How many canapés per person? Quantities and cost for a corporate drinks reception (2026)

By Woolly Mammoth · November 7, 2026

Plan 4–6 canapés per guest for a one-hour reception, about 7–10 for a two-hour drinks reception and 10–12 when canapés replace dinner: the median ranges of eight UK catering guides. At £1.75–£3.80 a canapé, a two-hour reception for 40 guests costs about £15–£47 a head with the caterer's service charge and two servers, before drinks.

Last updated: November 2026 · By Woolly Mammoth

We read eight UK catering guides on quantities and the canapé prices of five caterers and suppliers serving London on 2 November 2026, and turned them into an order list and a budget for a corporate drinks reception, a launch or a client evening. Prices are shown as published; most caterers don't say whether VAT is included. Only two state a basis: Vlamber's prices are "excluding VAT (20%)" and Bar Brothers' are "plus VAT". The tables say which is which.

How many canapés per person?

Every guide we read gives a range per guest, and every one of them ties the number to how long the reception lasts and whether a meal follows. Sort the table or keep one format.

Format

Canapés per guest recommended by eight UK catering guides (read 2 November 2026)

Bar Brothers (caterer covering London)	4–5	About 1 hour	Short drinks reception before a sit-down meal
Catermonkey (catering software firm)	5–6	About 1 hour	One-hour drinks reception, canapés the only food
City Canapé Company (London caterer)	4–6	About 1 hour	Pre-dinner or toast drinks, one hour or less
Frank Dale Foodservice (catering supplier)	4–6	About 1 hour	One-hour drinks reception; 4 if dinner follows
Fresh N Funky (London caterer)	4–6	About 1 hour	Pre-dinner or short reception
London Fine Dining Company (London caterer)	6–8	About 1 hour	Short drinks reception of 1 to 1.5 hours
Vlamber (London caterer)	6–8	About 1 hour	Pre-dinner drinks or short corporate reception, 1 hour
Bar Brothers	6–8	About 2 hours	Reception of about 90 minutes
Catermonkey	8–10	About 2 hours	Two-hour reception, no meal either side
City Canapé Company	8–10	About 2 hours	Drinks reception of 2 to 3 hours, no meal to follow
Frank Dale Foodservice	6–9	About 2 hours	4–6 for the first hour, plus 2–3 for each extra hour
Fresh N Funky	6–8	About 2 hours	Longer drinks event (no duration given)
London Fine Dining Company	8–10	About 2 hours	Standard two-hour reception
Taverna Catering (London caterer)	6–8	About 2 hours	Standard drinks reception (no duration given)
Vlamber	8–10	About 2 hours	Standard corporate or brand event, 1.5 to 2 hours
Bar Brothers	8–10	Instead of a meal	Canapés standing in for dinner
Catermonkey	12–14	Instead of a meal	Canapés replacing a meal over 3 hours or more
City Canapé Company	10–14	Instead of a meal	6pm to 9pm with nothing else served
Fresh N Funky	8–10	Instead of a meal	Canapés replacing a meal
London Fine Dining Company	12–15	Instead of a meal	Canapés replacing a meal
Taverna Catering	10–12	Instead of a meal	Canapés replacing a meal, plus bowl food
Vlamber	10–12	Instead of a meal	Canapés replacing a main meal

Sources: each business's own page, read 2 November 2026 (see Sources). Fresh N Funky and Taverna give 6–8 for a longer or standard drinks reception without a duration; we placed them under "About 2 hours". Frank Dale's two-hour figure is our calculation from its rule: 4–6 for the first hour plus 2–3 for the second. Median ranges (middle of the low ends, middle of the high ends): 4–6 for about an hour (7 guides), 7–9.5 for about two hours (8 guides, rounded to about 7–10), 10–12 instead of a meal (7 guides).

What this means for you: decide first whether your guests will eat afterwards. A one-hour welcome before a client dinner needs 4–6 pieces each; a two-hour after-work reception with no meal needs about 7–10; if the canapés are dinner, order 10–12 and add something more filling. Catermonkey suggests trimming "a couple per person" when a seated meal follows.

How many canapés per person for 2 hours (or 3)?

