Luke and his staff were amazing. I've been to many weddings, and these were some of the best made cocktails that I've had. They were professional, helpful, and flexible. They accommodated our asks and truly made our wedding special and fun with the drinks! They made everything very easy and very knowledgeable. They made our couples cocktails perfectly. Mine was an old fashioned and I'm picky about them. They made them perfectly and our guests raved about them. Hers was a spicy pineapple margarita, that Luke worked with my wife specifically to make. It might have been even better than my old fashioned, and those are my favorite drinks. We're very well made and not batch made, which made them even better. Would highly recommend and use them again. read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing was fantastic to work with for our wedding. Their team was incredibly helpful throughout the planning process, especially when it came to creating a suggested alcohol list that made ordering simple and stress-free. On the wedding day, the bartenders were professional, friendly, and so much fun. They helped create a great atmosphere, kept guests happy, and added to the overall energy of the celebration. We received so many compliments and are so grateful for their contribution to making our day such a success. read more

We have hired for multiple parties and they always deliver quality service and product. Really fun signature drinks, such a fun staff and Luke is so great to deal with. read more

Smoking Gun Bar staffing was AMAZING! They worked our wedding in April 2026. The bartenders they sent were wonderful and Luke Miller was amazing in coordinating it all. Also, definitely the best bang for your buck in the Ventura County area. Couldn't recommend them enough! read more

We hired Luke and his bartending team for our wedding at the Reptacular Ranch, and they were fantastic in every way. We had a full open bar, and every drink they made was delicious. I personally had both a margarita and an old-fashioned--two very different drinks--and they were expertly crafted. The team could handle anything our guests requested. They also offered a great selection of wine and beer, along with fun garnish options like Tajín and salt for drink rims, which our guests really appreciated. On top of the bar service, Luke and his team added a coffee and hot chocolate station, which was absolutely perfect for our chilly, rainy wedding day. Their hospitality extended to guests who didn't want alcohol as well: plenty of sodas, iced tea, water, and other non-alcoholic choices were available throughout the night. Luke even left extra water behind at the end of the evening so guests could stay hydrated as they wrapped up the celebration -- such a thoughtful touch. With over 100 guests, the entire team remained friendly, professional, and completely on top of everything. They handled the crowd with ease and kept the energy upbeat and welcoming. We loved working with Luke and his team and would happily hire them again. Highly recommend their services for any event! read more

We hired one of Luke's bartenders, David, for a holiday house party. He was super professional, friendly, knew how to organize the bar so well and most importantly, made awesome classic cocktails with speed. He can make anything. Guests raved about the drinks. read more

Smoking Gun-Our wedding bartender was outstanding from start to finish. They handled a packed bar with ease, made consistently great drinks, and were incredibly polite with every guest. We received tons of compliments about them. Absolutely worth every penny. Their communication is on point. Luke is the man. Him & his team did everything to make sure our special day went smoothly. Highly recommend for any occasion!! read more

Incredible bar and staffing service. Smoking Gun's bartenders are always so friendly and make the best drinks. Don't get me started on the smoked pineapple margarita! Their pricing is also very competitive. Whether you need a whole bar setup or just a bartender making drinks at your party, these are the people to call. 10/10 I recommend Luke and his team. read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Bartender - Bartenders Near Me

