Coast Catering By Barry Layne

Barry and his team did an outstanding job with our company Scotch Tasting last night. The set up was superb. The food pairings were excellent. The staff was attentive. They even broke down and put away all the chairs and tables that we had set up separately. Our guests were impressed and well cared for. I recommend them unequivocally.

This is so late and so overdue, I apologize. Our wedding was September 20, 2014!
Barry and Coast Catering is amazing. My family and I have actually known Barry for many years, I even use to work with him at Delicias Restaurant! He also did my sisters wedding 6 years ago as well!
Our wedding was fantastic and it was the best day ever! Everything was unbelievable: the food, the tables, the arrangement/​look/​style of all the tables, the cheese and dessert displays, the market lights (my favorite) and just everything you guys did for our wedding! I keep on getting compliments of how great the food was and how it was a first class wedding and you guys made it that way! So thank you so much and thank you Tricia for checking in on me a bunch that day, I had a cold so I really appreciated your assistants with things!!! Barry thank you so much, I knew it would be great, your the best!!! Thank you to your whole team as well!!! Oh also, thank you for making our table the way I wanted it, it was perfect and thank you for making the specialty drinks so special!!! :)
They did our ceremony and reception and did everything to what we had asked and could ever want :)

Coast catering is AMAZING. We worked with Barry to plan a great Mexican fare for our wedding last weekend. From our initial meeting, to the tasting — to the final day, everything went perfectly. The detail he and the team put into the food and making everything taste so great and look great too is beyond me! I have been to so many weddings and literally have never tasted anything better than what they did. Food is HUGE for me and I dont usually have great experiences when dining with over 100 people and I was so impressed. The team was also great and the service was incredible. I have been getting so many comments about how great the food was and I cannot thank them enough! They deserve more than 5 stars and anybody that has an event in San Diego should never look anywhere else!

I truly think Coast is the BEST there is in San Diego! My (now) husband and I are mild «foodies» and so the food was EXTREMELY important to me at our wedding — probably THE most important thing! I know it can be hard to pull off delicious food when cooking for 100+ people, but they did such an amazing job. From the tasting session (which was so professional, personal and delicious — run by Barry himself!!) to the actual wedding day. All of our guests were ranting and raving about the food. It really was SO good. Everyone kept saying that the service was the best they’ve seen. The servers were immediately RIGHT there for anything you could need! They treated my husband and I like we were royalty as well! Always making sure we had appetizers and food, even as we were buzzing around talking to people.
Coast also helped with A TON of the event planning, which was SO nice. They’ve done so many weddings at our venue, so I really trusted all of their opinions and suggestions. It worked out perfectly, and I could not have asked for a better day, and a big part of it had to do with Coast! I would highly recommend them for any large or small event you may have!

Coast catered my wedding in La Jolla. They were on the approved caterer list, and I’m glad that they were an option. They are more expensive than other catering companies but the level of service, attention to detail and professionalism make it all worth it. We did the tasting with Barry the owner and had a wonderful experience that really won us over. The day of our wedding, all of the servers were great and Christie our coordinator had the kitchen running on time and efficiently. Thank you Coast!

Where do I began with how fabulous this company is?! To start with just the food… I have tried so many different catering companies in my days and nothing, I mean NOTHING is as good as Coast. This is not your traditional catering, this is fine dining. Everything is cooked on site so it doesn’t dry out in a warmer… this means your steak is cooked perfect! My guests were wowed by how delicious everything was and the presentation was flawless. The service is spot on and you can tell the employees enjoy working for this company. Every server was smiling and had the highest level of professionalism.
For main course, we got the hanger steak, sea bass and gnocchi and they were all winners. It was hard to chose what we even wanted for the event. They used only the freshest ingredients and incorporated local produce. The gnocchi is made day of and some of the best I’ve had.
Jennifer and Barry are tremendous people who really care about what they do. They went above and beyond helping to execute my fiancé and I’s dream event, and offered wonderful suggestions for décor and out of the box ideas.
If quality, good food, and impressing your guests are important to you, this is the company for you. I highly recommend using them and trusting their guidance, they know what they are doing. And if you are smart, you get the chocolate truffle bombs for dessert, because there are the best thing I have ever tasted. I wish I could order more!
Cannot thank Coast enough for making our wedding that much better!