For a two-hour drinks reception with no meal afterwards, the eight guides give 6 to 10 canapés per guest, with a median range of 7–9.5, rounded to about 7–10. Four of them (Catermonkey, City Canapé Company, London Fine Dining Company and Vlamber) say 8–10.

Longer receptions don't need the same amount for every hour:

Most of the food goes early. City Canapé Company says "most of the food goes in the first forty-five minutes", and that a three-hour reception needs "perhaps twenty per cent more" than a two-hour one.
Add 2–3 per extra hour. Frank Dale Foodservice allows "two to three canapés per person, per hour after the initial hour".
Three hours or more starts to be a meal. Vlamber's guide gives 10–14 per guest for 2 to 3 hours and 14–16 or more for over 3 hours, or bowl food on top.

What this means for you: for a 6pm to 9pm launch with no dinner, plan it as a meal (10–14 each) and keep some savoury and sweet pieces back for later in the evening, rather than serving everything in the first hour.

How many canapés for 20, 30 or 50 guests?

Multiply the median ranges by your guest list. Add the people working at the event: City Canapé Company reminds hosts that the AV crew, the photographer and the colleagues running the door "all need feeding".

Canapés to order by number of guests (median ranges of eight UK catering guides, 2-hour median rounded to 7–10)
Guests	About 1 hour, 4–6 each (canapés)	About 2 hours, 7–10 each (canapés)	Instead of a meal, 10–12 each (canapés)
20	80–120	140–200	200–240
30	120–180	210–300	300–360
40	160–240	280–400	400–480
50	200–300	350–500	500–600
80	320–480	560–800	800–960
100	400–600	700–1,000	1,000–1,200

Guests × canapés per guest. City Canapé Company's own example for a two-hour reception: 30 guests need "roughly 240–300 canapés" at 8–10 each.

What this means for you: for 30 guests at a two-hour reception, order about 210–300 canapés; for 20 guests, 140–200. Check the caterer's minimums before you split the order into many varieties (see below).

What is the average price for canapés?

Caterers price canapés in two ways: per piece, or as a package per guest. Per piece, the five caterers and suppliers serving London that we found publish £1.75 to £3.80 a canapé.

Published prices per canapé, five caterers and suppliers serving London (read 2 November 2026)

Fresh N Funky	£1.75–£3.50	Per piece, depending on the selection	Not stated
City Canapé Company	£1.80–£3.80	Items of 20 canapés at £36–£76 each; minimum order £150 before delivery	Not stated
Comptoir Bakery	£3.17	Platter of 30 canapés for £95, for office events	Not stated
Bar Brothers	from £3.50	Minimum of thirty of each type	Plus VAT
The Master Mixologist	from £3.50	Added to a mobile bar booking	Not stated

City Canapé Company: the lowest (£36) and highest (£76, a set of 20 pork belly skewers) item prices on its 31-item menu, divided by 20 canapés per item. Comptoir Bakery: £95 ÷ 30. Prices are food only: staff, delivery and service charge are extra unless stated.

Packages per guest bundle a set number of canapés with service. Vlamber publishes six canapé packages; five state the number of pieces and the length of the reception each one is built for:

Staffed canapé packages per guest, excluding VAT, the five that state a canapé count (Vlamber, read 2 November 2026)

1 hour	£26	6–7	20
1.5 hours	£34	8–9	20
2 hours	£45	10–11	25
2–2.5 hours	£58	12–13	30
2.5–3 hours	£75	14–15, plus a live station	35

Prices "from", staffed service, food only; drinks packages are separate. Vlamber adds that "delivery fee and minimum spend apply depending on location".

Other published figures sit in the same range: Vlamber puts the average for canapé catering in London at "around £21 per guest", with typical packages of £18–£45 per person (its own prices exclude VAT; the page doesn't say whether these market figures do); the London Fine Dining Company's corporate canapé catering "typically starts from £30 per person" (food, kitchen staff and service items; waiting staff charged separately; VAT not stated); venues.london gives £18–£35 per person for a canapé reception (VAT not stated). Our guide to London catering costs uses £18–£45 per person for a canapé reception.

What this means for you: when you compare quotes, divide each one by the number of canapés per guest it includes. A per-piece price looks cheaper than a package, but a package usually includes the staff who serve it.

What do canapés cost per head for a 2-hour corporate reception?

