Boutique Bites

I attended a wedding last night and did not know what to expect. From wedding to reception a few hours have gone by and I was ready to devour the first food I came across. The servers walk around with the trays that had maybe a dozen servings on it. At first I thought they captured the Keebler elves and have enslaved them in the kitchen. Then I tasted the beignets, the crab cakes, risotto stuffed mushroom and the shrimp tacos. Wow! Have the elves created a 5 star restaurant with portions made for Ken and Barbie? The appetizers had so much flavor that you could not imagine your tongue could absorb that much for such a petite amount. This method is a unique culinary experience as it causes you to focus on flavor vs quantity. I was concerned, "Have I entered a modern eclectic dinning experience you hear about that all servings are the size of a quarter?" I was, as was my stomach, relieved when I saw the servers bringing out the starter salad. A quarter lettuce wedge with fresh Gorgonzola, grilled peaches and an ampule of balsamic dressing. Normally lettuce is lettuce but this was amazingly fresh, airy and tasty. The main course for me was Scottish Smoked Salmon served on halved multi color carrots with a delicious olive oil and salt and quinoa. The buttery lemon garlic creme sauce was perfect. The salmon would just melt in your mouth. My question is why o why do I have to wait for another wedding to enjoy this great food. There must be a restaurant on the horizon so more people can enjoy.

I cannot say enough! I not only used boutique bites for my wedding, but also Brique, their venue. The attention to detail was unreal! People not only raved about the food, but it was styled to thoughtfully and adorably that my guests were snapping, instagramming, and facebooking more pictures of the food than they did of themselves! When was the last time you heard THAT about wedding food!?! Jennifer is the event coordinator and she is an ANGEL! Patient(very), quick to respond, and gave lots of good input that I would never have not thought of. Boutique bites is my “forever caterer”!

They set the perfect atmosphere for any party!!! Great food and great service!

They make their blood orange sorbet using red food dye who does that

Excellent food, but unforgiving acoustics make for a harsh and loud reception during dancing.

Try it you'll like it I guarantee it

We got engaged on June 30th and wanted an October wedding (in Chicago. Right.). Thank goodness we found Boutique Bites/Brique. When I walked into the airy, loft-like space, the decision was made, even though I originally had another "big name" venue in mind. Lucky for us, Brique was still newer on the scene and we were able to get the only remaining Saturday in October. Working with Elaina and Jennifer on planning was wonderful - during our tasting with Jennifer it felt like we were at dinner with old friends. The food selection was extensive and delicious (especially as we wanted a lot of vegetarian options) and even three months after the wedding, our guests still talk about it being some of the best food they ever had (and I mean ever, not just for a wedding). I joked with our guests all night that I had a vision for the wedding, and when I got a first look at the dining space all decked out for our event, I literally cried - the space looked that beautiful. I recommend Boutique Bites for their breathtaking space - Brique, incredibly friendly and knowledgeable staff, and delicious food. Working with them will be one of the best decisions you make for your wedding.

Several months ago, I was planning an event with a very close friend at Brique/Boutique Bites and was quite disappointed with the customer service. After speaking with other industry colleagues, it seems as though some of them steer clear of this catering company and venue as well. They shared the same poor service and allegations of racism we experienced. It's such a shame because of the location. I would never in good faith recommend this Brique or Boutique Bites to anyone!

Elaina from Boutique Bites is as exceptional a caterer as one can find for their wedding or special event. Extremely personable, professional, knowledgeable, and her culinary creations are absolutely outstanding. Her creativity enabled us to come up with a highly customized menu, including a 6 course tasting dinner with wine pairings as well as late night snacks and delicious hors d'oeuvres for cocktail hour. Andrea, the creative director, was extremely responsive to our requests and menu revisions, and was instrumental in facilitating our extensive list of rentals (I.e. Drinkware, silverware, flatware, chairs, napkins, etc.). We also ended up doing our alcohol packages thru Boutique Bites, which they highly customize for competitive rates. The service staff on our wedding day was outstanding; they were highly experienced at serving at large events and very professional. Overall, choosing Boutique Bites was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding. They should be the only caterer to meet with in Chicago if seeking creative fine dining for your wedding!