5 stars just isn’t enough!
Coast Catering catered my wedding in La Jolla last fall. They were on my wedding venue’s «preferred caterers» list (along with 20 or so others), which is how I initially found them. I *scoured* the Unilocal reviews on a number of caterers and was impressed not just with Coast’s overall rave reviews, but with so many commenters’ particular emphasis on the amazing service (in addition to high praise for the food).
My husband and I met with a few caterers before selecting Coast, and we chose them for all of the other reasons fellow Unilocal reviewers have said: Coast simply shone over the rest. We worked directly with the owner, Barry (who met with us initially and who couldn’t have been more welcoming), and with Kari for all of details. Kari was a real gem. She handled every last detail, and she was prompt and responsive at every turn. On top of that, she just has a great personality. I honestly don’t know how we would’ve pulled it off without her insight and attention to detail. Every wedding needs a Kari!
The food and the service were as incredible as everyone has described. My husband and I did a tasting first (no charge since we ultimately used them as our caterers), where they set up a beautiful intimate scene for us, complete with printed menus (and we were permitted to taste however much we wanted — multiple entrees, etc.). Day-​of service was impeccable. Of course, my husband and I missed the cocktail hour due to taking photographs after the ceremony, but no matter — they brought us a sampling plate of each of the apps so we didn’t miss anything. Ditto with the cake. For dinner entrees, we went with a filet, a mushroom ravioli, and the pistachio-​crusted butterfish. It was all wonderful.
I would use them again in a heartbeat, and simply can’t recommend them enough. Everyone we interacted with on Barry’s team made us feel like we were their most important customers. They really have a lock on not just presenting outstanding food, but outstanding service as well.

I cannot even begin to say how absolutely fantastic Barry and his crew are! Coast Catering recently traveled to Borrego Springs for my 55^th Birthday party, a weekend long celebration! Coast was 100% on point with each and every single little thing! I have to say that Barry took my somewhat extreme ideas and made them a reality, providing an over the top experience for me and all of my 26 guests! It was a difficult task — creating five different events in one weekend in a rented house that neither one of us had yet to see. We began with concept menus, colors, themes, rentals, etc. and the results were beyond fabulous. The first night we had a South of the Border Party with a most delicious menu that brought rave reviews with a taco bar, quesadilla station, enchiladas, etc. all ending with the wonderfully tasty warm churros with a hot chocolate shooter and caramel drizzle… heaven! Event #2 was a ladies «tea» luncheon for all the special women in my life with beautifully displayed tea sandwiches, scones and a crisp and delicious salad all topped off with a luscious French Lemon Curd dessert. The room was then transformed for Event #3, a plated Black Tie Old Hollywood Glam dinner!!! It was just magnificent and magical! From the beautifully set table, tray passed delicious starters (Scampi, chicken & potato samosa, pesto flatbread & divine meatballs) to the delicious and beautiful dinner which consisted of a caprese salad, two entrees — chicken cordon bleu & Kobe skirt steak with grilled prawns and two luscious desserts — Chocolate Pot Du Crème & Strawberry Short Cake, everything was simply amazing and flawlessly prepared and served! It was a fabulous night for me and for all of my guests too! The next morning we had Event #4, a hearty and delicious Brunch with an omelet station and a waffle bar as well as beautifully displayed delicious pastries, muffins, fruit, sausage, potatos, etc. We also had both a mimosa bar and a blood Mary bar. Once again, everything was fabulous! Moving on into the day was Event #5 — a backyard BBQ! Everything from jalapeño and cilantro corn bread to an organic greens salad, grilled chicken, grilled tri-​tip, BBQ ribs, Mac & Cheese (a huge hit)!, grilled corn on the cob, BBQ beans, and warm berry cobblers in cute little mason jars! A 100% amazing job by Barry and his fabulous crew!!! Thank you ALL so very much for making my birthday weekend so very delicious AND special for me and for all my guests!!! I have used Coast catering for my daughter’s bachelorette party, her wedding, my husband’s 60^th birthday party, now my 55^th birthday party weekend and I am 100% positive I will use their services again and again in the future! They are amazing!

This is an amazing service — I can’t believe how friendly, efficient, and awesome they were at the dinner they catered for my grandpa’s 80^th birthday!
Before dinner we were served appetizers (3 different ones that were all amazing) all small enough to eat in one bite without looking ridiculous. Once we were finished with those, we had a buffet style dinner that was absolutely gorgeous. There were rolls with herb butter, a pomegranate and goat cheese salad, mushroom risotto, chicken, salmon, and a quinoa salad. I could not believe how beautiful everything looked, and how everything was made in such a timely fashion.
Definitely had some stand out dishes that I’d recommend: the mushroom risotto, and the goat cheese/​pomegranate salad. I’ve never had a risotto that I’ve liked enough to have seconds of, but this one had me thinking about it the next day!
The two who did our small event (James/​Jim?) were so friendly and really made our evening one to remember. We didn’t have to lift a single finger — they did 100% of the set up and clean up, leaving us with leftovers to serve as dinner for the next day!
I’d highly recommend this service and wish that I could have them as chefs in my home every night!

