J & L Catering

Love working events, meeting new people and being of good service is valuable to me! Food is Remarkable!

Love J&L Catering! Kyle is outstanding to work with and partnered with us to create an amazing meal for my company's event. She was flexible and accommodating when we had to change some details last minute. When your food makes event planners rave, you know they knocked it out of the park! Kudos J&L!

My wife and I had our wedding reception at Cafe Brauer and we hired J&L as our caterer. We had a great time working with Ted and the team at J&L. Since I am a first generation Indian American and my wife is American, we wanted a catering company that could mix and combine the flavors of both worlds. They provided an extensive list of possible appetizers, entrees, desserts that matched that request when they created our initial proposal.

They showed us a great time at the tasting and Ted was very thorough, noting any adjustments we requested and even coming up with entirely new options based on our ideas. During the planning portion, they were very accommodating to guests' dietary restrictions. And on the actual day of the event, they executed beautifully and people raved about the quality of the food.

I wish I could go back and eat all of the appetizers, entrees, and desserts again! Again, my wife and I would whole heartedly recommend J&L catering and had a wonderful experience with them.

J&L provides excellent services, very professional and understanding. We started our journey pre-COVID. We had a wonderful experience detailing our needs, and J&L (JIM) was super responsive, making suggestions to accommodate what we wanted within our budget for our wedding. And on top of that - the Chef delivered superb food. Guests raved about appetizers and the main course. J&L helped us create some perfect memories.

After three COVID postponements, our anniversary party finally happened, and J&L Catering made it spectacular! From help locating a venue, to recommending a florist, to the wonderful menu and table settings, and with an event staff that pulled out all the stops for us, J&L was with us every step of the way to make our long-awaited celebration the best evening possible.

We could not be happier with Ted and all the staff! J&L catered our wedding 20 years ago, and we have used them over the years. We knew that J&L would make our anniversary party a night to remember. We received so many compliments on the food and setting! Thank you, J&L, for making our evening so special.

Best catering company in Chicago. I hired them for a corporate store opening. Fantastic food and the staff was amazing. I highly recommend their service!

J&L catered our baby shower and I am so happy they did! Kyle worked with us to create a wonderful menu that was perfect for our event. With covid and me being pregnant (high risk), it was of utmost importance that every precaution was taken and that is exactly what J&L did. The food was delicious and presented beautifully. The bartender and staff were very nice to all of our guests. Overall, you get amazing food and wonderful staff at a very reasonable price. Highly recommend!

Buyer beware. all your payments are considered deposits and they won't refund anything! My daughters wedding was cancelled (after 2 reschedules) due to covid and they won't refund anything! I expected to loose the deposit but not all the funds! We had them almost paid in full before the shut down. Yes we were allowed to reschedule but finances and living out of the area now doesn't allow it The only vendor that wasn't understanding during a pandemic And they don't respond to my emails or calls. reached out to my daughter who didn't sign the contract!

We took our time looking for a caterer for our wedding. From the initial inquiry to the final execution, J+L Catering was absolutely the right decision. Jim, our coordinator, went above and beyond to make sure our special day was just that, special. J+L offers a delicious menu, quality rentals and impeccable service. We originally planned for 100 people and ended up with 22 (due to COVID) and J+L was more than accommodating and didn't miss a beat.

On the day of the wedding, everything was flawless. From the cocktail hour, to the reception and the clean-up, the J+L team was polite, respectful of space and professional. The food - we are still talking about it today - was very delicious. We opted for 5 different cocktail hors d'oeuvres and a three course mean (entrees of chicken, salmon, veg and kids).

Everything was executed to perfection - temperatures were appropriate, and taste was flavorful. We will absolutely consider J+L for any additional catering needs in the future.

An elite catering company. Top notch venues, excellent service, great drink selection. Workers are paid and treated well. As a college student, this was frankly the best job I have ever had. Can't recommend enough if you can afford to do business with them

Critical:Professionalism, Quality, Value The only thing that i enjoyed was the dessert, the scones were good and the cake. The beef was dry and the chicken was tough. the chef that works there very unprofessional. She didnt care about the the bride and groom. other then that we chose food for thought.

We were lucky enough to select J&L Catering for our son's "backyard" wedding. Due to the recent Covid health concerns, our son and his wonderful fiance had to cancel 2 dates in 2020 for a large venue (150 people) in Michigan. Instead they asked if we could host a smaller venue in our backyard! Once we contacted Ted and he came by to check out the space and brainstorm we knew we were in excellent hands!

The level of detail in safety measures to reassure our guests was perfect. He helped with how many tables/chairs/where to place to help turn our yard in to a magical place and gave many excellent suggestions such as a bar area with bartender to enhance both guest safety as well as guest fun! And, of course I can't say enough about the variety of mouth watering food options that we were offered. His entire staff was professional and very helpful to allow us to just enjoy this wonderful evening! All in all, I have only high praises for Ted and J&L Catering!

