Second year in a row using Purple Onion and will certainly continue in the future. Elle and team easily handled our group of 150, food was excellent, provided realistic planning recommendations, and provided calm and cool service the day of the event. Setup and tear down were very efficient. Highly recommend Elle Hansen as your Event Designer - absolute 5 star service.
Liz Brocato
Our event at Wolf Trap Center for Education was catered by Purple Onion. Margaret and the staff were so easy to work with and the food was delicious! We had a perfect blend of appetizers and the desserts after the ceremony were amazing. We look forward to working with them again!
J. Renee Services
I’m a wedding planner and recently had the pleasure of working with Purple Onion at Stone Tower Winery. Elle and her team were wonderful to work with. They were professional and supportive throughout the day. The food was delicious, and they treated the vendor team with the same care and attention as guests. I truly look forward to working with them again.
Joseph Delaney
We cannot recommend Purple Onion Catering highly enough! From start to finish, they were amazing—flexible, responsive, and incredibly helpful. We wanted a fully vegetarian wedding, and their team worked closely with us to craft a versatile, flavorful, and crowd-pleasing menu for our appetizers, main courses, and late-night bites. Every dish was thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented.
A special shoutout to Cassie and Sydney, who were absolute stars throughout the entire planning process. They were kind, patient, and always on top of every detail. Their guidance and creativity helped bring our vision to life, and they truly went above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Purple Onion also helped us coordinate rentals for our tablescapes and set up the bar with delicious specialty cocktails. They did so much more than just catering— they were a huge part of making our wedding day so special.
Purple Onion Catering was one of the best decisions we made—professional, talented, and a joy to work with. We’re so grateful for everything they did!
Dan Robinson
Purple Onion's wedding catering was fantastic! We enjoyed working with Phoebe, Sydney, and the full catering team throughout our planning process, and our guests loved the food on the day of the event. Every step in the catering process including the tasting, menu selection, signature drinks, and day of planning were personalized for our needs. We're happy to highly recommend Purple Onion for anyone getting married in the DC area! 5 stars!
SM Moore
I hired Purple Onion after speaking with multiple catering companies. The event was my Mom's celebration of life and the planning of this event was emotional for me. Margaret was kind, empathetic and patient with me as I went back and forth quite a bit on the menu. She confidently made suggestions so that I finally felt good about the menu and could move on to the other details. The day of the event, the staff were early and waiting for me. They were bright, kind and so efficient. The set-up was lovely and they offered thoughtful suggestions for setting up the memory table and how to display the gobs of flower arrangements. All of them went out of their way to make the event so special. I am still getting compliments on the food -- it was displayed beautifully, looked bountiful, and it was delicious!! I highly recommend Purple Onion and will be using them for any future event needs I have!!!
Mary Ann Brown
They catered our corporate event, were very professional and the food was delicious.
Joy McElwee
We couldn’t have been more impressed with the catering team at The Purple Onion. From start to finish, they were organized, professional, and an absolute pleasure to work with. The food was incredible—beautifully presented, full of flavor, and enjoyed by every single guest.
Beyond the food, the staff was friendly, attentive, and went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. They handled last-minute changes with grace and made the entire experience stress-free for us. It’s clear this team takes pride in what they do, and it made a huge difference in our event. Highly recommended!
Mimi Freemyer
The food from Purple Onion was absolutely incredible—our guests loved everything from cocktail hour to the dessert table! Cassie and Sydney were so helpful answering our million questions and in guiding us through the menu and helping us pick our signature cocktail (“The Putterita”, a strawberry margaritas in honor of our two cats). I thought that the mac and cheese croquettes were to die for and my now husband devoured any mini lobster rolls he could get his hands on. The only hiccup was a menu alteration: we had changed the beef entrée from short rib to steak, but short rib was served on the wedding day. Thankfully, the only person who even noticed was me (and only because I don’t like short rib); everyone else thought it was absolutely delicious! We still fully recommend them, but suggest that future couples double-check their final menu orders carefully if making substitutions. Overall, an amazing experience with delicious food and kind, professional service!!
Stewart Wesley
My wife and I worked with Purple Onion for our wedding a few years ago at Woodend Sanctuary. Everything was very easy to set up, the tasting went well, and while the price per person was relatively high, we were comfortable with it.