Hiring Boutique Bites was the best decision we made for our wedding. The entire experience was impeccably high end, thoughtful and flawless. Not only was every bite the most phenomenally delicious, but it was visually stunning as well. Every. Single. Person. raves about our wedding food. Just like we were hoping for- we had a dining experience that felt more like a high end trendy restaurant than any wedding anyone has ever been to. They listened to our food vision and enthusiastically customized every detail to incorporate our ideas. You should hire Boutique Bites not just for that, but also for the experience of working with them. Every step of the way, Elaina and Jennifer were responsive, fun to communicate with, enthusiastic, and impeccably organized. I felt accommodated, listed to and cheered on- all of which are important parts of feeling at ease during such a profound process. Not for one minute did I worry! They were there at every turn offering professional opinions and thoughtful insight on how to make our most special wedding day seamless and impressive. Even our wedding tasting was a stand out experience! We had so much fun as they helped us visualized our wedding and paraded us with decadence with laughter and smiles. Their team was dealt a challenging hand in that our reception was on a roof top one floor above the kitchen their team was using. You would never have known- Not only was everything gorgeous, but it was perfectly timed. Stunningly plated. Piping hot. And I'm sure there were millions of issues they managed and handled without anyone even knowing. What an incredible team, I felt so proud that they were creating the delicious details of our wedding! Guests STILL call me to comment on the beauty of our wedding food + service. We are so grateful to Elaina and the entire Boutique Bites team for doing what they love for us and creating the most impressive wedding night magic imaginable.

We knew when starting to look for a wedding venue in Chicago that it would be difficult to find a spot that met all of our expectations - an intimate venue that prioritized style, quality of food, and flexibility with decorating over big-name recognition and pushing their vision on us. The moment we walked in to Brique and looked around at the warm, understated, and simple layout and decor, we knew it would be where we got married. Once we spoke with Elaina and Jennifer, it only solidified our decision. The staff was open to our many ideas when it came to a custom installation, vinyl wall decals, and use of their back wall to house our many trinkets and symbols of our relationship. Knowing that Brique was born out of Boutique Bites, which is known for superior catering, and that the kitchen was on-site, we had high expectations for the quality of the food but we would have never guessed that the food would this fantastic. In the weeks since our wedding, we have received what seems like countless compliments about the food (usually something like "Easily the best wedding food I've ever had!" and "I would pay for this at a gourmet restaurant!" In short, we would recommend Brique to anyone looking for a uniquely qualified space and staff to fit an event designed to reflect intimacy, warmth, authenticity, and quality.

Oh my gosh, the food served at our wedding was some of the best food I have ever had and NOBODY says that about wedding food. Everyone told me before the day that I needed to force myself to eat because nobody eats at their own wedding. Quite the contrary - I was full I ate so much - no way I was going to let conversation distract me from that entree - I cleaned my plate. We booked Brique (owned by Elaina, the proprietor of Boutique Bites) as our venue, so we had no choice but to use Boutique Bites to cater our wedding. While normally that might be limiting, not with these women. They are absolutely incredible. The venue is so beautiful, the food is also incredibly beautiful and even more importantly, every single thing they make is delicious. I cannot imagine a more pleasant group of people to work with - Jennifer is so on top of things, and has such a calm and reassuring personality, which every bride knows is crucial. Despite owning both a venue and a very successful catering company, and likely being very busy, we felt the Elaina was very involved in our event and we felt so well taken care of. Almost 8 months later we are still hearing comments from friends about how our wedding served the best food at any wedding they've ever been to. It really was that good. And for food that good I would have put up with a lot, but every part of their business is so thoughtfully run. I absolutely love these women and will use them for every single event I ever throw, no question.

