Messina's Catering and Events

of the email I sent to her and Lizzy, the Sales Manager at the venue which I also highly recommend: “Thank you again for a wonderful wedding weekend! I cannot tell you both what an amazing time we had. We got so many compliments about the venue and the food. Multiple people told us that it was the best wedding they had ever been to. Knowing that we chose not to do a lot of normal wedding traditions and kind of just did our own thing.... I think that really comes down to how beautiful the venue was, how great the food was, and how wonderful all the staff were to all of our guests. Everyone from the valet to the front desk staff, the servers and bartenders, the setup crew, and both of you! Lizzy was so right about the Second Line, I loved it more than I thought I would, and our guests are still raving about it multiple days later. And Lauren you were so supportive of all of our ideas and I truly think I would have gone crazy without you!” The food was hands down amazing. We had appetizers: alligator bites, boudin balls, bacon wrapped shrimp, and a fried green tomatoes. We had a salad / charcuterie board. Shrimp and pimento cheese grits that was to die for and top sirloin and Mac and cheese snd mashed potatoes. We opted for beignets instead of cake which was a tots hit with our guests! Some said they were better than some local famous chain… Between the catering team and the venue our wedding was a dream! Photographer: https://jblanchardphoto.com/ who I also highly recommend. Jordan and Steven are the best! I swear my mother and sister had to insist that they take a break and eat!! That is the only photo in the bunch they didn’t take.

ests! We worked with Lydia during the planning process & she was great. Very helpful & responsive with any questions we had. We were also given the opportunity to taste their menu options beforehand & meet the chef. My husband & I brought our moms along for the tasting and we had a blast! Everyone raved about the food all night at our wedding. Definitely recommend!

icators by far. From the beginning the process was seamless and organized. We had a plated dinner and they were flexible and had a variety of options for our passed appetizers, main course, and dessert. We thought the food was delicious and our guests agreed. People are still talking about the crab and brie soup!

PERFECTIONIST, the TEAM was AMAZING, the food SPECTACULAR! Each of our guests commented on how wonderful our reception was. They have gone on and on about how great the food tasted and how gorgeous the presentations were, as well as how friendly, efficient and helpful were the wait staff. Messina’s dedication to making each event they cater absolutely perfect was obvious from the first day we spoke! If you are looking for a team of consummate professionals that deliver a delicious and beautiful menu, look no further. To Lauren and the entire team, from the bottom of our hearts, we THANK YOU! (We highly recommend anyone who wants the very best to use this company. You can thank me later. )

, accommodating, and the day of team was friendly, helpful, and so kind. We loved working with them, they were inclusive, diligent, and really genuine people. Chef Kelly was a true rockstar! We had a brunch themed wedding, and Chef gave us everything we desired and more! Our guests are still talking about the pimento cheese grits, and the chicken and waffles! I wish I could have him cook for us everyday! Would highly recommend! Thank you Messina’s for celebrating us and being apart of our magical day.

ped us choose the perfect menu as well as advised us on many questions that we had. Then, Andrew Messina came out earlier in the week to check placement of all of their equipment because we were one of the first weddings at this venue. The day of was nothing less than spectacular. Their big trucks drove up with Andrew at the helm as well as tons of staff and they went to work to make my daughter's wedding an event to remember. The food was the best. I only thought that they "blew it out of the park" for my other events with them. If I could give them 100 stars for this event, I would. My sincerest appreciation goes out to the Messina Family and their staff. You made my daughter's day unbelievably special. And, We will be back!!!!

the hotel that they service (One11). We had our wedding and associated events at Chateau LeMoyne. Most of the folks that were involved in planning the event and organizing the space/timing/etc. were from Messina’s. For anyone looking to have a wedding in New Orleans, I would recommend looking into where Messina’s caters to - and planning the venue around them. Truly we couldn’t be happier with them! ///////// People: We had a little turnover during our planning (started working with them in March, we got married in December). We initially worked with Maria - who we absolutely fell in love with! - but then we worked with Stacey. She was so helpful, calming, and patient with us! We loved working with her, Lydia, and Logan. And let me tell you - if you add Chef Mark to that team, you’re truly in the best hands. Chef Mark is a culinary artist and you+your guests will fall in love with anything that he makes! ///////// Food: We tried to have it all! In fact, after we had our venue reception tasting with Messina’s, we immediately added two events so we could have more of them. True story! But I’ll keep it brief: you’ll be extremely happy with anything you choose! You can’t go wrong. ///////// Experience: Couldn’t be better. Best decision - stop searching and call Messina’s. You’ll be so happy you did!

step of the way, she answered countless questions and emails effortlessly. The venue was perfect and our guests made many positive comments on the selections. The staff also did a terrific job! They were professional, kind and very attentive. FIVE stars for Messina! And a huge thank you to the Messina team for making our special weekend perfect!

