First, let me just say, I wanted to write my 5-star (10-star?) Yelp review IMMEDIATELY after my wedding, but had to wait so I could include photography of the absolutely amazing spread created & served by the Swartz Catering team (seeing is believing right?) We were referred to Swartz Catering by our venue: The Pierce House in Lincoln. After my first phone call with Sue Shapiro, who runs operations, I booked them -- she actually kept asking if I was sure I wanted to lock it in before even having a tasting -- and I was sure. As much as possible, they use local, seasonal and organic food. That was one of my biggest criteria in booking a caterer and before I even had to ask, they explained that was their approach to all the food served. Swoon. After that, I had a bit of a non-traditional request: I wanted fried chicken served at my wedding. And not just any fried chicken: I wanted Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Fried Chicken. No problem. Not only did they make it better than Keller's chicken (I swear, it's true) they also made killer suggestions on other dishes that would pair well with fried chicken in summer. We had lemon beurre blanc salmon, fresh pesto orzo salad with heirloom tomatoes, an array of roasted, seasonal organic vegetables & a green salad with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. This doesn't even include the unbelievable apps (mini lobster rolls!) & desserts (frozen chocolate hazelnut mousse!) I had multiple people come up to me during & after the wedding saying not only was it the best food they ever had at a wedding, but it may have been the best food they ever had period. And I'm not one to argue -- I completely agree. More than the food is Sue & Howard. Sue handled everything from logistics to sourcing the exact blue striped napkins and cream brocade tablecloths to the gold rimmed plates that I wanted. She also was just the salve I needed when wedding day stress (cough: parents) started to get to me. Did I mention that Sue also oversaw our liquor vendor & noted when we were running out of a particular favorite liquor of my husband's (despite ordering a case of it, whoops) she called the liquor store DURING the wedding to have them send over more so we wouldn't run out -- we had no idea until the next day! Not only do you want Howard and his team cooking & meticulously serving absolutely incredible food at your special event, but you want someone as professional, kind and organized as Sue managing it. I hope one day to have another special event that I'm able to work with them again -- they were a massive part in making my wedding the absolute best day of my life. read more

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Howard and Sue are a dream team when it comes to making your dream wedding come to reality. Every bride has their own vision, and one of my visions was endless food with plenty of options...and that's EXACTLY what I received. I was referred to Swartz Catering through our venue. It was so important to me that the caterer we used had experience at our venue as it was a little quirky and requires a lot of specific setup. During our initial meeting, Howard presented me with a menu of options...and after looking through it and not being able to answer his initial questions, he asked me..."What is it that you are picturing?" I rambled a bit about what I was picturing, stations, endless food, grab and go bites, etc...and then all of a sudden we were creating this perfect menu together. Some items were from his menu, and others he was able to put together based on what I wanted. How cool is that?! The staff of servers and bartenders were also responsible for setting up everything at the wedding. They did an amazing job. It was this team that really tied our whole wedding together. Before the wedding, Sue had called me to work out a few details and make sure that they understood my vision. I appreciate the attentiveness to detail! During the wedding, there were so many passed apps, the stations were perfect, and the guests wouldn't stop gushing at how amazing everything tasted. I also appreciated how they were on top of making sure my husband and I ate and had everything we needed. I cannot say enough great things about Swartz Catering. Highly recommended!! read more

