For the smoothest service at your event, it’s important that we are given the final guest numbers at least 10 days before the event takes place. Allergen and dietary requirements, event timings and any other logistical information is required at least 5 working days before the event.
Absolutely! Our sustainability-focused menus are naturally plant-rich and we offer extensive vegetarian and plant-based options. We can also accommodate dietary requirements when requested in advance such as dairy, wheat, soy or nut free diets and cultural requirements like halal and kosher.
We cater for events of all sizes, and will do our utmost to accommodate your requirements if there is a limited budget, but we do have a minimum spend. This is to ensure that we can continue to sustainably source our quality produce, and so that we can deliver a luxury service we can be proud of.
Yes. We cater for events of all types from day to night and from Monday through to Sunday. When your festivities start is when our work begins, so just let us know what day and time you’d like your festive canapés served and we’ll sort the rest.
Social Pantry provides catering services primarily within London, but regularly provides event catering in the wider UK, from the Home Counties all the way up to Scotland! From festivals in Suffolk, to two-week event catering in Staffordshire and a one-day launch event in Edinburgh, we can cater it all. If you’re looking for a dedicated event caterer to provide festive canapé catering in London or beyond, please enquire with our dedicated events team.
It really depends on what type of venue you are looking for and which date you want to celebrate on. But our advice would be to book your venue as early as possible. Many of the most popular work Christmas party venues in London are already booked up by September.
The second week of December is the most popular week for corporate Christmas parties, while Thursday is the most popular day.
We can serve lunch for as little or as long as you require. Perhaps you only have a 30 minute window in which to feed the team? No problem. Other clients opt for a ‘drop in’ style service, where colleagues know that between certain times, a served lunch will be available and they can turn up when it suits them. Your Workplace Partner will work with you on deciding the best course of action for your needs and we will accommodate any and all requests as best we can.
Absolutely. Our monthly menus offer extensive vegetarian and vegan options and we can also customise dishes to accommodate dietary requirements such as dairy, wheat, soy or nut free diets and cultural requirements like halal and kosher.
This depends on your chosen menu – we are unable to leave food behind that would be unsafe to eat, but if there are non-perishable items within your order that are surplus, we can leave these with you. Your Workplace Partner can help with deciding on food quantities for each item, to avoid waste.
For both our In House and Styled & Served catering options, we can provide all the crockery, glassware and cutlery you’ll need. For our Drop Off service, it’s up to you whether you’d like to use your own crockery and cutlery, or whether you’d like us to include bamboo cutlery in the delivery.
We offer a selection of drinks in our lunch catering menus that can easily be added onto your order. These include coffee, tea, and fresh juices, as well as a range of independent soft drink brands and ethically sourced water. We can also arrange to bring in speciality drinks suppliers. Fancy a post-lunch barista coffee cart in the office? How about a smoothie van in the car park? You name it, we can do it.
We are the experts at catering to our clients’ needs, so you tell us exactly when you would like lunch service to begin, and we will work to that. Your Workplace Partner will gather all the necessary details from you in advance when you place your order; the menu you’d like to be served, how many people you expect to be in attendance, what time you’d like lunch service to start, what time slot you have available for the lunch service to run, and any other details that will help your lunch catering to run seamlessly. Our job is to make serving lunch as easy and pain-free as possible for you, so leave it to us to work around you and your office culture.
Absolutely! Our workplace partners are happy to organise tastings either at your workplace or at Social Pantry HQ so you can get a taste of what we offer.
We offer a choice of drinks including coffee, tea, freshly squeezed juice and ‘booster shots’, as well as a range of soft drinks including kombucha and still and sparkling water. We can also arrange to bring in speciality drinks suppliers. Fancy a barista coffee cart in the office? How about a smoothie van in the car park? After work cocktails mixed by a team of expert mixologists? You name it, we’ll do it.
Absolutely! Our sustainability-focused menus are naturally plant-rich and we offer extensive vegetarian and plant-based options. We can also accommodate dietary requirements such as dairy, wheat, soy or nut free diets and cultural requirements like halal and kosher.