! They were so professional and organized.

y professional and easy to work with, and I was truly blown away by Stacey’s kindness. After allowing us to postpone our March 2020 wedding last year, she didn’t even blink when I told her we were further downsizing from 120 guests to 20 this year. She also called me a few days before our wedding just to make sure we didn’t have any questions and to wish us the best. I gave her full discretion as to figuring out where to put the food stations with our new floorplan and the setup was just perfect. Her staff were so kind to us and even boxed up all the extra food for us to take home after the wedding. Would highly recommend them!

ns. The food was amazing and we received many compliments from local and out of town guests on how delicious everything was!

a menu that all of our guests could enjoy. Everyone was so nice. Highly recommend!

ved!!! Messina’s has gone above and beyond since day one all the way thru the day of and even followed up the morning after the event. Can’t wait to do another event was Lydia, Stacey, and Matt!! #DreamTeam

ed. And the staff...very professional and friendly; they tended to the needs of everyone. Hands down an awesome business with awesome people and awesome service!

of food. Their bartender showed up early (who does that these days?) to make sure the bar was set up and everything was in order. He was a pleasure to deal with - very polite to the guests all while offering prompt service with cocktails and wine. Messina’s offers a wide array of food options, and it all sounds delicious. The easy solution is to order everything because you cannot go wrong. I corresponded with Lydia via email to coordinate the menu and to set up a delivery/pick up date. She was very helpful in setting up the perfect menu for the amount of guests we had at the party. There were numerous out of town guests who raved about the food! They even took goody bags full of meat pies and artichoke balls to eat on their drive back to Mississippi! I truly cannot recommend Messina’s Catering enough. They know what it means to truly deliver excellent food and service for that special event. We will never use another catering company for our events.

detail. She was always available and responsive which was so important since I was working on this from another state. I needed to make sure I worked with someone that had my full trust and by the time of the big day she felt like family. She guided me from my millions of questions all the way through my last minute decisions. She always ensured that she delivered everything that I needed (and then some). She was always mindful of my budget (which was a big thing for me) but always remained flexible and open to my requests. She is such an asset and absolutely wonderful at her job! Chef Mark was perfection as well. The menu was spectacular and presentation was on point. He personally made sure that I had a plate of food, which, of course, was delicious. During the menu selection, he always offered suggestions to make sure the menu was well rounded. All of the guests were very pleased with the menu and quality of food. They were thankful that the menu had something for everyone. My out of town guests still tell me how my wedding had the best food they tasted while they were in town. Thank you so much to the whole team at Messina’s for being such a fabulous part of our big day!

elect our entrees was delicious ; it was hard to make a decision on what to choose. Our guests - both local and out of town - are still telling us about how amazing the food was at our wedding. My husband and I couldn't recommend Messina's more. PS: Get the gouda grits!! :)

verything went perfectly!!! Messina’s took the stress out of our wedding day! Everything was perfect and we couldn’t have been happier!!

rmal. We ended up compromising with Messina's because they checked all the boxes. I explained my vision and Chef Mark and planner Lydia gave me some ideas. I talked it over to the wife and we had a tasting. The food was divine. We ended up getting 6 appetizers, taco/nacho bar, charcuterie board and a pasta station. We also hired them for our bartenders. They were priced about the same as other places, so we felt it would be easier just to go with them. Bartenders must have been exceptional because I never saw a line at the wedding. Although as groom, I never had to wait! They were able to accommodate really well too. I talked to the bartenders and asked if they could pour shots of cognac for all the guests so the wedding party could toast and they whipped up over 150 shots for me. Back to the food: The instagram photos I saw later on that night showed people who piled on the food. One of the things I worried about was running out of food. Chef Mark assured me that he always makes more than the estimated guest count. At the end of the night, we had leftovers for both my parents and the bride's parents. Food: Divine. I could write an entire book about the crawfish pasta. Service: Impeccable. They always took care of me and asked questions that I didn't think to ask. 10/10 would recommend a million times over.

