Engagement party catering across South West London
Engagement parties sit between a family dinner and a full wedding reception: usually 30 to 120 guests, often at home or in a hired room, and almost always with both families meeting properly for the first time. The catering needs to look generous without turning the evening into a sit-down service, and it needs to please two sets of tastes at once.
Jaflong Tandoori Catering cooks at 16 Ashburnham Road, Richmond TW10 7NF, holds a 5-star Food Standards Agency hygiene rating, and delivers across Richmond, Kingston, Twickenham, Teddington, Wimbledon and the surrounding area.
What works for an engagement
- A grazing start. Samosas, bhajis, tikka skewers and chutneys put out on arrival so guests mingle with food in hand while speeches are still ahead.
- A mid-evening buffet. Two or three mains with rice, dal, a vegetable side and breads, held hot so late arrivals are not eating leftovers.
- A sweet table. Traditional sweets work better than a single dessert when the guest list spans generations.
Balancing two families' tastes
The most common request we get for engagements is a menu that is not uniformly hot. We usually pair one clearly spiced dish with one mild creamy dish and one vegetarian main, which covers older relatives and children without a separate menu. All meat and poultry is halal-sourced with traceable supplier documentation; we are not HMC-certified. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are cooked separately, and the kitchen does not use peanuts or tree nuts.
At home or in a hired room
Everything is cooked in Richmond and arrives hot in chafing units — we do not cook live on site, so a hired room with no kitchen is fine. At home we need roughly three metres of table run for up to 80 guests plus delivery access. Drop-off service suits smaller parties; staffed service, where our team sets up, tops up and clears, suits anything over about 80 guests.
Cost
Bronze £25, Silver £35, Gold £45, Platinum £60 per head. Engagement bookings most often sit on Silver, which allows two starters, three mains and two sides — enough for a grazing start plus a proper buffet. Delivery is free within ten miles of TW10 7NF and quoted from ten to twenty miles; collection is available by arrangement.
Next steps
- Request a quote with your date, guest count and venue.
- Browse the full menu with halal, vegan and gluten-free markers.
- Mehndi and walima catering if the wedding follows.
Engagement catering questions
How much notice do you need?
Two to three weeks is usually enough for parties under 100 guests; we take last-minute bookings where capacity allows.
Can you do a mostly mild menu?
Yes. Spice level is set per dish at quote stage.
Do you provide crockery?
Disposable serviceware can be included on request; tell us at quote stage so it is priced in.