How much does office catering cost in Madison?

Among the caterers that publish prices, a boxed lunch runs about $10 to $18 per person. Pasture and Plenty charges $11 to $18, Blue Plate $14.95 to $17.95, and Panera about $10.99 to $18.19 depending on the cafe. Forage Kitchen bowls and salads are $10 to $13.25. Add 5.5% sales tax, which in Wisconsin also applies to delivery charges, plus any service fee or gratuity.

Which Madison caterers let me order online?

Lucille takes catering orders online through Toast for pickup or delivery, and Panera takes orders at catering.panerabread.com. Forage Kitchen, Banzo and Alimentari use online request forms and confirm details afterward. Blue Plate, Pasture and Plenty and Ha Long Bay work by phone or email, and Ha Long Bay requires a phone call for orders of $125 or more.

How much notice do Madison caterers need?

Panera can turn an order in four hours, though orders inside 24 hours depend on availability. Forage Kitchen needs 24 hours for pickup and 48 for delivery. Banzo and Pasture and Plenty both want 48 hours. Alimentari needs four days for six or more party loaves. Blue Plate and Lucille ask for a week, and Blue Plate treats anything under 72 hours as a rush order.

Which caterers deliver to downtown and the west side?

Forage Kitchen delivers up to 10 miles from its locations, including State Street and Hilldale, which covers downtown and the west side. Pasture and Plenty delivers within six miles of University Avenue. Lucille delivers throughout the Madison area, and Blue Plate covers the Madison metro, billing $1 per mile plus staff time beyond 20 miles from its kitchen. Alimentari trays are pickup only.

What fees and service charges should I expect?

Forage Kitchen adds a $15 service fee and 15% gratuity to every order, plus $30 delivery up to $300 and 10% after that. Blue Plate adds a 12% service charge, a $25 delivery fee on smaller orders and a 22% charge on rush orders. Ha Long Bay adds 15% gratuity at $125. Pasture and Plenty waives its $25 delivery fee for 12 or more people.

Are there order minimums for office catering in Madison?

Some caterers set them. Blue Plate requires 20 guests unless a menu item says otherwise. Forage Kitchen has a $175 minimum for both delivery and pickup. Pasture and Plenty platters need 12 people and its cheese displays need 25, though its individual boxed lunches have no stated minimum. Alimentari asks groups over 40 to call instead of using the request form.

Best Caterers in Madison, WI for Office & Corporate Catering

Best caterers in Madisonfor office & corporate catering

Madison office catering runs from $10 Forage Kitchen bowls to $17.95 boxed lunches at Blue Plate, which wants 20 guests and a week's notice. Here are 10 caterers we checked, with the pricing, minimums and lead times each one publishes.

Caterers

Publish pricing

Order online

How we pick these caterers

This list is alphabetical, not ranked, and no caterer paid to be on it. We look for Madison restaurants and catering companies that publish a real catering menu, handle drop-off or delivery for groups, and come up again and again when local offices talk about who they order from.

Pricing, minimums, lead times and delivery areas come from each caterer's own website and were last checked in October 2026. Of the 10 listed, 5 publish pricing and 7 state a lead time. If a detail is missing, the caterer doesn't publish it. Confirm before you order. Spot something wrong or missing? Email us.

Office catering in Madison: what to expect

Madison's office demand is more spread out than in bigger metros. Lee & Associates counted about 41 million square feet of office space and put vacancy at 6.5% in mid 2026, with the biggest recent leases downtown on East Main and East Mifflin streets and on East Washington Avenue. Out west, the biggest sale was a 197,860 square foot building on UW Health Court in Middleton. The largest employers are UW Health, UW-Madison and Epic Systems, each with 13,000 or more people. For downtown offices, Forage Kitchen works out of State Street and Hilldale, and Lucille sits in the First Settlement District at King Street. Pasture and Plenty covers the west side from University Avenue, Alimentari is on Monroe Street, and Banzo and Ha Long Bay are on the east side.

Five of these caterers publish real prices. Pasture and Plenty lists boxed lunches at $11 to $18 per person and sandwich platters at $9 to $12 with a 12 person minimum. Blue Plate charges $14.95 to $17.95 for boxed lunches and $14.50 to $18.95 for lunch buffets, with a 20 guest minimum. Forage Kitchen bowls and salads run $10 to $13.25 with a $175 minimum, and Panera's boxed lunches run about $10.99 to $18.19 depending on the cafe. Alimentari sells 12 piece party loaves for $51 to $68. Lead times range from four hours at Panera to a full week at Blue Plate and Lucille. Lucille and Panera take orders online. Forage, Banzo and Alimentari use request forms, and Blue Plate, Pasture and Plenty and Ha Long Bay work by phone or email.

A few Madison details before you order. Sales tax here is 5.5%, the state's 5% plus Dane County's 0.5%, and Wisconsin taxes delivery charges on taxable food too. Fees add up fast. Forage Kitchen adds a $15 service fee and 15% gratuity to every order, Blue Plate adds a 12% service charge and treats anything under 72 hours as a rush order, and Ha Long Bay adds 15% gratuity on orders of $125 or more. Pasture and Plenty waives its $25 delivery fee for 12 or more people within six miles, and Forage delivers up to 10 miles from its stores. Big Monona Terrace weeks fill calendars downtown. Jolly Bob's website refused connections when we checked, so call before you count on it.

Best caterers in Madisonfor office & corporate catering

Blue Plate Catering

Jolly Bob's Caribbean Cafe & Catering

HyVee Catering

Banzo

Alimentari

Pasture and Plenty

Lucille

Ha Long Bay Cafe

Forage Kitchen

Panera Bread Catering