more to make our Wedding perfect.

we are forever grateful to Messina’s. The staff also took care of our needs as well as the guest’s needs they and made it a wonderful night to remember . The food and drinks were great ! The DJ, Claudio took care of our needs as well and made it fun. So if you are looking for a venue for your wedding or reception go to Messina’s they will not let you down.

ng, to menu selection, to deciding on last minute additions to the menu were a breeze. The actual wedding day everyone raved about the food, especially their signature meatball sliders (SO SO GOOD my Italian family cannot stop talking about them!). The array of food was amazing, everyone had a little bit of everything and they perfectly mixed the Italian and NOLA vibe I was going for (corn and crab bisque I could put a straw in and drink). Further, my mom and family just kept saying how lovely their staff was - accommodating at every step.

ce from our tasting all the way through to our wedding day. Stacey and Chef Mark were so accommodating and helped us pick out great selections from beer to finger foods (all within our budget). I would highly recommend Messina's to anyone looking for a caterer who genuinely cares about making your day a huge hit and running a perfectly smooth operation from set up to clean up!

g for us. She worked with our budget and made me feel confident that everything would be beautiful and had some southern flair, and it most certainly did. I was pleasantly surprised that things turned out even better than expected and the service was top notch! Private attendee for the bride and groom, Orestes, wow! I have to recommend the traveling raw bar, our guests were in awe! Thank you, thank you, thank you for making our day magical. Hire Messina’s, you won’t regret it!!

waiter was polite & paid extra attention to my finance & me and our parents. From start to finish, they were an absolute pleasure to work with, and I really should mention the food again - so much variety & all of it delicious.

pleasure to work with! Thanks to them for making my wedding night perfect!

ht everyone was complimenting how delicious and wonderful the food was. I just cant say enough great things about Messina's . From the food to the professional staff everything was perfect!

broad-based tasting and drinks, and finished with a hug. We were ever-flowing in our ideas after we hired Messina's and kept changing our plans via half thought out emails - "can we add an oyster bar?" "what about a carving station?" "do y'all do boiled shrimp" "do you know how to make Manhattans" "actually can you just handle the bar completely including all set up?" and each time, she responded personally, quickly, and with an updated quote. There was not an idea we had that she could not and did not implement. It became an all inclusive one stop shop for our wedding catering that was executed with personal curation at a price point that was beyond competitive. Our guests raved about the service, the drinks, and the food. And we didn't have to worry about a thing. Would hire them again in a heartbeat.

nd afterwards he sat down with me to review what we liked and helped us create a menu; the second tasting, we got to taste the rest of the menu we picked and made our final choices. The contract was detailed and the manager was easy to work with to help me stay within my budget. They travel extremely well, bringing their own truck to cook, their own bars, tables, and serving ware. The food was OUTSTANDING. I still have people telling me today that they loved the food at our reception and that it was hands down the best food they have ever eaten at a wedding! I highly recommend using Messina's!

h, 2018 at the Beauregard-Keyes House in New Orleans. Executive Chef Mark Daniels and Sales Manager Lydia Casler worked tirelessly from the time of our very first contact—I discovered them serendipitously thanks to our venue’s preferred vendor list—through the conclusion of our wedding day. From start to finish, Mark and Lydia provided the highest standard of service and ease of communication, not to mention the incredible food! Mark and Lydia made the process of planning our wedding effortless and straightforward. Both were easy to contact by phone or e-mail and they responded promptly, answering all our questions in detail. Mark helped us design a traditional New Orleans style menu for our buffet dinner that would please both our local Louisiana friends and our out-of-town families from Arizona and Massachusetts, who are largely unfamiliar with southern cuisine. Both my husband and I are teachers, so Mark guided us toward menu selections that would accommodate our budget while still providing an incredible meal. Many of our guests reported that Messina’s was the best wedding food they had ever eaten, some emphasizing that it was the best food they had ever had, period. In a foodie dream city like New Orleans, there is a great deal of competition for such praise! My husband and I are particularly grateful for how the Messina’s team went the extra mile on the wedding day to be flexible and accommodating. For the first few hours of our event, there was a torrential downpour, but that did not prevent Messina’s from adapting as needed. Mark personally delivered food to me (bride) and my husband twice during the evening to make sure that we could experience our wedding hors d'oeuvres and dinner menu despite our busy socialization with guests. Mark designed and prepared specialty meals for my mother (who has very specific and uncommon dietary needs due to a medical condition), a guest with severe food allergies, and our vegan guests. Mark and Lydia contacted these individuals directly to make sure the food met their needs; this level of individualized service is truly exceptional. Mark and Lydia and the entire Messina’s team could not have done a better job. Every aspect of our interaction with Messina’s—from initial menu design, to tasting, to contracting and payment, to execution of the big day—went seamlessly. Our families are big food fans, and we have heard only the highest praise regarding the quality and taste of the menu. Thank you, Messina’s, for making our day stress-free, unforgettable, and delicious! With deepest gratitude, Kelsey & Dan McDonald

