Corporate catering in Bengaluru

What the money buys as you go up: first people to serve and dishes that keep the food hot, then more dishes and cooks at live counters.

A high tea is priced on its own. Upendar Caterers' page shows ₹180 to ₹320 a guest. Snacksparty's is ₹300 a head plus ₹2,500 for staff and setup, from 35 guests. Smart Chef Catering does one too: ask for the price.

A live counter, such as chaat or dosa, goes on top of this at Bhandary's Kitchen. It's priced for your head count, so ask for the price when you give the number.

Each caterer puts different things in its plate price, so ask what each quote leaves out before you compare them:

GST on outside catering is 5% in most cases, and the caterer can't claim credit for its own costs against it. One big caterer's page talks of 18% GST invoices, so ask the rate and whether it's in the price.

Plan on the GST as a cost to the company. The tax law blocks a business from claiming back GST on food and outside catering, unless a law makes it feed its staff. A team party or a conference lunch usually isn't one of those, but ask your finance team.

The count you give is usually the count you pay for. Caterers usually ask for a final head count a day or two before, and cook and bill for that number, even if fewer people eat. Ask when your count locks and whether it can still go down.

Dropped-off food isn't always cheaper. Bhandary's Kitchen delivers for 35 to 50 people with no staff for its plate price plus a flat ₹5,000: for 40 at ₹400, about ₹21,000 before GST. Snacksparty's buffet with staff for 40 is ₹16,500 (₹350 a head plus ₹2,500). The menus differ, so compare what each one serves.

A caterer may bring the food and nothing else. Nazia Iqbal of Smart Chef Catering told us food and service are what she takes care of. Tables, chairs and cleaning the room are yours. Ask every caterer what it brings.

Boxes are usually cooked that morning and eaten within a few hours. Ask the kitchen when the boxes are cooked and when they leave, and serve them soon after they come.

Kept simple

About ₹400 to ₹500 a plate

Done fuller

About ₹700 to ₹750 a plate

12 to 15 dishes, such as a welcome drink, soup, salad, 2 starters, 2 curries, dal, rice, Indian bread, a sweet and ice cream

The same kind of menu, 12 to 15 dishes

Everyday picks, for example veg cutlet, mixed veg curry, plain rice and phulka

Richer picks, for example paneer tikka, malai kofta, jeera pulao and butter naan

Served by the caterer's staff, with plates

Served by the caterer's staff, with plates

For 50, about ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 before GST, transport extra at some

For 50, about ₹35,000 to ₹37,500 before GST, transport extra at some

What the extra pays for isn't written down. The caterers' own pages say the price moves with the menu, its length, the cuisine, the guest count and the venue, but not what a higher price adds for the same menu. In this trade, the gap for the same kind of menu usually comes from richer picks (paneer starters and gravies, basmati, a richer sweet), the longer end of the dish count and more people serving. So ask each caterer for the dish list behind its price, and ask what a step up would swap in. Some caterers put staff, plates and buffet tables in the plate price and others add them later, so compare whole totals too (question 2).

Who on mytribe cooks this kind of menu at the simpler level. Each price here is the caterer's own. Bhandary's Kitchen's Classic Vegetarian is ₹400 a plate: a drink, soup, three salads, two starters, two curries, rice, dal, bread, a dessert and ice cream, with staff, crockery and buffet tables in, plus 5% GST and transport, from 50 guests. Snacksparty's buffet is ₹350 a head for a drink or soup, two starters, two curries, dal, bread, two rice dishes, a sweet and salad, plus ₹2,500 for its staff, warmers, tables and plates, from 35 guests. For 50 that's ₹20,000 in all, by our sum. Diviskitchen's buffets were ₹300 to ₹550 a plate plus ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 for her staff and delivery on her October 2025 list, for up to 100 guests; ask her for today's price. BookMyPartyFood's menus are ₹350, ₹450 and ₹550 a plate on its own sheet for 30 guests.

Who works at the fuller level. None of our caterers prints a price for this kind of menu done fuller. The nearest are bigger menus. Bhandary's Kitchen's Premium Vegetarian is ₹650 a plate, with two mocktails, a salad bar, four grill starters, three curries and two desserts. Its Uttam Rasoi is ₹950, with two live counters in. Smart Chef Catering builds each menu with you, so ask for the price.

Serving 300 in one lunch hour takes people. One big caterer works to a server for every 30 guests, and another advises 6 to 8 crew for 100. For 300 people, that means at least 10 people serving, and maybe more than 20. Ask how many serving lines they'll set up too.

Ask who cooks. Some event firms usually pass the cooking to a partner kitchen. Ask whose kitchen the food comes from, and whether that kitchen has fed a group your size.

Check the number is live, whichever kind it is, on foscos.fssai.gov.in, and keep a copy for your vendor file.

Tech-park security may ask for the staff's papers too. One big caterer says every worker on site needs a food handler's medical certificate.

What to ask facilities, in one message:

• Can an outside caterer come in, and is there a vendor pass or a security list?
• Which lift and loading bay, and from what time?
• Is cooking with gas allowed indoors, or only induction?
• Who takes the waste away afterwards?

Some office buildings won't let a caterer bring gas inside. One big caterer says many corporate venues don't allow live counters on gas indoors, and induction or electric counters are the way round it. In March 2026, when commercial gas ran short, Infosys suspended live cooking counters at its Bengaluru campus food courts for a time.

A live counter needs room and power. Bhandary's Kitchen needs about 10 by 10 ft for live cooking, and Smart Chef Catering asks for a 15-amp plug point.

If the date moves, Smart Chef Catering moves it if she's free, and Snacksparty moves an emergency at 1 to 3 days' notice without taking anything off the advance. Ask the others.

For 30 days' credit, get it in writing. Bhandary's Kitchen needs your company's official email with the payment date.

If your company has to set the caterer up as a vendor first, ask for its PAN, GST number and FSSAI number, and its payment terms, at the first call. One big caterer says a new caterer can take 2 to 4 weeks to be cleared at most office towers, so start early.

On the day, a buffet is set up an hour or two before you eat (Smart Chef Catering takes about two hours), and service runs about three hours: three and a half at Bhandary's Kitchen. For boxes, ask when they leave the kitchen as well as when they'll arrive.