The calculator below is our worked example: 40 guests at a two-hour reception, with 7–10 canapés each at £1.75–£3.80, the caterer's service charge and two servers for the two hours. For 40 guests it gives £600–£1,900, or £15–£47 a head. Move the slider to price 30 to 50 guests, the range two servers cover.

What will canapés cost for your 2-hour reception?

Move the sliders to see a realistic budget range.

How many guests? 40

Total budget

£600–£1,900

Per person

£15–£47

Canapés: 7–10 per guest at £1.75–£3.80 40 guests£490–£1,500
Caterer's service charge: 10–15% of the canapés 40 guests£49–£230
Two servers for 2 hours at £15–£30 an hour each flat fee£60–£120

Find a venue →

See the figures

Item	Low	High	Per
Canapés: 7–10 per guest at £1.75–£3.80	£12.25	£38.00	person
Caterer's service charge: 10–15% of the canapés	£1.23	£5.70	person
Two servers for 2 hours at £15–£30 an hour each	£60	£120	event

Low = fewest canapés at the lowest price; high = most canapés at the highest price. Service charge: venues.london says "most caterers add 10–15% service charge on top of quoted prices". Staff: venues.london gives 1 server per 25–30 guests for circulating canapés, so two servers for 30 to 50 guests, at "typically £15–£30/hour" each; set-up time and minimum shifts can add to this. The London Fine Dining Company staffs "around 1 staff member per 10 guests", which would mean four servers for 40 guests. Prices as published (VAT basis in the tables above).

What this means for you: about £15–£47 a head covers the canapés and the people who serve them. Drinks, delivery, glass hire and the venue come on top. Vlamber's staffed two-hour package (£45 a guest for 10–11 canapés) sits near the top of this range.

How much drink per person at a drinks reception?

The two drinks suppliers we read agree on about one drink per guest per hour, with more at the start:

One drink per guest per hour. VIVA Bar Hire: "plan for roughly one drink per person per hour"; daytime events "often average closer to 0.7 drinks per person per hour".
More in the first hour. Drinks House 247: "one to one-and-a-half drinks per person for the first hour, then one drink per person for each following hour".
Bottles of wine. A 75cl bottle gives "roughly six small glasses or five more generous ones". If wine is the main drink, Drinks House 247 allows "about half a bottle per person for a shorter event".
Fizz for a toast. "One bottle for six to eight guests usually works" (Drinks House 247).

What this means for you: for 40 guests over two hours, plan 80–100 drinks: about 14–20 bottles of wine if everyone drinks wine, plus soft drinks and water for those who don't. Ask your supplier whether unopened bottles can be returned.

What should you order for 40 guests? An order list

Here is the full list for the two-hour reception above, with the rule behind each line.

Order list for a 2-hour corporate drinks reception, 40 guests
Item	Low	High	Unit	Rule used
Canapés	280	400	canapés	7–10 per guest (median of eight guides)
Varieties	4	6	varieties	"Four to six varieties is enough" (Catermonkey)
Serving staff	2	2	servers	1 per 25–30 guests (venues.london), as in the budget; the London Fine Dining Company's 1 per 10 would mean 4
Bar staff for beer and wine	1	2	bartenders	1 per 35–40 guests (venues.london)
Drinks	80	100	drinks	1 per guest per hour (VIVA Bar Hire); 1–1.5 in the first hour (Drinks House 247)
Wine, if it is the main drink	14	20	75cl bottles	80 drinks ÷ 6 glasses to 100 drinks ÷ 5 glasses per bottle
Fizz for a toast	5	7	75cl bottles	1 bottle per 6–8 guests (Drinks House 247)

Counts rounded up to whole bottles and people.

What this means for you: City Canapé Company's own example of "client drinks in the office" for forty people from 6pm to 8pm uses nine canapés per head, 360 in total, inside this range.

What are the three types of canapés?

Caterers build a canapé menu from cold, hot and sweet pieces. Catermonkey suggests splitting the count "roughly a third cold, a third hot, and a third sweet" for anything over eight per person. City Canapé Company weights its menus towards vegetarian pieces, "roughly 40 per cent" from its vegetable range, because everyone eats the vegetarian canapés.

What this means for you: for 360 canapés, that is about 120 cold, 120 hot and 120 sweet. Ask your caterer to label allergens on each tray.

