Hotel in-house catering or an outside caterer

By the kitchen office, RASA · Published 30 Aug 2026 · Bangalore & Bengaluru

A Bangalore hotel's in-house catering is convenient and carries 18% GST on the whole banquet bill with a per-plate figure that usually starts around ₹1,500–₹2,500 for a wedding; an outside caterer charges 5% GST on food, publishes per-plate bands from ₹350, and is often 20–40% cheaper for the same menu — but the venue may add a kitchen-use levy of ₹100–₹500 a plate, and some hotels do not allow outside kitchens at all. Ask the venue for its rule and levy before signing either contract.

The case for in-house

One contract, one kitchen already on site, a banquet manager who has run that ballroom a hundred times, and no question of access. For a plated Continental dinner in a five-star ballroom, the hotel's kitchen is built for the job. The cost is the price: hotel catering is billed with the venue at 18% GST, and the per-plate figure carries the hotel's overheads.

The case for an outside caterer

Cuisine. A hotel kitchen cooks one menu well and the rest adequately, and the rest is your family's food. An outside caterer with a chef per cuisine cooks the Kerala sadya, the Chettinad counter and the Awadhi kebabs as three different people. Cost, second: 5% GST on food, no venue overhead in the plate price, and published bands you can budget against.

What to ask the venue

Does the venue allow an outside caterer at all? Many Bangalore mantapas and convention halls do; hotels vary and some do not.
Is there a kitchen-use charge or a per-plate levy on outside catering? ₹100–₹500 a plate is common at venues that allow it.
Is there a kitchen on site, or does the caterer bring a mobile kitchen?
What are the rules on open flame (tandoor, wok, pizza oven), on beef and pork, and on leaf service?

We ask the venue these ourselves before quoting, so the levy is on our quote and not a surprise on the day.

Questions people ask

Is outside catering cheaper than hotel catering in Bangalore?

Usually 20–40% cheaper for the same menu, before any venue levy: 5% GST on food instead of 18% on the banquet bill, and no hotel overhead in the plate. Add the venue's outside-caterer levy, if any, to compare honestly.

Do Bangalore hotels allow outside caterers?

Some do, with a levy; some do not. Mantapas and convention halls almost always do. Ask before signing the venue.

What is a venue kitchen levy?

A per-plate or flat charge the venue bills the host for an outside caterer's use of its kitchen or premises — typically ₹100–₹500 a plate in Bangalore.

Get a menu and a per-plate quote, usually the same day

Date, head count, the cuisines you have in mind. Enough for the first reply to carry a menu and a number rather than a brochure.

What happens after you send the ticket

A written reply, usually the same day. A first menu built for your occasion, the per-plate figure it comes to, and the two or three questions we need settled before the number is firm.
A tasting. For weddings and events of size we cook the shortlist for you before you sign. Each cuisine on the menu is cooked by the chef who will cook it on the day.
The plan for the day. Counters, service staff, timings against your muhurtham or your agenda, and the venue's rules on outside catering, checked with the venue by us.