I would give negative stars if I could. I'm shocked at the good reviews on this page. TLDR: UNPROFESSIONAL. My brother used a bartender from this service for a birthday party and had recommended it to me for my engagement party a week later, based on the reasonable pricing. His party rolled around, and the bartender did not know how to pour drinks and was on her phone the ENTIRE party. It was bad enough that multiple people made comments. After this, I made sure to make a note with the owner (Luke) to request my bartenders to be efficient and more professional. My engagement party came up, and the first bartender showed up in tattered clothing (luckily he changed about 5 minutes before my party started) and the second bartender showed up like he was attending a Halloween party. Thick eyeliner like Jack Sparrow, and a spiked leather harness like what you see in a sex shop window. My fiancé saw it first and told me we might have a problem. I was on my way for my pre party engagement shoot, when I got a call from my brother that it was really bad, and the bartender did not want to change his outfit. I lost 30 mins of my engagement shoot to do damage control. This was not the way I wanted to start my night. He asked if we would rather him leave (great, as if I can come up with another bartender on that short of notice), then he finally changed into a leather jacket. Their attitude the entire night was unprofessional. They did not keep the bar clean- they were collecting used limes in cups on the counter, while we provided a trash can for the bar. We put an extra table with a table cloth to cover the ice chest, it was out in clear view. I gave them a case of water to keep at the bar, and one of them started to lay them out on my cocktail tables. It was just a huge mess all around. Not to mention, they left almost 1 hour before their contracted time. The owner gave me a shopping list for the bar, which was insanely excessive. Recommendation for ice, alcohol, and mixers. I purchased less than half of the recommendation and still ended up with a massive surplus. My guests all drank. I will never recommend this company. When I brought up my concerns to the owner about the demeanor of his staff, he just defended their actions instead of apologizing and providing good customer service. I'm not even asking for my money back, just wanted an apology. I have such a bitter taste in my mouth, and they soured a happy occasion for me. read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Unprofessional attire for an engagement party. - Bartenders Near Me

We hired Luke and his team for our wedding on May 30th. We did their all inclusive package and they provided EVERYTHING. Cups, ice, mixer, alcohol, straws, I literally didn't have to think or worry about a single thing. Our signature drinks were a watermelon marg and their signature Lavender Lemon Drop martini. We've been getting texts all weekend from people specifically saying that the Lavender Lemon drop was one of the highlights of the night. I truly can't thank Smoking Gun and the team enough for the seamless, tasty, beautiful drinks they provided for our wedding! Cannot rave about them enough! read more

Every event has been incredible. The staff is courteous and helpful. Bartenders know how to make so many different drinks along with the signature drinks of the evening.I would certainly recommend them for your next event. read more

This company was professional and on point with their service! I would hire this company for any event... no hassle great attitude.

Luke and the team at Smoking Gun were super easy to work with and adaptable as we were planning our wedding at Whispering Rose Ranch in Solvang, CA. They helped us create specialty cocktails and their spicy pineapple margarita is legit like the other reviewers mention! Both bartenders were friendly and professional. read more

We had a great experience hiring Smoking Gun to staff and bartend at our wedding. They were helpful during the planning process by giving us important things to consider with respect to timelines and amount of staff. They were also able to provide glasses, tubs/ice, and a bar to rent. Lastly, Luke went above and beyond the night of and MC'd for us at our wedding as our previously intended MC fell through. They were an integral part of our special night, and I couldn't recommend them highly enough! read more

Had our wedding with almost 175 guest on our 1.3 acre property and everything went smoother than I ever imagined. Chantal was on the ball from the moment she arrived. We had 4 different food deliveries at different times, the food tent and bar needed to be set up, and she took control right away. All the staff , servers and bar tender were professional and very friendly. She worked great with the DJ and the Photographer and made sure the time line of events stayed on track. Chantal even made sure we had drinks while were taking photos. By the end of the evening you could not tell that we had a party. They packed up the left overs, emptied all the trash and wiped everything down. Both Luke and Chantal's communication were outstanding before, during and after the event. I would call or text them and they would answer right away. Their pricing was very competitive and worth every dollar. they are the go to for your next event read more

We recently hired smoking gun bar tenders and event staff for our wedding and they were great! Luke was easy to coordinate with, responsive, and his pricing is very fair. Would recommend! read more

We had a birthday party for my husband and the best part was the bartender. Travis was amazing! All of the guests were ranting about him and his very good drinks. Such a pleasant, warm, friendly guy. The owner, Luke, was fantastic as well. He was very communicative, responsive and so helpful. He helped me come up with signature drinks and gave me a shopping list so that I was prepared. Definitely feel lucky I was referred to them and will be using them for every event I plan. Thank you Luke and Travis for helping to make my party a huge success! read more