dding reception, and the food from both events was just delicious beyond words can describe and the staff was also very wonderful. We worked with Stacey and she was patient and amazing. She arranged tastings for us, gave us good suggestions and helped us create a personalized menu for our special weekend. We had a crawfish boil as our rehearsal dinner, and the crawfish was literally finger-licking good! We were worried that our out-of-town guests would shy away from the crawfish, but we were happily surprised to see everyone eating and peeling piles of crawfish. We had traditional Cajun food and the grilled oyster station at the reception, and til this day, we still hear our friends and family telling us how good the food was at our wedding! Also, the bartenders were making delicious mixed drinks, and they are generous with the alcohol too. If you want your wedding guests to have a good time at your wedding with good food and drinks, hire Messina's!

gin with although I had never tasted their food. When they arrived, their staff was on top of every single detail and their food was amazing. From the way they displayed everything to the way they interacted with our guests, I could not have been more pleased. I cannot recommend Messina's more highly. They will not disappoint

nd the food was to die for!! We had just over 100 guests in attendance and everyone has been raving about the food and the staff who serviced the event. The food was delicious and displayed beautifully and the service was impeccable. They were ultra professional and went above and beyond to make it perfect from the action station to the people taking care of the food service and the bar. I can’t say enough about how wonderful this team made the event. We have had the pleasure of working with Lydia on providing proposals for our wedding reception for several different venue options and she is THE MOST accommodating professional we’ve encountered. Believe it or not, planning a wedding on a budget is kinda stressful, but Lydia makes it better by responding to emails at all hours of the day and night and by offering budget friendly options and ideas. Not only does she know her stuff, but she’s delightful and approachable. It is apparent why they are voted “Best of” in so many categories. I just wish there were more stars to give! We hope to utilize their services for the wedding day too!!!

uote. After re-working the menu several times to suite my brides budget she was quick to offer even more services like extra tables! Her entire team was pleasure to work and very professional. Mark was AMAZING! They were so efficient and everything was piping hot perfection! They also jumped in to help with anything that I needed even helping me finalize some set up. HIRE THEM!!!

ow great everything was! Will definitely think of Messina’s in the future!

and created the perfect menu and environment for the event at a phenomenal price. We were very hands on with the decorating process and all of our needs were accommodated before and the day of. The space would be gorgeous for any type of event Don’t hesitate to give them a call to book yours!!

everyone and absoloutely nothing went wrong we had multiple meetings with the staff to make sure everything was perfect and Stacey was very understanding and always did everything she could to make my special day very special- with succeess! On top of the wonderful service its affordable, I reccomend Messinas to everyone for any event and I will be back !

planning trip a year out. They worked with our schedule. Lydia walked us through the menu while we gobbled up the amazing options. My fiancé and I walked away knowing they were the ones for us. Over the months of planning I worked with Lydia, and I emailed and talked on the phone on probably what would be considered a pretty irregular basis it was so frequent. She was always quick to answer my questions and guide me through the most stressful part of our wedding planning, food and booze! She was also so helpful as I started to realize I needed little extra things here and there (a bartender, a flip between ceremony and reception, napkins, cake cutting set up, etc). They were amazing to work with on the planning process. Cut to the wedding day, when I arrived at the venue they setting up. I was so happy to see that the person I had been working with, Lydia, was there! She had the foresight to check out the tables that were being used during the reception and realized they were going to be too complicated to try to assemble during the cocktail hour and started putting them together in the carriage way. I’m so glad she checked on them at that time and was able to come up with a plan to make sure they got out quickly! After the ceremony, lydia and the gang were quick to get me a drink to calm my jitters before we started taking pictures. The “small bites” were served during cocktail hour and man were they good. Me and one of my bridesmaids repeatedly left conversations to go sneak another. For the remainder of the night Lydia would check in with me to ask me if I needed a drink, see if I was ready to do the next thing, and make sure we were happy. After the wedding boxes of food were made for us to take home including some cake, and our topper. A few days later we received a sweet email from Lydia wishing us the best. On top of having stellar food, the service they provided, particularly Lydia, for us was out of this world. I would use Messina’s ten times over. Thank you guys SO much!💕

