AIBU to have a party with no food

[legoqueen]

Landmark birthday & have around 70 people invited to an evening in a pub. Starting at 8pm, DH & I have decided to provide some drinks & nibbles but no 'buffet', mainly due to logistics not cost. Another friend did this & with the late start it worked fine, but one guest has expressed horror surprise at this - views please.

Mobile fish and chip van what a great idea

Pizza and sausage rolls equate to nibbles.

Actually, even at a pub that DOES serve food the other weekend they were so overwhelmed they told us to get a deliveroo as the kitchen couldn’t cope.
If a pub kitchen can’t cope i don’t think a bloke on a bike will either😀

Sounds like a leaf out of the royal family's party manual!

@LipstickHandbagCoffe it’s a fab solution, we also looked at a Burrito van as well loads of choice, apparently my cousin is having a Yorkshire pud van for his wedding buffet, so much easier than messing about with flaming sausage rolls and quiches when you’re catering for loads 👍🏻

Yes!such a great idea and a crowd pleaser too

I recently went to a party in a pub that had a gourmet burger van in the car park. There were about 4 choices of food I recall, was really nice and substantial and no work for the host or the pub. Dessert was the birthday cake obvs.

You need food to soak up the booze.

Get the local chip shop to deliver sausage and chips for the guests. We have done that before. Then take some bread rolls and some sauce for the chips.

Bluntness
The food looked fine and otherwise the party went really well but I could have cried at the waste. The DJ announced food was ready and for people to tuck in. Party started at 8pm and food brought in by club staff at 8:30. I still don’t understand it

I have to agree, it's very unusual for folks not to hit the buffet, especially when booze involved. I'm not sure I've ever seen a buffet left untouched to be honest.

As PP suggest it’s easy to set up a cold buffet yourself ‘cheese, grapes, olives, bread and crackers, fig paste,salami etc

Pork pies and scotch eggs

I've been to 2 parties that were poor on the food front. One was an engagement that provided nibbles which ended up being one small bowl of peanuts per table. It was a miserable affair and we all remember it because of this

We must've been at the same engagement party, although the one I attended did lash out and provide a tray of party sausage rolls - to be split between about 80 people. DH and I stopped at a buffet restaurant on the way home as we were starving.

A year later we (and the rest of the occupants of our table and the two next to us) had to leave that same couple's wedding reception early to stop for food as the food ran out, and yet again we were starving.

OP, if you want to be remembered for all the wrong reasons, go ahead and have a "party" without food, but don't be surprised if people still recall your event for all the wrong reasons 20 years later.

For a party of 100 people, I ordered 1 large catering trays each of vegetable & meat samosas, onion bhajis, papadoms & pickles. For the mains was 1 large catering pan each of vegetable & chicken biryani with accompanying curry sauces plus tandoori chicken. It went down very well with the crowd & the Indian take away set it up for us so no hassle for me at all. For dessert, I bought a few large rectangular birthday cakes from costco which I sliced ahead of the party.

Presumably people will bring gifts so it's good manners to offer something more than a bowl of nuts. Just order in Indian starters from the local takeaway as they will soak up the alcohol. They're also quite substantial so you could get away with not providing mains.

I somehow think that the guests may very well imagine you're 'aving a larf!

They may not be too impressed with bags of Pork Scratchings......

For my very small wedding not so long ago in a seaside resort we ordered platters of sandwiches, savouries and fresh fruit. That was very popular, only small amounts left so quantities about right I think. I wonde if the party with wasted food was maybe because a lot of the guests were quite senior and possibly rigid over meal times.

'Were we wrong to think that if someone says there will be plenty of food, they're going to provide more than dessert?'

No. I'd have to leave. I really don't like sweets at all and really can't abide them alongside alcohol.

Hello, I'm the OP. Thanks for the constructive comments (plus the messages of support ). You'll be relieved to hear that I've contacted the venue today & we will be getting some outside caterers to provide food...no car park so there isn't room for vans or hog roasts but a respectable buffet will be available for those who haven't had early tea or who aren't too busy strutting their stuff on the dance floor.

Yay Op

If you tell people there will just be nibbles, that's fine. They can always come a bit later if they need more time to eat first.

Ah, too late! Enjoy your party!

Sounds like a good night ahead, especially if you get those yummy porn pies

Have a great party! Just remembered about a wedding I was at, there was a burger van in thew car park, rolls on sausages, and bacon, and burgers were free and unlimited and they also had other stuff people could buy if they wanted to. Thought that was a great idea.

Sounds like a good night ahead, especially if you get those yummy porn pies

Porn pies? Can I come along?