Which Woolly Mammoth venues suit a drinks reception?

Most Woolly Mammoth venues accept an outside caterer, so you can book one of the caterers above; a few work only with approved caterers, and some charge a fee for an outside caterer, shown on the venue page (for example the Old Street Versatile Exhibition Space). At most venues you bring your own drinks. Venues ask you for public liability insurance for the event, and every venue has presentation equipment and a breakout area for a launch or a talk.

Woolly Mammoth venues by group size: starting rates per hour, excluding VAT (listings, 2 November 2026)
Guests	Venues that seat them (theatre-style)	Lowest starting rate per hour	Median starting rate per hour
20	41	£120	£240
40	18	£175	£330
80	10	£260	£400

Woolly Mammoth listings, 65 venues, 2 November 2026: venues whose theatre-style seated capacity is at least the number of guests. There is no booking fee; the rate on each venue page is a starting price, plus VAT, that can vary with the date and the type of event.

Three venues for a client evening, a launch or after-work drinks:

Canalside Studios, Angel: two light-filled studios beside Regent's Canal with a breakout area with sofas and a fully equipped kitchen; seats 36 theatre-style (30 with tables). The hire period is 9am to 6pm unless agreed otherwise, so ask for overtime for an evening reception. Starting rate £135 an hour.
Fitzrovia Penthouse: a top-floor loft in an Art Deco building with a private balcony and views of the BT Tower; seats 40 theatre-style (25 with tables). Starting rate £710 an hour.
The Glasshouse Penthouse, West London: glass walls, a south-facing terrace and a full chef's kitchen with a marble island "supports catered events"; seats 50 theatre-style (50 with tables). Starting rate £225 an hour.

Canalside Studios, a venue for hire in Angel, London — Canalside Studios · Angel · up to 46 guests · from £135/hour

See all our networking event venues in London.

Frequently asked questions

Can canapés replace dinner at a corporate event?

Yes, if you order enough. The guides we read give 8 to 15 canapés per guest when canapés replace a meal (median 10–12). City Canapé Company says that below ten "guests will want to eat afterwards"; Taverna Catering suggests adding bowl food when canapés replace a meal, and Vlamber for receptions over 3 hours.

How far ahead should you order canapés?

City Canapé Company asks for forty-eight hours as standard. Bar Brothers agrees the selection and numbers "usually four to six weeks out", and says its first two weeks of December are usually booked by the end of October.

How many staff do you need for a canapé reception?

venues.london gives one server per 25–30 guests for circulating canapés; the London Fine Dining Company staffs around one per 10 guests. For a beer and wine bar, venues.london gives one bartender per 35–40 guests.

Can I bring my own caterer and drinks to a Woolly Mammoth venue?

At most venues, yes. Most accept an outside caterer (a few work only with approved caterers, and some charge a fee, shown on the venue page), and at most venues you bring your own drinks. Check the venue page before you book, and expect the venue to ask for public liability insurance for your event.

Sources

Catermonkey, How many canapes per person? A caterer's guide, 13 July 2026
City Canapé Company, How many canapés per person? A London caterer's guide, 31 August 2026; menu prices and Korean glazed pork belly skewer (£76 per set of 20), read 2 November 2026
Vlamber, Canapés and drinks reception, read 2 November 2026
London Fine Dining Company, Corporate canapé catering in London, read 2 November 2026
Bar Brothers (caterer covering London), Canapé catering, read 2 November 2026
Fresh N Funky, Canapé catering London, read 2 November 2026
Taverna Catering, Canapé catering: how many per person, read 2 November 2026
Frank Dale Foodservice, The Frank Dale guide to serving savoury canapés, September 2024
Comptoir Bakery, Canapés selection platter, read 2 November 2026
The Master Mixologist, Mobile bar hire, read 2 November 2026
venues.london, Event catering costs London 2026, February 2026
VIVA Bar Hire, How many drinks per head do you actually need?, 6 June 2026
Drinks House 247, Party drinks planning guide, 9 April 2026
Woolly Mammoth listings (65 venues), 2 November 2026

Planning a drinks reception, a launch or a client evening? Compare networking event venues in London by size, area and hourly rate, bring your own caterer, and send an enquiry from the venue's page.