Since you've Yelped Boutique Bites I'm going to guess that you are interested in hiring a caterer for an event. I've created a quick and easy survey to see if you should hire Elaina and team: 1) Do you and your guests enjoy eating insanely delicious food? 2) Do you and your guests enjoy wonderfully good specialty cocktails? 3) Do you enjoy your food and drink being presented in thoughtful, unique and delightful ways? 4) Do you want to work with some of the best? 5) Are you awesome? If you answered yes to all of these, then the answer is YES, choose Boutique Bites. If you answered no to any of these then we are all disappointed in you and have questions that are best answered by taking a good.long.hard.look at yourself in the mirror (because you only have yourself to blame). We hired Boutique Bites for our wedding at Ignite and could not be happier. I'm pretty sure that my wife was fearful of trying to select a caterer with me as I am very deeply passionate about eating and drinking well. After a first tasting with another company who did sort of "meh" foods we went to Boutique Bites and we were just blown away. The options they presented to us were all amazing. Picking our final menu was basically like having to choose your favorite child [ahem, it's me, mom]. Everything was beautifully presented and of a caliber that I would have never expected from a catering company. Working with Jen and Elaina was a very fun process, we tasted much, laughed even more and crafted our perfect menu. [Nom.Nom.Nom] -- complete with a totally rad S'more station. When our wedding day finally rolled around the food served to our guests matched the experience we had at the tasting -- incredible thinking about preparing food for 6 vs 160 people. The staff working the bar and serving were all wonderful, incredibly professional and fun to engage with. All night long we heard things like "this was the BEST meal I've ever had at a wedding" to "your caterer was amazing" to "that was one of the best meals I've ever had" to "Every drink this delicious should be called the 'Sofa King Good Whiskey Cocktail". Never in a million years would I have expected to give our caterer a huge hug at the end of the evening. I think I gave both Jen and Elaina two each. They are that good. And that awesome [seriously, be our friend guys!] and we cannot thank them enough for all that they did to make our special day all the more magical. So should you hire them? Yes. Yes you should. They will make your awesomeness all the more awesome. One additional note that my wife just reminded me about: -- Boutique Bites just handles all the little details in such an amazing way. Case in point: we told them that a 2 year old was coming to the wedding and gave them no other details. His mom came up to us in tears of joy after the Boutique Bites team put down a playful salad of ranch dip and veggie sticks for the little one. She said that at that moment she had never felt so welcomed and encouraged to have her family be a part of ours. Jen from Boutique Bites told us later that they just felt like it was important to keep our littlest guests entertained and occupied so that their parents could also enjoy the day. It was seamless and perfect and something we didn't even have to think about. I'm telling you, these are the types of people you always want on your team.

My friends hired BB for their birthday and I am floored at how good the food was. I went back for seconds, TWICE! And I'm usually a very light eater. I tried everything on the table and all if wowed me! I have always been grossed out by grits and I ended up having 3 servings of their grits with bacon and shrimp. I am now a grits convert. I will definitely be using them in the future.

Boutique Bites is a truly kind and creative catering company as well as collected, classy and extremely talented all-in-one package. I am so glad that Spencer of Ovation suggested Boutique Bites for our daughter's wedding reception. Every taste and detail added to the celebration. The appetizers were constantly flowing and were absolutely delicious. My favorite items include the bacon-wrapped figs, the shrimp and pineapple skewers, the miniature Chicago-style hot dogs, the beet salad, the filet mignon and the miniature desserts. Love, loved the miniature apple pies. I could go on and on! The wait staff was so in touch with our needs and presented all extremely well. No mess; no kitchen noise. ALL was extremely lovely.

