures and remembered how amazing the food was! We were literally craving the paella again as we were going through all the memories. I can't recommend them enough! The appetizers were delicious and we are still trying to find paella as good as this. If you're smart, hire them now! It is simply the best! read more

The paella dinner was delicious! Hola Paella catered a small 8 person dinner at our home this past weekend, and we couldn't have been happier with the experience. Fernando arrived promptly at the agreed time and began to set up and prepare our intimate paella dinner. I was impressed by how self contained he is, all his gear is perfectly organized and packed, and he basically didn't need anything from our kitchen. Very pleasant while being super professional, he entertained our guests' curiosity about the paella and how things were prepared. He served some delicious appetizers, a great salad, and a paella that everyone raved about. This is definitely more than a meal, it's an experience. We're glad we found Hola Paella, and we plan on using them again for a much larger event in the future. read more

Hola Paella catered our wedding and we could not be happier! Our original caterer fell through last minute, and we were scrambling to find someone to travel to our out of town wedding, and work with our budget all the while providing food that was special and homemade. From the get-go, Fernando was communicative, flexible, open and absolutely professional. We were able to check this task off of our (large!) wedding to do list as he met all of our questions with quick answers and we worked out a plan. The day of the event, he and his team were so sweet, warm and wonderful. And the food was incredible! We had so many compliments from our guests and we are happy to feel like he and his team were part of our family that day. We highly recommend Hola Paella! Thank you, Fernando and your team! read more

Hola Paella catered a party at our winery, R & W Vineyards, and they were fantastic! Guests thoroughly enjoyed the show of the preparation, as well as the great paella itself. They provided a special paella for our vegetarian guests. Every aspect of the service from setup to cleanup was totally professional. We will be happy to have them back and to recommend them to our friends. read more

Fernando's Paella is out of this world, It was a huge crowd pleaser at my dinner party. It is difficult to please everyone, but Fernando and his staff did. They are professional and friendly. And experts in cooking delicious Paella. I ordered their Valencia Paella for 32 people. Everyone was in awe of this paella. This was the best ever!!! And this crowd is well experienced in fine dining, It is amazing how Fernando was able to cook the Paella for such a large group and not overcook any of the shellfish, seafood, salmon, chicken, or chorizo. The Paella servings were generous and included a nice salad and sliced baguette. Everyone was amazed at how succulent the the shellfish. prawns, scallops and calamari were. Hands-down this is the best Paella ever. In fact we have found an excuse to have Fernando come back in 2 weeks. We cannot wait to taste that Paella again. I cannot tell you how many compliments I received from our guests. read more

Hola Paella was great!!! I hired Hola Paella for my birthday party and I am so happy I did! Fernando was very flexible and professional when we were talking about the food and guests. When they arrived, Fernando and his crew were amazing! Great service and the food was awesome!!! read more

What a night! We booked a party of 30 with Fernando and his lovely wife and had an absolute blast. The aroma of the food was amazing as it was cooking and the taste unbelievable. I'm part Latin and part Italian and I know food. I also lived in San Francisco for a few years and made it a point to find the best tapas and paella in town. Fernando's paella leaves all others behind. His food will knock your socks off! It was a pleasure and a joy to have Fernando at our Father's day bash and graduation dinner! Now, I'll be looking for any excuse to have him back. Fernando can cook the best paella ever! And, he is super reasonable. If you like good food, you must try Fernando! read more

My fiance and I were considering paella as the food we serve for our reception dinner. After having Googled "Best Paella in Bay Area," Fernando's Hola Paella came up. Last night we had Fernando over for a taste test for 7 people of his signature Special Paella Valenciana.... WOW!!!!!! Phenomenal. He made the paella right in front of us and it smelled so good that we would literally walk outside just to come back in and smell it again. Every bite you ate tasted different but somehow better then the one before. Even his salad was amazing. Everything he serves is simple, organic and prepared to perfection. And the man is hilarious. He has a great personality. We invited him to sit and eat with us because he was so fun to hang out with and easy to talk to. Fernando should be on Throwdown with Bobby Flay!! My Fiance and I would be shocked if Fernando didn't win. His prices are amazing for the quality food and entertainment. And he made absolutely ZERO mess. When he left you wouldn't have known he was even there except for the delicious smell and very full stomachs. We are so excited to have Fernando serve at our wedding!!! read more

I hired Hola Paella for my husband's 50th birthday. It was a big thing since I had all his friends and coworkers from Cisco Systems and it was a surprise party! I needed help to organize, entertain and provide good food for my guests. Fernando and Vicky did not let me down. It was the best birthday I have ever had for my husband. Being from Spain (and my husband from France), I am very picky about food, specially, about paella. Fernando delivered the best succulent and tasteful paella! They took care of everything: the appetizers, the serving and the entertaining. Fernando was the perfect showman and delivered the best performance! Everybody was around him and observed how he prepared the best paella in town! He provided entertainment as well as the best food for my guests! Thank you Hola Paella. I look forward to our next celebration together! read more