Luke was very responsive to our needs. And when it was time sent us Dale. She was wonderful and knew just what to do. Would even take things from me when I was too busy to do it. Took the coats and served the drinks and when it was time cleaned up very nicely. I can't say enough about her. I will use Smoking Gun Bar Staffing again for Christmas. read more

I hired a bartender semi-last minute for backyard birthday party with family and friends. Luke was quick to correspond with me, and Trevor (the bartender) was friendly and made great, strong drinks! Would hide them again for small and large events. read more

We used Smoking Gun Bar Staffing this past weekend for a reunion-Friendsgiving of sorts. Luke was my contact person as he always is, he sent over Mark to help us out. Mark was awesome to work with, very personable and friendly. Mark was able to make drinks from our bar menu and improvise when we ran low on ingredients. If was very helpful to have Mark/Smoking Gun Bar for the party. Luke, we will be calling you for the next party. Thanks again read more

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This review is a month in the rears and for that i'm regretful because.... Smoking Gun Luke & Chantel are amazing. I have used Smoking gun for various events but only the Bartending side, When I became aware of ALL they offer I took advantage of their services, with my daughters wedding. When meeting with Chantel and Luke we knew we picked the RIGHT team. A week and a half before my daughters backyard wedding my backyard was flooding with 3-4 inches of water from my neighbor for 3 days it was continuous water, as you can image we were unsure if we could/would get the backyard back together in time for the wedding...without Chanel's continuous positivity and encouragement we would have rescheduled. Chantel created a beautiful ambience for the bride & groom and their guests. We will forever be grateful to Chantel and the AMAZING crew that made my daughters day beautiful! I WILL RECOMMEND THIS AMAZING TEAM FOR ANY EVENT!!! Thank you again SMOKING GUY LUKE, CHANTEL AND THE AMAZING TEAM read more

We just hosted a school fund raiser and needed 2 tips certified bartenders due to venue requirements. I am pleased to say working w Luke and his staff has from initial quote, follow up and execution been an absolute pleasure. Luke was professional, followed up with me- asked questions to ensure all our needs were addressed through the entire process. Shane and Erik were the 2 bartenders that handled the event it self. Erik called me the day before - just to ensure we had last minute details handled- and both Erik and Shane showed up timely, handled the entire event with a smile and were professionally dressed and professional in the manner of handling our patrons. Working with event planning and large amount of clients , i have strictly the highest praise to give Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - from quote, booking to pre event staging, execution and follow up. We will absolutely be back for future events.. Luke, Erik and Shane- well done.. Thank you very much. read more

I have used Smoking Gun on two separate occasions now and they are phenomenal and very reasonable in pricing. The first time around, I booked two bartenders and then shortly before my party, my servers who I booked with another company had canceled days before my event. I was stressed and I called Luke and he immediately said he can help and get me servers for our party too. They all arrived timely and were great. The bartenders can bring ice for your event too which is great if you don't want to bother. The second time around was a smaller party and we only hired one bartender and he was superb. He started bringing my family and some other guests drinks whenever he noticed we were running low. He knew exactly what people were drinking and would come with a new fresh drink. He came equipped with all the supplies necessary and was highly experienced and professional. Smoking Gun is great for both bigger parties (which I used 2 bartenders and 3 servers) or a small at home party (with one bartender only). I definitely recommend them for any sized event and would not hesitate in booking them again! read more

So easy to work with and loved by my guests! From the ease of planning to the complete set-up and clean-up by our bartender, Nick, it was definitely a stress reliever and total treat! Our guests were entertained and loved the great concoctions. Unfortunately, the smoke machine for the smoking drink broke on the way to our party, so we didn't get to enjoy that, but Nick had some on-the-fly recipes up his sleeve that were really delicious. Absolutely great company!! read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Bar set up - Bartenders Near Me

Attended a party and Shane was bartending. Great attitude and really knew what he was doing. Would hire them for our next event.

