Get Quotes Contact Us Sign In
Website
Call
Joanie's Catering When you cook with elaborate knowledge, dietary restrictions are a breeze. We are sensitive about food allergies and creative with alternatives. With gluten already removed from many of our standards, menu planning is easy and our food is enjoyable for all your guests. From traditional to modern, international to down-home, Joanie's uncommonly delicious food is prepared and presented with taste and pride.

Making your Grandma's best recipe to perfection is a challenge quite suited to Chef Joanie and her four decades of experience.
Follow us
Services
Proudly hailing West Seattle as home since 2000, Joanie's Catering has been part of countless corporate and social events all over western Washington. We specialize in offsite catering and love to create memorable occasions wherever you invite us to go. A true Seattle native, Joanie knows where to find all the edible treasures of our region.
We feel honored to be a part of your event. With a Chef like Joanie, menu selection is creative and fun. She is often asked "What can't you do?". After countless events under their belt, Joanie's Catering has the material it takes to create a memorable event anywhere you take us. Whether you are dreaming of a vintage farm wedding or a city bash for 200 of your closest friends, fighting a tight budget or a committee of too many, we have been there and done it.Let us share our wealth of knowledge and love of celebrations with you!
Check out our list of vendors and partners, we've worked with everyone in this list and can confidently recommend them. Contact us for more information. Mount Baker Rowing & Sailing Center: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Reservations/rental_brochure.pdf. Magnusson Park Hangar, Sand Point: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Magnuson/reservations.htm.
Reviews (17)
Write a Review
Lena S.
Oct 17, 2019
I am so happy we chose Joanie's Catering for our September wedding! She was one of the most pleasant vendors to work with and went out of her way to make sure every detail was complete and we were 100% happy every step of the way. Her catering menu is huge so you can choose any type of food for your taste preference. She has everything from traditional dishes like salmon and steak to Spanish tapas, Mediterranean, Italian, and much more.

She can also customize any dish for you to fit your dietary preferences. Her prices are very reasonable and the food is absolutely delicious. On our wedding day, Joanie and her staff were on site on time and ready to serve the guests. All the stations were set up on time and the food was hot and delicious. I had many guests say that they came up for seconds and thirds and there was plenty of food for everyone. Joanie also worked with us and let us bring some of our own dishes to place on the buffet table at no extra charge.

You can really tell she cares about all her clients! I would absolutely use Joanie's catering for any of my future events and would recommend her to anyone. Thank you again Joanie!
Marcia I.
Apr 25, 2019
We hired Joanie to cater for 120 guests at our wedding and we absolutely loved working with her every step of the way! She has a generous menu selection to choose from and offers customization to your preference. Our tasting night was so much fun! The food she prepared was by far the best. Excellent communication throughout the whole process and such a pleasure to work with.

The buffet presentation was beautifully done. We received so many compliments from our guests about the delicious dinner! Thank you, Joanie! You and your team were absolutely fantastic.
Cynthia B.
Oct 09, 2018
Joanie provided a delicious dinner for 20 and service that went far above what I expected. The meal was also 100% dairy-free out of consideration for one sensitive family member. He thanked me multiple times. I hope to have occasion to work with Joanie in the future.
Christy H.
Dec 12, 2017
I have used Joanie's Catering for 3 work events, and a few upcoming events. Joanie is always so nice and follows up on my requests quickly. She has provided thoughtful menus with gluten free and vegan options which is a plus for a diverse crowd! They always arrive on time, which is critical for caterers. I couldn't say enough about how collaborative and easy catering is with Joanie. I will continue to recommend her for events!
Marcy M.
Jan 28, 2017
Look no further for your wedding catering team - Joanie's Catering is the BEST of the BEST. We planned our wedding from Australia, and I am not from Seattle, so we went in a bit blind with all our vendors. We learned our wedding venue had a preferred catering list we were required to choose from, but I found Joanie before we secured the venue.

It turned out Joanie was top of the list for the venue's preferred caterers - and I see why - she's that good! I was a little nervous about finding a caterer who could meet all the dietary restrictions I needed, however Joanie had no problem with this at all! I wanted to make sure all our food was free from gluten, soy, and dairy, and from the first time I emailed Joanie, she sent a sample menu already noting which items were naturally free from said allergens.

