Office catering formats
Buffet or box lunches?
Boxes are easier and cleaner. A buffet gives people more choice. Pick boxes when your team already knows what they want, and a buffet when you want variety on the table.
Side by side
The difference.
| Box lunches | Buffet trays | |
|---|---|---|
| Choice | One meal, chosen in advance | Guests take what they want |
| Serving | Hand them out | People queue at the line |
| Cleanup | Minimal, one box per person | Trays and serving kit to clear |
| Space needed | None | A table for the line |
| Dietary needs | Labelled per box, no mix ups | Separate labelled trays |
| Best for | Desks, meetings, training days | Team lunches, parties, celebrations |
| Pricing | Per box | Per tray, published |
Choose boxes
When boxes win.
- Your team knows what they want. If you can collect choices in advance, boxes remove every other problem.
- People are eating at their desks, or moving between meetings.
- There is nowhere to put a buffet. No table, no room, no setup time.
- Dietary requirements matter. One labelled box per person means nothing gets cross served at the line.
- You want it over quickly. Hand them out and the lunch starts. No queue.
More on box lunch catering in Bellevue.
Choose a buffet
When a buffet wins.
- You want variety. Several dishes on the table beats one meal in a box when people have different tastes.
- Guests choose for themselves. No one has to predict what they will feel like eating.
- People go back for more. A buffet handles big appetites without ordering extra meals.
- It is an occasion. A spread on a table reads as a celebration in a way that stacked boxes do not.
- You do not have everyone's order. A buffet needs a headcount, not a list of choices.
Format questions
Asked often.
Boxes if people are eating at their desks or moving between meetings, and if you can collect their choices beforehand. A buffet if you want variety and guests picking for themselves. Both come from the same kitchen and the same menu.
They are close, and the honest answer is that it depends on your headcount. Price a buffet yourself with our published tray prices, then ask us for the box equivalent and compare.
Yes. A common setup is a buffet for the room with a few labelled boxes for people with specific dietary needs or anyone who has to eat and run.
Boxes need a little more notice because each one is packed individually and labelled. A buffet needs a headcount rather than a list of choices, so it can come together faster. Send your date and we will tell you straight away.
Still deciding?
Tell us
the room.
Headcount, where people will eat and how long they have. We will say which format fits, and we will say so if it is the cheaper one.
- Boxes
- Easier, cleaner
- Buffet
- More choice
- Both
- Same kitchen, same menu