Unfortunately, the amount of food served for the entrees was incredibly small. The meals were so small that it has become a running joke in our family that we still hear about and some of our cousins ordered Taco Bell to the venue. I am writing this review now after hearing the joke again 2 years later. We were specifically concerned about not having enough food and even added an after dinner snack to the contract.
I would highly advise anybody considering Purple Onion to discuss portion size with them ahead of time or choose another vendor.
We planned a small backyard wedding with Purple Onion and had a great experience start to finish! We did a brunch menu and the food was delicious, and we got so many compliments from our guests!
We loved working with our Event Designer, Elle, who made every step of the process clear and easy. Communication was great, she was always available to answer questions, and she made us feel really well cared-for and clearly had an eye on all our details! From initial planning, to our walkthrough, tasting, and day-of support, the whole team was incredible and the food and over-all event design/support was amazing and exactly what we wanted. We really couldn't have asked for a better experience. Highly highly recommend working with Purple Onion for your next event!
Melissa Friedberg
The food was delicious and the service was impeccable! Many guests commented that it was the tastiest food they had eaten at an event this large.
Jessica
We had an incredible experience working with Purple Onion Catering! Cassie is incredibly responsive, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. From start to finish, she ensured everything was seamless, making the planning process effortless. On-site, Abby and Roxana, along with the rest of the team, were fantastic—efficient, attentive, and always on top of things. We heard so many compliments about the delicious food! Their dedication to quality and service was evident in every detail, and we’re so grateful to have worked with such a fantastic team. Highly recommend!
Jayne Rose
This is the 3rd event I’ve done with Purple Onion. They work with you from the booking, menu selections, and costs, to the clean up. The food is so creative and delicious. If you want a first class event, Purple Onion should be your first call. Did I mention how good the food is!!
Kr Wilson
This was the first time I have used a full service caterer for a party and from start to finish it was an amazing experience. Ellie was our coordinator and she was so helpful in explaining everything and providing many food options to accommodate serious food allergies. The onsite staff was also great and did an amazing job from start to finish. We were able to enjoy the entire evening. I would highly recommend Purple Onion and hope to host another party soon so I can work with them again! I forgot to take a picture of the food table but this is a pic towards the end of the night when the dessert was out on display.
Second year in a row using Purple Onion and will certainly continue in the future. Elle and team easily handled our group of 150, food was excellent, provided realistic planning recommendations, and provided calm and cool service the day of the event. Setup and tear down were very efficient. Highly recommend Elle Hansen as your Event Designer - absolute 5 star service.
Our event at Wolf Trap Center for Education was catered by Purple Onion. Margaret and the staff were so easy to work with and the food was delicious! We had a perfect blend of appetizers and the desserts after the ceremony were amazing. We look forward to working with them again!
I’m a wedding planner and recently had the pleasure of working with Purple Onion at Stone Tower Winery. Elle and her team were wonderful to work with. They were professional and supportive throughout the day. The food was delicious, and they treated the vendor team with the same care and attention as guests. I truly look forward to working with them again.
We cannot recommend Purple Onion Catering highly enough! From start to finish, they were amazing—flexible, responsive, and incredibly helpful. We wanted a fully vegetarian wedding, and their team worked closely with us to craft a versatile, flavorful, and crowd-pleasing menu for our appetizers, main courses, and late-night bites. Every dish was thoughtfully prepared and beautifully presented.
A special shoutout to Cassie and Sydney, who were absolute stars throughout the entire planning process. They were kind, patient, and always on top of every detail. Their guidance and creativity helped bring our vision to life, and they truly went above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Purple Onion also helped us coordinate rentals for our tablescapes and set up the bar with delicious specialty cocktails. They did so much more than just catering— they were a huge part of making our wedding day so special.
Purple Onion Catering was one of the best decisions we made—professional, talented, and a joy to work with. We’re so grateful for everything they did!
Purple Onion's wedding catering was fantastic! We enjoyed working with Phoebe, Sydney, and the full catering team throughout our planning process, and our guests loved the food on the day of the event. Every step in the catering process including the tasting, menu selection, signature drinks, and day of planning were personalized for our needs. We're happy to highly recommend Purple Onion for anyone getting married in the DC area! 5 stars!
