Popolo did an absolutely amazing job on our April 2026 wedding. We were working with Kat and Leon for almost a year and a half, and they were always very responsive, flexible and helpful. It made the wedding process so much easier and we felt like we were in SUCH good hands. On top of that, the food was AMAZING. We had so many people come up to us complimenting the food, and one of my best friend's immediately booked Popolo for their wedding catering and bartending based on their experience at our wedding. 100/10. Thank you Popolo!!!! read more

Popolo did a fantastic job catering our wedding. Not only did they work hard to execute our vision, they were very easy to work with throughout the whole process. The food is good, the day-of service was great, and their prices are very reasonable. Thank you Kat and Leon for making our vision come to life! read more

You and your staff did an amazing job for the Pismo Moose Lodge. You utilized our kitchen and left it as clean as when you started. Thank you for making this a great experience for all our members. I would highly recommend your catering company to others. read more

We're writing this review because we felt it's important others are aware of the expectations when it comes to doing business with Popolo Catering and the lack of flexibility. We had made a deposit at the beginning of February 2025 for our wedding in September of 2025. Before the month of February ended, we reached out because we found out we were expecting and hoped for a potential refund of our deposit (I also want to add that we don't live anywhere near San Luis Obispo). I was to be 8 months pregnant by September so we were obviously cancelling our wedding. We were advised that this wasn't possible because we signed a deposit stating that the deposit was non refundable which we understood but felt like there was no intent to even consider it. We felt that no money had been spent for the event because it was so far ahead but again, we had just made a deposit. Then, we were advised that we could get a credit for the deposit that would be good for one year but were given a document that we failed to thoroughly read stating we had until the last day of 2025 to use which is 10 months and not one year. We feel that they lack flexibility in an industry where things can happen all that time. Please make sure you really have done your research and I would also recommend starting your catering quote with the bare minimum with willing to lose that money. We added everything on our initial quote and our deposit was based on that which we will never do again with any vendor. Extremely disappointing and will not be using this company. read more

Popolo Catering - Caterers Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

Needed a caterer for my wedding - and was told to go with Popolo. They did not disappoint one bit! The staff (Danette) is friendly and easy to communicate with, especially when my wedding grew from 40 to 120 guests and changed locations. The first taste with Leon and his family was delicious! *Chef's kiss* We had the NY steak (which we eventually switched to tri tip), salmon, strawberry salad, fettuccine Alfredo, and garlic mashed potatoes! They offered services like bartending, cake cutting and more! The bartender was the best - he even got down on the dancefloor with us! I couldn't have been happier with their service! So many compliments on the food to this day and it's almost been a month since the wedding! Can't go wrong! Will definitely choose them for any other events I have! read more

Popolo Catering - Buffet style dinner - tried tip, salmon, strawberry salad, fettuccine Alfredo, garlic bread, and garlic mashed potatoes - Caterers Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

I had a LAST MINUTE catering request for an executive team of 8! I was freaking out but I called Popolo's before they opened, by chance they answered and they said we will see what we can do... to make a long, stressful story short, it worked out even better than I expected it to and I am so THANKFUL they were able to accomodate me. The food was fantastic!!! read more

Popolo catering catered our wedding this summer, and it was the best decision! Tasha and her team were wonderful to work with - she always responded to my emails within the business day and was so helpful with our many questions. The food was delicious on the day of!! The buffet went quickly and guests were not waiting for food long. Overall, highly recommend! read more

Delicious breakfast burrito full of potatoes with rosemary, eggs, sausage & bacon The biscuit & gravy is no good. The gravy was watery, missing sausage. The biscuit very small with no flavor. read more

Popolo Catering - The gravy. Not gravy. Recipe needs to be revised - Caterers Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

I highly recommend Leon and Popolo Catering. He and his team are great to work with, communicative, and provided excellent food. Don't hesitate to reach out to Leon for your next large catered event! read more

Again, I've been finding these restaurants because of Door Dash - otherwise I would Never have even tried them out. I ordered the BBQ Chicken Sandwich with fries and the Pear Salad with Champaign Vinaigrette. The Sandwich and fries was what it was, nothing to be excited about, but the Pear Salad? Oh, I think it has Gorgonzola cheese crumbles and candied walnuts (I had w/o walnuts) it was Really Really Good. At first I was tripping out about the pears because they were a dark purple color, then I realized, "Omg! They must be Poached in Red Wine! It was a really, really good salad. Now, I also couldn't figure out this place, is it a restaurant? Just catering? Is it in a hotel lobby? IDK - it's confusing. read more

Very helpful service when ordering, food and utensils provided for our event, and the food was perfect, love the date + bacon rolls

Popolo Catering was amazing to use and work with. Tasha was extremely responsive and helpful. We received nothing but positive feedback on the food. We opted for the buffet style with two entree options and fixed sides/salad/bread options. We have already recommended their services to other friends for their services. They were extremely cost effective as well. I would recommend anyone in their service area to consider them for their next large catered event. read more

They ruined our wedding! They cut up our wedding cake and served it to guests. The food was ice cold and tasteless. Leon and Kat are liars.