If Yelp had more than 5 stars possible, I'd give them. Working with Swartz for our wedding was, we agree, possibly the single best choice my husband and I made. (Other than the getting married bit. That was pretty good, too.) General Manager Sue Shapiro: THANK YOU. From the initial consultation, to tasting, to walk through, to panicky silly questions, to day-of, Sue was the consummate professional and a pure pleasure to work with. Food: At the tasting, my fiance and I said to each other, "Well, if it's even half this good the day of--when it has to be produced for 130 people simultaneously, with an awkward kitchen situation, over multiple floors of event space, then we'll be happy." It was, and I do not exaggerate, even *better* the day of. Is it usual for your wedding guests to approach you just to compliment you on your caterer? We did passed hors d'ouevres and a seated dinner and every item was cooked to perfection (including lamb done medium), and delicious. We and most of our friends are Cambervillian food snobs and Swartz hit it out of the park. Plus, everything was beautifully plated. My maid of honor, who made all the desserts, also loved working with them, and they did a beautiful job laying out the dessert buffet. (Side note: our also-wonderful beverage provider, Gordon's Fine Wines & Liquors, raved to us about Howard--chef/owner--when we mentioned we were working with Swartz.) (Wait, other side note: My mother, who works at Harvard, was so impressed earlier this year with the food at a function that she actually tracked down the caterer and found out it was Swartz. We had already booked them, but what a nice surprise!) Service: Other than the above commendation, there's the day of to mention. A venue staff member (at the Charles River Museum of Industry) approached me at one point and said, "Hey, not to stress you out--it's all taken care of--but earlier today pretty much everything that could have gone wrong went wrong with the rental delivery and building repair work. Disaster. Your caterer? Fixed it." They couldn't rave enough about the way the Swartz team had pulled together, dealt with a terrible situation, and simply made it work. I would NEVER have known if the venue guy hadn't said something. To us, everything felt seamless, and there was never so much as a hiccup in timing or service the entire 7 hour event. (Sue also praised the museum staff for their part in fixing the problems.) Also--they did a fabulous job of making sure my husband and I were fed the entire night. So attentive. This review might slightly resemble an incoherent love note, but I'm cool with that. read more

Swartz is phenomenal, and booking them as my caterer was one of the best decisions I made for my wedding. Sue Shapiro and Howard are both fantastic. Complete professionals, easy to work with. They were so organized that they forced me (a very organized person) to get organized with my other vendors - they were immensely helpful. The day was run efficiently and flawlessly by them, and everyone involved, from the managers to the servers, were very friendly to my guests. I requested an atypical menu and they sure delivered. Even our biggest critics said that all the food was delicious. Several of my other vendors disappointed, made false promises, or did something else entirely from what we talked about, but Swartz gave us exactly what they promised. Just extremely competent and reliable. I highly recommend them to anyone. read more

Impeccable attention to detail; calm under pressure; great suggestions and recommendations on menu, other vendors, decor; excellent customer service; and delicious food! We used Swartz Catering for our wedding in 2001 and for a 10th anniversary party in 2011. They did an amazing job both times and were a pleasure to work with. I'm definitely planning another occasion just so we can have that incredible gluten free chocolate cake again! Did a great job accommodating our guests dietary choices and so much more. read more

We expect a high quality of service from our vendors/caterers and Swartz Catering exceeded our expectations. From the first walk through Sue had an eye for details and logistics, which we found to be helpful in creating our event. Her experience in the food/catering industry became clear when she was about to cater to our dietary needs while still providing a creative menu that pleased all attendees of our symposium. During the day of the event The Swartz team was scheduled to come in while the morning/afternoon caterer was packing up. They did a tremendous job at working with/around the other catering company so flawlessly that it was not until we walked into the kitchen that we were aware that they had already set up and began prepping food. Her staff was efficient and well organized which was important because the turnover time from the breakdown of lunch to the reception was barely 2 hours. By the time the symposium was over and our reception was beginning all of her servers and bartenders were in place and ready for the masses. Even after making a last minute change the day off, her team was able to adapt and provide excellent service. In total, we had 250 hungry attendees and we can say with confidence that not one of them left our event hungry or dissatisfied. The Swartz Catering Company provided us with great service, a friendly/efficient staff, and a final product that we were proud to serve our guests. Five stars! Great Work! read more

Look no further for your wedding caterer! Swartz did such a fabulous job for our May wedding. Howard and Sue were gracious, accommodating, creative, kind, and beyond professional. They helped us at every step of our planning process, including helping us craft our menu and hosting us for a divine and jaw-dropping tasting-- even including the live crepe station! Our wedding reception was carefree for us and fabulous for our guests, largely thanks to Swartz's amazing team of professionals. My family has loved Swartz for years. Thank you for making our day the dream it was! read more

Swartz catered our 2013 wedding out at the Stonehurst estate in Waltham. I cannot recommend them highly enough. They were knowledgable about the venue and all of the ins and outs of planning a wedding. They were helpful in choosing place settings, colors (that would look good at Stonehurst on an autumn afternoon), and the menu. Their advice was invaluable since we were wedding newbies, as I'm sure most people are. The food was served in "stations", so our guests went to various rooms and were served buffet-style - sandwiches, crepes, fish, meat, desserts, coffee. Everything was absolutely wonderful. Swartz was a dream to work with. read more

