Last night I went to one of their catered events. The food was excellent! The choices were very good and seasoned perfectly. Mashed potatoes were creamy along with green beans that were cooked just right. Shrimp and grits, pulled pork and chicken tenders were all great choices. The staff was very attentive and focused on excellent service. All in all, Southern Way ranks at the top of my list. read more

Great service and attention! The whole team are considerate and helpful, and really helped my event succeed!

I genuinely try to refrain from leaving bad reviews, especially from locally owned businesses. But after some thought, I want to at least make people aware of our experience because typically events that are big enough to require catering are pretty stressful, and my hope is that this will at least give fair warning to others who may consider using this company. And if you don't want to read a long review, I'll save you the time and say, if you aren't planning on an extravagant event, don't waste your time with this catering company because their level of professionalism says loud and clear that they are not interested in your business. When my daughter was first engaged, one of the only things the groom requested was for the reception to be catered by Southern Way which is why I stuck it out with them for as long as I did. and initially, after perusing the website which was very professional and well organized we were pretty excited to see what they could do for us because the food looked amazing! The first time I called, I got their voicemail which was no big deal, and in my eyes a good sign because a busy business is a successful business. So I left a detailed message and waited for a return call. After a few days when I didn't receive a call back, I gave them the benefit of the doubt because it was May and I knew it was busy season for weddings. Long story short, I ended up leaving four messages before I got my first call back from anyone and when I finally did, it was just to get my information to pass on to the coordinator to whom we were assigned. The coordinator didn't reach out to us for our initial consultation until almost a week later. Her reception towards us throughout the entire process was cool and dismissive at best, but more often she was just outright rude, and condescending. She rarely returned our calls and was just honestly unprofessional and lacking in customer service skills in every way. As for our experience otherwise, I haven't had a need to make many large catering orders, but I tried to come prepared and gave her a clear, concise overview of our needs, budget, and menu goals. I also did some research on how much to expect per person for the type of menu we were looking for and while it was on the lower average end of a typical budget, I don't think it was unrealistic for the menu we requested. I told her at our initial consultation that we wanted heavy hors d'oeuvres that were suitable for an outdoor wedding at the end of July. She suggested that for the same price per person, we could probably serve a meal. We were open to suggestions, but I let her know that the main request from the bride was that she emphatically didn't want barbecue of any kind and was leaning more towards charcuterie, fruit, and maybe some mediterranean inspired options. So, we were pretty disappointed upon receipt of the first menu proposal to see it was for a barbecue and mac and cheese dinner. WTH!? This turned out to be the type of experience she provided throughout the entire time we worked with her. In the end, after wasting almost 2 months trying to work with this company, we moved on, at our wedding planner's recommendation, to their sister company Capital City Catering, who gave us an entirely different and MUCH better experience. My recommendation, unless you plan on an extravagant event, don't waste your time with Southern Way because they have made it clear they aren't interested. read more

Southern Way is a top notch catering company! Always great food and service! Think of them for your next event or gathering!

Southern Way is where I turn every time I need catering. I first used them ~2004 for a company holiday party and was so impressed with the quality of the food and their set-up that Iive gone back to them again and again. The food is beyond fabulous and I've had only superior service from their staff, chef and management. As a former full-time event planner I've been on both sides of the catering kitchen, using them for professional and personal events. Their staff are well trained to handle all types of events, large and small-- every event and catering detail is addressed. I've never experienced an event where they didn't give 110%. read more

Southern Way catered my daughter's wedding. The food was being placed more than an hour before the wedding started. The pretzels were cold and hard. The hamburger sliders were cold. The raw fries were cold. Basically things that were supposed to be hot were cold and things that were supposed to be cold were hot. This was a very disappointing situation for the money invested! With only one other review in the last year I hope this review carries some weight! read more

Wow! Had Southern Way cater a small party for my son's graduation from USC. They were absolutely amazing. The food was outstanding and the staff was equally professional, friendly and attentive. Can't say enough good things. Amanda who helped guide us through the planning was also fantastic. Would most definitely use them again. read more