Popolo was an absolute lifeline when our original caterer for our wedding fell through. Leon and Kat were a complete delight during our tasting, they truly care about every aspect of what they do! They were wonderful to work with as we went back and forth and back and forth indecisively over our menu (it was so hard to narrow down, everything they make is so good!) and on the day they were absolutely perfect! The table setup looked amazing, the entire staff was warm and outstanding, and the bartenders absolutely killed it with our signature cocktails! We were originally so worried when our first caterer fell through but with Popolo it turned out to be a blessing in disguise a thousand fold. We're still getting our guests reaching out to us to tell us how much they loved our food (and I still dream about the brisket). We can't think of anyone else we would have rather had serve us our first meal as husband and wife - and I truly cannot recommend Popolo Catering highly enough. If you're looking for a caterer for your wedding or any event at all, look NO FURTHER! Popolo is amazing! read more

Popolo Catering - Amazing food! - Caterers Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

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Popolo recently catered our wedding on 9/25. They did an absolutely FANTASTIC job. Everyone loved the food. We went Italian and it felt very "homey" and was delicious. They were great at serving the food. The servers were welcoming and made sure everyone was taken care of. Earlier in the event my, now husband, dropped vinegrette on the backside of my dress! One of the women working there, Amber, quickly came over and got it all out of the dress! She saved the day. I'm forever grateful for her. I am so glad and happy I could support a family run and local business especiallyl during COVID. they were flexible and abide by all COVID guidelines. Would highly recommend in the future. read more

Leon and Popolo catered our May 31st wedding at Pear Valley Winery. We were their 4th wedding of the day, and you would have never known it! Leon is the nicest guy out there!! He greeted us first and served us at our table. He then proceeded to visit each table through out the dinner to make sure all the guests were happy! We had chicken and tri-tip, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad & bread. The chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies were my absolute FAVORITE!! Being that it was our wedding day, I wasn't able to eat much (nerves, tight dress etc...) They were kind enough to pack a to-go container for myself and one for my husband, the groom. I ate the remainder of the food the next day and it was still just as delicious. I should also note while setting up the details through email, Illiana was very professional and timely with responses. We also visited the location in SLO for a tasting where received a FULL PLATED meal as our tasting, it was truly amazing service all around. I can only hope I can have another event or party where I can use them. They would be my first choice! Thank you again Leon and your wonderful staff! read more

Popolo Catering - Caterers Near Me - San Luis Obispo, California

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I had Popolo Catering cater my wedding in San Luis Obispo. I used their free quote estimate form to place my order. Everything went very smoothly and I am very happy with their service and the process to completion. Thank you for the very tasty food and also for the divine service. read more

My wedding was just on Saturday, March 3. Four days later my guests are STILL RAVING to me and others about the food that we served them at our wedding. We dined on: Chicken and carnitas fajitas, rice, beans, quesadillas, salad, fruit kabobs. Afterwards we had an assortment of desserts. And we washed it all down with lemonade, tea and water from our drink station. People kept going back up for more. My new mother in law stopped at every table exclaiming how amazing the food was. I was terribly sad that I could only put down one (giant) fajita... I needed more, my stomach failed me, It should have anticipated my need for that delicious food and it didnt. My father, who is difficult to impress with anything, walked straight up to the servers and shook their hands and told them it was the best food he had ever had. My children who are picky eaters ate and ate and ate. I literally dreamt of my wedding meal last night and am sad that I live 2500 miles away and cant run there tonight to grab some for dinner. Basically, what i'm trying to say..... I LOVE POPOLO. Amazing customer service and the food is out of this world delicious. read more

We ordered the Thanksgiving meal. It was certainly convenient and complete: whole turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, rolls. The turkey and rolls were dry, the stuffing wet (but tasty), the pumpkin pie good. It was pricey, but way easier than doing it ourselves read more