When we met with Joanie before the wedding, she sent us off with samples of the menu items we had chosen. TALK ABOUT DELICIOUS. My husband and I shared the samples with his mom and we couldn't even finish the sample portions - they were so filling and SO TASTY! She really knows how to work her flavors! Joanie also let us know right away that she could work miracles with any budget, and she sure did.

Since our wedding was in the afternoon, we had light hors d'oeuvres for cocktail hour and heavier hors d'oeuvres for the reception. Her menu outlined all the different portion sizes clearly and her prices are unbeatable for how everything tastes! Joanie also just feels like family. She's so personable and fun to work with! At the wedding, her team was extremely professional, friendly, and accommodating.

They helped flip the room at the venue from ceremony seating to the reception seating. They helped set the table centerpieces, name places, etc. along with our coordinator and florist. We truly had the best team. I recommend Joanie's for any catering needs, and highly recommend her and her team for your wedding!
Elisabeth P.
Nov 23, 2016
I had the pleasure of meeting Joanie and sampling her delicious food for my wedding. Even though she was very busy with wedding season, she was always great about responding back and found time to meet up with me for a tasting. We met at a coffee shop half way between our towns and had a great conversation. She was so welcoming and inviting and had all of my food nicely packaged and prepared with warming instructions.

I just loved the little details. The fresh herbs sprinkled in, the edible flowers, just things like that. The food was incredible and I honestly couldn't point out a thing I didn't like. Her quote was very reasonable and competitive with other caterers. I wish I could have chosen two to cater our wedding, as we ultimately decided on someone who could also provide all our gf cupcakes for our guests, to simplify our lives. That being said, I'd recommend Joanie in a heartbeat and will absolutely use her for future events. If you're gluten free, she's your lady.
Nora R.
May 20, 2015
Wow! We heard of Joanie's Catering initially from a friend who researched reviews for us, but what sealed the deal and make us choose to use them was that, when I inquired about menus, Joanie's response was to ask me what our personal favorite foods were, and then created a menu which was elegant, offered options for many different kinds of eaters, AND was based around all our favorites!

And then made them absolutely beautifully! It's common knowledge that the bride never gets to eat much at her own wedding, but I ate so much I could barely dance. : In addition, she was easy to work with, dealing comfortably with my hectic schedule and managing things through a combination of working with me, working with my planner, and varied in-person, phone and email communication as necessary for us.

She helped us arrange things like the rentals we needed, even though that wasn't directly her job and she wasn't getting paid anything extra for doing it. Speaking of cost, she was about 2/3 the price of most of the other high-end, elegant caterers I spoke to. with far more flexibility of menu, and better taste than any of them I had occasion to try.
Mai H.
Oct 12, 2014
Joan and her team quickly made us feel comfortable with our stressful wedding planning. My husband and I needed a menu that was truly Asian fusion. Joan's team took up the challenge and went above and beyond their duties to make our wedding reception a success. I whole-heartedly recommend them!
Heather Y.
Aug 08, 2014
Delicious, patient, flexible, pleasant, cost-effective. Joanie's takes hospitality to a new level. I hired Joanie's Catering services for a corporate event that was co-hosted with a few other organizations. Naturally there was a lot of back-and-forth while each host planned their end; I was responsible for coordinating the catering. Joanie was so great!

She worked with me with all the back-and-forth, helped to create a custom menu of items, and was incredibly reasonable in pricing. She really understood what I was trying to create and didn't focus on trying to maximize the experience for their company's needs - she kept it about me and the event needs. Talk about hospitality and customer service.

Day of she and her staff were early and jumped right on in with helping me finalize the setup and did all the tear-down. In short, they saved the day. All the back-and-forth must have been very stressful for her, however the staff was so graceful and went above-and-beyond the whole time. The wait staff was incredibly fast and so friendly! All this and I haven't even gotten to the food yet!

It was OUTSTANDING! The infused water was incredible, the appetizers were so savory. I LOVED the won-tons in particular - Can you please bottle that sauce already?! (Confession I'm salivating thinking about it now). The bean salad was to die for! I wish I had left-overs still! I would highly recommend Joanie's catering for your events. I'm definitely going to be using her again for corporate catering services in the future. Joanie - if you're reading this, THANK YOU!
Kim D.
Jun 25, 2014
Working with Joanie and her staff was an absolute delight. Joanie essentially gave us a crash course on the logistics end of a wedding, and filled in more gaps in our DIY plan than we knew existed. She worked with our budget and was readily available throughout the planning process to tweak details as they arose. Above all else, Joanie's day-of staff made our day so low stress by handling all the details that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks.

