Coastal Gourmet Group - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Kara D.

We had the perfect wedding day and it was 1000% because of Coastal and Jenna! Our wedding guests are still raving about our food and the service. We had special requests and unusual menu choices and Jenna and the chef team customized a menu for us! We also had a very unique vision for our wedding and the vibe and Jenna and her team did everything possible to make our vision and the day come true.Everyone has regrets about their wedding day, but we don’t have a single one and it wouldn’t have been possible without coastal!

Zahra D.

We could not have been more thrilled with the service provided by Coastal Gourmet for our wedding. From start to finish, they were nothing short of exceptional. Jenna Landon, our coordinator, was absolutely outstanding. She guided us through every detail with professionalism, creativity, and warmth, making the planning process smooth and stress-free.

The day of the wedding, the Coastal Gourmet team went above and beyond to make everything perfect. Guests were raving about the food—it was absolutely delicious, beautifully presented, and exceeded all our expectations. The team’s attention to detail was impeccable, ensuring that every aspect of the catering service was seamless.

Beyond the incredible food, the service was immaculate. Every staff member was courteous, attentive, and genuinely invested in making our day special. Coastal Gourmet truly elevated our wedding experience, and we couldn’t recommend them more highly. If you’re looking for a catering company that delivers excellence on every level, Coastal Gourmet is the one!

Alyssa N.

Jenna and Team took care of everything from setting up to help cleaning up at the end of the night for our wedding at Harkness Memorial State Park. We had family ask us in days after who catered because the food was "phenomenal". What Coastal Gourmet does is more than catering, they take care of every detail so that you don't need to on your special day. Highly recommend!

@FullofWhimsyPhotography

Charles P.

Was a guest at wedding hosted by Coastal Gourmet had an amazing time, food, service, staff were all out of this world. I’ve been to many weddings and I was floored, the attention to detail and display of stationary table was to die for, Jenna (I think that’s her name) was on top of every little detail. Would def recommend.

Dana N.

Had a polarizing experience with this company. Starting with the good, the food was great - everything came out hot and tasty, had lots of compliments on the food and also many comments on how friendly and pleasant the serving staff were. Alternatively, while Jenna had prompt communication, the communication regarding the role of the “coordinator”, which Coastal Gourmet touts as a differentiator in their contracting process, was misleading, unclear and left much to be desired. The day of coordinator, Allie (not Jenna, despite all communication being with her, which was very disappointing and likely contributed to Allie being unprepared) was unprepared, unconfident and I had to micromanage the day from start to finish. I honestly thought this was one of her first weddings, but was later told she’d been with the company for 4+ years, which is even more unacceptable. Tables were still being set up as guests were arriving, the seating chart and table cards were not set up appropriately despite me sending multiple pictures of how it should look, I had to remind Allie of the timeline to ensure major transitions were timely, and food boxes were left out in areas where guests would frequent. It was lightly raining as guests arrived and no one greeted them to explain where they could go to get out of the rain so guests were left damp and confused until my family stepped in to direct traffic. Allie was unable to provide any helpful information when asking if I wanted to keep the ceremony outside despite a light rain. My photographer stepped in to take charge as Allie seemed at a total loss of how to handle it. Further, when providing this feedback to Jenna and the company (including the president, Charles Spathakis, and COO, David Griswold), they did not take responsibility and instead blamed the venue for not having enough time to set up (for which Coastal Gourmet is one of only 6 allowable vendors, so they should be very familiar with the layout & requirements), the buses for arriving “too early” (despite me telling them the exact schedule when asked at our final meeting, after it was too late to change anything without a fee) and my husband and I for “misunderstanding” the role of coordinator (we were told we should have hired a wedding planner for the day of. We only needed day of coordination, which is the exact title they use in contracting, so still not sure what they think the role is). Finally, they had inappropriate business practices when it came to gratuity, so make sure you ask what is and is not included before you sign a contract if that’s important to you. In summary, while Costal Gourmet will provide exceptional food, I felt they really dropped the ball on day of execution, were misleading in their contracting and unprofessional in their response to feedback, ultimately leaving me with a bad experience. I would not recommend the company to others.

Holly J.

