Frequently Asked Questions
OUR SERVICES
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Lish Overview
What is Lish?
Lish makes workplace food easy with chef-crafted meals and precision service to delight your team every time. We take the hassle off the menu with dependable delivery times, smart labeling, just-right portions, and dietary accommodations. From custom menu selection to professional set up and optional clean up, we consistently manage every detail.
How is Lish different?
Lish is reliable, delightful, and delicious. We partner with the best local chefs & restaurants to design thoughtfully balanced office meals that satisfy your team’s diverse appetites. We take hassle off the menu with dependable delivery times, smart labeling, just-right portions, and dietary accommodations. From custom menu selections to professional set-up and optional clean-up, we consistently manage every detail.
What is your service area?
We serve businesses in the greater Seattle metro area, including Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland. You can find a full list of zip codes we serve below or on our About Us page.
Seattle
We serve all major areas, including Downtown, Central Seattle, Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, and West Seattle.
- 98040, 98101, 98102, 98103, 98104, 98105, 98106, 98107, 98108, 98109, 98112, 98115, 98116, 98117, 98118, 98119, 98121, 98122, 98126, 98134, 98136, 98144, 98164, 98199
Eastside
We serve select zip codes in Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland.
- 98004, 98005, 98006, 98007, 98008, 98033, 98039, 98052, 98125
What are your business hours and days?
Lish is available for meal delivery Monday through Friday from 7am-7pm. We are available to respond to inquiries and requests for service from 8am-6pm.
If you are trying to reach us outside of those hours, we’ll get back to you as soon as we are able! Lish does not operate over the weekends, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Day.
How can I contact you?
You can email us at catering@lishfood.com or give us a call at (206) 745 2473. You can also connect with us through the chat feature on our website.
Where can I learn more about Lish?
Additional resources are available on our About Us and company resource pages.
Our Services
What types of services do you offer?
Lish offers three services:
Subscription Catering
- For offices that have catered meals one or more days per week you can set it and forget it— automate your perks.
Catering On-Demand
- Order online for family-style catering whenever you need a meal.
PopUp Restaurants
- Let your team order from and pay for lunch from rotating restaurants in your office.
Do you cater one-time events, or only regular meals?
Both! Lish makes workplace food easy with chef-crafted meals and precision service to delight your team every time.
Catering On-Demand is perfect for selecting a specific meal. Place a one-time order to be delivered when and where you need it.
Subscription Catering takes hassle off the menu with fully managed meal service for any of your recurring meals, whether it’s daily lunch or a weekly all-hands meeting. With our subscription program, we curate and customize your meals specifically to the needs of your team.
Can I get breakfast or dinner? What about happy hour?
Yes, Lish has lots of great breakfast menus and happy hour spreads. We also serve team dinners. We at Lish are here to serve you what you need when you need it.
Can I get full-service for an event?
Lish can offer on-site service with advance notice for an additional cost. For our larger subscriber clients we offer a regular on-site attendant to provide the support you need for every meal.
Can I order alcohol through Lish?
Yes! Lish offers fully staffed bar service. From local beer and wine to craft cocktails, our bar service can add a special touch to any event.
Our Food
Who are your Chef & Restaurant Partners?
We partner with dozens of local chefs, ranging from entrepreneurial one-woman kitchens to award-winning restaurateurs, like Ethan Stowell. We bring you the best food Seattle has to offer. Our Chef and Restaurant Partners are passionate about crafting locally-sourced, scratch-made meals. We launch new partnerships every month to keep things fresh.
The majority of what you pay goes directly to the chefs who cook your food. Check out our Partner Chefs page to learn more.
How do you choose your Chef & Restaurant Partners?
We seek out partners whose unique story and background translate into the food they cook. Whether you are looking for build-your-own Vietnamese Rice Noodle bowls, down-home Creole hush puppies, delicately spiced Paneer Tikka Masala or award-winning Texas-style BBQ – we’ve got you covered!
Each dish available through our platform has gone through an extensive tasting and ingredient collection process to ensure that each dish delivers on Lish’s high standards. We work with our chef and restaurant partners to build operational best practices to ensure reliability, food safety, and a consistent experience for you and your team.
What types of meals can I order?