Here at Social Pantry, we have been catering for both events and the workplace since 2011. Based in Battersea, our HQ is split into two, with our Events kitchen and team of Event Planners working on the events side of the business, and our Workplace kitchen and Workplace Partners focused on the contract catering side, as they function very differently.
Contract catering differs from event catering in a variety of ways, but firstly, having a contract with Social Pantry means we have entered into an agreement of how often we cater for your office. This could be multiple times daily if we have agreed upon our ‘In-House’ catering option – where we move into your onsite canteen and provide full time staff to run it – or even if it’s just once a week to ’Drop Off’ food for a team building end-of-week lunch. We can build a contract to suit your needs, for 6 months, 12 months, 3 years, or more!
Our events catering is a separate part of the business, where our Event Planners work with a client for months planning one key event, whether that’s a wedding, a conference or an exhibition opening in an art gallery. Events will most usually start with canapés and champagne, moving onto a three-course seated dinner, whereas most often our contract catering can be more casual. Typical contract catering can look like breakfast stations where your team helps themselves to granola and freshly baked pastries, or lunch pots that they can grab and go, or even meeting catering, where we provide sandwich platters and sweet treats to break up even the longest presentations.
We cater to any and all dietary requirements. Additionally, all of our menus have a full list of allergens present. All compostable items will come labelled with a full list of ingredients and allergens. Please just speak to your workplace partner for more information.
Of course! Speak to your workplace partner for an expanded hot food menu. From Drop Off to Styled & Served, pots to platters, we will organise everything necessary for your hot food catering at your workplace.
We can cater to your requirements, from compostable platters or pots for your lunches to ceramic serve ware. We will also source cutlery and crockery for you if needed, from compostable options to silverware.
Our workplace menus are updated each month, to prioritise produce that is in season and to allow for variation in your catering.
There is a minimum order requirement of 10 portions for each item ordered. This is all subject to minimum spend, please speak to your workplace partner to find out more.
Our standard delivery is based on destinations within the M25. For destinations outside of London, our rates are subject to change, please speak to one of our workplace partners to find out more.
We understand that planning an event can be stressful, which is why we strive to make the catering process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. Our experienced event planners will work closely with you to understand your vision and preferences, and create a bespoke menu and service plan that meets your needs. Our team of chefs, waitstaff and event managers are all highly trained and professional, ensuring that your event runs smoothly from start to finish. Meet our team here.
Contact us now to start planning your perfect menu and find out how Social Pantry has created hundreds of memorable events.
We believe that food should be not only delicious but also visually stunning and innovative. Our team of chefs and food stylists are always coming up with new and creative ideas to make our dishes stand out. We take pride in creating menus that are not only tasty but also exquisitely presented.
From stunning weddings and luxurious gala dinners to corporate events and intimate parties, we’ve catered for it all. For more information, read through our case studies.
We believe that businesses have a responsibility to give back to their communities. That’s why we support various local charities and organisations, including food banks, homeless shelters and youth programs. We also offer training and employment opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping them gain valuable skills and experience in the hospitality industry. We were also one of the first 15 UK companies who employ ex-offenders to be given the prestigious YOUNITED Flag award from Key4Life. Read all about it here.
We believe that food should be produced and sourced in a way that is fair and respectful to everyone involved in the supply chain. That’s why we work closely with our suppliers to ensure that they share our values and adhere to ethical and responsible practices. We also prioritise animal welfare and use only free-range and organic meat and dairy products.
To learn more about our ethical suppliers or try out our zero-waste recipes, browse through The Gathering.
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices throughout our business. We source our ingredients locally and seasonally, which not only supports local farmers but also reduces food miles and carbon emissions. We also use compostable and biodegradable packaging and work to minimise waste in all aspects of our business.
Explore our sustainability roadmap to learn more about our green and innovative business practices.
Social Pantry Cafe and Crane’s Kitchen are both available for private hire during the evenings for both private and corporate events.
We have over a decade of experience catering weddings and events which has led to us developing a pretty reliable formula for calculating exactly how much booze you can expect to need. We don’t believe in empty glasses, but as a zero-waste catering company we also don’t believe in excess waste. Therefore our brilliant event planners work diligently to nail the quantities needed, as well as having a plan in place in case of any leftovers.
Dogs are very welcome at Social Pantry Cafe, Design Restaurant and Dome Cafe.