Coastal Gourmet helped our wedding to be everything we dreamed of and more. From the intro call with Jenna to the day of with Dee, every interaction was pleasant and helpful. Jenna worked with us through the whole planning process, helping us figure out our menu, timeline, linens, and rentals. She was a fountain of knowledge and shared advice for every question we had.
The food from the hors d'oeuvres to the dessert was absolutely delicious. There were so many options available when creating our menu, and our guests raved about every single choice. The bar was well staffed and kept our guests happy, and the multiple entree options (and extra consideration for our vegans) catered to everyone's tastes. The event staff was courteous, professional, and helpful the entire night, and we would be remiss to not give a gold star to Dee, the day of coordinator. Dee was excellent, amazing, every positive adjective you could think of. From the day we met her to after the wedding, she was so supportive, upbeat, and hardworking. She checked in constantly with us, was receptive to every need, and did everything to make the day as perfect as it was. She even escorted an engagement photographer and couple out of the garden so we could begin the ceremony! The whole time, we weren't aware of any issues, and she made sure that all of our decor was displayed and all our vendors had what they needed. She was exactly the energy we needed around us. Thank you for everything Coastal Gourmet!

Nicole E.

If I could give Jenna and Coastal Gourmet a million stars, I would!!! If this is all you read - BOOK COASTAL GOURMET!! They exceeded all expectations and are worth every penny.

Choosing Jenna and Coastal Gourmet was the easiest decision I made in the wedding planning process - from the moment I first spoke to Jenna on the phone during my initial inquiry I knew I NEEDED to have her as my day of coordinator. I knew if I chose her I would not need to worry about a thing the day of my wedding.

She is so talented and experienced, she truly thinks of everything and knows everything. She planned flawless details/table scapes with me - even taking an extra day and a long trip to help me pick things out. She made really good suggestions when picking meals. She answered all my emails and questions quickly and kindly, no matter how silly or small my questions were (I know nothing about the wedding or event planning fields). I cannot even imagine how much she did behind the scenes or without my direct knowledge.

Choosing Jenna was also the best decision I made for my wedding. Her personality is amazing - she is so easy to talk to and she makes you and your family and your guests feel comfortable while at the same time being incredibly efficient.

The food was also impressive! The meat in particular was cooked to perfection. Family members were raving about it to me weeks after the wedding!!

Also, I cannot say enough about Jenna’s kindness and professionalism. We had an unfortunate and unforeseen event happen during our cocktail hour and Jenna helped handle it and completely rearranged our timeline on the spot to make the flow of the rest of the wedding make sense - and our guests were none the wiser! I don’t have the right words to express my gratitude for her for this!!!!

Do yourself a favor and book Jenna and coastal gourmet for your wedding. I wish I had another event just to work with them again!!

Sarah S.

We loved working with Jenna, Allie, and the team at Coastal Gourmet! We were so pleased with how everything turned out. Jenna was very professional and detail oriented – she kept up with small detail changes and incorporated our numerous personal touches. They even allowed us to bring two cases of our own craft beer to help personalize the bar selection. In every meeting we had with Jenna we felt well taken care of and supported.

Our tasting did feel a bit rushed, as Jenna wanted to go over details while we ate. We would have liked to have time to eat and enjoy before going over the details. We weren't aware that we would need to come with final ideas and minute details like napkins, flatware, etc. It seemed like it was expected that we would know what we wanted in advance, but we were never given a catalog or examples beforehand. However, with Jenna’s laptop for reference photos and her expert advice, we felt safe trusting Jenna’s judgment, and everything turned out beautifully.

The day of the event went so smoothly, the set up was spot on, drinks were flowing, and the food was truly delicious. The best we’ve ever had at a wedding! And the portions were huge! We heard from a number of guests how much they loved the food and desserts.

One small note, their attention to us at the reception was a bit lacking compared to what they told us would happen – no drinks were ready for us as we entered the happy hour and no platter of appetizers was waiting in the suite. Our “bridal attendant” (separate from the coordinator) introduced herself to us at the beginning of the night, and then we never saw her again. However, Allie, our ROCKSTAR coordinator, quickly recognized the issue and picked up the slack. Allie was incredible - taking care of all the little details throughout the night.

Overall we couldn’t be more thrilled. Thank you, Coastal Gourmet!!