While my original wedding was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID- Luke's incredible service up until the day I had to cancel is well worth mentioning. Luke came highly recommended by my wedding planner, and it's clear as to why - he was an absolute pleasure to work with, and could not have been more helpful. I'd never planned an event of this scale and had no idea what we'd need to keep a well stocked bar for our guests, but after my first conversation with Luke I felt 100% less stressed. He had an estimate sent over within the day, accommodated special requests with no worries, and made himself constantly available for my many followup questions. Through rescheduling and bumps in the road due to COVID, he has been incredibly understanding and flexible - which isn't always the case, especially after such a difficult year for everyone in the industry. He and his team are the real deal, and an amazing example of customer service and honest business. I would work with him again in a heartbeat! read more

Exceptional service, trained bartenders who make the right drinks for our guests I have used them several times and I highly recommend them.

The person I spoke with was very helpful and really made it for an easy conversation. The price was reasonable and the staff was great. I would book with them again. read more

This review is long overdue, I have been working with Smoking Gun for quite sometime now, they are my go to place for bar services. If you're considering booking a bar service for your next event you need to hire Smoking Gun, they're affordable, reliable, and very professional. They are so incredible and amazing, the owner Luke has been able to fulfill very last minute requests for me without any hesitation. Just yesterday I called him wanting to book a bartender for an event I had happening on the same day, I called him 3hrs before my event, hoping and praying he would be available and sure enough he came through, our bartender was even early he arrived 15 minutes before his start time. I can't say enough good things about Smoking Gun, other than you must absolutely hire them for your next event, trust me you won't regret it. read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Luke, owner of Smoking Gun - Bartenders Near Me

We hired Smoking gun bar staffing for our wedding. Spoke with Luke who was able to advise us and walk us step by step through everything we'd need to make sure his staff could do their job and make sure our event would be a success. The staff they sent over to tend bar was super friendly and professional. Suffice to say our wedding reception was a blast and smoking gun and their staff was a huge part of that. If I could give more stars I would. 10/10 would recommend smoking gun bar staffing. read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Bartenders Near Me

Luke handled the bartending at our wedding a few months ago, and absolutely knocked it out of the park. We had some specific cocktails we wanted to serve and he worked with us to tailor make the drink menu, and supplied all of the amenities to go along with it. He worked within our budget and was friendly along the way. On the day, he worked his tail off, and all of my guests commented on how on top of things he was! I can't recommend his services more! read more

Luke and his staff did such a great job with everything at my wedding in November 2022. Luke was easy to work with, responsive and made planning super easy. Not to mention how delicious all the drinks were! All out guests still come to us and say how great the service and bar was.. Thank you again for making our day absolutely perfect! Can't wait to have them at our next event/party. read more

The point of contact for this company is Luke, but he and his staff were wonderful. I could reach Luke whenever and could expect a response so quickly. Luke also accommodated all my requests and we had to go back and forth on the cost of everything but it all worked out. His staff on their day off were exceptional. If there were any problems, I was not aware of them at all. They went above and beyond and had a great attitude. I would absolutely hire them again for any big events. read more

Like and his team at Smoking Gun Bar Staffing kept my guests happy with their service. In over 100 degree weather, they helped come up with solutions to ensure guests were comfortable and well hydrated. It worked! My guests were all impressed with the waitstaff and bartender Luke provided and it was one less thing I had to worry about. I will post some pictures soon but job well done and I would definitely hire again! read more