You guys are the best hands down. Everyone said it was the best food they’d had at a wedding! From the salad to the butterfish! Local fresh food! Fantastic!

We hired Coast Catering for our Scripps Seaside Forum wedding last month and it was hands down the best decision we made! The venue requires you to choose from a list of ten well know catering companies in San Diego and we chose Coast!
We were blown away when we walked into Coast’s tasting and were greeted by the owner, Barry. He then escorted us to a private room with a slide show playing of other weddings they had catered at our venue, Barry definitely did his homework!
Throughout the whole process we worked very closely with Barry and Jake, our Event Manager. Anything we needed to add to the contract or questions about the process they were accommodating and very professional.
The day of our wedding was absolutely perfect! Jake went above and beyond to make sure things ran smoothly and they did! Coast’s staff was professional and made sure our glasses were full of champagne all evening, which was a plus! When we sat down for dinner our sweetheart table greeted us with the Hors d’oeuvres we had missing during cocktail hour and Jake brought dinner to our table so we could sit down for a minute. We can’t thank Jake enough for those few minutes alone together to take in all of our guests enjoying themselves, it was a special moment.
I havn’t mentioned how great the food was! Guests raved and are still talking about how amazing everything tasted. We even had compliments from a guest who is a professional chef, he was so impressed by the presentation and quality. Coast Catering exceeded our expectations and we look forward to using them again for another event!

Tricia and Barry — bravo.
We had our wedding at the new childrens museum this past weekend and between our huge amount of guests and the slightly awkward layout (oh hello large playground jungle gym) Tricia worked with our wedding planner Hazel (double q events) and Joe (crown rentals) to make it work.
Rentals /​Layout — the partnership here is such a breath of fresh air As a bride I have no idea what dimensions are going to work for a space and more importantly I was worried that guests wouldnt have a good time if they were cramped or couldnt see. The whole team was creative and we were able to make it to pictures at all of the tables ! Bottom line — trust these guys they know what to do !
FOOD — we foolishly thought it would be a good idea to eat before the wedding since everyone says you wont have time eat. But Tricia and staff made it a point to get food out to us and we immediately regretted the california burritos we wolfed down.
My family is critical of food they didnt cook so to hear them praise the short rib slow cooked boneless beef (which we added to the menu without trying at the last minute) made us SO happy !! and they loved the tot soi spinach salad just like we did at our tasting. I could eat thay salad for the rest of my life !
If you enjoy food and want to work with a kick ass team — I highly suggest Coast catering !

If I could give them more than 5 stars… I would!
Coast Catering is a preferred vendor for the El Cortez, where we had our wedding in Feb. 2014. We contacted them initially because they were the only caterers we had ever heard of prior to our planning process. But as soon as we started discussions, we were just blown away by Barry and Jennifer.
They were beyond helpful from beginning to end. We were over-​the-​top impressed at our tastings and then on the day of… WOW! Jennifer and her wait-​staff went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of throughout the night.
Our guests loved everything that they had and we even have one trying to convince Coast to send him an order of their sliders! They are just that good!
It has almost been a month since the wedding and we still have guests complimenting not just their food but their service.
I swear, the staff were like ninjas… we didn’t realize they were there until a plate of food ended up right in front of you.
I cannot say enough great things about Barry, Jennifer and their team. If I ever need a caterer again… they are the first and only ones on my list!

Coast Catering handled by boyfriend’s Christmas Party and it was nicely done! I mingled with his smarty pants co-​workers with my glass o’ wine, you know how work parties go: You wander the cubicles and shake hands, someone drinks too much, you see the human offspring of people you didn’t even know had kids: Wow, you actually work with REAL people! Look at this! As a girl who works from home I love a good office kringle mingle. It reminds me of the politics I don’t miss at all and the interaction I remember fondly.
If you’re a smarty pants (or have engineers to please, trust me, its a hard gig) I suggest you ring up Barry and his crew. Here’s a few highlights!
Bread display with herbed butter: Lovely soft rolls and a tasty flavored butter? Say yes to the carb coma. The veggies were all crisp and properly flavored, I had the green beans and they were as expected: I heard raves on the carrots from the table over. There was short rib was a leeetle dry but the sauce was nice. The ham was a clear win! The menu was a solidly chosen to please a crowd. No surprises I thought…
And then! The desserts were spoonfuls of smore chocolate mousse (Not everyone got one but those who did loved it) and passed ice cream cones. WHAT? Yes ice cream cones. I want this at the next Unilocal event. Everyone was delighted.
The servers were super nice and on point, everyone ate and was merry! Nice job! I suggest them for your next office soirée.

