Reviews for Smithsonian Cafe and Chowderhouse in West Hatfield, MA

Despite living in Hatfield for a few years, I had never ordered from here. I was looking for a quick to-go lunch when working... from home on a chilly day and didn't want to travel into Northampton, so I gave Smithsonian a shot. Wow! I was really impressed-- food was good, hot, fresh, and pretty well priced. I'm happy to add this place to my repertoire and will be coming back. Alsothe popover was really crispy, in a good way :) Read more

We can't say enough about how wonderful of an experience we had with Peter and Smithsonian Catering at our wedding. From our... first few interactions with him, we could tell he was going to take care of us and accommodate our needs as best he could. Hisfood was delicious (especially his clam chowder and popovers!) and he and his staff were absolutely wonderful! They even dodesserts in house and made us a beautiful little cutting cake, which just simplified everything for us! Our guests all ravedabout Peter's food, and we couldn't be more happy that we chose to go with Smithsonian Catering for our wedding! It was such acomfortable and stress-free experience, and Peter's friendly, easy-going demeanor made us feel like we had been going to hisCafe and Chowderhouse for years! Thank you again, Peter! We'll certainly be stopping by next time we're in the area!! Read more

I have been to this location 8+ times for chowder--every time it was delightful and the service workers were friendly. Once I... went and the chowder seemed very watery, but I mentioned it to the manager on duty and he said they were having an issue withthe chowder heaters. He comped my chowder and threw in a chili for free as well. I really appreciate the time and effort he madeto make me feel like a valuable customer. I'm also glad that it was just the machines because their chowder is really good and Iwant to keep going back. Read more

The absolute greatest decision we made was booking with Peter to cater our wedding - where to even begin? The food was... incredible. The servers were lovely. And their can-do attitude meant they jumped in to work with our other vendors as a team,from moving chairs to figuring out fuses. They took on many many roles that were not technically their job, and it made ourwedding possible. We are so grateful. Cannot recommend them highly enough!!!! Read more

We had Smithsonian cater our son's wedding reception. The food was fantastic! Jeff was wonderful and took care of all the... details so we could enjoy the night. Thank you Smithsonian for a wonderful experience! Read more

Peter catered my wedding on July 30th! He was incredibly easy to work with, and has great experience. He even trained his staff... to make our own Specialty Cocktails, which was so above-and-beyond! He also recreated a dish that my husband and I loved despiteit not being from his own menu! Peter truly goes the extra mile, the whole experience was excellent. During the tatsing, he sentus home with a box of specialty cupcakes (they were fantastic!!!) We cannot speak highly enough of him. The food was delicious,and his staff were all so kind! We love the Smithsonian and are so thankful that they were a part of our special day! Read more

Plenty on the menu good deserts never too busy

We went with Smithsonian Catering for our wedding reception buffet-style dinner and Peter and his staff were an ABSOLUTE... pleasure to work with. Everything that Peter suggested for a menu (that we subsequently tried) was delicious and we only becamemore and more sure of our decision to work with them as time went on. He also kindly gave us seafood chowder whenever we wentand OMG that stuff is DELICIOUS. Peter and team made us a fruit + cheese table for appetizers, chicken marsala medallions,baked haddock with seafood stuffing, grilled vegetables, caesar salad, tomato mozz salad, and even helped us pull off our customdesserts! We got cupcakes in the following flavors : Andes mint chocolate, earl grey and chocolate, and apple cider vanilla, INADDITION to a tiramisu cutting cake. And EVERYTHING was delicious! Every tasting we went to was fantastic and everyone at thereception really enjoyed the food. Thank you, Peter, for being down to earth, transparent about costs and any changes thatneeded to be made, and for just being absolutely fantastic to work with. We're definitely recommending you to every event/friendwe can! You guys were amazing, Smithsonian Catering team. Thank you for helping us with our wedding! P.s. Peter is alsowilling to take on custom menu items and has experience with interracial wedding menus (where someone's grandma's recipe can beused). We didn't end up going with this option, but as an interracial couple, just knowing that he was considerate of thosepotential dynamics spoke volumes to us. Read more