Does Red Lobster Cater? A Guide to Planning Your Next Event With This Seafood Favorite

Red Lobster is perhaps best known for its casual sit-down seafood restaurants Who doesn’t love cracking open some Cheddar Bay biscuits while enjoying juicy garlic shrimp scampi? But what about when you want to serve those same mouthwatering dishes at a special event? Does Red Lobster offer catering services for parties and celebrations?

The answer is yes – Red Lobster absolutely provides catering! While dining in has its perks, having Red Lobster classics like lobster, shrimp, and of course, those biscuits, delivered right to your event’s location takes the convenience factor to a whole new level.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about having your next gathering catered by Red Lobster. From menu planning, to order timelines, pricing, and logistics, consider this your one-stop shop for successfully pulling off a Red Lobster catered affair. Time to get this seafood party started!

An Overview of Red Lobster Catering

First, let’s start with the basics. Red Lobster has offered catering services for over a decade. They partner with a catering platform called ezCater to handle the end-to-end catering process. This includes taking orders, preparing food, arranging deliveries, and handling payment.

When you place a catering order through Red Lobster’s website you’ll automatically be redirected to ezCater to finish placing and paying for your order. ezCater will also be your main point of contact for any order-related questions, changes, or issues.

Red Lobster provides catering for events both big and small, from office meetings and birthday parties to weddings and corporate functions. There are no strict minimums or maximums. You can order for groups as small as 5 people up to 500+ guests.

Now that we’ve covered the basic gist of how Red Lobster catering operates, let’s dig into the fun stuff – the food!

Choosing Your Red Lobster Catering Menu

The great thing about having Red Lobster cater an event is that the menu possibilities are extremely flexible. Many fan favorites from the restaurant are available for catering orders. You can hand select dishes to create a customized menu tailored exactly to your tastes and preferences.

Some of the most popular catering menu categories and items include

Platters: Perfect for a more casual gathering. Choose from classics like Walt’s Favorite Shrimp, Crunchy Popcorn Shrimp, and Chicken Tenders platters. Serves 6-12 people.

Family Meals: Pick your entrée like Wood-Grilled Seafood, Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, or Fried Seafood, paired with sides like rice or veggies. Feeds 4-6.

Lighter Options: Build a balanced menu with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, Shrimp Tacos, or Seared Salmon Salad.

Seafood Feasts: Splurge on decadent dishes like the 1 1⁄2 lb Lobster Bake or Ultimate Feast with lobster, crab, shrimp and more. Great for special occasions.

Appetizers: Start things off right with crab dip, coconut shrimp, stuffed clams, and other starters.

Biscuits: No Red Lobster experience is complete without Cheddar Bay Biscuits! Add them onto any order.

The full catering menu provides so many amazing seafood and non-seafood options. You can go all out with a lobster and steak combo, or take a lighter route with grilled shrimp skewers over salad. The choices are endless!

Pro Tip: Pair platters with family meal bundles for a satisfying combo of shareable appetizers, main entrees, and biscuits!

Ordering Timeline for Red Lobster Catering

Another big perk of Red Lobster catering is convenience. You can order pretty much anytime, for delivery whenever you need it. However, placing catering orders at least 48-72 hours in advance is recommended. This gives both Red Lobster and ezCater adequate time to ensure availability and handle all the preparation and logistics.

For very large orders, 3-4+ weeks advance notice is ideal. This allows the catering team to make sure they’ll have all the food and staff available to pull off a successful large-scale event.

If you’re in a real time crunch, you can place same or next day catering orders as well. Keep in mind availability and options may be more limited for rush orders. The catering team will do their best to accommodate, but earlier is better when possible.

Pro Tip: For corporate meetings and events that repeat regularly, setting up a catering contract with ezCater takes the guesswork out of reordering. Discuss contract catering options with their team!

How Much Does Red Lobster Catering Cost?

Pricing is an important factor when planning any event catering. The cost of having Red Lobster cater will depend on a few variables:

• Food Menu: The dishes you select will determine the bulk of costs. Seafood, steak and lobster tenders will raise the price tag, while basics like chicken and salad will cost less.

• Order Size: In general, larger orders will cost less per item thanks to bulk discounts. But you pay for exactly what you order, whether its 10 people or 300.

• Delivery Fees: ezCater charges fees for delivery based on distance and order size. These range from $15-$150+. Pickup is free.

• Service Options: Add-ons like full service staffing, bartending, or rental packages will increase costs. Going with a pickup order minimizes fees.

Realistically, expect to spend in the ballpark of $15-$25 per guest for high-quality catering from Red Lobster. Going above $30/head typically only makes sense for luxury menus and full-service events. Compare this to $20-$40+ you’d likely spend dining in, and catering can offer serious savings, especially for larger groups.

Bottom line – Red Lobster catering provides restaurant quality at a fraction of the in-house cost when you’re feeding a crowd!

Pro Tip: Keep costs reasonable by limiting add-ons, choosing self-service pickup, and mixing seafood with affordable sides and salads.

Pickup vs. Delivery for Your Catering Order

When ordering Red Lobster catering, you’ll need to decide whether pickup or delivery works best for your situation. Here’s an overview of how each option works:

Pickup: You can pickup your catering order directly from a local Red Lobster restaurant. This avoids any delivery fees, keeping costs lower. Pickup is ideal for self-service events where you’ll handle setting up the food yourself. Orders are packaged neatly so they travel well to your location.

Delivery: For maximum convenience, ezCater will deliver your order to your specified event address. Delivery fees apply based on distance and order size. Deliveries come with high-quality disposable platters, plates, utensils and napkins to simply setup. You also have the option to add full waitstaff service if desired.

For office meetings, backyard gatherings, and more casual functions, opting for pickup tends to make the most sense from both a cost and logistics standpoint. But for fancy dinners, weddings, or corporate events where you want staff to handle everything, delivery with service is likely the best way to go.

Pro Tip: If your location has limited parking or traffic access, let ezCater know ahead of time so the driver is prepared and can find nearby parking options!

Finalizing and Paying For Your Order

When you’re ready to place your Red Lobster catering order, just follow these simple steps:

1. Start on Red Lobster’s catering website to select dishes, quantities, pickup/delivery, date and location.

2. Input your contact/billing details.

3. Review your order for accuracy. Go back and modify if any changes are needed.

4. Once your order is just right, proceed to checkout. This will redirect to ezCater to complete payment.

5. Accepted payment methods include all major credit cards, corporate checks, and ezCater business accounts.

6. Provide final confirmation and you’re all set! Just show up and enjoy your event.

You will receive an emailed receipt, order confirmation, and details for pickup/delivery timing from ezCater used as your reference. Reach out to them with any last minute questions or changes.

Pro Tip: Assign someone as the key contact for all ezCater communication to streamline event planning.

Time to Start Planning Your Red Lobster Catered Event!

There you have it – everything you need to start getting your Red Lobster catering order in motion. With such fresh, customizable menus and flexible ordering options, it’s easier than ever to treat your guests to mouthwatering seafood creations without all the restaurant work.

Simply decide on foods, delivery logistics, quantities, and any ad