I was so pleased with the hospitality of Fernando and his wife. They were so efficient in setting up the paella for our big party. It was awesome to see them cook it, and It smelled and tasted delicious! Definitely would have them again and again. read more

Fernando and Vicky were a joy at my dad's 70th birthday party (Hola Paella cooked for about 50 folks). I hired Fernando because he was great at following-up with me during a very busy time and that scored him the job! He was super gracious, polite, helpful and made this an easy engagement. That was the whole point. I didn't want my family 'working' the party or having to prepare food or clean up. He brings all the tools of his trade and prepares a crowd-pleasing paella and appetizers. I would recommend him for any small or large gathering, casual or formal alike. read more

I hosted a birthday party for my husband with about 35 guests. I decided to try Hola Paella based on the Yelp reviews and I'm so glad I did! The paella was delicious, and Fernando and his staff was amazing. They are efficient, clean, and the food is top quality. My guests couldn't stop talking about how flavorful the paella, empanadas, and tapas tasted.I would hire Hola Paella again in a heartbeat! It is a challenge getting excellent service, easy communication, a professional staff, AND great food in one package... but we certainly got the whole package with Hola Paella! Thank you! read more

We were planning a paella cooking evening for a group of around 20 people and found Fernando online! Price was amazing, he was open to all of our requisites (we really wanted to get the paella cooking experience and not only the eating part), he was very friendly and open to all out questions and pictures!!! Paella was really good. He also brought salad and bread, which were very nice too! And everything was cleared up in 20 seconds! Food for 20 people without any mess at all. Big recommendation for his cooking!!! read more

Fernando catered my dinner last night I had crazy high expectations based on the Yelp reviews - and yet these expectations were exceeded. They were fantastic! The empanadas were delicious. The paella was incredible. The presentation was gorgeous. They showed up on time, created a masterpiece outside, set up without any fuss, and served warmly. Cleanup was meticulous. They gave huge portions and people happily gobbled up every bite on their plate. We got the Paella Valentia and it was simply perfect - filled with meat and seafood. I was surprised by how delicious the salad was. I will have them cater many many events in the future. The experience from start to finish was just perfect. read more

Hola Paella did the dinner for my ~80 person wedding at Picchetti Winery. There was no fuss: they served dinner right when we needed it, and they were discrete as they cleaned up and left. Totally professional, and the food was fantastic. We received many compliments for the meat, seafood, and vegetarian paella. Thanks, Hola Paella! read more

After a disappointing experience with "Paella Guy", we were lucky to find Fernando to cater our wedding last October. He was fantastic! He made a preliminary trip to our home to arrange all the details. The day of the wedding he and his family showed up on time and prepared wonderful, visually exciting and tasty food. As we had hoped, the preparation process also served as entertainment. Fernando was very engaging and the whole experience was terrific. I would hire him again in a moment. read more

We had Hola Paella cater our welcome dinner + reception. Fernando and team were great to work with (we went back and forth with a few proposals and iterations), and the presentation and food was amazing. Our guests raved about the paella and it was definitely one of the highlights of our wedding weekend. We ended up having more guests than we had contracted for, and Fernando and team were also very fair in charging us for the extra guests. Overall, highly recommended!! read more

We recently used Hola Paella for our rehearsal dinner in Napa and it was fantastic - I couldn't recommend them high enough! Fernando was always my point of contact through email which was easy. Day-of, it was himself and two staff who helped serve and clean up, which was very appreciative. Their appetizers (empanadas & skewers) were great to start and then he started cooking the paella. We had both a vegetarian and a meat/shrimp paella for 60 people, and both were Fantastic. Also, the process was just wonderful to watch - and was a talking point among many of our guests. He also provided sangria, both white and red, which were a BIG hit with the crowd. I think we polished off the meat/shrimp paella, but had a lot of leftovers of the veggie one - which we ate a few days later at our farewell brunch (perfect!). Again, I highly recommend Fernando and Hola Paella. We loved it and all of our 60 guests loved it too. read more

Hola Paella catered our wedding in Pacifica last month and did a fantastic job. Our venue didn't have a kitchen on site, and after being completely shocked by the prices other caterers were throwing around, we decided to go another direction and contacted Fernando. I'm SO glad we did. Besides being very reasonably priced, everything was better than we hoped for - from the food to the service. We didn't have a chance to try the paella ahead of time, but as soon as we met with Fernando and his wife at the venue to do a walk-through, we knew we'd made the right decision. We had three kinds of paella (veggie, chicken, and chorizo/chicken) as well as an assortment of appetizers and tons of people raved to us about how delicious everything was. We felt that the servers really went above and beyond, from passing the appetizers (I didn't even know they were going to do that!) to always checking in with my husband and I to make sure we had everything we needed, they were all a pleasure to work with. Thanks, Hola Paella, you really helped make our wedding day special! read more