I had your Passover meal last night and it was DELICIOUS! The brisket, tzimmes, potatoes, and chicken chopped liver were amazing! I'm saving the matzo ball soup and dessert for tomorrow; however, my mom raved about the soup. Way to go!

We use J & L Catering for large and small lunches at work. They are super easy to work with, and the food is consistently good. I love the various options they provide for different size events.

We cannot say enough good things about Nit Vyas and J & L catering! Nit and J & L provided not only exquisite food for our daughter's wedding--which was held at our home--but Nit was also helpful at every stage of the planning. Along with Nancy Chase, the extraordinary wedding planner and event florist, he guided us through the process of hosting such a large event in our garden.

He was always available during the months before the wedding to answer questions and offer advice. On the day of the wedding at Nit's suggestion, J &L provided a breakfast buffet which was magically switched to trays of sandwiches and fruit for the wedding party and the many family members and friends who came to help. I would not have been smart enough to think of that!

The hors d'oeuvres and dinner, which we selected from a list of mouth-watering options, were perfect in every way. We received many notes afterwards and they all mentioned the food--that it was delicious and served hot! We asked J & L to help us with a brunch buffet on the following day and that was also just perfect and beautifully displayed. Nit Vyas is a gem and J& L is the caterer we will recommend to everyone!

My husband and I had an amazing experience working with Jim and J&L for our wedding earlier this year! Jim was such a pleasure to work with. He was incredibly helpful, friendly, and flexible, happy to adjust anything based on what we were looking for. Not only that, but Jim went above and beyond what you would perhaps expect from a wedding caterer - for instance, for the tasting, my father ended up not being able to attend last minute, so Jim bagged leftovers that we could bring home at no extra fee, for my father to try.

The food was absolutely DELICIOUS all around, both at the tasting and the wedding itself. Jim would have been happy to help with the ceremony rehearsal too, if we had needed it, and he was very accessible and helpful the day of. My husband loves great food and wanted our wedding to have that - J&L did not disappoint! Many guests complimented us on it. Thank you Jim and the team at J&L for an awesome caterer experience! Would highly recommend!

This is the caterer you want to use for your event (wedding/party/charity dinner). Scott and his team did a fantastic job making our wedding special. We had a lot of requests (aka we are self proclaimed "difficult to work with"), but Scott listened to our requests and met ALL OF THEM. To help us pick a caterer for our wedding, we essentially had a cook off with J&L and two other caterers in the area. J&L won the contest by far.

Everyone at our wedding raved about the food. These guys know how to cook! From us finding J&L, to the day of the event, it was a pleasure working with them. Scott responded to all our questions in under 24hrs. The wedding flowed perfectly. The waitstaff was attentive and all our guests walked away impressed. We highly recommend them.

J&L catered our May, 2017 wedding and served up a near perfect evening my wife and I will never forget. We did our homework, researching nearly a dozen Chicagoland catering outfits, comparing proposals to gauge services, style, food options, and value. We narrowed our search down to two contenders, and J&L absolutely blew away the competition. We were working on a modest budget, but did not want to compromise on food or service.

We didn't! The tasting was a spectacle in and of itself, the diversity of food was impressive and, most importantly, delicious and beautifully presented, , the linens and tableware are good quality, and the staff is excellent and clearly held to a high standard. The real key to our satisfaction with J&L? Their (not so) secret weapon: Jim Bailey, caterer and event planner extraordinaire. Jim is a consummate professional in a tough industry, where perfection is the standard.

I hate to age Jim, but he has years of experience, and it's clear from his effortless approach to his job. He surveyed our tastes and personalities and tailored his plentiful advice to our palettes. He is a joy to spend time with, excellent with parents, opinionated while not bossy, and incredibly responsive. Not a single email went unanswered in a timely fashion, which is a testament to Jim's dedication. Jim went above and beyond to pair down here and there to fit within our budget, without sacrificing the final product.

He is, above all, honest and pragmatic about what can and cannot be done. In short, we were fully confident in Jim's abilities to plan and manage our sizable wedding (planned for 180, got 160), and he did not disappoint. By some miracle, nothing went seriously awry at our wedding (probably because of Jim), but, if it had, we were certain Jim would have taken it in stride, with us none the wiser. We could not recommend Jim Bailey and his team at J&L any more vigorously. Now go and book him before it's too late!

We had the pleasure of working with Morgan and Ted for our wedding and I cannot say enough about how amazing their team is! From the moment we knew they were going to be our caterer, we had a stellar experience. They were extremely responsive with any questions, concerns and suggestions and their food and menu options are so incredible. All of our guests are still raving about the dinner and appetizers--it was magnificent.

We had a blast during our tasting and knew they would exceed our expectations at the wedding, and they did. Everyone always says that you never get a change to eat at your own wedding. Well, not with J&L! My husband and I as well as our parents felt so well taken care of by their team. The servers ensured our drinks were full and appetizers were making it to us throughout the cocktail hour and they made sure we got to sit and eat our full meal during dinner.

