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Email template to ask a restaurant for a group catering delivery quote

You need to feed a group, at an office, a rehearsal dinner, a team practice, a memorial, and you'd rather have a restaurant you already like drop the food off than hire a formal caterer. Most restaurants will do this, but the person answering the phone during lunch rush is not the person who prices it. An email reaches the manager or catering coordinator, gives them your headcount and timing in one place, and gets you a written quote you can compare against another restaurant. It also settles the details that cause trouble on the day: what time the food arrives, whether plates and serving spoons are included, and whether the price on the quote already includes the delivery fee and the tip.

Before you send

  • Your headcount, and how firm it is. Restaurants price per person or per tray, so "about 30, could be 35" is enough to start.
  • The date, the delivery address, and the exact time the food needs to be on the table. Work backward from when people eat, not when they arrive.
  • Any dietary needs: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut allergies. Say how many people, not just "some."
  • Whether you want it dropped off in trays or set up buffet-style with chafing dishes, and whether you need plates, utensils, napkins, and serving spoons.
  • A rough budget per person. Giving a number lets them suggest a menu that fits instead of guessing high.
Subject Catering delivery quote for [number] people on [date] 
Hi [restaurant name] team,

I'm putting together lunch for a group of about [number] people on [date] at [address], and I'd love to order it from you. We'd need the food delivered and on the table by [time].

Could you send me a quote for something along the lines of [a taco bar / two entree options with sides / assorted sandwiches and salads]? We have [number] vegetarian guests and [number] with [allergy or dietary need], so please include options for them.

A few things I'd like the quote to spell out:

- Per-person or per-tray price, and what each tray serves
- Delivery fee and any service charge or gratuity
- Whether plates, utensils, napkins, and serving spoons are included
- Whether you can set it up or just drop it off

My budget is around [dollar amount] per person before tip. I'd like to confirm the order by [date], so a written quote by then would be great.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good reply lists prices by item or per person, names the delivery fee, and asks a clarifying question or two. Silence for two business days usually means the email went to a shared inbox nobody checks; call once and ask who handles catering.
  • Watch for a quote that says "gratuity not included" with no number. Ask what percentage they add, because 18 to 20 percent on a large order changes the total.
  • Ask for a written confirmation of the delivery time and the final headcount cutoff date. Most restaurants want the final count two to three days ahead.
  • If the total comes in far over budget, ask them to suggest a simpler menu at your number rather than negotiating line by line. If they can't, get one more quote from a second restaurant.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me catering delivery quotes for a group 
Hi StandIn,

I'd like you to get quotes for delivered catering from a few restaurants and help me pick one.

The event: [what it is, date, delivery address, and the time food needs to be on the table].
Headcount: [number, and how firm it is].
Food: [cuisine or menu idea, and any restaurants I have in mind].
Dietary needs: [how many vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergies].
Setup: [drop-off or buffet setup, and whether we need plates and utensils].
Budget: [dollar amount per person].

Contact two or three restaurants, get all-in per-person totals, and bring me the options side by side.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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