Artichoke and Company — Restaurant in Bonita Springs

Our date of service was 12-12-2020 I posted this on fb... but thought this should be brought to light for those not on fb. I have debated for months and I mean months on whether or not to leave a poor review, because I know what they are capable of and had many great experiences with them for other friends weddings and events. But….. My review is based on my personal experience. I got married last year in December 12, 2020. I have to say my experience with them till the day was great! They were very nice, professional, and helpful. I picked out my menu, had a sit down with Riley, and paid on time. Unfortunately due to COVID we had a big difference in people, but as requested I have a count 2 weeks before, and paid in full. Of course with COVID we still had about 10 people cancel last minute. Regardless it happens, I wasn’t upset, didn’t ask for a discount or anything, and didn’t even mention it. I had a pasta buffet, salad, soup, and bread. Everything tasted amazing, so no problem there. Our meals were great, minus my husband who was little upset the shrimp they served for the pasta was overly chopped into tiny tiny pieces (whatever not a huge deal). Then my Italian wedding soup that I picked was some (minestrone or veggie soup) not sure…. Again whatever that’s no big deal! Wouldn’t cause a fit if that was the only thing. Day after our wedding many guest informed that they ran out of pasta, 3 tables did not get pasta to be exact ( I asked around), including my GRANDPARENTS…..BIG BIG DEAL! Each table had about 8-10 people, so mind you they all did not receive a main course so about 30% of my guests did not get food. Also again as mentioned above about 10 guests who didn’t show who I paid for, so if anything there should’ve been extra. It doesn’t stop there though. I had multiple guests including my mother( she doesn’t drink either), sister in law, brother in law, tell me their chicken was raw and others around them had the same issue. Then my husbands cousin tells us he informed the cook he’s allergic to shell fish and if he had a clean pan, because of the allergy. They didn’t come prepared to be able to accommodate his needs. And if that had been the only issue I probably wouldn’t even mention or gripe, but it truly just added fuel to the fire to my disappointment in the services that were provided. I did report this issue to Riley and was offered a measly 500 dollar discount. I’m sorry but this was so disgusting and distasteful!! My wedding was absolutely ruined by their performance. I was beyond embarrassed and felt ashamed my guests weren’t fed properly. Honestly I wish I had just done mission bbq and at least there would have been plenty of food for my guests to eat, and I would’ve paid a lot less money for it. We left for our honey moon right after the wedding, so I was in no mood to really fight about the issue, as we had an issue with an awful photographer as well. It was all just a little much after the fact. So after we get back my husband tried calling after the wedding to Riley to explain to her 500 dollars refund was not acceptable, his call was never returned. Then I’m at my good friends (Linden, in February, who I actually recommended artichoke to, prior to my experience, so I literally helped make money for them) wedding we see the owner and ask for her contact information, so that we might discuss these unacceptable instances that transpired at our wedding, she never returned my husbands phone call back. So here we are leaving this review, because nothing was rectified in my eyes, a measly 500 dollars means nothing to us after what they did to our most prized day. We did warn our friends prior to this. The owners reply was they have never ran out of food and that never happened. Which A.) no one told her what happened (very disappointing because Riley is her daughter) or B.) she flat out lied to them. And I’ve worked in the F&B department so I get things happen, and there is somethings just not in your control, but you should...