It was a dream! Their bartenders and servers were very professional, polite and polished and really added another level of class to an already elegant affair. Morgan and Ted made sure everything was executed perfectly and we cannot thank them enough for making our wedding so special. It would not have been the same without J&L Catering.

Words cannot describe how amazing of an experience we had with J&L, who catered our wedding last month. This was mostly due to our phenomenal event coordinator, Jim Bailey. Where do I even begin? To say that Jim went above and beyond would be a gross understatement. He worked with all of our other vendors to make sure that the entire event was seamless. Jim actually came to our rehearsal the night before and coached everyone on where to stand and how to line up, etc.

On the day of the wedding, he met me at the door of the reception venue with a glass of water, and was constantly checking in with me and my husband throughout the evening. Then, at the end of the event, he bundled up all our gifts and cards, brought them back to our hotel, and left them in our room for us along with a bottle of champagne and some chocolates.

Like I said- above and beyond doesn't even begin to cover it. Jim made the entire wedding planning process almost completely stress-free. He has absolutely amazing attention to detail, great taste, and is really just a true professional. Oh, and the food was delicious! Even our photographers, who certainly have eaten their share of wedding food over the years, remarked how good the food was. Plus, J&L threw in our cake for free as part of their off-season rate package, since our wedding was in February. I wish I could give Jim Bailey and J&L 10 stars. If you are looking for a caterer for any type of event, look no further!

Jim Bailey WAS FANTASTIC! The best coordinator! I miss him already. Without Jim I would not have been able to have hosted the most amazing Bat Mitzvah luncheon for my daughter, her friends and my family. He has impeccable taste, attention to detail, sense of fun and can find good compromises. Several guests told me how AMAZING the food was and how seamless everything was. i trusted him completely and he returned every single one of my never ending emails. Thank you Jim and your entire staff who were a delight to work with this past Saturday. I cannot wait to work with you again.

J&L was actually on the recommended vendor list for the Kenilworth Club. While I would have liked to work with J&L further and experience a tasting with them in planning my wedding, it probably worked out for the best that it didn't happen. The crux of the issue was the communication. It started off better than expected! Evelyn responded to my initial query within a day.

After that, communication dropped off a bit, with email responses after a week, but I understood when she said how nutty January ('14) was. We found a time to talk on the phone, and I thought it slightly imposing that she was trying to influence me to rent chairs outside of the ones available at the KC bc she didn't prefer them. The week after, I got an order confirmation and bill for an event that obviously wasn't mine.

I informed Evelyn of the mistake. It just seemed really disorganized and rookie for a senior event planner. I didn't initiate communication with J&L after that, as I was in the talks with other more organized caterers. Last odd straw was that I got a phone call from Evelyn the month or so after that point, informing me that J&L wouldn't be available on my day because they confirmed another event. Well, it's nice to see that you'll follow through on a communication like that, even though it was assumed by that point J&L wouldn't be involved with my wedding. This caterer was $2000+ more expensive than the other handful or so caterers that I consulted with. Be informed, Yelpers!

Yesterday was my brother's wedding and I have been anxious and excited to write this review. J & L was unbelievable! We cannot thank Jim & his team enough. Every detail was executed to perfection. From the moment we went to the tasting at J & L's offices on Branch street we were impressed with their execution and attention to detail. We even discussed slight changes to the menu with the chef, who was more than happy to accommodate our tastes.

On a wedding day, this is the last thing you are worried about and having Jim to execute for us was amazing! His entire staff was very professional and friendly, everyone went above and beyond to make sure everyone way happy! Thank you so much J & L, I look forward to using you again!

This one star review goes out to Scott and probably not the entirety of J & L Catering. My fiancee and I decided to take our money elsewhere after dealing with his unprofessionalism and inability to provide comprehensive details. Scott was an absolutely atrocious communicator, which was shocking after reading such positive reviews. We received multiple excuses for late responses and the responses we did receive did not contain answers to questions we had asked. We were looking for options, he provided none. Scott was the ultimate disappoint.

These guys are are absolutely outstanding. As an event coordinator, I'm constantly in search of new caterers but time and again, I go to J & L because I know that my event will be flawless. Scott is dynamite to work with and he's helped me with everything from veggie platters for 20 to fully catered parties for 300, and each time he's accommodating, inventive and incredibly professional.

All of the waitstaff and bartenders are friendly, polished and knowledgeable about the food. Working in an upscale event space, this is critical and I count on them for my most important programs. I love, love these guys!

J & L catered my wedding on 5/10/2014 at Loft on Lake and were simply fantastic to work with! Not only that, but the food was incredible! The guests at the wedding are still talking about how delicious everything was and I've heard multiple times that it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding! The entire team put me at ease and were so great to work with. I love J&L Catering!

After my review, Scott immediately got in touch with me and apologized for my perceived lack of communication. He said the emails must have gotten lost in a spam folder. He promptly sent me the necessary quotes and remained in contact until we made a decision. I informed Scott that the prices were too high (we are a non-profit) and he made some changes. After all was said and done, we still did not use J & L for our event due budgeting but my communication with Scott was great after we resolved our communication issues.