evening wedding, however Hurricane Nate and the curfew resulted in the need for last minute changes in plans. Every time I spoke to Lydia on the day before the wedding, she was calm, supportive, and had a solution to any weather-related issue that had come up. Despite having to move the wedding up several hours, everything went off beautifully. The food was EXCELLENT, I'm still getting comments from guests about how much they enjoyed it!! Lydia and her team were attentive, helpful, and worked hard to make sure our day was everything we wanted. I absolutely recommend Messina's for any NOLA area catering needs!

or us. They are talented, organized, prepared, creative, dedicated, smart, experienced, fun, funny, and solution-oriented. They clearly and quickly communicate. On May 20, 2017, my wife and I got married in New Orleans. Neither of us are from NOLA. Pretty much we had 200 people come to the wedding from everywhere but New Orleans. We knew if people were going to spend a bunch of money to travel we needed to hit all three parts of the reception criteria out of the park: 1) food, 2) booze, and 3) music. Messina's carried the food and provided (along with Wayward Owl Brewery) an amazing environment for a fun and memorable reception. We knew we were going to choose Messina's from day 1. We flew into NOLA to do tastings with 6 caterers in a weekend. 4 of them were on one day. Stacey and Chef Mark met us and designed a menu based upon our prior communications. It was excellent. We had 2 close friends with us during our test run. We did not (on purpose) disclose one of them was gluten intolerant. Stacey and her team immediately accommodated and provided a delicious meal. The food, service, and ability to deal with the unpredictable won our business. We went back a month or so later with my (now) wife's mother. Stacey and Mark offered to provide another tasting. It made it a special trip for my wife and her mother. More important, they took our comments and discussion from the first tasting and created custom (off-menu) items for our second tasting and reception. As we were planning the wedding remotely, Stacey provided our boots on the ground. She arranged for tents, chairs, tables, staffing, and amazing food! She really served as an uncompensated wedding coordinator. For planning purposes, they met us at the site of the reception three times before the wedding. On the day of the wedding, the food was amazing and the bartenders briskly provided attentive/enthusiastic service. We even had fresh grilled oysters, bananas foster bread pudding made with croissants, and a beignets station. The charcuterie table was a work of culinary art. Chef Mark is a genius. He heard me mention I like chorizo; so, he made an appetizer with chorizo. My wife loves a particular ginger beer for Moscow mules - it was there. We felt like Messina's was having as much fun creating as we did consuming. Throughout the process, as with any wedding, Stacey's team helped us deal with unanticipated obstacles. Messina's greets challenges with solutions. For example, shortly before the wedding, due to some regulatory concerns, we learned we were required to have our liquor and wine off premises. Stacey and her team created a tented outdoor cocktail lounge. It was a hit! In sum, they customize your experience for you. Your reception is not trapped inside the four corners of a menu, contract, or some policy. They want your special day to be YOUR special day. People still rave about the food. I hear from people who did not attend, but who have heard about our wedding from other people. I get it; everyone will tell you your wedding is great. However, when people talk to people other than you about your wedding, you know you hit a home run. Messina's exceeded our high expectations. They were like the helpful and fun Aunt -- they are like family. We cannot thank them enough.

ing and always responded to our emails or calls within 24 hours or sooner. It was very important to include both of our cultures which involved New Orleans cuisine and Ethiopian food. Messina’s provided the New Orleans food, and we provided the Ethiopian food. We didn’t have to worry about finding separate chafing dishes etc. for the food we provided Messina’s took care of it all. After months of planning, we wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to taste the food, so Stacey recommended a sweetheart dinner immediately after the ceremony. That was the smartest decision because it allowed us to be alone for a little bit and also enjoy the fantastic food. I would recommend Messina’s and would work with them again.

rdworking people who made such a special night come together without any hitches and made it a night we all will never forget. The setting is quite lovely and spacious. One of the dishes we had that I highly recommend is the Cuban Style pulled pork, it was amazing!

tion. Thank you for being so great to us!!