Underground Food Collective

Went to the Underground Food Collective for dinner last week.The food was delicious, unique and fresh.The environment was bright, contemporary and hospitable.The staff was attentive without being overbearing.It was a great experience.

Since this is my first review, I'm feeling the pressure to make it as thorough and honest as possible. So here goes... When planning my wedding, I was looking for a caterer who shared my food values. I wanted someone who would present my guests with some delicious local food; someone who would be low-key and easy to work with. UFC seemed to be just what I was looking for. But then, I should have known it wouldn't be so easy. First, I had to email approximately 15 times before I was able to set up a meeting with them. Since I live in San Francisco, I had a window of about a week to meet with them. Needless to say, they weren't very interested in accommodating me. Then, the meeting. After the general unhelpfulness of our scheduling exchanges, my expectations were low, but wow! Now, I generally expect that when I meet with a caterer, I'll get to taste some of their food. Not so. I (sort of) understood, since they don't have a kitchen facility, per se. I reminded myself to keep an open mind. Most caterers will lead you through the initial meeting, getting a sense of what you're looking for, your budget, your style. Not this guy. What we got was... well, not much besides a lot of chef peacockery. Now, being from San Francisco, I'm used to food snobs. I am fluent in their language - they are my people. But UFC made me feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman - the scene when she is hysterically pulling wads of cash out of her purse, begging to be waited on in Beverly Hills. Surprise, surprise, they never called me back - another giant red flag - and I didn't pursue them either. I did send an email letting them know how disappointed I was, which (of course) was never replied to. I would caution anyone against working with these folks. Even though their mission and food seem to be top notch, their diva behavior is just too much. I only wish I could give zero stars.

UFC catered our party this past Saturday night, and they did an excellent job! They set up a huge grill outside our kitchen-less venue and grilled chicken, homemade hotdogs, asparagus, and potatoes fresh and on the spot for our 100+ guests. The hot dogs were served with spicy homemade kimchi, ketchup, and mustard; the beet and goat cheese salad served on the side was flavorful and filling; and the appetizers (pesto goat cheese crostini and market vegetable crudites) were fresh, flavorful and delicious. The UFC staff who worked our event were helpful and present but never intrusive. Wendy, who coordinated our event, was responsible and communicative, and a pleasure to work with. I have nothing but good things to say about this experience.

After they catered a friend's wedding, I knew we had to have them for our wedding. My then-fiancé and I had moved from Wisconsin to Rhode Island and the wedding was a year away, everything would have to be done by phone, email, and smoke-signal. While we had some initial stutters with communication with them (my husband took to Twitter, and that got some attention!) the end result was food and dessert that my friends and family are still talking about 4 years later. We could have gone with your standard sad chicken, pitiful fish, or woefully over-cooked beef and equally sad veggies, but we toughed it out and the food prevailed.They worked within our $3000 budget for food, offering us several full menus and items to choose from, and it was to be cooked on sight. Fresh, hot off the grill food at a wedding?! Practically unheard of. No over done meat, and veggies here, it was all perfect. They even put together a surprise extra cake for my husband and I, pretty awesome, I think. I'd absolutely have them cater again, and still happily give a great review of the food!

The Underground Catering provided all the food and bar for my daughter's wedding. She contacted them online and set up a menu of pulled pork, special slaw and cheesy pasta - all excellently served in a barn setting for 150. The bar service was cordial and accommodated the bride and groom's "signature" drink as well as an extensive mix of other beers, wines, etc. They worked with us to let us buy some of the drinks as well. The appetizers were the bomb - as were the empanadas served as the midnight snack. Wow. On time - pleasant - clean. We loved it. The next day...we had misplaced some of the rented napkins, but Wendy was right there, figuring it out in a flash. Quite the business. I'd trust them with any catering and I've hosted many for my employer! Fresh. Fast. Friendly. Can't beat it.

Friends of ours booked these guys a couple years later for an offsite wedding and they nailed it once again. Really really solid execution.

Well this is my first review and I will keep it short. From reading the other reviews I am not a bit surprised. I was to attend a party catered by UFC. My friend shows up to pick up the order........and they have nothing. No food, nothing. Just pretentious, over priced and sh1tty at what they do.

Went to the UFC as a party of four on a busy Saturday night for the first time. One word: Rude. We all know this is a rough business and while my heart bleeds for the owners who have to tough it out with lots of customers eager to eat their decent cuisine and drop plenty of cash on beverages, I am not impressed by the greeting we eventually received by the host. This woman could not even be bothered with the all important lap around the restaurant to merely glance at tables to determine about how long the wait would be. Instead, and I am not joking, the line was "I can probably get you a table within an hour." To that, the response of my party of four was "And we can probably get a table at Graze where the people care." We left. Good luck UFC. At the time of this review, you are down 3 for 3.

I am afraid that I have to agree with the previous review. These guys are flaky! We needed a caterer for a fairly small event (30 or so guests). We were excited to find someone that subscribed to local, seasonal, and delicious. After approx a dozen phone calls and emails, they finally called back and set a meeting, but now I had only 5 weeks before the party. After the initial meeting, my confidence level was low, but I was lured in by the tempting food options.I'll spare you the details, but the short version is, after hours invested in meetings and discussions, and with less than 3 weeks before the event, I could get neither a working menu, nor pricing, despite promises to provide me with such. Clearly, I couldn't count on these guys. Finally, I gave up, gave notice, and moved on.Trying to find a replacement so so close to the date was difficult, and we ended up with a pretty sorry caterer. I would advise staying away from Bon Apetit Cafe; good food at the restaurant, but extremely poor service and overall planning with home catering. The desserts were, however, amazing!Of note, last month we rode in MACSACs Bike the Barns, which UFC catered. The food was out of this world! Which makes me even angrier that these guys couldn't get the business side of their catering together!In summary, I could have cooked for 30 people, but the whole point of hiring a caterer was so that I could relax and enjoy the party. UFC promised to take care of everything, but as the date approached, it became obvious to me that they could not be relied upon for even the basics, let alone tables, chairs, service, etc. If you are willing to plan well in advance, hold their hands, and manage the event yourself, they would probably deliver some awesome chow.

Good food, great flexibility, and excellent, respectable servers. Appetizers were AMAZING but portions are small and the food was cold for some.