Has anyone known a caterer to charge more for a sit-down meal than for a buffet?

Question

Just curious. Every caterer we dealt with in choosing one for our wedding charged exactly the same per person for sit-down and buffet. Sit-down requires more staff, less food, buffet requires less staff, way more food. We went with buffet to get more food.

I guess I'm tired of people thinking that buffets are cheap!

Answer 1

No way...I had a complete sit down Prime Rib dinner with soup, salad, dinner and dessert for less than a 2 meat buffet would have cost me with no soup or dessert! I'd keep looking.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Every caterer I've heard of charges more for a sit down than for a buffet. At a sit down meal, they have to have an exact number of entrees for your guests, and if they don't it's a huge big deal. Most of them have extra food in the back just in case, and it's food you pay for. Plus the extra staff. At a buffet they don't have to be as exact, they don't have to plan as hard and they don't have to work as hard. They're not going to run out of food, and if they do they can substitute with whatever is in the kitchen. Also, people eat less when they put the food on the plate themselves.

Answer 3

We found that sit down meals were way more expensive at our daughters wedding.

We had a buffet dinner and had people there to clear the tables and refill drinks etc.

Anybody who has ever priced caterers knows that food, buffet or served isn't cheap.

The nice thing about buffets is that the food is almost always still hot when you start eating it as opposed to served which is usually dry and overcooked tasting by the time it arrives at your table.

Congrats!

Answer 4

Yes. Every sit-down dinner I have ever looked into has cost a bit more than a buffet. I'm sure it depends on who you are dealing with, the region, and the meal itself, but most want to charge and arm and a leg for a plate at a sit-down event and are a bit more reasonable when it comes to a buffet.

Answer 5

Yes you are right. It takes more staffs to serve a sit down dinner compare to a buffet. That is why a sit down dinner costs more. They have to pay those extra staffs to serve the tables. You also need to ask them about the proportion of tables to staffs. Where I work for sit down dinners we have 1 server per 2 tables of 10 (20 people for 1 server). It is good that way because everybody will be eating at the same time.

Answer 6

I've never encountered this. As with most of the other answers, it typically costs a fair bit more for a served meal.
Most people prefer buffets, anyway, and I've never heard anyone think they are 'cheap'. Having a buffet just means you are providing more options for your guests, and you can plan it to be as elegant as you want! By the choices of food and presentation, you can go fairly formal, or casual.

Answer 7

im 19 years old, i'm going to be getting married to my highschool sweetheart in 3 weeks. We went with a buffet because of the price. It was more expensive to have a sit down dinner.

Congrats on your wedding!

Answer 8

Yes, every single caterer I have researched charges more for sit downs than buffets. Every single buffet dinner I have come across has been cheaper.

Answer 9

I apparently have the opposite issue with our caterer...they charge significantly more for the buffet than they do for a sit-down dinner...by $10 - $15 per plate!

Seriously...their cheapest buffet is $29.95 and the most expensive is $36.95. The most expensive seated plate on their menu is $26.95.

Answer 10

It's been my experience that buffets cost less... sit down dinners are generally considered more formal and more expensive... buffets are fine by me though. I'm all for eating more and saving money!