HotCakes

HotCakes is the best kept secret when it comes to catering in the Charlottesville, VA area. We had a tight budget and Lisa, the owner of Hotcakes, did everything possible to give us what we wanted within the budget. She is a pleasure to work with... very knowledgeable, detail oriented and passionate about making sure that your wedding is exactly what you dreamed of. We had a cocktail hour with passed hors d'oeuvres, a plated salad, a family style dinner service and a wedding cake. The food was fantastic - it tasted fresh and flavorful. People were raving about the steak. We weren't able to eat much during the wedding, but they made an amazing and plentiful bag to go. They may be called HotCakes, but their regular catering is top notch as well. The service is fantastic as they go above and beyond to make your day special. Additionally, the presentation of the food was excellent!

Lisa was wonderful to work with. She is pleasant and seems to share the joy of the occasion. She is very creative with your budget, and does not pressure you to spend more than you can afford. Lisa also had good idea for how to lay out the reception.We had an assortment of delicious sandwiches, including vegetarian options. We also had sides such as fruit and the phenomenal sesame noodles that I get every time I visit the Hotcakes restaurant. Hotcakes even accommodated a severe food allergy of one of our guests.Our cake was delicious. We selected a white cake with raspberry melba filling. It looked gorgeous and tasted delicious.The only thing that I didn't quite understand was that HotCakes didn't put the flowers we had given them on the cake as planned. Instead they stuck candy mints to it. It ended up being OK because my aunt is a professional baker, so she enjoyed adding the flowers for us halfway through the reception. I would recommend, though, that other brides be very clear about how you would like the cake decorated. Even with this minor glitch, I was quite pleased with the cake.

Lisa McEwan of Hot Cakes made the most amazing wedding cake ever for us. We ordered a hazelnut praline cake with a hazelnut meringue, and hazelnut frosting. Everyone loved it -- even our friends who normally hate wedding cake could not stop raving about it. Fortunately, we had some left-overs that we shared with our family -- everyone wanted seconds! Hot Cakes even provided us with a 4-inch separate anniversary tier to take home. Instead of a cake-topper, we used flowers. Hot Cakes arranged the flowers, provided by Patterson's Florist, on the cake for us which was simply decorated with swiss dots and purple ribbon -- the cake looked stunning. The problem with most bakers, is that while the cake may look beautiful, it doesn't taste very good. Hot Cakes delivered on all levels, hands down. We could not have been more pleased with the cake, the service and the cost.

Lisa McEwan and her team at Hot Cakes made the most amazing wedding cake ever for us. We ordered a hazelnut praline cake with a hazelnut meringue, and hazelnut frosting. Everyone loved it -- even our friends who normally hate wedding cake could not stop raving about it. Fortunately, we had some left-overs that we shared with our family -- everyone wanted seconds! Hot Cakes even provided us with a 4-inch separate anniversary tier to take home. Instead of a cake-topper, we used flowers. Hot Cakes arranged the flowers, provided by Patterson's Florist, on the cake for us which was simply decorated with swiss dots and purple ribbon -- the cake looked stunning. The problem with most bakers, is that while the cake may look beautiful, it doesn't taste very good. Hot Cakes delivered on all levels, hands down. We could not have been more pleased with the cake, the service and the cost.

Hotcakes was a pleasure to deal with from the planning stages of our wedding reception right through the day-of our wedding. They are extremely quick to respond to any and all questions and requests [and we had a lot of those!]. They are extremely professional and we were highly impressed that the owner was with us from day one and even on-site throughout our entire wedding reception! The food was great but the service was even better! Everything turned out just as we had discussed during the planning. A few logistical items were switched the day-of (bar & table set-up, etc.) but their flexiblity and service was excellent and everything was set-up very nicely. Hotcakes also provided our wedding cake & groom's cake. The wedding cake was not only beautiful but also delicious! I can't tell you how many people commented on how yummy our cakes were! The wedding cake looked exactly as I had envisioned and discussed beforehand (as I had sent a photo of the design I liked). It was very nice to have the same vendor provide the cakes and catering all in one. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for great catering with excellent service & professionalism.