We hired the Little Pasta Company for our wedding this summer. At the start of our journey, they were incredibly helpful and professional. They answered all of our questions and gave us a lot of time and support. We decided to book them for our wedding breakfast, and their communication was excellent. We went for a food tasting, where we got to try a wide selection of their food, which was again excellent. We found them to be very well organised, and our final pre-wedding call soothed any concerns we had about the day; we were formally introduced to our event manager. They took a lot of time to make sure that they were fully aware of any dietary requirements, of which we had a few, including vegan and coeliac, and the whole process was very professional.

Unfortunately, several issues came up on the day of our wedding.

The first was that the event manager was not present. We had hired an on-the-day coordinator separately to oversee the wedding day, but their responsibilities did not include managing the catering. We were not informed before the wedding that because we had hired a separate on-the-day coordinator, the Little Pasta Company would not be sending their event manager. This resulted in a lot of confusion and mismanagement that could otherwise have been avoided.

The second concerns the dietary requirements, which we went to extensive lengths to make the Little Pasta Company aware of, including a guest breakdown and seating charts showing where requirements were in effect. As previously stated to the Little Pasta Company, we had two guests who are vegan. When the pasta starters were served, we were told that both pastas (we had two options, served family style) were vegan and even sent the server to double-check with the kitchen. We were again assured that both were. However, one was not, and as a result, our vegan guests ate non-vegan food. We queried what had happened with the server and the kitchen, and it was confirmed that the server had relayed the information they had been provided, and it was the kitchen staff who had incorrectly advised it was vegan.

We chose the chocolate mousse for dessert and asked if it could be made vegan for the vegan guests. We spoke to Daniel specifically at the Little Pasta Company on two separate occasions about this, and he said that it was feasible, but he would have to try it out first. Following this, we received the final information pack for the day, which included the two vegan chocolate mousses, and we believed that this meant they were happy this could be achieved. When it came time for dessert, our vegan guests were given store-bought Gu desserts rather than an alternative homemade dessert. We were informed after the desserts went out that, despite their best efforts, they could not make a vegan mousse. This was not communicated to us before the wedding

We had two coeliac guests. Because of the confusion in the kitchen, one gluten-free starter was given to another guest who wasn’t coeliac, and therefore one of our coeliac guests had no starter. They accommodated by plating up a smaller version of the main course, stating they would order in a separate meal for her for the main course. They did not, and she had the same food twice. Additionally, we queried whether the potatoes for the main course were gluten-free and were advised by the kitchen staff that they were not after she was given the meal, which was then taken off her. Following this, on a call with Daniel, he confirmed that the potatoes were in fact gluten-free, as it was the gravy that was not, and the information we had been given by the kitchen was incorrect, so her meal was returned to her again. In the end, our coeliac guests no longer had confidence that the food would be safe for them and did not eat.

The third is the overall quality of the food. We decided on the grigliata option, but because of limitations with our venue, the Little Pasta Company suggested it would be easier and a smoother process if they brought in electric ovens to cook the food instead. We deferred to their expertise and agreed. We do not know if it would have been different if we had not, but on the day, the starters and main courses arrived cold and several guests, including myself, had to ask for them to be reheated. We were told by guests that the vegetarian/vegan main course did not appear to be cooked properly and that the aubergine in the aubergine parmigiana appeared to be raw.

As a result of these issues, my now-wife and I had to spend a significant portion of our wedding day dealing with catering missteps. The staff in attendance were very apologetic and understanding, which we appreciated, but the damage had been done. We spoke to Daniel on the phone during the wedding day, and he too was very apologetic and immediately offered us a refund following the dessert substitution.

We did receive a full refund the next day and further compensation, alongside a sincere apology and acknowledgement of the mistakes that were made. We recognise that the Little Pasta Company appropriately handled the issues post our wedding day and that mistakes can happen. But this does not change that the numerous catering problems had a significant impact on our wedding day, and we feel like these would have been largely avoidable had they not unilaterally chosen not to send their event manager. We were advised that this has never happened before, and while we felt it was important to share this review, we hope that others do receive the high-quality service that is described by their other customers, which led us to choose them in the first place.

Can't recommend The Little Pasta Company enough. They were a joy to work with from start to finish and Daniel is a gem. He made the whole experience so smooth and enjoyable. We had the porchetta which was to die for, my husband could have eaten a whole one, and guests continue to tell us how delicious the food was. Can't wait to use them again.