Our partners specialize in over 30 different cuisines, including Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Cajun, Italian, and home-grown Pacific Northwest cuisine. We want to offer you the maximum variety and authenticity available. We are always adding new dishes and Chef and Restaurant Partners. Many of our chefs use family recipes and techniques that have been perfected over decades of experience.
We also offer a variety of meal formats so your team never gets bored. Build-your-own poke bowls? Check. Classic BBQ platter? Yes, please. Easy grab-n-go salads and sandwiches? We’ve got you covered. With Lish, your team will always have a new menu to look forward to.
Can I order from my favorite restaurant?
We work with many of the best chefs in Seattle, and are always looking for hot tips on the best local favorites to build new partnerships and grow our chef and restaurant community. If we don’t work with your current favorite, we’d be happy to introduce you to some of our top picks! There are many businesses and menus that may not be an ideal fit for office catering. If we don’t already work with your favorite, in limited cases, we are able to add specific restaurants for our Subscription Catering customers.
How can I be sure to have enough food?
A typical meal comes with protein, a starch, a vegetable side and/or a salad. We work with each chef and restaurant partner to set minimum weights for each component of a meal to ensure consistency. Meals are portioned for an average eater, so if your team tends to eat more (or everyone goes in for seconds), we’d recommend ordering some extra.
Where is food cooked?
Meals are prepared in small batches at restaurants and professionally certified kitchens.
Does Lish provide calorie counts or nutritional information?
We provide full ingredient lists and allergen information for all meals. However, Lish does not provide full nutritional information such as calorie counts, as this varies by cooking technique and portion size.
For additional nutritional information we recommend using calorie-counting applications to look at calorie counts of similar foods.
Subscription Catering
What is Subscription Catering?
Lish Subscription Catering allows you to sign up for recurring catering service on a weekly or monthly schedule. We’ll plan meals for you and take care of every detail.
Why should I become a subscriber?
Subscription service has a ton of benefits for you and your team! Lish Subscription Catering takes hassle off the menu by automating your meal planning, so you can spend your time taking care of your team.
You’ll also get a dedicated Lish Customer Success Manager and access to options for additional services like onsite attendants, clean-up service, and leftover donation. Subscribers can also choose premium setup options like chafers to keep food hot throughout service, linens, and reusable serving utensils.
Subscription Catering offers a much larger variety of meals than what is available through Catering On-Demand, with hundreds of additional menus.
How are the meals chosen?
We work closely with you to learn your team’s tastes, allergies, budget, dietary preferences, and what types of meals you enjoy most. We ensure that all your dietary restrictions are taken care of and that food is ordered in the correct quantities.
You and your team can give ratings and feedback, so that the meals planned are tailored to what you want and keep improving to match your team’s tastes.
What are the benefits of having a Customer Success Manager?
Subscription clients get the support of a dedicated Lish Customer Success Manager to oversee the success of your meal program and ensure that you have a great working relationship with Lish. Your Customer Success Manager works with you to ensure that you are on track to meet your budget goals, helps with any requests for new menus and chef and restaurant partners, and ensures that all your dietary restrictions are met with every menu.
You’ll get access to a greater variety of chefs and cuisines, and can add customized or specialty items to your menus that are not available through on-demand catering. Subscribers can also access additional meal planning options like salad bars, grab-n-go meals, or desserts.
With subscription service we can accept both credit card payment or set up your account for invoicing.
My office has people with dietary restrictions and food allergies. Can you handle that?
We accommodate allergies to any of the seven major allergens as defined by the FDA: milk, egg, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and shellfish. We also provide full ingredient lists and an array of options for dietary preferences (vegetarian, vegan, pork-free etc).
Each meal component comes with table-top cards indicating any allergens or applicable dietary callouts. Full dietary information is also available online.
As with ordering at a typical restaurant, food is prepared by partner chefs in shared kitchen environments, and as such, we cannot guarantee against cross-contamination.
Do you offer Subscription Catering for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? What about happy hour?
Yes, subscription catering is available for all meals that we serve.
Can I make changes to my menus?
Yes, generally we plan menus several weeks in advance. You can always request different portions, a different chef, a different menu, or adjusted headcount for each order, up to 2 business days in advance.
Becoming a subscriber sounds great, how do I sign up?
Becoming a subscriber is easy! Submit your information and one of our Account Executives will reach out to set up your account. In order to qualify for subscription service you must have a regularly recurring meal at least twice a month.