We had to cancel our wedding due to COVID-19. So why am I writing this review for Smoking Gun Bar Staffing? Because although we didn't get the bartending service itself, we can attest to the business owner Luke's excellent customer service. We hired Smoking Gun because we had asked our venue which bartending service they most recommend, and the first name they mentioned was Smoking Gun Bar Staffing. We contacted Luke, and he was super responsive and friendly, and we just got a good vibe from him, loved his reasonable prices, and chose him immediately. Throughout the months (back when we actually thought we would have a wedding), I would shoot him emails with a series of questions, and he would always respond in a timely manner and answer all my questions. He was also super chill, offering options without pushing, and just down to accommodate whatever we needed: Need xx servers? No problem. Want wine glasses but not beer glasses? No problem. Oh wait, you changed your mind on that? OK, pencil that in. Then came the pandemic, which wreaked havoc to our plans. I had to let Luke know that we're canceling the event, and he was just so kind and understanding and offered a refund. That hasn't been the case with some of our vendors, so we were beyond touched and grateful! We know businesses in the event and wedding industry are hurting bad right now, and for someone to prioritize his customers despite his own losses? That's A+ customer service and business practice, right there. read more

Luke and his team provided the bar package and bartending services at our wedding last month and they were awesome! Their bar packages were straightforward and the planning process was easy- just one phone call with Luke and we were all set, including customized his/hers cocktails. Would highly recommend them for any of your special events!! read more

We've never hired a bartender for a house party but this was by far one of the best decisions we could've made! Luke made the entire process easy and affordable. The bartender, Shane, was SO professional. He cleaned up the tables, took, empty cups, walked around and refilled peoples drinks without being asked to do so and he made it his job to make sure I (the hostess, running around like a chicken without a head) had a drink at all times. He also made THE BEST mixed drinks with the garnishes, mixers and alcohol we gave him. Will be hiring this company for EVERY party we have!! read more

We had an amazing party thanks to Bartender David from smoking gun bar staffing. He did an incredible job! He was nice the entire time, helped clean up, always checked on everyone, and mixed amazing drinks! Just wanted to write this review to say thank you, and that I highly recommend this company! Special thanks again to David for taking such great care of us, and going above and beyond read more

For our October 2022 San Clemente wedding, I still cannot believe how lucky we were in partnering with Smoking Gun. First and most importantly, your staff were phenomenal. We received feedback from many guests on how solicitous they were throughout the night, particularly to our family members who are in wheelchairs. They felt very well attended to throughout the event. I think one of your servers even connected with my husband's uncle because they both have family in Mexico. It was clear that your staff are no strangers to weddings or large events and were kind enough to connect with guests where they could. They worked well with all of the other vendors and our wedding coordinator Mikii in particular. We also had the pleasant surprise that your lead server would end up being a classmate and colleague of my husband's! "I've known Dillon for close to five years, and it was such an unexpected joy to learn he was going to be there. He put us at ease immediately and was incredibly consistent in his service, enthusiasm, and willingness to go above and beyond for the evening. He directed staff, engaged with guests, and offered suggestions for how to make the event go smoothly. If we ever had the need for Smoking Gun to staff another event, I would definitely request yours and his service again." - Nathan Our guests loved the lawn games, we had more than enough alcohol (which they will let you purchase yourself to save money or buy from them for convenience), and set-up/clean-up went very smoothly. I had prepared binders with layouts/to-do lists for set-up and clean-up but those only go so far depending on the kind of team you hire. And you hired a great team. The day could not have gone so well without their support and partnership. From setting tables, arranging water/lemonade stands, keeping water goblets/pitchers/wineglasses full, to creating a beautiful reception, your staff were superb. Luke the owner is excellent. Just like all of these vendors, he was patient with this bride and groom during the intense wedding planning months; even last minute changes were no issue for him. I loved that he gave so many options outside of bartending/event staff like those lawn games, a wedding coordinator, photography booth, and other fun add-ons. Luke is running a great business and if we ever need any kind of special event again, I know exactly who we will turn to. Thank you for making our wedding day wonderful! read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - They followed our table layout perfectly! - Bartenders Near Me

Shane is an excellent bartender. He went above and beyond to make sure everyone's cups were full. Definitely request Shane for your next event. You will not be disappointed! read more

Smoking Gun Bar Staffing - Shane is the best bartender! Try his smoked margarita!!! - Bartenders Near Me