Yes, see our case studies for previous examples.
There will be additional fees associated with travel and accommodation and we’ll need to factor in a set-up day and breakdown day for out-of-town weddings.
Yes, we are able to provide all kitchen equipment for your event.
We do not charge corkage, however, there’ll be a small handling fee if you require us to transport your drinks to the event and store them for you before/after the event.
Your Event Planner will accurately plan the staff timings, according to your event requirements.
Yes, we’d love to! Our team has plenty of experience with multi-day events to help kickstart and wind down the celebrations.
Yes, we’d love to! Our team has plenty of experience with multi-day events to help kickstart and wind down the celebrations.
We’ve organised weddings with 6 weeks notice as well as events that have taken two years of planning. Initially, your enquiry will be filtered by the team and you will receive a response within 24 hours, from that point your Social Pantry contact will gather more information from you to get to the point of issuing your first quote. We’ll then work closely with you to fine-tune the details in line with your ideas and budget. The next step is usually a tasting, at which point your menu will be confirmed. Then your Event Planner will get all of the logistics for your big day in order, they’ll then manage & oversee your event on the day too!
Yes, we are happy to work alongside our Sommelier to pair wines to your chosen menu.
We are not an official Halal or Kosher caterer but are able to work with a partner to issue a limited number of special meals for a group.
Yes, our Event Planners work closely with all of our venues across London and further afield and would be happy to help you secure the perfect space for your event.
Yes, we are happy to source these for you, our suppliers can brand almost anything! We are also happy to help with sourcing, packaging, and goody bags if needed.
This depends on the scale, production and food offering at your event. Smaller events can be set up in 1-2 hours whereas large-scale events may need anything from 6+ hours to prepare.
This depends on your chosen menu but we are unable to leave food behind that would be unsafe to eat. If there are non-perishable items within your order that are surplus, we can leave these with you. Your Event Planner can help with deciding on food quantities for each item, to avoid waste.
At Social Pantry, sustainability is at the heart of what we do. We are constantly striving to ensure our events are as low waste as possible. We have numerous initiatives that help us in doing that, please ask your Event Planner to find out more or read our Sustainability plan here.
We are unable to manage your RSVPs due to GDPR, but can manage your guestlist/check-in desk for you at your event with our friendly front of house team.
We can cater for any size event and have experience managing numbers from 20 through to 1,000 and beyond.
This all depends on your chosen menu and the facilities you have at home. Your Event Planner will be able to determine this at their site visit and advise on which menu items to choose or what additional kit may be needed.
Yes we are able to provide everything needed for any style of event, from serving platters, to cake stands, to antique cocktail glasses. Your Event Planner will be able to show you options that fit the style of your event, and your budget.
We are more than happy to serve drinks that you have sourced yourself. Depending on the offering, additional staff costs may be added to your quote (e.g. mixologists)
We are happy to clear all of your event rubbish at the end of your event. If required, there’ll be an additional fee for this service but rest assured that waste and recycling will be sorted and disposed of correctly. Our kitchen takes a zero waste approach to catering so where possible, we try to minimise food waste.
An Event Manager will be on every event we cater and they will manage every element of the day, from deliveries to food service timings. Their expertise and logistical prowess will ensure your event is just as you’d imagined it. Your Event Manager will be fully versed on all of your plans and expectations.
Our standard uniform is a black or white shirt, black trousers, and our Social Pantry branded grey apron. We are also able to source bespoke uniforms to fit with your party theme.
We would always request a site visit where possible as it helps us to understand your chosen venue or location. This prior knowledge helps us with our logistical planning, meaning that your event will run as smoothly as possible. If this isn’t an option, we are able to deliver events without a site visit but we’ll need all your support to understand the space before the day.
Yes, we work with some fabulous florists and would be happy to brief then on your event.
We can cater to all dietary requirements and your Event Planner will be happy to discuss this in more detail with you.
We can provide all of the drinks for your event, including soft drinks, fresh juices, spirits, wines, beer, craft ales and cocktails.
We have an in-house creative team who can support with styling for your event, including themed decor, tablescape design or additional furniture/props. We can also provide printed or handwritten menus/place cards at an additional cost.
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