Can I cancel orders as a subscriber?
Yes, you can cancel your order or ask to skip a week whenever you would like. Our standard cancellation policy does apply to all orders, where cancellations must be made a minimum of 2 business days in advance by noon to avoid a cancellation fee.
Is there a contract? Am I locked into using Lish?
In most cases, no contract is required unless you would like to have one. We want you to use our service because it works for you, not because you are locked into a contract! A contract is typically only required if Lish will be providing specialty services for a client.
PopUp Restaurants
What are PopUp Restaurants?
Every day a different restaurant comes to your office or building. Employees simply walk up, order, and pay for their lunch. It’s like a food truck, minus the truck.
Which restaurants “popup” and how is it planned?
The restaurant schedule is planned by a Lish Customer Success Manager that customizes your schedule to bring your employees the restaurants they love.
Where can a PopUp be set up?
PopUps are typically set up in the building lobby or in an employee lunch room. Since PopUps are portable and have a small footprint, they can also be setup in other convenient locations in your building or office.
What are the site requirements?
In order to host a PopUp, your site needs to have 12 ft x 8 ft space, three 120V outlets, and access to running water. The space also needs access to wifi or cellular reception to process payments. If your site does not meet these requirements, Lish will work with you to find a solution.
Can I get a PopUp restaurant for a one-off event?
PopUps are designed to be a recurring amenity, 3-5 days per week. For one-time events, ask us about our catering program or order catering online.
How do people order and pay at a PopUp?
Guests can simply walk up and place their order from the daily menu. Lish accepts all major credit cards or mobile payment. The visiting chef assembles your meal and you pay at the cashier station. The whole process takes about 1 minute.
Who cooks the food and where is it cooked?
We’ve partnered with dozens of Seattle’s best restaurants that prepare each and every meal. All meals are prepared in small batches at professionally certified kitchens. Restaurants assemble and finish each dish to order at the PopUp. The majority of what you pay goes directly to the chefs who cook your food.
Who does the oversight, set-up, and clean-up?
Lish’s dedicated PopUp Attendant arrives everyday to set up before the restaurant arrives. They cashier the service and oversee the restaurant team. After the service they ensure the space is clean and all equipment is stored away.
How do restaurants plan portions?
Lish has a machine learning algorithm that provides accurate forecasts for each location and each restaurant. Restaurants prepare enough food to meet this daily forecast.
How do employees learn about which restaurant is serving each day?
Employees can sign up to receive daily or weekly menus by email. Don’t like email? Lish’s calendar feature automatically updates your Google or Outlook calendar with upcoming restaurants. Finally, companies that use Slack can set up a Lish channel where the chef and menu will be sent out each day.
Can guests customize their orders?
Guests can have their meals customized to their preferences. Simply tell the chef how you want your meal assembled. Most chefs also bring a self-serve condiment bar for extra customization.
Catering On-Demand
What is catering on-demand?
Catering On-Demand lets you order online for family-style catering whenever you need a meal. Choose from a wide variety of curated and taste-tested catering menus, from dozens of the best chefs and restaurants in Seattle. Lish’s professional service team delivers and sets up your meal.
What is the cost of catered meals?
A typical meal is about $15 before service fee and tax. We charge an 18% service fee which covers the cost of your delivery and set-up. Menus range anywhere from $12 per person to $25 per person, with a $200 order minimum.
How do I order and pay?
Visit our online ordering page or for more help, see the How to Order section below.
How do I order the right quantity for my group?
We’ll recommended just-right quantities based on the number of people entered when ordering. All menus come with a vegetarian option too, and we’ll recommend a typical split of meat to vegetarian entrees. Meals are portioned for an average eater, so if your team tends to eat more (or everyone goes in for seconds), we’d recommend ordering some extra.
Several menus have the option of additional add-ons, sides, or desserts. Just set the number of people that you think will eat as the quantity. These are portioned per person too, to help make ordering convenient.
Can I order for people with special dietary needs?
Menus on Lish are designed with dietary needs in mind, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. We accommodate allergies to any of the seven major allergens as defined by the FDA: milk, egg, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and shellfish.
Every dish comes with a label with dietary callouts and ingredient list so that your team can choose their food accordingly. The dietary callouts of each dish are listed in its details online. If you’d like help making sure a particular dietary need is met, let us know–we’re happy to help!
