How much caviar for 20 guests?

For 20 guests, plan on 300–600 g of caviar total — that's 15 g per person for a tasting pass, 30 g per person for a proper appetizer, primarily because portion size shifts dramatically depending on whether caviar is the centrepiece or one element among many. The math is simple once you fix the serving style first.

How much caviar per person — the numbers by serving style

Portion size for caviar is driven entirely by the role it plays at the table. A tasting portion (5–10 g) works when caviar is one of six canapes making the rounds. An appetizer portion (28–30 g, roughly 1 oz) is what you need when it sits at the centre of a plate. For 20 guests, those two scenarios produce very different totals — 100 g versus 600 g — so locking in the format before you order is the only decision that actually matters.

Serving format	Per person	Total for 20 guests	Best for
Tasting pass / canape	5–10 g	100–200 g	Cocktail party with many bites
Appetizer (with accompaniments)	15–20 g	300–400 g	Seated dinner, blinis or chips on the side
Appetizer (caviar as the centrepiece)	28–30 g	560–600 g	Caviar-forward dinner, no heavy sides
Tasting flight (multiple species)	10–15 g per species	200–300 g per tin opened	Comparative tasting, 2–3 species side by side

Here's the thing most guides skip: accompaniments shrink your caviar requirement more than anything else. A 15 g portion on a warm blini with crème fraîche feels complete. The same 15 g eaten off a spoon alone leaves guests reaching for more. If you're serving with classic blinis, potato chips, or deviled eggs, you can comfortably sit at the lower end of each range.

Which species works best for a party of 20?

Species choice for a large group comes down to 1 question: are your guests mostly first-timers, or do at least half of them eat caviar regularly? First-timer crowds almost always respond better to Kaluga Hybrid — the large grain, buttery finish, and soft pop are immediately approachable, and there's nothing polarising about the flavour. A more experienced table might appreciate the firmer, nuttier profile of Ossetra alongside it.

Species	Grain size	Flavour profile	Best suited for
Kaluga Hybrid	Large	Buttery, sweet, soft pop	First-timers, crowd-pleasing centrepiece
Ossetra	Medium	Nutty, briny, firmer pop	Experienced guests, tasting flights
Baerii	Small–medium	Light, clean, delicate	Pairing with subtle flavours, blinis
Schrenckii	Medium–large	Rich, complex, lingering finish	Guests who want something distinctive
Huso Dauricus	Large	Bold, savoury, long finish	Centrepiece for a caviar-forward event

For a 20-person cocktail party where most guests are new to caviar, I'd open 1 tin of Kaluga Hybrid at 250 g and keep a second 125 g tin in reserve. That gives you a buffer without committing to more than you need. You can read more about each species in our full caviar guide if you want to go deeper before deciding.

How to serve caviar at a party

Cold, fast, and with the right spoon — those are the 3 non-negotiables. Caviar should sit on a bed of crushed ice throughout service; at room temperature, the texture softens and the flavour flattens within 20 minutes. Keep the tin on ice, portion directly from it using a mother-of-pearl, bone, or plastic spoon, and never let a metal utensil touch the roe — metal reacts with the delicate oils and introduces a tinny note that undermines the whole thing.

• Keep it cold: serve directly from ice, not a warm platter
• Spoon material matters: mother-of-pearl or plastic only — no metal
• Accompaniments that work: unsalted blinis, crème fraîche, hard-boiled egg white, lightly salted chips
• Accompaniments to skip: strong onion, heavy vinegar, anything that competes with the brine
• Tin management: open one tin at a time; a second tin stays sealed and cold until needed
• Timing: bring the tin out of the fridge 5 minutes before serving, not more

Our how to eat caviar guide covers the full setup — spoon choice, blini ratios, and what to drink alongside — if you want a step-by-step for the night.

What to know before you order for a large group

Three factors trip up first-time party hosts more than any others: tin sizes, storage windows, and the difference between fresh and pasteurised. Most caviar is sold in 30 g, 50 g, 100 g, and 250 g tins. For 20 guests at a 15–20 g appetizer portion, two 125 g tins or one 250 g tin gets you there — but check whether the tin sizes available align with your target total before you finalise the order.

Storage is the other variable. An unopened tin keeps in the coldest part of your fridge — ideally 0–2 °C — for the shelf life printed on the lid. Once opened, fresh caviar holds for 24–48 hours; pasteurised caviar for 3–5 days. For a party, that means you can open the tin the morning of the event and it'll be fine by evening, but anything left over needs to go back in the fridge immediately, sealed with cling film pressed directly against the surface.

One question we hear weekly from Toronto hosts: is it better to order one large tin or several small ones? Practically, one 250 g tin is easier to manage at the table than five 50 g tins, and it's a better visual centrepiece. Multiple smaller tins make more sense for a tasting flight where you want guests to compare species side by side — in that case, check our sourcing page to understand what each species brings before mixing and matching.

If you're in Toronto or the GTA, cold delivery means the tin arrives at your door at the right temperature — no need to arrange your own cold chain. Yorkville pickup works just as well if you're nearby and want to collect it yourself. Either way, don't let the tin sit in a warm car or on a counter; it goes straight into the fridge the moment it's home.

One last thing: wild sturgeon is a protected species globally, and all caviar sold commercially in Canada must come from farmed fish. Everything at Caviar Kitchen is farmed sturgeon, traceable to our partner farms in south-west China — no wild catch, no ambiguity. If you want to understand the sourcing in more detail, the sourcing page lays it out plainly.

Frequently asked questions

How many people does 1 oz of caviar feed?

1 oz (28–30 g) feeds 1 person as a proper appetizer portion, or 2–3 people as a small tasting. At cocktail-party scale, where caviar is one of several bites, a single ounce can stretch across 3 to 4 guests comfortably — especially when served on blinis or chips.

How much caviar is too much per day?

Caviar is high in sodium — roughly 240–400 mg per 30 g serving depending on species and salting level. Most nutritionists suggest keeping total daily sodium under 2,300 mg, so 1–2 oz (30–60 g) is a reasonable ceiling for a single day. As an occasional food, there's no strict limit for healthy adults.

How to serve caviar at a party?

Keep the tin on crushed ice throughout service, use a mother-of-pearl or plastic spoon (never metal), and open one tin at a time. Pair with unsalted blinis, crème fraîche, or plain chips. Portion 15–30 g per guest depending on whether caviar is a canape or the main appetizer. See our full serving guide for setup details.

Is 1 oz of caviar a lot?

1 oz (28–30 g) is the standard single-serving appetizer portion — generous but not excessive. For a first-time taster, it's actually quite a full experience. For someone who eats caviar regularly, it's a satisfying starter. As a canape at a cocktail party, 1 oz can be split across 2–3 small bites.

(common question we hear) How much caviar should I order for 10 people vs 20 people?

For 10 guests at appetizer portions, plan 280–300 g. For 20 guests, double that to 560–600 g. If serving as a canape alongside other food, halve both figures. The per-person math stays constant — 15 g for a tasting, 28–30 g for a full appetizer — regardless of group size.

Ready to sort out your order? Browse the current selection and tin sizes in the shop, or collect in Yorkville if you're nearby — we deliver cold across the GTA so the caviar arrives at the right temperature and ready to go straight into the fridge.

Caviar Kitchen Editorial

Caviar Kitchen Editorial