Le Papillon

I love these guys. My guests were very impressed as was I. They are a bit pricey but SO worth it. The value for the quality of the food and presentation is completely woth it.

I would highly recommend Le Papillon as your wedding caterer. Their level of service and attention to detail at our wedding was incredible. All of the food served was so delicious; our friends are still talking about it. I would highly recommend doing the split plate Beef and Fish option. It was delicious and you avoid having to declare choices ahead of time. They are also very accommodating of vegetarians and food allergies. Mike, the owner is very friendly and we really enjoyed working with him and Jondel. Thank you very much for all of your hard work. The food was wonderful!

FLAWLESS! If you go with Le Papillon you will not only have THE BEST FOOD you have ever tasted at a wedding (or anywhere for that matter!), you will also have the BEST SERVICE! Mike (the owner) and Jondel (events) will save your day and make for the MOST GRACIOUS WEDDING EVER! Even the most discerning guests will be impressed and blown away by their meal and fine wines. We had a winemaker from Bordeaux, FR at our wedding and he talked about the food & wine pairing for days afterwards...Every bite is a pleasure. You DESERVE the BEST!!! You only get married once and I suggest you use The Best!

The food here: Impeccable. Delicate. Delicious. Bravo Le Papillon, Bravo.

5-star cuisine and impeccable service. Mike and Jondel will handle every detail for your wedding. Rated oneof the top restaurants in SF Bay area by Zagat. One of the Exclusive Caterers at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. www.montalvoarts.org/rentals

YUMMY but expensive. Yes, we succumbed to the high prices which are non-negotiable. However, this is the Bay Area where there are many excellent restaurants to elevate one's standards and the majority of our guests were well educated yuppies/foodies (read: hard to impress guests). After comparing to others, the superior food outweighed the marginal difference in cost. They have a restaurant in San Jose and the tasting is free so you can see for yourself. The good thing about Le Papillon is that they will not nickel and dime you with extra charges which i have heard of others doing. The fee is a flat fee per person. Alcohol is extra but you pay for as much alcohol as your guests consume, at what they claim as wholesale prices. This greatly alleviated our stress. We didn't have to go buy a ton of alcohol at Bevmo or Costco (as many of our friends did for their weddings) nor worry about returning unused stuff. They also cut and served our cake with no extra fee. The catering staff were all very very nice and professional. One in particular (Miguel?) my friends still talk about. They loved the hor d'oeurves so much they stood right outside the kitchen so they could eat them as they came out. Apparently Miguel was very gracious about this. We still have guests raving about our food as the best they have ever had at a wedding, so in the end I think this was worth the price.

The guests haven't stopped talking about the food, that's how good it was! Fabulous!

I cannot speak highly enough about Le Papillon!! Mike and Jondel go above and beyond to make sure everything . The food they serve at the wedding is as beautiful and delicious as the food that is served in the restaurant, and if you have been to the restaurant, that should speak for itself.

This is not the "same old wedding food", it is spectacular! At our wedding they served soup shots, and an heirloom salad that was so incredible people are still talking about it! They also were able to accomodate our request for a kosher style meal, which really pleased my husband and his parents. If you want an elegant event to remember, Le Papillon is the caterer for you!

5 years later and I come here to write a review.... it was that good. (Our ring designer just did some stuff for us and I came here to write for him too)
People really do still talk about our food. They were a joy to prepare the menu with and had many good insights for us. Their flexibility and thoughtfulness was outstanding. At the Jewish wedding there is a great tradition where the bride and groom get some alone time before greeting the guests after the ceremony. Understanding that the B & G don't get to eat much, the staff at Le Papillon sent the full array of our hors d'oeuvre up to our private pre-guest-greeting suite.

Absolutely fantastic wedding catering that will surpass all of your expectations and you will feel like royalty! Below are details about price, food, portion sizes, the process, and communication.

PRICE
The venue my fiancé and I chose for our wedding had 5 preferred vendors for catering that we could use and we met with all of them. Not only did Le Papillon exceeded the quality, presentation, and service expectations (by far!), but they were the least expensive choice. As a restaurant, the meals are expensive but reflect what you get – 5 star top quality French restaurant. Catering turns out to be less expensive…especially when compared to other vendors (and we have looked at more than 5 since we considered other venues).