As with ordering at a typical restaurant, food is prepared by partner chefs in shared kitchen environments, and as such, we cannot guarantee against cross-contamination.
Is ordering secure?
All transactions are encrypted and secured using the same SSL security technology that your bank and major retailers use online. You can always check to make sure a transaction is secure by looking for the lock icon in your browser’s address bar.
We use the security standards set by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) to ensure that we accept, process, store, and transmit payment information online in a secure environment.
How to Order
How do I order a catered meal?
If you are interested in Subscription Catering please request a consultation, and we’ll help get you set up.
If you’d like to order family style Catering On-Demand, visit our ordering page. Enter the number of guests you are planning to order for and the date you’d like delivery. We’ll provide you with a list of available chefs and menus for your event, pre-populated with recommended portioning.
You can filter by type of meal at the top left and can make adjustments to the quantities as needed. Not seeing something you’d like? Chat with us using the chat button at the bottom right of your screen, or email us at catering@lishfood.com with any questions.
How far in advance do I need to order?
We are happy to help you out with meal requests up to two days in advance of your event. Orders need to be placed by noon two days in advance, at the latest.
The closer you get to the day of the meal the more limited the available options may be, so we recommend ordering one to two weeks in advance to access the maximum amount of variety. You can plan menus a month out or further, but know that we cannot guarantee the pricing and availability of a menu more than a few months out.
Is there a minimum order amount?
In order to provide a great delivery and meal experience that supports the success of our partner restaurants and our team, Lish has a minimum order amount of $200 before service and tax.
What’s the largest group I can order for?
We work with a range of chef and restaurants who have different capacities. Generally, we recommend a 500-person maximum from each menu or chef partner to maintain the quality, authenticity, and small-batch flavor of their food. For larger events, we can offer multiple chef partners simultaneously to maximize choice and options.
Can I order from multiple chefs or menus for one order?
Our menus are composed carefully with our chef and restaurant partners, and we recommend only ordering from one menu for each meal in most circumstances. In certain situations, you can make special requests to add items from different menus.
Can I make any changes to my orders after they have been placed?
You can make changes to the headcount, date, time, delivery address, cuisine, restaurant, and menu selected for your order until noon, two business days in advance of your meal date. Changes can be requested using the “edit” feature in your Lish Account Dashboard. Click the “edit” button at the top right of the meal and select what you’d like to change. Once we’ve confirmed the change with the chef, we’ll send you an email confirmation.
How do I cancel an order?
You can cancel your order easily through your Lish Account Dashboard. Simply click on the “edit” button at the top right of the meal and select “Cancel Order.” For our subscription clients, to cancel a meal that is in the future and not yet planned please reach out directly to your Customer Success Manager via email.
The cancellation deadline is two business days in advance of the order by noon. After that time, fees apply for cancellations. Many of our chef partners are independent entrepreneurs who offer Lish exclusive menus that aren’t available anywhere else. Our chefs begin purchasing supplies and preparing your meals in advance. In order to keep good working relationships with them and continue offering you the high quality and variety you’ve come to expect from Lish, we have a clear cancellation policy that fairly compensates them for their time and materials.
Cancellations made within 2 business days of the meal after noon will be charged 50% of the meal cost, and cancellations made within 1 business day of the meal after noon will be charged 100% of the meal cost. We understand that there are rare cases where last-minute emergencies lead to cancellations, and in those instances we ask that you reach out as soon as possible and we will work with you to reach an equitable agreement.
What to Expect
Who delivers the food? Do you also set up?
We obsess over delivery details. A professionally trained Lish catering lead will deliver and fully set up each meal.
Choose delivery in the 15-minute window that fits your schedule.
How will I know when my order will arrive?
We send you a text message when the delivery is on the way so you can track your catering lead on a map. If you’d like, we can also have them reach out to you when they’ve arrived. How cool is that!
How is the food packaged and labeled?
Your food is delivered and served family-style. Meals typically arrive in recyclable aluminum catering trays or in recyclable plastic bowls. Each dish will have a table top meal card that provides a full ingredient list and call outs of major dietary restrictions.
What does the set up look like?
