Home / Pricing
Per-plate pricing · August 2026
What catering costs in Bangalore, printed
Catering in Bangalore in 2026 runs about ₹180–₹320 a plate for a simple vegetarian meal, ₹350–₹750 for a South Indian leaf lunch, ₹650–₹1,300 for a North Indian buffet with a live tandoor, ₹900–₹1,800 for a two-cuisine reception with counters, and ₹1,200–₹2,500 for a premium multi-counter night or a plated dinner — food only, before GST at 5%. Non-vegetarian menus add ₹200–₹600 a plate; each live counter adds ₹100–₹500 a head. These are indicative Bangalore ranges drawn from published market figures; RASA's quote is built from the menu you build and shows GST, staff, crockery and counters as separate lines.
By menu tier
| Menu | Per plate |
|---|---|
| Simple vegetarian meal Rice, sambar or dal, two vegetables, a sweet — a pooja lunch or a working lunch | ₹180–₹320 |
| South Indian leaf lunch Karnataka, Tamil, Andhra or Kerala full leaf, 18–26 items, two sweets | ₹350–₹750 |
| North Indian buffet with live tandoor Two paneer dishes, dal makhani, two non-veg mains, breads to order, two sweets | ₹650–₹1,300 |
| Two-cuisine reception with counters A main buffet from one seat, a second cuisine from another, three to four live counters | ₹900–₹1,800 |
| Premium multi-counter night Grill, sushi, galouti, pasta and mezze counters with a dessert table | ₹1,200–₹2,500 |
| Plated dinner Three courses served to the table, Continental or Italian, one server per table | ₹1,200–₹2,400 |
| Fusion chef's table Seven plated courses, each built by two seats | ₹1,200–₹2,500 |
By guest count — food only, before GST
| Menu | 100 | 150 | 200 | 300 | 500 | 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf lunch at ₹500 | ₹50,000 | ₹75,000 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,50,000 | ₹2,50,000 | ₹5,00,000 |
| North Indian buffet at ₹900 | ₹90,000 | ₹1,35,000 | ₹1,80,000 | ₹2,70,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹9,00,000 |
| Multi-counter reception at ₹1,600 | ₹1,60,000 | ₹2,40,000 | ₹3,20,000 | ₹4,80,000 | ₹8,00,000 | ₹16,00,000 |
Per-plate falls a little with volume because staff and setup are spread; the food figure itself does not. A wedding usually runs a lunch and a reception — budget both. See what 500 guests costs, line by line.
By cuisine — each cooked by its own chef
| Seat | Band | |
|---|---|---|
| Karnataka | ₹350–₹700 | per plate |
| Tamil | ₹350–₹650 | per plate |
| Andhra & Telangana | ₹380–₹700 | per plate |
| Chettinad | ₹650–₹1,200 | per plate |
| Kerala | ₹400–₹750 | per plate |
| Mangalorean & Udupi | ₹500–₹1,000 | per plate |
| Coorg (Kodava) | ₹600–₹1,100 | per plate |
| Hyderabadi | ₹600–₹1,100 | per plate |
| North Indian & Punjabi | ₹650–₹1,300 | per plate |
| Mughlai & Awadhi | ₹750–₹1,400 | per plate |
| Rajasthani, Marwari & Jain | ₹550–₹1,100 | per plate |
| Gujarati | ₹500–₹950 | per plate |
| Bengali | ₹700–₹1,300 | per plate |
| Indo-Chinese | ₹450–₹800 | per plate |
| Pan-Asian | ₹900–₹1,800 | per plate |
| Italian | ₹1,000–₹1,900 | per plate |
| Continental & Grill | ₹1,200–₹2,400 | per plate |
| Mediterranean & Middle Eastern | ₹800–₹1,500 | per plate |
| Mexican & Tex-Mex | ₹500–₹900 | per plate |
| Fusion & the Chef's Table | ₹1,200–₹2,500 | per plate |
| Chaat & Street Food | ₹300–₹550 | as a counter, per head |
| Live Counters | ₹100–₹500 | as a counter, per head |
| Breakfast & Tiffin | ₹150–₹300 | per plate |
| Desserts & Mithai | ₹150–₹400 | as a counter, per head |
| Beverages & High Tea | ₹250–₹500 | per plate |
Live counters, per head, plus setup
| Counter | Per head |
|---|---|
| Dosa / akki rotti | ₹100–₹180 |
| Chaat | ₹120–₹250 |
| Obbattu / holige | ₹80–₹150 |
| Tandoor (breads + tikka) | ₹200–₹350 |
| Wok (Indo-Chinese) | ₹150–₹300 |
| Pasta + pizza oven | ₹250–₹450 |
| Grill + carvery | ₹250–₹450 |
| Shawarma + mezze | ₹200–₹400 |
| Taco bar | ₹200–₹350 |
| Sushi + dim sum | ₹250–₹500 |
| Galouti on ulta tawa | ₹200–₹400 |
| Pathar ka gosht | ₹200–₹400 |
| Dal baati | ₹120–₹220 |
| Jalebi-rabri | ₹80–₹150 |
| Kulfi-falooda | ₹80–₹150 |
| Crème brûlée (torched live) | ₹100–₹180 |
| Filter coffee | ₹40–₹80 |
| Espresso bar with barista | ₹60–₹150 |
By service style — the biggest single lever
Before the menu is even discussed, how the food reaches the guest sets the floor. A buffet and a plated dinner of identical food are different prices because they are different amounts of labour.