We hired Chef Fernando to cater my birthday party for 20 people. The food was delicious - everyone raved about it. Unfortunately, there was unforeseen traffic on the way to our house, and they arrived 2 hours late, which is the only reason I am giving them 4 stars instead of 5. Fortunately, we had prepared some of our own appetizers, so our guests didn't go hungry. Once they arrived, they were able to prepare the food pretty quickly. Both Fernando and his wife helped serve the food, and they were very hospitable and friendly. I would recommend them for your next party! read more

We hired Holla Paella to cater a birthday party for 40 people at our home recently after a search for the best Paella provider and these reviews. It's true! They were wonderful and charming, the food was wonderful, all our guests raved. Among our guests were some hard core "foodies", a native of Spain, and expert cooks. Everyone raved and loved the food, and the presentation and service were impeccable, beautiful, charming. We're thinking of excuses to hire them again. Highly recommended. read more

We had Hola Paella cater a shrimp and chicken paella for our anniversay party. What a pleasure! The paella was excellent-best we've had. They arrived to set up right on time, created wonderful appetizers and the paella was wonderful and enjoyed by all our guests, I would highly recommend their services for any spcial event. read more

We have had Hola Paella cater three events at our home in the past few months--each was better than the last and they were all great. Fernando and Vicki are delightful, and very flexible--they are very willing to modify the paella to suit specific tastes--such as how spicy it is, ingredients and relative quantities, etc. We and all of our guests have been so pleased with these dinners. It is very fun to enjoy appetizers (the Hola Paella appetizers are also great) and watch them make the paella. The seafood is very fresh. Our kids enjoy the leftovers! I highly recommend this to everyone. read more

Fernando and his team were wonderful! Super friendly, easy to work with. The food was outstanding, everybody raved about it. And the whole paella preparation was a show onto itself. And they left their area totally spotless! Thank you for making our party such a success! read more

Fernando and Paco prepared Paella for lunch for 17 friends and it was outstanding. They arrived in plenty of time for set-up, prepared the meal, served desert and left when everyone was done. We ordered a traditional Paella with all the goodies and one for our vegetarian friends. I would highly recommend Hola Paella. David read more

Hola Paella is wonderful! Chef Fernando and his wife Vicky made paella for our Dad's 84th birthday party. We had 23 people of all ages present, and everyone loved the paella.Some of us are serious foodies and his dish was superb: tons of high quality seafood and very, very fresh vegetables, perfectly seasoned and presented with a tender green salad and bread. They were early to prep dinner, very agreeable and flexible, and engaging with the guests - everyone loved it! People fought (nicely!) over leftovers (he made so much food that there was some left, even though portions were huge! nobody went home hungry. We will definitely call him again for the next big event. Not only were they skilled and competent, they went out of their way to make us feel relaxed and comfortable leaving the cooking up to them so we could enjoy the party with our guests - we even practiced our spanish and french with them (and they were nice about it). In summary, they could not have been nicer and the paella was the best we'd ever had! read more

Fernando and his team catered my backyard wedding on June 21st. We had 125 guests. Everything about Hola Paella, Fernando and his team was amazing! The appetizers were incredible, and the paella was amazing. Our wedding guests were raving about the food. We had the valenciana, all meat and veggie. The paella is gluten free which was great for a few our of guests who can't eat gluten. All communications with Fernando were timely and very friendly and helpful. Having a wedding in my backyard was stressful, but Fernando really helped me. I had been emailing with him back and forth and at one point in our last exchange he just said "don't worry, it'll all be great" and that was truly a saving grace for me in the last week heading into the wedding. Do not hesitate to hire Fernando for any event. Especially for a wedding. Guests really enjoyed watching the paella being made. Once I get the photos back from our wedding photographer I will upload some photos. Thank you Fernando and team for making our wedding so delicious! read more

Although we sadly could not use Fernando for our event this year, we were so impressed with his timely responses and genuine effort to help plan our event. He has a true passion for his work. We cannot wait to be able to use Hola Paella in the future. read more

Well before I got engaged, I knew that, if and when I got married, I would only work with vendors who prioritized their customers/guests above all else -- fortunately, I got all this and more with Fernando and his wonderful team at Hola Paella. Despite some hurdles at the beginning of establishing a regular flow of communication with him (I contacted him in January for an August wedding, and he had some family matters of his own to attend to), closer to our event day, Fernando was incredibly responsive. More so, he was very willing to work with all of our requests, big and small (i.e., accommodating our 250+ guest count, changing our menu numerous times, visiting our venue for a walkthrough on his own, etc.). Last, our guests enjoyed the appetizers and paella -- everything tasted wonderful -- and found it to be somewhat of a unique set-up vs. your standard buffet offerings. Thank you, Hola Paella! I would definitely hire your lively team again. read more

See all

Hola Paella catered our wedding near Gualala last weekend. Everything was spectacular. They were on time, brought everything they needed, and made a fantastic paella! The aroma of the paella as it cooked was mouth-watering and everyone enjoyed watching the process. Fernando was straight forward, easy to work with, and very helpful with answers to all my questions. Out of all the other paella caterers I looked into, I am so glad I chose this one. Amazing food, no drama, quick responses, and friendly folks! I will definitely call on them in the future. read more