I hired Artichoke to do my wedding reception, initially contacting the catering company through their website impressed by their portfolio. The manager came out to perform an on-sight inspection making sure we had the proper amount of room for all of our food and guests. Mainly with the intent of deciding how everything would be positioned and its placement. We chose to have hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and a late night snack to feed people once more. When the company arrived to set up, they poorly randomized the layout versus what I requested and had previously discussed. Entirely going against all my and our wedding planners wishes without any effort to make it look at least half decent. Cramming all the food on my kitchen countertops in a hideous arrangement, to a point where my guests had trouble seeing, better yet accessing the dishes they jammed together. No one even knew of mashed potato bar because they supplied us with 3oz martini glasses to serve them in?! Anything they felt was a more convenient placement for them was done without any consent, again, I had everything pre-arranged with the manager. The display was extremely awful. I’m clueless as to why the manager came out to solidify a plan with me if they were going to 100% revise everything themselves! Choosing to not use a table I paid for, forgetting the cake cutting set I also paid for, moving the entire coffee display onto a wooden wine rack of mine that got soaked (hence it being for gift bags) but this is their level of thought. The last thing I wanted was my countertop overloaded and cluttered so tightly making it seem I didn’t have adequate space or proper planning, but I did. We coordinated everything out perfectly but the display like I said was an absolute disaster. Communication between the team was unbelievably terrible, they proceeded to do the wrong napkin fold and set the plates on the tables. I requested they set them in order with the food platters, but of course there was no room because they crammed everything on my countertops. We also paid quite a hefty cost for the proper size linens and they were all too oversized for the tables, it was embarrassing. Our two high tops I requested had the linens constantly blowing around my guests, having them try to fix them so they didn't fly away or have anyone trip and fall over them. I don’t understand why it was so difficult to order the proper size linens? All of the food was very good and I was thrilled with the flavors of everything. The chefs did a wonderful job! I also hired 2 servers but the head server Alex was absolutely HORRIBLE, and I mean held zero standard for himself. My guests overheard and mentioned him complaining about how hung over he was from the night before. Casually saying he left the bar at 3am and to top it off he was DRINKING on the job! Literally drinking MY champagne on the clock. I was so unbelievably dissatisfied with the service I received from him. When he stood in my kitchen the entire time he seemed pissed off and agitated, miserable that he even had to be there, barely moved a finger but still helped himself to drinks. My family went looking for coffee and rather than make another pot he just crossed out the option for ‘regular' and told my father “coffee is right there, drink that one” with hardly any decaf left, because he was terribly busy half the time doing nothing and out by my garage. Coincidentally enough, I heard from a friend who had her daughters wedding catered by Artichoke, that Alex was drinking at that event as well so clearly this is regular protocol for him. The other server was great and ran circles around him. If my wedding planners were not there to adjust some issues and help run the show it would have honestly been a complete disaster. At the end of the night the waiters left an hour early, leaving plenty of work for my bartender who I thankfully chose not to hire...

Where do we start with our RAVING review?! :)

Artichoke & Company was the PERFECT catering company for us for so many reasons!

We were referred to Artichoke by our venue coordinator at Lover's Key State Park. Being a super busy couple in our residency training on the other coast of FL, we knew we wanted to work with a company who we could trust with the most important day of our lives. And Artichoke was that PLUS MORE! Artichoke provided us with: food, bar, rentals, and staff. PLUS ALEX - who is more than just a staff coordinator! :)

From the start, Alex was very proactive in the creation of our menu and the timeline of our wedding day. Our food tasting was beyond delicious - the chef presented all courses professionally and beautifully. And it tasted so fresh and delicious!! We loved the food so much at our food tasting that we hired Artichoke to cater our Luau Wedding shower as well (which was FANTASTIC too)!

Alex was truly phenomenal! She became my right-hand throughout the wedding planning process - creating a realistic timeline of events and offering to set-up items on the day of the wedding that I never expected her to assist with. She was so accommodating and was a crucial part of making our wedding day run so smoothly. Alex was even there for our rehearsal to assist our venue coordinator in directing our wedding party, and was there the day of to direct my father and I down the aisle as well as coordinate her staff and ensure everything was set up in the correct place the day of the wedding.

Everything was more beautiful than we expected! And the food was so delicious! When you're hiring a caterer for a wedding, you often worry that the quality of food will suffer, but let me assure you - It didn't! Our guests are still raving about how tender the beef tenderloin was and how fresh the grouper tasted! We also hired Artichoke for our dessert table and cake - which were also a big hit amongst guests. The bartenders were friendly and had fun interacting with guests. One was even dancing, which I appreciated :)

So in summary - ARTICHOKE IS FANTASTIC! Their staff will ensure your wedding day is as perfect as it can be by going above and beyond their job description. Thank you so much Artichoke (and Alex) for all you did to make our wedding day so special and so perfect. You really took the stress off of us so we could have a magical and fun...