The short of it: Catering at our house for my 40th. We had three dishes, wine, and a waiter. Couldn't have asked for more. The guests loved it. We were happy. And I could swear the kitchen was cleaner after they left than before they came! The long story: We had been looking for a place to celebrate my 40th for a long time and went through all the alternative venues: Restaurants for a civilised sit-down with friends and their family (but would need somewhere with good facilities for the kids); Clubs for a late night party without kids (which would mean not many of our friends with babies at home would be able to come); Pubs to rent for a day seemed the best solution (but 4k minimum spend for rubbish food seemed a stretch). We went through it all and just couldn't find anything that worked for everyone. Then we had an epiphany. Let's get a caterer in, have them worry about feeding and serving our guests, and we just have a great day at home in a familiar and confined environment, everything works. We are blessed with a closed off driveway in front of our house and thought of some food vans to serve burgers etc. from there. So we did online research and found Franz and his team. We went to see him at his Borough location and tried the food, loved it, and signed him up for the party. We chose the Veal Schnitzel in a bun, their Cheesy Sausages (made to order in the UK by a German butcher), and the aubergine Schnitzel as a veggie option. We added some bottles of Austrian wine and had Franz bring a waitress as well for the day. On the day, they set up in our kitchen with their deep fryers and the prepared food, and went to work. The food was everything we wanted it to be. Good enough to satisfy the foodies, informal enough to just eat it while standing around with a glass of beer/wine/aperol spritz. One thing worth mentioning was the waitress that Franz brought along. I didn't ask much of her (just fill up the glasses and give people the drinks they want) and she just took matters into her own hands and made sure everyone was happy with something to drink, there were no empties lying around in the house or the garden, and that the kitchen was always spotless. Much more than we asked of her! Truly professional. In short, the afternoon went much better than we could have anticipated and without glitches. Bring on the 50th! P.S.: The sleeper hit were the aubergine Schnitzel. I'm a meat loving Austrian myself, and I had two of them!

Amazing food, excellent service and great atmosphere