We just used Boutique Bites for our wedding at Ovation and I cannot say how happy we were! The finished result and the entire process of working with them was easy, fun and delicious and looked amazing! From the moment we stepped into their beautiful space for our tasting we knew we wouldn't need to look further (we didn't...we actually cancelled our other tastings because we were so impressed with their food and the way they did business). Everything from presentation to final execution was flawless and still weeks after our wedding I'm getting comments from our guests that it was the best food they ever had at a wedding. I'm big on presentation and I must point out that no one does this part better that Boutique Bites. It's clear that Elaina, Jennifer and the team takes great pride in their work and it comes through. I had a detailed vision of how I wanted to tables and dishes to look and they executed it perfectly. They couldn't have made it easier. I could go on and on but seriously....if you are looking for an amazing catering experience for your wedding or any type of event I could not recommend Boutique Bites more!!

If you are planning an event in Chicago, please consider contacting Elaina, the owner and chef at Boutique Bites. She did a superb job catering our daughter's wedding. From creative appetizers to stunning entrees, everything was delicious. Her flavors were so complex and interesting. We had a tasting and chose each course, but it was difficult because everything was fabulous. We are a family of "foodies" and Elaina certainly made us happy!

Boutique Bites is a superb catering company. We recently worked with them to execute a fundraising dinner and they exceeded our expectations. The menu selection was diverse and scrumptious. The food, staff, presentation and atmosphere was outstanding! We were incredibly impressed with their professionalism, flexibility, execution and product quality. We will absolutely hire them for our next dining event!

Elaina and her team were AMAZING to work with. I could not recommend them more highly. From the very beginning of the process right through to the big day, they went above and beyond to help my husband and I create our dream menu. Elaina put together a highly customized and truly incredible menu based on suggestions from us as well as her own expertise. She completely understood our vision and brought it to life. The tasting at Boutique Bites was hands down my favorite part of the whole wedding planning process. It was clear that Elaina puts her heart and soul into the food - each bite was more delicious than the last. We felt so well taken care of, we knew we would be in good hands. When it came time to decide on a caterer, it wasn't even close: Boutique Bites had the best food, the best service, and the best price. Six months later, on the day of the wedding, everything was exactly as we had planned. We have received countless compliments from guests. Everyone agrees: this was not just the best "wedding food" ever - it was one of the best meals ever. The servers/bartender were very professional, service was efficient, food was incredible... really, flawless from start to finish.

As I told Elaina following the event, "Our guests continue to comment on the awesomeness of the food. We, of course, knew it would be amazing -- and it was so fun to see everyone enjoy it just as much as we hoped. The only feedback to share is that most people consider wedding food to be mediocre, and instead we (you!) provided something so unique, high-end, and very well executed. And, not-so-secretly, that was my goal... And I love that we made it happen!" We received many food proposals for our wedding at A New Leaf, though only one proposal was worth our attention: Boutique Bites. It was unique, inventive, with ingredients and flavor profiles that we love. We only scheduled one tasting - we knew that if Elaina and her team could execute at the level we expected, she would be our woman. And she did - and then some. The entire Boutique Bites team created an awesome environment for our wedding. We opted for food stations; we wanted a cocktail-style event, one where people drank and ate and celebrated without the fussiness of a sit-down meal (we enjoy those, too - though it wasn't what we wanted on our wedding day). Her food perfectly complements that vibe. The service staff was awesome. The bartenders were fabulous. And the food! The food! I can still list the 20+ different items we had between passed appetizers, food stations and the dessert bar. We can't wait to see what Elaina and team do next, and we can't wait to work with her again.

I was so disappointed after being sooooo excited. Elaina came so highly recommended to me and I was excited to have them cater our party. I think if they all were a bit more concerned with the actual event rather than making sure everyone in the world knew they were fashionable and pretty (the owner certainly is very pretty) the food that was supposed to be hot actually would have been and my guests would have been much better taken care of. All in all I think they need to get back to basics and remember what really matters when catering a party. I'm all for fun and fashion but I wanted good food and excellent service and this was a total miss.