Is there a sixth star option? If so, I'd select....from the beginning"Kat" was spot on with recommendations to my request for a "Central Coast" style dinner for my wife's 60th birthday dinner at at AirBNB location. Food was dropped off punctually. Preparation, presentation and taste was beyond expectation including the outsourced boysenberry pies! Top notch in every way with just two days advance order. I just couldn't recommend them highly enough! Thank you Popolo team!!! read more

We were a wedding that unfortunately was pushed off due to the pandemic, not because we chose to. We were originally looking like everyone else to cancel due to the unknown. Once we rescheduled with popolos it became difficult and they became all about the money. We had paid in full an now the wedding was cut in half once again not due to our choosing (COVID).We were told no refund we would pay you back with food credit. We then got told we had to use the credit of food before the end of the year. We were not happy with it but it was what it was, until we got the food plates. Small portion for what was paid was ridiculous. Also the prime rib was tasteless. The wife's owner was rude even when Leon was trying to see what he could do to help us. I'm extremely disappointed as to the experience we had. read more

Popolo was absolutely amazing. our wedding day would not have gone as smoothly as it did without them!! the whole team is incredibly hard working, responsive, and professional. they went above and beyond (from moving chairs from the ceremony site to the reception, lighting candles i forgot to even mention, picking up tablecloths early, and endless advice) to make sure our day was flawless! wouldn't change a thing, thank you Popolo!!!! read more

Popolo catered our wedding last weekend, and we are still getting compliments on the food! I picked them based on good reviews and the easy menu customization available on their website. We planned our wedding from a different state so having everything so easily accessible was HUGE for us, and I'm sure would be a convenient time saver for brides in state. As well. The price was absolutely right and by far the best catering deal I found in Paso, which made this an easy decision. We had some grief a bit before with a timing misunderstanding as we requested a bartender through this company as well, and I felt like their staff was great about communicating through the problem and figuring out a solution, which is really important in a company you are trusting to handle such an important event. Popolo's staff was beyond professional and really made our wedding a better experience for our guests. Thanks, guys!! read more

Leon & his wife ARE AMAZING!! We loved working with them for our wedding. They literally SAVED OUR WEDDING DAY! The other reviews were spot on - EXCELLENT FOOD & CUSTOMER SERVICE (which are 2 extremely important parts of any party / wedding). Leon & his staff are such sweet hearts & they all know the ins and outs of all wedding preparation. Communication was a breeze and they always responded promptly. When I had some major problems with my venue (Pear Valley Vineyard in Paso Robles), Leon and his team stepped up to the plate and went out of their way to make sure everything still went according to plan. They went ABOVE AND BEYOND anything I could have ever dreamed of having in a catering staff. They are both PROFESSIONAL, KIND, CONSIDERATE, AFFORDABLE & TALENTED! Look no further, BOOK THEM NOW!! There isn't a better team or better value out there (WITH RENTALS, STAFF, FOOD W/PASSED APPS ETC = $30-35 PP (CRAZY GOOD FOR EVERYTHING YOU GET PLUS A+++++ SERVICE!!) read more

Popolo's catered a banquet that I recently attended in Avila Beach. Popolo's has been delivering high quality catering to the San Luis Obispo area for over 25 years with the guiding tenet that everything is made from scratch and crafted from the freshest local ingredients. The catered cuisine for the evening was bbq fare with Santa Maria-style tri tip, rotisserie chicken, seasoned mashed potatoes, sauteed seasonal vegetables and fresh-baked dinner rolls. Hallmarks of Santa Maria-style bbq includes top sirloin or tri-tip prepared with a seasoned dry rub and grilled over an open flame using native redwood oak. The first tray of tri tip was cooked perfectly...deep flavors, juicy, tender and robust with a hint of wood smoke. Perfect with their fresh salsa. The second tray of tri tip came out very rare, undercooked and quite red. Fortunately, the meat cooked slightly in the chafing dish upon standing. The seasoned mashed potatoes were delicious; rich and creamy with fresh herb seasonings. The mashed potatoes vanished quick! Propolo's specializes in Mexican, Italian, BBQ & rotisserie and seafood cuisine. There's a wonderful menu of appetizers, tossed salads, fruit & cheese platters, baked brie, kabobs, bruschetta, quiches and smoked salmon platters. Casual and formal catering services are available. Seasoned chef and caterer, Leon Castillo, and his catering team will take on all your event/party needs. With a full-range of menu options and highly-trained staff, Popolo's has got you covered for your next event. read more

I won't go into the details of why we unfortunately we not able to try their food (the problem was on my end with a family emergency) I can definitely say that this company is run by very generous and caring people. We hope to have another opportunity to use them, and I would recommend them for their awesome business practices. read more

