Located on Treasure Island, just 10 minutes outside of San Francisco, Mersea restaurant was the venue for this gorgeous September wedding. Mersea offers arguably the best view of the San Francisco skyline including the city itself, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge!
It promises an unforgettable wedding day experience, with a price tag that won’t break the bank.
Mersea is a shipping container kitchen & bar that features elevated comfort food, right on the sparkling bay. It’s been serving up food and cocktails since 2018, on the prestigious Great Lawn location.
‘Come for the view, stay for the food’, as Mersea’s Instagram page invites us!
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More about Mersea restaurant for your wedding
What makes this venue even more unique? The restaurant is made out of multiple shipping containers, a huge amount of outdoor seating, a putting green, a bocce ball court and cornhole, all of which can be used for your wedding!
Expect to see repurposed pallets artistically stacked to form outside seating areas and herb garden planters. There are tables from old Treasure Island bowling alley lanes and doors from the military kitchen on the gravel patio.
Almost everything on the premises has been upcycled in an uplifting and loving way, most of it by the owners’ own hands.
The restaurant is perfectly named, with ‘Mersea’ being the old-English word for ‘Island Oasis’.
The kitchen at Mersea is helmed by Chef Parke Ulrich of both Epic Steak and Waterbar fame. They have many excellent comfort-casual dishes.
Their private dining and special events menu has been carefully designed by Chef Parke to bridge the gap between classic comfort snack-bar beach fare and traditional fine dining. Expect sustainably-soured, local, seasonal selections.
Mersea’s owner MeeSun Boice is a tech entrepreneur and local legend! She was part of the Treasure Island Museum’s oral history project.
The chef and the owner partnered in order to build a “destination restaurant”.
Food and drink at Mersea Restaurant
Some trademark dishes at Mersea are the Oregon pink shrimp roll with Old Bay-seasoned fries, Brussels sprouts, mahi mahi ceviche, caesar salad, cheese pizza with house-made crust, fish tacos and not forgetting their delicious fish and chips.
To finish, I’m told that if you want to go all out, you must let guest sample their M3 cocktail — coconut vodka, pineapple juice, and ginger beer.
Or maybe the twisted espresso is more your style? This is an alcoholic version of affogato made with vanilla and salted caramel soft serve, espresso and 103 proof whiskey!
I love the indoor/outdoor feel of the space. The indoor dining room has glass walls so it brings the outside in. The views are really where it’s at!
About this wedding couple
When I connected with this couple, they told me they had initially started looking at traditional wineries and venues but eventually realized that wasn’t them. They prioritized food, family and friends so they opted for a restaurant where food was front and center of the offerings.
They met on Coffee Meets Bagel 3 years prior, and K, the bride, had just downloaded the app. Their relationship developed gradually, until they went ring-shopping together and E proposed at home.
K&E describe themselves as a ‘chill, low-key couple’ that likes hanging out with friends and going indoor rock-climbing. but ‘also really enjoy each other’s company at home’ and are very content playing games, baking cookies and growing tomatoes.
For the wedding vision, K said the wedding would be casual, combining some components of a traditional wedding but really for it to feel more like a gathering of friends and family.
They wanted guests to enjoy the amazing view of the San Francisco skyline, lawn games and putting green, and great food and drinks. Having a relaxed feel to proceedings was also a priority for K&E, rather than feeling like they were rushing through their day.
About their Mersea restaurant wedding
We had an excellent planner (who also officiated!) on this wedding – Bing from Go Bing Go. The photographer was Meganne from our team of associates.
Luckily the team was solid, because the day didn’t go exactly as planned – their mid-September wedding was a wash-out! Though luckily, by later in the day the rain abated, but it just goes to show; weather can be unpredictable and sometimes windier than elsewhere on the island!
They moved the ceremony indoors into one of the light-filled interior spaces. I love the backdrop for toasts and speeches being indoor/outdoor beside the iconic, quirky shipping containers.
One other special touch was K’s surprise change into hanbok prior to cake-cutting! I’m sure many of the family members appreciated that, and it made for a fun change for the photos.
Capacity of Mersea Restaurant for weddings
| Area | Standing Capacity | Seated Capacity |
| Boardroom | 60 | 50 (with buffet tables, 30) |
| The Games Patio | 50 | 40 |
| Venue buyout | 250 | 150 |
Vendor Credits
Venue: Mersea Restaurant
Photography: Associate Photographer, Zoe Larkin Photography
Planning & Officiant: Go Bing Go
Floral design: Momo’s Flowers and More
Dress: AT Romance
Rings: Vrai
HMUA: Aurelia Kim
Cake: From Flour
Video: Triluu Films
Photos from Mersea restaurant wedding
About Zoe Larkin Photography
Looking for a San Francisco wedding photographer? You can learn more about our services at the button below:
And more about our team of associate photographers here. Hoping we’ll be back at Mersea Restaurant soon, shooting your lovely wedding!
Zoe Larkin
I’m Zoe, a wedding photographer based in San Francisco! My style is candid, capturing authentic moments for my couples all over the Bay Area and Northern California. Creating content is my passion! Follow along the blog and Insta!