Our daughters wedding was in April, 2013 and the first thing she did was to get her caterer. Now I know why. Barry and his staff were unbelievable. The food was farm fresh from local growers, amazing in it’s taste and presentation, and absolutely terrific. The guests were in awe with the amazing appetizers and completely wowed by the main course and desserts. Besides being a great chef, Barry is polite, pleasant and a great business person to work with. He goes out of his way to please you and will make sure his staff does the same. He’s a top rate caterer and we have no complaints, only praises. Thank you, Barry. You were the best!

Coast was wonderful. Their entire team is so friendly and organized and everything went off without a hitch. The food was fantastic. You often wonder at these tastings if they will be able to deliver the same high quality to 150 people and they totally delivered. We were so impressed and so were our guests. Thanks to Barry, Tricia and Jennifer!

I agree with every post — 10 stars for Coast Catering!!! Barry and Jennifer are amazing to work with. They are truly partners in planning events. They have catered multiple events for me and everything is always impeccable — the menu, service, food, load in, load out. They are truly customer service focused and it shows in everything they do. Coast Catering is the perfect catering partner: easy to work with and delicious food and quality execution.
Benita Hartman

I absolutely ADORE Coast Catering. They deserve 10 stars if it was possible. Can you work on that Unilocal?!
I am a Wedding Planner in San Diego, and If I could use Coast for EVERY client, I would. They are So very easy to work with from Concept to Completion.
Alicia is so knowledgable and quick to answer questions and respond to my many requests. Barry is a VERY talented Chef and so nice and personable as well.
The Coast team is able to make the Wedding Planning process so streamlined and simple… and they do this so effortlessly. They are truly experts in the Wedding Catering business.
Thank you for making me look good!
Erica Hinshaw
Wedding Planner
Joie de Vivre Weddings and Events

Amazing, amazing, amazing. We couldn’t have asked for a better catering experience for our wedding on ¹⁰⁄₆ at the Penasquitos Ranch House! Barry and Jennifer are pros, and for a girl like me who was pretty clueless when it comes to weddings, they were beyond helpful. They really understood the aesthetic we wanted, and they didn’t miss a single detail when it came to rentals, ceremony/​reception setup, the schedule, and the menu. Let me tell you about the MENU! We loved every bite, and our guests had endless compliments about the food. I was a lone vegetarian in a sea of carnivores, and they made sure we all had an amazing selection. The roasted organic vegetables, butternut squash ravioli and spinach quiche were fantastic. And the merlot-​braised beef and chicken crepes were our guests’ favorites. Those are only a few of the menu items — everything else was delicious as well.
Another thing to gush about: the service. I did not expect for us and our guests to get so spoiled throughout the reception! I’ve always heard that the bride and groom don’t really get a chance to eat because of all the socializing they have to do, but even when we were running around getting our photos taken during the cocktail hour, the caterers found us and offered us hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Our guests never had an empty glass. All in all, the service was above and beyond.
So yes, Coast Catering deserves all the five-​star ratings it has received. I would give it ten stars if I could. They are one of the reasons our wedding was so flawless.

Coast Catering was simply spectacular! We hired them for our February 25^th wedding and they were amazing! Before meeting with Barry for our initial tasting, we had only exchanged a few emails whereby I explained to him my «vision» for our wedding day. He hit the nail on the head — he listed to everything I said, added his own twist, and the food was to die for. Our reception was at Scripps Seaside Forum in La Jolla and at the tasting, amongst a beautifully set table and candlelight, he had a slide-​show of photos from previous weddings they had done at Scripps. There was so much attention to detail — it was almost flattering! Needless to say we signed a contract with them less than 48 hours later.
Leading up to the wedding, there was open and immediate communication between Jennifer and Barry. The were always very prompt in getting back to us with answers to our questions and/​or updated quotes. Truly a joy to work with!
And the wedding day… was FLAWLESS! The food was incredible and the service was impeccable. Our guests could not stop raving about it. I honestly cannot thank them enough for making our day truly wonderful!