| Style | Per plate | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Banana leaf / yele oota Seated, served by hand, one server to twelve leaves | ₹350–₹900 | Cheapest to cater and the most staff-hungry to serve. The service is the cost, not the food. |
| Buffet Counters, guests serve themselves, 1 counter per 80–100 guests | ₹650–₹1,800 | The default. Wastage runs higher because plate control is with the guest. |
| Plated / sit-down Courses brought to the table, 1 server per 12–15 guests | ₹1,200–₹3,000 | Roughly double the service staff of a buffet. Priced on staff, not portions. |
| Meal boxes Individually packed, delivered | ₹180–₹650 | Corporate and small events. No service staff, so the whole labour line disappears. |
By dietary requirement
| Requirement | Per plate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pure vegetarian | ₹350–₹2,000 | The base case for most Bangalore weddings. |
| Veg with non-veg counters | ₹900–₹2,800 | Separate line, separate vessels, separate chef. Not a topping-up of the veg menu. |
| Jain (no root vegetables) | ₹450–₹2,200 | A 15–25% uplift on the equivalent veg menu: separate prep space, separate vessels, and asafoetida standing in for onion and garlic. |
| No onion, no garlic (satvik) | ₹400–₹2,100 | Common for Brahmin weddings and temple functions. Similar uplift to Jain, smaller where the whole menu is satvik rather than a subset. |
By where the event is — Bangalore and Karnataka
We cater Bangalore and Karnataka only, so this is distance from our kitchen rather than a national price map. Transport is a per-trip line, never a per-guest one.
| Where | Added | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Central and south Bangalore Jayanagar, Basavanagudi, Malleshwaram, Indiranagar, Koramangala | — | No travel line. Kitchen to venue inside an hour. |
| Outer Bangalore Whitefield, Electronic City, Sarjapur, Yelahanka, Kanakapura Road | ₹6,000–₹12,000 per trip | Transport billed per trip, per event day, not per guest. |
| Bangalore Rural and resort venues Nandi Hills, Devanahalli, Hoskote, Kanakapura farmhouses | ₹10,000–₹20,000 per trip | Add a mobile kitchen line where the venue has no kitchen infrastructure. |
| Karnataka — Mysore, Coorg, Chikmagalur, Mangalore, Hassan Crew travel and stay | ₹25,000–₹80,000 per event | Crew stay is a real cost and appears as its own line rather than being buried in the per-plate. |
Season
Peak is November to February, plus the muhurtham weeks in April–May, and it carries roughly a 15–20% premium across the Bangalore market. Peak-season dates carry a 15–20% premium across the Bangalore market, driven by staff availability rather than ingredient cost. A Tuesday in July and a Sunday in November are not the same job at the same price.
