The most common question we get asked, answered properly — with the reasoning, not just the numbers.
"How many canapés should I order?" sounds like it should have a one-line answer. It doesn't, because the right number depends on what the canapés are being asked to do. Are they something to hold while people talk, or are they dinner?
Get it wrong in one direction and guests leave hungry and go to find a restaurant, which ends your event early. Get it wrong in the other and you have paid for food that goes in the bin. Here is how we work it out.
The quick guide
| Type of event | Canapés per guest | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-dinner or toast drinks | 4–6 | One hour or less. Guests are eating properly later — a speech, an award, a welcome drink before a booked dinner. |
| Drinks reception | 8–10 | Two to three hours, early evening, no meal to follow. The most common corporate format by far. |
| Canapés instead of dinner | 10–14 | Runs through 6pm to 9pm with nothing else served. Aim at the top of the range and finish with two or three sweet bites. |
Each item on our menu is twenty canapés, so the arithmetic is simple: thirty guests at a two-hour reception is roughly 240–300 canapés, or twelve to fifteen items.
Then adjust for these five things
The clock. Any event covering 7pm to 8.30pm is standing in for dinner whether you intended it or not. People arrive hungry from a working day and they eat accordingly. Move up a band.
How long people stay. Consumption is front-loaded: most of the food goes in the first forty-five minutes. A three-hour reception does not need half again what a two-hour one needs — it needs perhaps twenty per cent more, plus something arriving later so the tables are not bare at 8pm.
Whether guests are standing. Standing guests with a drink in one hand eat more, not less. There is nothing else to do with your hands.
Who is coming. A room of clients being hosted eats politely. A room of colleagues at the end of a long quarter does not. Internal events consistently need more food than external ones, which surprises people every time.
The dietary spread. If a third of your guests are vegetarian and only a fifth of the order is, that fifth disappears in ten minutes and a third of the room is left with nothing. This is the single most common ordering mistake we see.
A dietary split that works
As a starting point, aim for roughly 40 per cent from the Garden, 30 per cent from the Land and the Sea, and 30 per cent something sweet and lighter bites. That over-weights vegetarian relative to a typical guest list on purpose — because everyone eats the vegetarian canapés, whereas only some guests eat the meat and fish ones.
Then check the specifics. Ask for dietary requirements when you invite, not the day before, and tell your caterer the actual numbers. Gluten-free and nut-free options should arrive clearly identified so nobody has to interrogate a tray.
Three worked examples
Twenty-five people, 5.30pm to 6.30pm, awards presentation, dinner booked after. Five per head, so 125 canapés — six or seven items. Keep it light and elegant; nobody wants to be full before dinner.
Forty people, 6pm to 8pm, client drinks in the office. Nine per head, so 360 canapés — eighteen items. Spread across all collections, with the sweet ones held back and brought out at around 7.15pm.
Sixty people, 6pm to 9pm, summer party with no seated meal. Twelve per head, so 720 canapés — thirty-six items. This is a meal, so plan it like one: substantial savoury bites early, something sweet at the end.
The mistakes worth avoiding
Ordering for the number invited rather than the number attending. Corporate RSVP drop-off is real; between ten and twenty per cent of confirmed guests typically do not appear at an evening event.
Putting everything out at once. A reception that peaks in the first half hour and then has nothing left feels meaner than one with a steady supply, even at the same total quantity.
Forgetting the people working. Your AV crew, photographer and the two colleagues running the door all need feeding, and they are rarely on the guest list.
Frequently asked questions
How many canapés equal a main course?
Roughly ten to fourteen, depending on how substantial they are. Below ten, guests will want to eat afterwards.
What is the minimum order?
£150 before delivery. Each item is twenty canapés, so a small reception is entirely workable.
How much notice do you need?
Forty-eight hours as standard, so everything is made fresh on the morning of your event.
What if more people turn up than expected?
Tell us as soon as you know. Within our notice window we can usually add items; on the day itself we cannot conjure food that has not been made.
Work out your order
Take your guest number, pick the band above, adjust for the five factors, and divide by twenty. Then have a look at this season's menu and build it. If you would rather talk it through, help@citycanapecompany.com or 0207 323 0112 — we do this every day and we are happy to sanity-check a plan.