I LOVE this place! Leo, the owner, is like the coolest guy I know! He's partially retired (the restaurant is his hobby) My friend and I used to go every Friday during our 3rd year of college and would get a whole chicken with sides. Leo would give us free breads that he was going to get rid of. (Don't worry it's sanitary. He had to get rid of them on friday nights because he didn't open up during weekends then). He would sometimes try a new menu, or have a special item and would give us free samples to try. The chicken is just awesome! Very succulent and full of flavor! It's the best rotisserie chicken I've had yet! //Sides// Try the Farfalle salad. It's farfalle pasta lightly drizzled with olive oil, and mixed with capers, shredded parmigiana cheese. All of his sides are just great! //Sandwiches// Everyday of the week is a different chicken sandwich. For example, (these are not the actual days the sandwiches are there) Monday would be Curry Chicken Sandwich, then Tuesday would be Wardolf Chicken Sandwich and so on. He also has regular sandwiches he makes everyday, which are all great. But my favorite still is the Curry Chicken Sandwich. This restaurant is a great example of a local store in San Luis Obispo. Generous and kind owner who is fun to talk to. I mentioned to him one time as I was ordering, that I love the Curry Chicken Sandwich, and he mentions he had it that day and asked if I wanted it. I said of course, and he ended up giving me the Curry Chicken no charge. This is a place that definetely makes you feel welcome and the food is also great. Every time I stop by San Luis Obispo, I stop by to say hi to Leo and also get lunch. read more

I was married out of town and had to rely on email communication to plan for my wedding. Popolo Catering and Monica were extremely responsive and made planning so easy. The food was delicious and I felt it was a true bargain for what was provided. I would highly recommend the catering services! They truly cater to your every need!! read more

Amazing rotisserie chicken! Found this gem while driving up 101 to SF. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Highly recommend the polenta casserole, layered with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese and baked in marinara. The chicken is roasted over aged oak in an open rotisserie and seasoned with savory Tuscan spices. Gracious owner. Wish I lived closer.... read more

Leon and Abby were great to work with. They customized a menu to our liking and budget. On the day of our wedding, it was insanely hot, and their staff was exceptionally nice and helpful despite being in black uniforms. They were kind enough to present us with fully loaded plates (Not that there's a ton of time to scarf food down) first and also packed away some food for us for afterwards. We also paid for them to do clean up afterwards and they did a great job. My only suggestion is to hire a different bartender if you're doing cocktails. The gal supplied to us didn't really know cocktails well and we had an uncle who popped in to help. read more

I love this place! Had lunch here for the second time today and it's still really awesome. It's a small restaurant next to the Oriental Market. Somewhere where you wouldn't really think to look unless you hear of it from someone. They give you a really great meal for a good price! Their chicken is really moist and juicy and they have quite a few choices for sides. Potatoes, pasta salads, and different types of salads. I had a quarter chicken and a raspberry salad. They also have daily sandwich specials. I tried my friend's Chicken Waldorf Salad sandwich and it was amazing! The bread that it was on was really really yummy. Too bad I can't remember the name of it.. As I said, it's a small restaurant with some indoor and outdoor seating. Not really quite the place for big groups but really nice for lunch with a few special friends. :] read more

Popolo is amazing! Food at a wedding is extremely important and Popolo didn't disappoint! From the beginning they were wonderful to work with. They are very prompt when responding to emails and so helpful with any questions you may have. They were one of the only places that actually show their prices online which I really appreciated. They offer very affordable price options and make delicious food! We served tri tip, roast chicken, au gratin potatoes and a strawberry summer salad (I highly recommend it all!) We received nothing but praise and compliments from all our guest about how good the food was! I would highly recommend them! read more

Popolo catered our wedding at the Kaleidoscope Inn back in August and they did an AMAZING job. Delicious Tri-tip, cheesy potatoes, salad and grilled veggies, along with some great appetizers! Illiana and Leon were great to work with and were upfront, helpful and just overall friendly and fun people. Their prices are some of the most reasonable out there, especially with the added bonus of getting their help and advice. They even threw in a cupcake tree for us to use! We are so thankful that we found Popolo's, they really delivered on everything they promised and provided a great group that worked on our big day. After it was all over and we were about to head out, Illiana brought us a ton of leftovers to take with us as snacks and lunch the next day. We definitely would recommended them to anyone getting married in the area or for any other event where you'd want some delicious food. They made us feel comfortable and were extremely helpful with great advice, even with things outside the realm of catering like setup, center pieces and decorating. Thanks guys! read more