During tasting, we were told to expect the same quality of food, service, and presentation during the wedding and did they deliver!

We were able to opt out of having fruit punch served prior to the ceremony, as none of the guests were too fond of it based on our knowledge. We had a fruit/nut/cheese platter, which works out to be about $3.50/head, coffee/tea/soft drinks/water is combined and is about the same price. We had no desert from Le Papillon, as we ordered our cake separately. The appetizers, salad, entrée worked out to be about $115 per head, which included all tax, service charges, rentals included in the price, and labor. You can rent tablecloth/napkins of any color you like, but only the standard colors are included in the price of rentals above. Le Papillon includes the rental of all silverware in their cost, although the glasses were provided by our winery. For an additional charge, we also ordered rectangular tables since only round tables were offered by the winery where we had the reception.

FOOD
The food looked like each plate was decorated for at least 10 minutes and all of our guests were absolutely speechless. Hours d’Oeuvres are indescribable and you get to try most of what is on the menu during tasting. Having such fancy food was the reason we chose to print a menu for our guests…we wanted them to know what they were eating  Most appetizers are small in size, but everything is very filling. The crab soufflé that we selected was actually the size of a fist. During tasting, you will try 4 entrees and while all were great, our most favorite is the grilled medallion of beef, which can be cut with a butter knife. Their soups are great as well, but we decided to go with salad, although the staff offered us a great idea of serving just an espresso-size cup of soup to everyone.

PORTION SIZES
My fiancé and I have been to one wedding where there was not enough food, so portion size was very important to us. Portions during the tasting are the same as what you will get during catering. For entrees, each of the two meats is the size of about a female fist, which might not seem like a lot, but combined with appetizers, salad/soup, it is more than anyone could eat. I should note that most guest were Europeans and our tradition is to have a lot of food for everyone. Absolutely everyone was full and we still had cake to go.

We also got a gorgeous fruit/nut/cheese platter that was set at the bar. This was barely touched as everyone was so full. Size-wise, it was a full plate of about 19x19 inches and there was a full-size bread basket.

PROCESS
The entry must be a combination entry of 2 meats and if a guest cannot have one type of meat, he/she can request to have only one type of meat at the event. This is a bit inconvenient, since some people might be shy and most would likely not know that this can be done.

Vegetarian options are delicious and you get to try some during tasting. Again, your guest would have to be told to specifically ask for this at the event. Once it is mentioned, the catering staff will remember to bring the vegetarian option for other courses.

The fruit/nut/cheese platter is not cut. You get large pieces of cheese, some hard, some soft and a basket of full-size bread. The staff was great at setting small plates and napkins next to the platter, but it still poses some inconvenience for the guests.

We were allowed to bring chocolates of our own in addition to the cake.

Coffee/tea is not served individually to each guest and, instead, it is served in beautiful authentic containers on one table that you can select to place anywhere in the reception room/bar.

We were able to opt out of the fruit punch served before the ceremony, but it is an option.

COMMUNICATION
It was very easy to communicate with Jondel. We had a lot of questions and were not sure how things were typically done. Jondel handled all of our requests in a very professional and informative manner. Unfortunately, this is rare from what we have seen from other vendors that we considered for a variety of services during our wedding. Jondel will also suggest how to go about something so that both the restaurant’s and client’s requirements are met. She is definitely a pleasure to work with!

OUR MENU
Hours d’ Oeuvres
Lobster Brandade with Browned Butter Vinaigrette
Grilled Buffalo Sausage with Sour Cherry Gelee
Cured Sea Trout with Dashi Cream and Caviar
Grilled Sea Scallops with Preserved Lemon
Sturgeon Caviar with Crème Fraiche on Puff Pastry
Appetizer
Dungeness Crab Souffle with Lemon-Saffron Beurre Blanc and Caviar
Salad
Mushroom Salad with Bay Shrimp, Roasted Red Peppers, Smoked Bacon And Fine Herb Vinaigrette
Combination Entree
Herb Crusted Halibut with Dill and Cherry Tomatoes
~And~
Grilled Medallion of Beef with Ginger Glace and Crispy Shallots

Impeccable and friendly service, 5-star cuisine. Mike and Jondel will take care of every need and you can have the wedding reception of your dreams.