What to Expect When Gustavo’s Caters Your Event, Start to Finish

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The old version of this post argued that reliable catering reflects well on the host. True, but you cannot do anything with that. What you can use is the actual sequence of events from the day you call Gustavo’s Mexican Grill to the moment the last churro leaves the tray. Here it is, with the prices and policies we work from.

Step one: pick a date and call the nearest location

We need at least 24 hours. Bigger events want more, and holiday weekends want a lot more. Call the Gustavo’s closest to your venue, since that is the kitchen that will cook your food: Crestwood (502) 243-6950, LaGrange (502) 610-2403, Prospect Village (502) 434-7266, Norton Commons (502) 690-7070 or Hurstbourne (502) 420-1100. A manager will take the head count, the date, the time you want people eating, and whether it is pickup or delivery.

A 30 percent down payment reserves the date. Our online catering payment is temporarily unavailable, so the deposit is taken over the phone or in person at the restaurant. The catering form on our website is still worth reading, because it is the menu, but do not expect it to charge your card right now.

Step two: build the menu

Everything on the catering menu is priced per person, per quart or per pan, so the total is easy to check with a calculator and a head count.

  • Taco Bar, $13.99 per person, minimum 10. Chicken or beef, flour and/or corn tortillas.
  • Fajita Bar, $16.99 per person. Steak, chicken or mixed. Add shrimp for $1.50 per person.
  • Carnitas, $16.99 per person, with charro or refried beans.
  • Taquiza, tacos al pastor or asada, $19.99 per person.
  • Mole Bar or Pozole Bar, $17.99 per person. Pozole in December is not a suggestion so much as a public service.
  • Build Your Own Protein Bowl, $15.99 per person. Chicken or steak, black or pinto beans.
  • Guacamole or Cheese Dip, $22.99 per quart, each serving about 12. Gustavo’s Wings, 30 for $29.99 or 50 for $49.99. Mummy-Wrapped Shrimp, 30 for $39.99 or 50 for $59.99.
  • Mexican Flan or Churros, $5.99 per person.

Vegetarian and gluten-free options are built in, and the House Salad ($7.99 per person) or Spinach Salad with Avocado and Orange ($8.99) rounds out a table. If you are deciding between two proteins for a wedding or a large corporate event, ask about a tasting session. It is easier to choose with a fork than with a spreadsheet.

Step three: pickup or delivery

Pickup is available at any of the five locations. Delivery is $25 within 10 miles of the location filling the order; beyond that, call and we will work it out. On delivery orders the catering team handles setup and presentation, with disposable or reusable tableware, and can stay to clean up. For larger events we can send service staff if you ask ahead of time. For corporate clients we do buffet style or individually plated meals, whichever fits the room.

What reliable means in practice

Reliable is not a promise, it is a system. Gustavo opened the first Gustavo’s in Crestwood in 2010, and every location since cooks the same recipes. The Fajita Bar that arrives at your event was made in a working restaurant kitchen that morning by the same cooks who will be plating Molcajete Fajitas for the dinner crowd a few hours later. There is no separate catering warehouse and no truck driving food across town from somewhere you have never eaten. If the tray is late, you can call the restaurant and talk to the person who packed it. We would rather you never have to, which is why we ask for the time you want people eating and not the time you want us in the parking lot.

The events we cater most

Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, corporate lunches and holiday parties make up most of the calendar. Small family gatherings are welcome too; the 10-person minimum on the Taco Bar is the only floor on the menu. If you are hosting at home, a couple of quarts of Guacamole and Cheese Dip plus a Taco Bar for 15 is the order that fits on a kitchen island in Prospect or Norton Commons.

A few honest tips from the catering desk

  • Order for the number who will show up, not the number who said they would. Then add two. Somebody always brings a cousin.
  • Give us the eating time. We will handle the arrival time.
  • Leave a phone number that a real person will answer. The driver cannot deliver to voicemail.
  • If half the room is under 12, say so. Kids eat tacos, and they eat fewer of them.
  • Book the tasting before the deposit if the menu is in doubt. Book the deposit first if the date is in doubt.

Your booking checklist

Head count, date, time people eat, delivery address or pickup location, buffet or plated, any vegetarian or gluten-free counts, drinks (Jarritos, aguas frescas in horchata or jamaica, or Coke products), and dessert. Bring that to the phone call and the whole thing takes about ten minutes. Then you get to do the part of hosting that does not involve a chafing dish.