Courtney’s Catering

The shop sits on a shopping strip on Pond Springs rd, in NW Austin, and as BBQ is one of their main dishes, chances are you’ll smell the smoke before you can even see the shop… Just how we like it in TX!
The front office is quaint, with a few desks and file cabinets lining one wall, and a round table covered in a red table cloth by the entry, which is where you’ll sit if you come by for an in-​house tasting. Next to the table is a small Buffett with business cards and venue brochures, surrounded by hanging pictures of sample dishes. There’s a comfy feeling to it, like you’re sitting down at a friends kitchen table, and that casual welcome feeling is what I’ve experienced from Courtney’s.
Having worked along side with their Staff and owners at numerous fabulous venues over the last few years, we always get compliments from guests on how good the food is and how special Courtney’s made their event. As a family run Mom & Pop (or daughter & Pop) shop, thats just what you should expect; a little extra love that you might not find in a bigger more corporate establishment.
The owner spent many years as a chef, winning local BBQ and salsa contests, and even a little time as one of our own 6^th street’s bartenders, but after working in the catering industry, he wanted the freedom to do it better. That’s when the doors to Courtney’s Catering opened, which he named for his daughter, whom you’ll likely meet, as she helps run the business too!

We came to Austin for a friend’s wedding at the Villa Antonia mansion in Jonestown (so beautiful!) and Courtney’s catered the event. I do some work in the catering industry back home, so I always take note of what other catering companies are up to.
They had a fun «Pasta Bar» spread set up in pretty silver chafer dishes with billows of white linens and flower petals sprinkled about. Simple and classic. There was a spread of bow tie and rigatoni buttered noodles, and red (tomato), white (alfredo), and green (pesto) sauces. All were really fresh and flavorful. You can always tell when a Chef loves their job or not, and there was some happiness in those sauces. The chicken was really juicy and I loved the fresh shredded parmesan.
Everyone was so nice and really made it a wonderful evening for all of us =)

Courtney’s Catering catered for my wedding in March and it was amazing! The food was great and the staff was too! Planning the menu with Courtney was easy and if I made changes or wanted to see a couple of different menu choices she would put it together and send it to me that same day if not the next, which I really appreciated! Our guests loved the food! Definitely would recommend them to anyone!

wow… was i impressed… first time tasting their foods… it was a lunch at a business meeting which consisted of the basic bbq, pot salad beans and macaroni/​cheese… BUT WOW… best bbq beans i ever ate!, incredible chicken… and the mac n cheese knocked me off my feet… the organizers have used courtneys many times before for the small lunches to the big dinners and told us that we will be amazed… I WAS! —- i will only give a 5 star when G-​D his/​her/​self prepares the fude!

Courtney’s was extremely difficult to work with. I had a very strong vision for the food I wanted. I gave them the entire menu I had in mind, but asked them to assist me with my vision.
Anytime I requested a change, they just couldn’t really help — it was as if they were so disorganized, that asking for an alternative vegetarian appetizer was too difficult of a request!
Their pricing was terribly inconsistent, as well.
In the end, we decided to go with them (my husband felt it would be possible to work with them) and set up a tasting. We had finally negotiated a contract that all parties were happy with.
Their kitchen/​office:
It is a fairly dirty place. My husband and I felt uncomfortable eating there, but we thought we’d give it a try. We can understand a kitchen being cluttered during the cooking process, but the front area should be clean! Luckily, they gave us napkins, so I was able to wipe down my dirty seat before having to sit down. The floor hadn’t been swept in a while, as well.
The people:
They were abrasive, rude, snotty and snobby. They didn’t seem to understand Italian food at all. They also didn’t understand how to put together a comprehensive, cohesive menu. They didn’t seem happy to have us in their office, even though we would be paying them. When I told them we wouldn’t need their plastic dishes, they seemed genuinely insulted. Nothing against plastic, but it’s wasteful — and we had china.
At the tasting, they gave us our finalized menu which was the WRONG menu — after all the work I put in to make sure they had the menu I wanted — I mean, I did their job for them. They didn’t even have to be creative. They gave me our first draft instead of the menu we finalized.
They told us we’d try bruschetta, fettuccine alfredo and chicken parmigiana at the tasting. I saw them cooking.
The food:
The bruschetta was so full of garlic that it actually made me choke. I had to down some water out of a fairly suspect cup. I asked for tomatoes, basil, mozzarella — and I got GARLIC, tomatoes and basil. And LOADS of olive oil. The bread was hard — perhaps stale?
The fettuccine alfredo was broken when they gave it to us — they used so much butter that the sauce had totally broken. Now, people who love me know that I am a fan of butter. But… this fettuccine was DISGUSTING. All you could taste was butter. There was no cheese flavor. Nothing but butter.
At this point, they went over the price with us and increased it by $ 3,000 from our first quote. When asked why, they told us that the first quote was wrong, so this is the new, right quote. They never told this to us online. The funniest part? This menu was LESS food for MORE money.
When I questioned them on this, they got agitated. All I asked was a simple question — why would I pay more for less? And if they misquoted, how is that my fault? It’s not like they had a small amount of time to tell me this. We negotiated this contract for months because they couldn’t get their act together.
When I told them I felt like I was being misled, they abruptly ended our meeting before serving the chicken parmigiana (which I doubt would’ve been any good) and kicked us out.
Needless to say, they were fired.
Luckily, we found Emily’s Catering and her food was not only far superior — she was amazing. So organized, energetic, creative.
Give her a try — she will make you so much happier, I promise.
In the end, this is all about good food. Courtney’s couldn’t provide that. It wasn’t even fast food quality. I wouldn’t feed it to my dog.