Very professional troupe, but all very approachable and human at the end of the day. Thank you THANK YOU for all your hard work! p.s. Our guests are still talking about the sockeye salmon!
Stephanie H.
Mar 02, 2014
We personally called and/or interviewed every catering company in the greater Seattle region. What we were looking for was attentive, delicious and able to serve a group of 250 (a quarter who are vegetarian and vegan). Joanie was selected as our wonderful wedding caterer. She hires friendly staff who help above and beyond expectation and is able to food testing (something I was surprised to hear some caterers only do for a fee). Thank you for a delicious evening that kept everyone satiated. http://seattlebridemag.com/real-weddings/stephanie-isaac
Jenn B.
Feb 06, 2012
Awesome food, awesome staff, it couldn't have gone better. From the day we contracted with them the service was great, Joan even helped us trouble shoot other aspects of the wedding. We did require several special meals, some gluten free and some dairy free and the food was great. One tip would be to communicate who needs the special meals. The bride got her GF meal and the mother-in-law the dairy free meal, but other guests who had asked for a dairy free meal were missed as the food on the buffet did not mark the Dairy free meals. However, it was great service and no other problems. The missing dairy free meals were not discovered til weeks later.
Kimberly S.
Aug 26, 2011
This is the second time we have used Joanie's Catering and both times she and her staff went over and above wonderful. Joanie is very helpful with working within your budget too. The food is to die for, everything we had at both events was perfect. Her wonderful staff leave your kitchen spotless and they even box up the leftovers. Do not even hesitate to give Joanie a call. Once you do you will be so happy you did and, like us, you will have her back over and over again.
D. P.
Apr 27, 2011
We planned our engagement party with Joan. We had 90 people and her impeccable staff served hors d' oeuvres and her unflappable bartender hooked up our thirsty guests. She helped us with our menu so that it was unique, yet affordable. When I walked in to the Chinese Room and saw the floral arrangements, and the serving tables, and how beautiful the room looked I got a little misty.

Everything was lovely. The food was AWESOME! The crab cakes were my favorite, but I loved everything.yum. Best of all the guests loved everything as well. Again, the staff was amazing- very helpful and professional. They did a WONDERFUL job. It was a genuine pleasure working with Joan. Her responsiveness, flexibility and professionalism were greatly appreciated.
T. L.
Nov 16, 2010
I would not recommend this caterer! While the cost seemed great during the planning stages, it wasn't worth it because many things were forgotten on our wedding day. The owner appeared very friendly and helpful, but does not appear to be overseeing her staff. We had MANY conversations about the importance of having a gluten free selection for my brother (so important that we considered making the entire menu gluten free), but in the end we went with their suggestion of just doing a gluten free plate for him.

But it was completely forgotten and my brother had nothing to eat (and he has Autism so it was hard for him). They also forgot the cake cutting knife, so we cut our cake with a butter knife that we luckily found in the venue's kitchen. They also forgot the to-go box that they offered to prepare for us for our wedding night (since the bride and groom often don't have much time to eat).

They even arrived late and were rude to my relatives. My husband asked them if they needed any help setting up, and they completely ignored him. They even misrepresented the amount of food that was going to be provided. They told us that they would have many backup trays, but there was only a couple. And the icing on the cake was that when I wrote an email expressing my disappointment, they completely ignored it. They could have at least apologized. Although that wasn't the first ignored email, so I shouldn't have been surprised.
James E.
Dec 11, 2009
At my company holiday party, Joanie's Catering gracefully managed hors d'oeuvres, small plates, and desserts for 100+ people with some 12 dietary restrictions amongst us. And thanks to chef/owner Joan Allen, I have a new recipe for Belgian endives. Joan, I promise to only serve it in my home.
Mm R.
Aug 26, 2005
A friendly and afforfdable solution to a caterer. Housed in West Seattle they'll come anywhere for you and accomodate your party. They'll also prepare what you need and have you pick it up if you don't need full service. Online friendly folks and charming staffers will take care of you start to finish! Voila