The Best And Worst Rated Party Platters From Costco, According To Customers

Costco isn't just a warehouse-style store: it's a retail utopia where shoppers (and their wallets) jump for joy. It's known for its unbeatable savings on great bulk items. The food items Costco offers range from a 72 lbs whole wheel Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to a 2-⅕ lbs. tin of caviar and even a month's supply emergency food kit. The chain will also be there for you when you have to play host or attend social gatherings with plenty of mouths to feed.

Maybe you are hosting a games night or a family member's birthday party. Either way, Costco might just have a cheap, convenient, and delish catering solution for you. In recent years, the Party Platters from Costco have pretty much gotten a personality of their own since they come in such a wide range of flavors, and thanks to that, most of them are bound to please a wide variety of party people.

Some of these platter options need to be pre-ordered two to four days in advance, while others are waiting to be purchased and devoured in Costco's bakery deli, produce, or deli section. Of course, we can't vouch for every platter that Costco has to offer, as some are either not worth it or they just don't taste great. But buckle up as we take a look at some of Costco's best and worst rate party platters, according to you — the internet dwellers.

Before Costco's recent deli update, it was just a meat and cheese platter, but with its recent changes, it revised this platter by adding some fruit and created the fruit, meat & cheese platter. It consists of grapes, salami, soppressata, and two regular cheeses — gouda and cheddar. It seems like a great combination that will not only cater to our beloved carnivorous friends, but our vegetarian friends can dig into this platter, too.

The former option served 16 to 20 people, and it was generally well-regarded for its $26.99 affordability. The Fruit, Meat & Cheese Platter serves 18 to 24 people and will set you back $39.99. A lot of Costco-goers have vented online about the steep price increase, and one Instagrammer put it perfectly with: "Whoa!! $26 to $39?! That's a huge jump!! Has it been upgraded?! Bigger portions? Better meats/cheeses? Something better is worth a $13 price increase. That's insane."

Next up, we have Costco's famed Shrimp Platter. These juicy shrimp are served cold with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges. For this 3-½ lbs party platter that serves 20-24 party people, you can expect 31/40 large tail-on-head shrimp to be priced at $39.99, depending on your location. This platter, like the Sprouted Grain Sandwich Platter and the Fruit, Meat & Cheese Platter, are all part of the deli party platters, so they can't simply be bought in-store at the last minute and will have to be pre-ordered in advance.

There has been an ongoing debate about this platter and whether it's worth it or not. On one end of the scale, you have some shoppers claiming that this platter only holds enough shrimp to serve one person (seafood fans, we see you), and on the other side, we have customers claiming that Costco has the best shrimp cocktail around.

The Okami sushi platter is not as big as the other options on this list, but thanks to some unhappy Costco-goers on Reddit, we thought it deserved a mention. This 1 lb 9 oz party platter consists of a variety of 25 sushi pieces, and it's priced at $8.99. The tray includes California rolls, wasabi crunch rolls, spicy supreme California rolls, spicy Sriracha rolls, and classic California rolls with avocado. Wasabi, ginger, sweet sauce, a dynamite sauce, and bits of onion crunch also accompany the rolls.

It looks good on paper, but some internet users have questioned the quality. Yes, the price seems like a steal, but according to a food reviewer on YouTube and a couple of Redditors, the rice tasted mostly hard and uncooked. Since sushi only contains a handful of ingredients, it's probably best to make sure that each and every ingredient is edible for it to be a winner, and when it comes to the main ingredient, rice — it's probably the most important aspect of the sushi that has to be on point.

Costco's rotisserie chicken might just be one of the chain's most viral items to date. For a more shared-style poultry option, they have the Cooked Party Wings Platter.  If Kirkland chicken wings are done well, they can be a real crowd-pleaser, but at the same time, they can be a massive downer if the seasoning or texture is a little wonky.

Costco's Cooked Party Wings Platter is the perfect snack at any social gathering as they are ready to eat, and they don't even need to be pre-ordered — you can simply find them under the heat lamps in Costco's deli section. The damage for a weighty 32 lbs tray comes to around $20.77, depending on your location.

According to one Redditor, these wings don't match the labeled flavor profile as they have a slightly fishy taste — yikes! Other critics have claimed that they are a bit on the soggy side, which probably arises when hot, steamy wings cool down in the plastic container. As a minor inconvenience, this platter will need to be reheated in a heat-safe dish if you want to serve hot wings for your party people.

Last and maybe even least, on the list is Costco's fresh cut fruit tray. This tray is made for those who want a healthy option without the fuss of preparing anything. It seems that most consumers don't wait for a special social gathering to purchase this platter. Much like the vegetable tray, shoppers will also buy this fruit tray to have healthy snack options during the week. It consists of a variety of fruits, including yellow and green cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, and grapes, although this makeup may change depending on the season and location.

For 3 lbs of fruit, you can expect to pay from $9.99 to $14.03, depending on where you live. This fruit bowl looks succulent at first glance, but after doing a little digging, we discovered that most customer reviews could not disagree more.

This platter managed to get the most upvotes on a Reddit post for the items that people "DON'T" buy at Costco. This pretty much speaks for itself. On one side of the spectrum, we have shoppers claiming that the fruit tastes mildly fermented and noticing white granules a day after purchasing, and on the other side of the spectrum, we have unripe fruit that is too hard to enjoy.