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We use Swartz Catering regularly for corporate functions, and they always deliver a great event. Sue is a pleasure to work with, both in the planning process and at the events, and the staff is always top-notch. Their food is consistently delicious (to the point where I have to pace myself during the appetizers, or I won't have room for dinner) and well-presented. Swartz delivers the complete package: thoughtful planning, great food, professional staff, and beautiful presentation - all of which makes it very easy to plan a successful event. read more

We used Swartz catering for our wedding and they were amazing to work with - Sue Shapiro was professional, honest and very prompt with all of her responses. Sue also gave an excellent timeline for the wedding and made sure that the entire event ran according to schedule. The food was great and I received so many compliments on the appetizers! I would use and recommend Swartz catering for any and all events. They are excellent and worth every penny! Thank you Swartz catering for being so fabulous to work with. read more

We hired Swartz to handle the catering for my daughter's wedding at the Lyman Estate in Waltham. Food, presentation and service were superb. No surprises, no last minute hitches. Truly exceptional! read more

Swartz catered my daughter's wedding on 5/30/10, and they were fantastic! We got their name from a number of venues, all of whom commented on Swartz's excellent staff. We tried food from two other caterers (including one I used for some other events), and hands down, their food and presentation were the best. Owner/Chef Howard Swartz is great to work with and has a real "take charge" attitude throughout the planning process. His partner Susan Shapiro ensures that the event itself run smoothly, assisted by a competent and pleasant staff. read more

Everything everyone else has said here is on the money. I'm writing this having just enjoyed some of the leftovers from my daughter's bat mitzvah which Swartz catered. From a somewhat complicated list of dietary restrictions, Howard crafted a beautiful menu that wowed kids and adults alike. I've never seen such hushed reverance as each new morsel was sampled. Great food, great staff, great everything. People could not stop talking about it! Highly recommended. read more

I've eaten meals catered by Swartz Catering for years. They are major caterers to high level events at Harvard Medical School and have a stellar reputation for quality, innovation and flexibility. Perhaps not the cheapest caterer in town but you can trust that the food will be interesting, excellent and handled by professional wait staff. read more

We used Swartz catering for our daughter's recent wedding Sue Shapiro was incredible, at times serving as our wedding planner! She was patient, thorough, and had terrific suggestions. She helped us right through the day. The food, including the wonderful appetizers, was excellent, many of our guests said it was the best wedding food they had ever tasted. And then, to our surprise, Swartz staff got all of our gear ready for us to take home, making a compact pile and helping us carry it out to the cars. That was an enormous plus, at the end of a long day and night, something our previous caterers had not done, and left us with a great feeling. We were delighted with them and recommend Swartz catering highly. read more

Swartz catered the weddings of 2 friends of mine. They were both excellent. When we were looking for caterers for our vegaquarian/pescatarian brunch wedding, we looked at Swartz and a few others. Swartz quickly rose to the top because they just 'got' how to do a non-meat wedding. Other places were either entirely confused about how to do something without meat, or they proposed the very typical vegetable lasagna and butternut squash ravioli (both are kind of jokes among vegetarians). But Sue put together a very on-point menu that fit our budget and that would also not make people wonder 'where's the meat?' She then put together a menu for us to taste that was outstanding and a really fun experience to boot, and very professionally done. (Meanwhile, other places gave us a hard time about doing a sampling.) She even incorporated vegan options. She is a piece of work and exactly what you want in a caterer. Not a hair is out of place, not one email goes unanswered, not one detail gets ignored. She's 120% professional, and she's been doing this for decades so she thought of things for our wedding that we never would have thought of. Our wedding was so much better because of her stamp. On the day of, it rained, but there was the catering staff, shuttling food under umbrellas into the tent despite what amounted to a true tempest, without missing a beat. Many guests arrived early, and the caterers started their service to match the timing of the guests. The staff I interacted with were all unfailingly pleasant, serving every whim with a smile, including my last-minute request for water before I walked down the aisle. Sue also engineered it so that even though there were food stations, the lines were kept to a minimum. So many people remarked on how good the food was. Some guests even asked for the recipes for some of the items. And we were sent home with doggie bags from the wedding, which was great since we were able to relive our wedding for a few days afterward, without visiting the grocery store. OUTSTANDING job. Simply outstanding. read more