I know it varies on caters, but I am wondering which is cheaper, ordering food from a restaurant or from a grocery store? The reception venue I am looking has a lot of catering options including their in-house cater with the starting price of $14 per person of 6 dishes (buffet style). It is sort of hard to find a cheap, but good caters around here unless I am not looking hard enough. I am on a tight budget of around $2000 or less of reception food for about 150 guests.