Popolo catered our wedding on 09/18. The food was just as good as we remembered it from our tasting (in 2019!). We did plated meal service, and the food was delivered to all the tables quickly. Popolo was easy to communicate with leading up to the wedding day. Would highly recommend Popolo for your wedding, or other catering needs! read more

We would like to thank Iliana and Leon from Popolo. They catered our wedding and it was amazing. Popolo was recommended to us by a friend, it was the best advice we got when planning our wedding. Leon met with us several times before the wedding. We met twice to see the venue, make sure we liked where Leon suggested we set the food. He made this entire process easy and perfect for everyone to get their food quickly and efficiently. We also met for a food tasting, which was just incredibly yummy. Everyone we have talked to after the wedding, remembers how amazing the food was at the wedding. They also mention how polite and professional the servers were to everyone, when serving and picking up at the end of the night. We can not say enough Thanks Yous to Popolo for making our Day extra special and making it run so smoothly concerning the catering. read more

Literally obsessed with everything about Popolo and how amazing they were for our daughter's wedding. Our daughter was married in Santa Barbara - Popolo's entire team that was apart of the wedding were OUTSTANDING. They were happy, smiling, fun and so helpful. The food was incredible and we will be trying to put another event together just so that we can hire Popolo to cater again. This team went above and beyond and deserve all of the appraisal. Thank you! read more

We hired Popolo to cater our wedding and I don't think we could have picked anyone better! We did a tasting with them and the food was amazing, not to mention they have so many options and it's super affordable compared to other caterers in the area. We booked them on the spot and also got our silverware, plates, drinkware, tablecloths, bartenders, drink station, and more from them. We got married during covid and they we're super informative and communicative leading up to the wedding. Their staff is trained to handle food service specifically during the pandemic and they used all of the necessary precautions to make our guests feel safe. I think we were most impressed about their timing and ability to be on schedule. I have been to several weddings where we just waited around forever waiting for food to be served and Popolo immediately had appetizers out after the ceremony and started dinner service 20 minutes early. We got tons of compliments about the quality of the food, and they even put aside plates for my husband and I and put them in the fridge inside the house just incase we didn't get to eat our dinner (which we didn't!) It was nice to be able to have a yummy meal to eat after the wedding was over. They were so great that my aunt actually booked them for Thanksgiving with our extended family as well. I would definitely hire them again! read more

You would think that a catering company that has been in business for 30+ yrs would know how to serve the same authentic great tasting Mexican food we had at the tasting! Great 1st impression during tasting, but not so great NONauthentic Mexican food during actual wedding!! We decided to use Popolo for our wedding last month after having an absolute delicious tasting!!! The owners, Leon & Kat won us over w/their amazing personalities as well- super friendly, very accommodating, & just all around good people. However, heard from plenty of guests that from the apps we chose, the fruit sticks were good, but the caramelized mushroom quiche tarts were very dry! Something you don't want for an August wedding in Paso. During the actual wedding as we were eating, my new husband turned to me & said "what do you think about this food?" I replied "definitely not what we tasted...." He agreed. It was very bland, little to no seasoning used what so ever, & even a couple of Hispanic guests made comments that neither the beans or the tortillas were fully cooked. Another guest told me she was disappointed that it wasn't authentic Mexican food & that tortillas are supposed to be warm, not cold served out of a plastic bag! Leon specifically TOLD us they make tortillas right there on the spot at venue location so they stay warm- clearly that was not the case! Very disappointed & wish we had went w/Órale Taqueria, a little local mom & pop place we tasted 1st :( We will never be recommending Popolo to anyone.... read more

Leon, I would like to take a moment to thank you for the outstanding service you and your staff provided while catering our Commencement Reception this past Saturday here at Cal Poly. We had 1000+ attendees at our reception and everything went beautifully. It was very reassuring to have you there with your positive attitude and attention to detail. If you ever need a reference, please feel free to give them my contact information. read more

PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT! Popolo's food is amazing!! We hired them for our wedding 6/10/17 in Paso Robles and I had several people raving about the food. But more than that, Popolo made the entire process so much easier on us. The whole staff is extremely helpful, and Leon (the owner) is completely down to earth which actually helped make me stay calm. I knew that he understood what we wanted and and the fact that he was so easy to talk to made me confident that everything would be great! And it was! The staff was professional and amazing. One server even came over to us with a tray of appetizers while we were taking photos which I really really appreciated. Then Leon personally served us our meal at the reception so that we could just relax. If you want GREAT food from a professional, helpful staff at a reasonable price you have to go with Popolo! Thank you so much Leon, Kat, Abby, and everyone else! read more