I hired Purple Onion after speaking with multiple catering companies. The event was my Mom's celebration of life and the planning of this event was emotional for me. Margaret was kind, empathetic and patient with me as I went back and forth quite a bit on the menu. She confidently made suggestions so that I finally felt good about the menu and could move on to the other details. The day of the event, the staff were early and waiting for me. They were bright, kind and so efficient. The set-up was lovely and they offered thoughtful suggestions for setting up the memory table and how to display the gobs of flower arrangements. All of them went out of their way to make the event so special. I am still getting compliments on the food -- it was displayed beautifully, looked bountiful, and it was delicious!! I highly recommend Purple Onion and will be using them for any future event needs I have!!!
They catered our corporate event, were very professional and the food was delicious.
We couldn’t have been more impressed with the catering team at The Purple Onion. From start to finish, they were organized, professional, and an absolute pleasure to work with. The food was incredible—beautifully presented, full of flavor, and enjoyed by every single guest.
Beyond the food, the staff was friendly, attentive, and went above and beyond to ensure everything ran smoothly. They handled last-minute changes with grace and made the entire experience stress-free for us. It’s clear this team takes pride in what they do, and it made a huge difference in our event. Highly recommended!
The food from Purple Onion was absolutely incredible—our guests loved everything from cocktail hour to the dessert table! Cassie and Sydney were so helpful answering our million questions and in guiding us through the menu and helping us pick our signature cocktail (“The Putterita”, a strawberry margaritas in honor of our two cats). I thought that the mac and cheese croquettes were to die for and my now husband devoured any mini lobster rolls he could get his hands on. The only hiccup was a menu alteration: we had changed the beef entrée from short rib to steak, but short rib was served on the wedding day. Thankfully, the only person who even noticed was me (and only because I don’t like short rib); everyone else thought it was absolutely delicious! We still fully recommend them, but suggest that future couples double-check their final menu orders carefully if making substitutions. Overall, an amazing experience with delicious food and kind, professional service!!
My wife and I worked with Purple Onion for our wedding a few years ago at Woodend Sanctuary. Everything was very easy to set up, the tasting went well, and while the price per person was relatively high, we were comfortable with it.
Unfortunately, the amount of food served for the entrees was incredibly small. The meals were so small that it has become a running joke in our family that we still hear about and some of our cousins ordered Taco Bell to the venue. I am writing this review now after hearing the joke again 2 years later. We were specifically concerned about not having enough food and even added an after dinner snack to the contract.
I would highly advise anybody considering Purple Onion to discuss portion size with them ahead of time or choose another vendor.
Restaurantji Recommends
We planned a small backyard wedding with Purple Onion and had a great experience start to finish! We did a brunch menu and the food was delicious, and we got so many compliments from our guests!
We loved working with our Event Designer, Elle, who made every step of the process clear and easy. Communication was great, she was always available to answer questions, and she made us feel really well cared-for and clearly had an eye on all our details! From initial planning, to our walkthrough, tasting, and day-of support, the whole team was incredible and the food and over-all event design/support was amazing and exactly what we wanted. We really couldn't have asked for a better experience. Highly highly recommend working with Purple Onion for your next event!
The food was delicious and the service was impeccable! Many guests commented that it was the tastiest food they had eaten at an event this large.
We had an incredible experience working with Purple Onion Catering! Cassie is incredibly responsive, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. From start to finish, she ensured everything was seamless, making the planning process effortless. On-site, Abby and Roxana, along with the rest of the team, were fantastic—efficient, attentive, and always on top of things. We heard so many compliments about the delicious food! Their dedication to quality and service was evident in every detail, and we’re so grateful to have worked with such a fantastic team. Highly recommend!
This is the 3rd event I’ve done with Purple Onion. They work with you from the booking, menu selections, and costs, to the clean up. The food is so creative and delicious. If you want a first class event, Purple Onion should be your first call. Did I mention how good the food is!!
This was the first time I have used a full service caterer for a party and from start to finish it was an amazing experience. Ellie was our coordinator and she was so helpful in explaining everything and providing many food options to accommodate serious food allergies. The onsite staff was also great and did an amazing job from start to finish. We were able to enjoy the entire evening. I would highly recommend Purple Onion and hope to host another party soon so I can work with them again! I forgot to take a picture of the food table but this is a pic towards the end of the night when the dessert was out on display.
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