The lines a quote should show
| GST on food | 5% on the food bill, quoted as a separate line, never buried in the per-plate figure. |
| Non-vegetarian premium | Roughly ₹200–₹600 a plate over the vegetarian equivalent, narrowing at the premium end where the vegetarian menu is itself elaborate. |
| Service staff | One server per 25–30 guests at a buffet; one per table at a plated dinner. Quoted per head of staff for the day. |
| Crockery and glassware | Melamine or steel is usually included; bone china, glassware and linen are quoted per cover. |
| Live-counter setup | Each counter carries a setup charge for the chef, the equipment and the fuel, plus the per-head figure above. |
| Venue kitchen charge | Many Bangalore mantapas and some hotels charge the host for an outside caterer's use of their kitchen or a per-plate levy. We ask the venue before the quote so it appears on ours, not as a surprise. |
| Travel outside Bangalore | Mysore, Mangalore, Coorg, Chikmagalur and Hubli are quoted with transport, crew stay and a mobile kitchen as separate lines. |
| Guaranteed count | The number you pay for whether or not every guest arrives — usually 80–90% of the expected headcount, set with you. We cook a buffer above it. |
| Advance | A booking advance holds the date; the balance is settled after the event on the guaranteed count plus any overage. |
Sources for the market ranges
- Bhandary's Kitchen, "Catering cost per plate in Bangalore" — bhandaryskitchen.com
- itsmy.wedding, "Wedding catering cost in Bangalore" — itsmy.wedding
- Hiibangalore catering price list — hiibangalore.com
- The BBQ Catering Company, Bangalore cost guide — thebbqcatering.com
- WedMeGood, Bangalore wedding caterers (starting prices) — www.wedmegood.com
- Velvet Knot, wedding catering cost in India — velvetknot.in
Ranges cross-checked against the kitchen's own quoting in August 2026. They move with season (November–February and the April–May muhurtham weeks are the peak) and with the price of ghee, paneer, fish and meat.
Pricing questions
How much does catering cost per plate in Bangalore in 2026?
About ₹180–₹320 for a simple vegetarian meal, ₹350–₹750 for a South Indian leaf lunch, ₹650–₹1,300 for a North Indian buffet with a live tandoor, ₹900–₹1,800 for a two-cuisine reception with counters, and ₹1,200–₹2,500 for a premium multi-counter night or a plated dinner — food only, before 5% GST. These are indicative Bangalore ranges; RASA's quote is built from the menu.
What does catering for 100, 300 or 500 guests cost in Bangalore?
At ₹500 a plate: ₹50,000 for 100, ₹1.5 lakh for 300, ₹2.5 lakh for 500. At ₹900: ₹90,000 / ₹2.7 lakh / ₹4.5 lakh. At ₹1,600: ₹1.6 lakh / ₹4.8 lakh / ₹8 lakh. Add 5% GST, staff and counter setup. Weddings usually run a lunch and a reception, so budget both.
Is GST included in your per-plate price?
No — GST at 5% on food is shown as its own line, so the per-plate figure is comparable across quotes.
How much more is non-vegetarian catering?
About ₹200–₹600 a plate over the vegetarian equivalent, narrowing at the premium end.
What do live counters cost?
About ₹100–₹500 a head plus a setup charge per counter: dosa and chaat at the low end, tandoor and wok in the middle, grill, sushi, galouti and shawarma at the top.
What is the minimum guarantee?
The count you pay for regardless of turnout — usually 80–90% of your expected headcount, set with you and written into the contract. We cook a buffer above it.
Does catering cost more in peak wedding season?
Yes, about 15–20% more across the Bangalore market from November to February and through the April–May muhurtham weeks. The driver is staff availability rather than ingredient cost — a Tuesday in July and a Sunday in November are not the same job.
How much does Jain or no-onion-no-garlic catering cost?
A 15–25% uplift on the equivalent vegetarian menu, because it needs separate prep space, separate vessels and asafoetida standing in for onion and garlic. The uplift is smaller when the entire menu is satvik rather than a subset of it.
Does a buffet or a plated dinner cost more?
Plated, by a wide margin — roughly ₹1,200–₹3,000 a plate against ₹650–₹1,800 for a buffet. The difference is staff: plated service needs one server per twelve to fifteen guests where a buffet needs one counter per eighty to a hundred. You are buying labour, not more food.
Do you charge extra to cater outside Bangalore?
Transport is billed per trip per event day: nothing inside central and south Bangalore, ₹6,000–₹12,000 to the outer city, ₹10,000–₹20,000 to Bangalore Rural and resort venues. For Mysore, Coorg, Chikmagalur, Mangalore or Hassan, crew travel and stay runs ₹25,000–₹80,000 for the event and appears as its own line rather than hidden in the per-plate.
Do you charge for a tasting?
For weddings and events of size the shortlist is cooked for you by the chefs who will cook the day; ask when you enquire and we set a date and confirm the terms.
Get the number for your menu
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.