We worked with Southern Way to handle my only daughter's wedding. I wish all business relationships were as easy and professionally managed as this one. I was referred to SW via my brother's daughter's wedding experience with them which was exceptional. The consulting was valuable, helpful and made decisions easy. Our unique and specific requests were delivered above expectations. The service before, during and after was superior. Now the food. Being father of the bride, my wife and I were quite busy all evening and had little time to eat. Every other conversation we had with our guests started with a raving and positive compliment regarding the food. The presentation was perfect, the delivery to our guests was on point. If you're wondering, did we ever eat? The team that worked our event knew what it was like to be the host. Every time I turned around the manager was there to provide food and drink for my wife and me. They made sure to have food ready for the bride and groom. And made sure they ate before the party. Bartending was excellent. Courteous, professional and fast. Bottom line is this. SW delivered as promised and exceeded expectations in EVERY category. It is with pleasure and from personal experience that I recommend them. read more

We ordered Thanksgiving dinner from Southern Way and picked it up the day before. All I had to do is heat and serve. The staff was so helpful and responsive. The food was delicious. Everything tasted homemade. Everyone at the table raved about the food. They provided everything down to the pie cutters. Prices were as expected and I could not have fixed everything I ordered for less than what they charged. I just didn't have to do all the shopping and the cooking. Great time saver and very nice folks to do business with. Now to plan Christmas lunch with them! read more

I a world where responsive communication and a quality product are hard to find, Southern Way nails it. SW recently catered an anniversary party for me and they were excellent to work with from first inquiry to eating the delicious food. Not living in Columbia, I had to take a risk and hire a caterer that I had no experience with. SW responded to me quickly and worked with me on the right menu for a small gathering (10 people). They were so kind in accommodating my need for them to be discreet after arrival, as it was a surprise party, and the food... delicious. Everyone raved about it all evening. It made me feel good as the host and I can for certain recommend SW. I have high expectations that are usually not met by most businesses. SW exceeded them. read more

I cannot even receive a return phone call to get a quote on a wedding reception. Spoke to two live bodies and neither message was returned as communicated. read more

They did a fantastic job catering my daughter's wedding. We received so many compliments! The food was great. They were very professional and knowledgeable. Would highly recommend!! read more

Thank you Southern Way for making my daughter's wedding such a success!! Lakyn was our go to person for The Farm at Ridgeway and how convenient and lucky were we to also have her for our menu... The food was excellent and the service was spot on!!! We had a beautiful day with amazing food served as stations so everyone could eat a little, dance, drink, go back and eat and sample all the 'southern themed foods' we chose.... Everyone raved about the presentation, the amount of food and the servers!! I want to recognize also the to bartenders we had (I wish I wrote their names down) but Lakyn please tell them they did an outstanding job!! Also out of all the servers, I want to acknowledge one special server 'Emily' who went beyond and made sure the bride and groom were taken care of and of course us at the end of the night... but all during she was amazing ... The food, the price, the staff and especially Lakyn 'thank you !! you made our experience so pleasant and the wedding day perfect and memorable read more

I have not experienced their food yet, and doubt if we ever use them. The reason for my post is to give a heads up to anyone thinking about using their service. Please make sure your dates are secure. We had to cancel 10 months in advance and lost the entire deposit. They are more than happy to give you your deposit in food, so we are giving the the food to a charily because we are unable to consume $2K in food. Hope this helps with your choice of Caterers. read more

They catered a company event I attended in mid May 2011. Food was great. That being said, the reason I am giving them a below average score is because, for their price, they are on par food-wise with other price-comparable caterers (i.e. average quality for their price range), but their service was horrible, which knocked them down to "poor." The two women working the bar were slow, they made nasty faces and rolled their eyes when some of my coworkers made complicated or massive drinks orders (like shots all around, which apparently took up too much counter space and deserved an eye-roll). They also started closing our bar at 10:30 PM, when the party wasn't supposed to end until 12. Apparently, it takes them 1.5 hours to clean up, and when you sign a contract with them for 5 hours, you get 3.5 hours of service and 1.5 hours to stare longingly at the Bud and vodka as it's packed away into a cooler. Anyway, it's a lot of semantics and contract mumbo jumbo, but they were just plain nasty about it and treated a lot of us like children when we were being perfectly civil (the level of inebriation was certainly too low to be closing the open bar). Our party planners were also very specific in stating that we would be "partying" until midnight, so that would mean to most reasonable caterers that you plan to work until midnight, give a quote for 5 full hours of service and then maybe your standard 1.5 hours of clean up, and try to avoid any miscommunication. They did not clearly state this policy knowing we would be expecting a party (with food, drinks, and everything) until midnight. You should be polite and know how to smile, no matter how annoyed you are, if you work in the service industry, especially when your patrons are being perfectly civil. I wouldn't recommend them. Go with Capital City Catering instead...their brisket sandwiches and shrimp and grits are WAY better anyway, and they're just NICE people read more