Our professionally trained catering leads will set up the meal where directed. When we set up your meal, we are happy to arrange it in the way that makes the most sense for your space and team. If you don’t have a preferred layout, we organize the dishes in a way that lets your team serve themselves quickly and with minimal hassle.
Are utensils, plates, napkins, and serving utensils provided?
We provide everything you need to enjoy your meal, including compostable plates, flatware, napkins, and serving utensils. Don’t need these? Just let us know, and we’ll adjust the default settings on your account so you only receive what you need.
Do you offer clean-up?
Clean-up is available to Subscription Catering customers for an additional charge.
What happens if I’m not happy with my order or if there are issues during delivery?
We do everything possible to ensure that your meal is on time, delicious, and exactly what you ordered. We work to proactively reach out and inform you of any issues and provide a solution, whether we expect a delay from traffic, or if something goes wrong on location with a Chef or Restaurant Partner.
If your meal arrives and anything at all is wrong, please reach out to us using our website’s chat function, by emailing catering@lishfood.com, or by contacting your Customer Success Manager directly. We’ll work with you in real-time to solve any issues, and follow up on our end with our operations team and Chef and Restaurant Partners to help ensure the issue doesn’t happen again.
Does Lish provide other services like chafing dishes to keep the food warm? What about reusable serving utensils?
These services are optionally available to Subscription Catering customers. If you’d like something special, like chafing dishes and Sternos, please let us know.
Do you offer leftover donation?
Lish donates leftovers for Subscription Catering clients who request this service. We work directly with local nonprofit organizations like the Union Gospel Mission to make sure that as little food as possible goes to waste.
How do I give feedback or leave a rating and review of my meal?
We love feedback! After each meal, we send an email form to the individuals designated on the account to give feedback. We look forward to your ratings and comments on your meal, and will follow up with you and the chef if anything seems amiss. We review every piece of feedback submitted. For subscribers, this feedback is vital for customizing and improving your meal program.
We care about your team’s feedback as well! Through Slack integration, your team is also able to anonymously leave ratings and feedback on each meal, so we get a full picture of how we can make each meal better than the last.
Account & Billing
Why do I need a Lish account?
Your Lish account gives you access to all the features you need to manage your meals. You’ll be able to view your upcoming and past menus, request changes, update payment information, as well as add our Slack and Calendar integrations from your Account Dashboard.
Can I share upcoming meals with my team?
If your company uses Slack, you can add the Lish Slack app for your team to see upcoming menus and leave ratings. Your team can also sign up to see upcoming meals on their calendar. You can also share upcoming meals with your team by requesting a team email address to be added to your account.
What are my payment options?
You have the option of paying for each meal with a credit card or Lish can send weekly invoices that can be paid via direct deposit (ACH) or check.
Do I have to sign a contract to work with Lish?
In most cases, no contract is required. In some cases, such as Subscription Catering customers who have additional special services, a signed Statement of Work or contract may be required.
How do I change my password?
If you are not logged into your account, go to the login screen and select “Forgot password.” You’ll be sent an email with a link to reset your password.
If you are logged into your account, select “Change Password” on the left side of the screen and you will be prompted to choose and confirm a new password.
How do I update my account?
Need to change your address? Have new members on your team? One of your meat eaters decide to go vegan?
We are happy to make any updates to your account. If you are a subscriber, please email your Customer Success Manager directly. For our on-demand clients, email catering@lishfood.com.
What credit cards can I use? When do you bill my credit card?
Lish accepts all major credit cards. Your credit card is typically billed the business day following your meal. You’ll be emailed an itemized receipt for your order once your card has been charged.
Can I pay by invoice?
Yes, Lish can set up invoicing for our Subscription Catering clients. For our on-demand customers we require that a credit card is provided to place an order. Ask our Customer Success team about details.
Where can I find my receipts?
You’ll receive your final itemized receipt via email the day following your order from catering@lishfood.com. Can’t find your receipt? Reach out to us and we can send it again.
Find the Right Food Program for Your Workplace
Take hassle off the menu.
Are you looking for office catering for twenty or a corporate food program for a couple thousand? Fully subsidized or partially subsidized? Recurring meals or one-off event? We’ll create a program that’s just right for your office.
Subscription Catering
Set it and forget it—sign up for recurring meals and automate your perks.
PopUp
Restaurants
Let your team order from and pay for lunch from rotating restaurants in your office.
