What’s our FAVORITE reception venue for a meal after your San Francisco City Hall wedding? There’s nowhere better than the Wayfare Tavern!
Located between the Financial District and Chinatown, Wayfare Tavern is a timeless San Francisco tavern featuring authentic American dishes inspired by local cuisine at the turn of the 20th century.
Think: Barbary Coast-speakeasy-meets-British-pub.
This popular upscale eatery is hands-down our favorite event space for post-City Hall receptions. In fact, it’s a beautiful space to hold your entire wedding event if you’re looking for an all-in-one indoor wedding venue in downtown San Francisco.
If you’re looking for a classic American dining experience with a modern twist, the Wayfare Tavern for your wedding event is well worth a peek!
This restaurant is ideal for couples who want to enjoy their wedding events at a private, elegant location in the city. This space has indoor settings where couples and guests can enjoy an intimate, warm atmosphere with delicious cuisine amongst family and friends.
In this article, I’ll take you through everything you need to know about these relaxed event spaces, as we’ve photographed countless wedding receptions here over the years.
If you’re looking for other venues to have your reception after getting married at San Francisco City Hall, check out my 23 best SF restaurant recommendations below:
Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
About the Wayfare Tavern
The Wayfare Tavern is Chef Tyler Florence’s flagship restaurant. Ranging from classic comforts to rustic delicacies, the menu also features California wines by the bottle, quality draft beers, organic draft root beer and classic Victorian-era cocktails.
The atmosphere is elegant and upscale, yet still manages to maintain a laid-back vibe that makes you feel right at home. The restaurant is housed in a historic building, complete with brick walls, hardwood floors, and vintage light fixtures that give it a unique charm.
The menu at Wayfare Tavern is full of delicious, high-quality dishes that are designed to satisfy. The fried chicken and popovers are their house specialty for private dining.
History runs shoulders with modernism at this place. It was rebuilt after the San Francisco Earthquake and Great Fire of 1906. Remnants of its history show up today with the beautiful bank vault room that’s part of one of the rental spaces (more on that in a bit!)
The Wayfare Tavern is outfitted with vintage maps, paintings and an array of taxidermy on the walls and pewter service plates on the tables.
Private Event Spaces at the Wayfare Tavern
There are three private event spaces to choose from: the Billiards Room, the Bartlett Room, and the Sequoia Room. All rooms offer warm, inviting environments that invoke a home-like yet sophisticated feel, with pictures on the wall or shelves full of books and knick-knacks.
All indoor private event spaces are just that – private! They offer four walls and a door, meaning no randoms walking into your wedding. For larger parties, rooms can be combined, though be aware they are different floors due to the layout of the space.
The Billiards Room
This is such a cool little room for small groups – with a hard limit of 14 guests for dining! This room is housed within the cozy, wood-paneled library on the second floor.
Yup, you can even play pool here by request with a 4-hour rental. The pool table actually converts to a dining table, so it’s either pool or dining here (works great paired with one of the other areas).
You can even book the room for just for a game or two of pool with no formal meal served for groups up to 8 people!
| Capacity | 10-14 |
| Location | Second Floor |
| Features | • Can be rented as a pool room or dining room. • Antique tin ceiling. • A vintage red felt pool table. • Double-paned glass doors. • Flat-screen TV with major sports channels. |
The Bartlett Room
A versatile event space with dark walls and a striking wine bar taking up one side of the space, the Bartlett Room has a lot to offer. It’s perfect for small-mid size events and has windows lining one of the walls.
The comfy couches are great for photo opps, as is the stylish new bar.
| Capacity (seated) | 20 – 50 |
| Capacity (standing) | 65 |
| Location | Third Floor |
| Features | • Barbary Coast elegance. • Mahogany paneling and hardwood floors. • Five large tables arranged either end-to-end for a kings table, or ‘school room’ style. • Sound system and large flat-screen TV. • Wine room and bar. |
The Sequoia Room
My recommendation is for the Sequoia Room – created by Ken Fulk in 2017. It’s spacious, light-filled yet cozy and impeccably designed. You’ll find leopard-print carpets, cognac-colored leather banquettes, custom game tables, and antique-silk-fringed lampshades recall a 1930s speakeasy vibe.
The Sequoia’s standout feature, though, is its bank vault turned whiskey vault, a leftover from when Wells Fargo moved in following the 1906 earthquake that razed much of the city.
The Sequoia room is perfect for larger events but it also feels cozy enough for more intimate groups that would like a bit more space or that would like to hold your wedding ceremony here.
| Capacity (seated) | 20 – 50 |
| Capacity (standing) | 80 |
| Location | Fourth Floor |
| Features | • Skylight view of the Transamerica Pyramid. • Designed by renowned interior designer Ken Fulk. • Secret seating area in old bank vault. • Sonos surround sound and TVs for presentations or sporting events. • Bar |
Outdoor Area of Wayfare Tavern (not private)
There’s also the outdoor area for smaller bookings, though this isn’t fully private. You would have your own section and some privacy. Note that outdoor areas are rain-or-shine bookings – and it can get chilly year-round here, like really cold! There’s a reason why al fresco dining isn’t super popular in San Francisco😅
The outdoor spaces range from 8 – 15 guests to larger parties of 16 – 40.
Rates and food options at the Wayfare Tavern
Prices are reasonable considering the prestigious location, beauty of the space and quality of food and service. Pricing entails set food and beverage minimum, plus certain extras including service fees, SF mandates, taxes and gratuities.
There are different rates based on whether lunch or dinner, the day of the week (Sunday – Wednesday or Thursday – Saturday) and whether it is a holiday.
For lunch or dinner bookings, rentals are subject to a 4-hour maximum, unless you opt for a full-day (8-hour) booking which gives you the space from 11:30 am- 10:00 pm.
Only the prix-fixe menu is served in private rooms. Group size dictates which menus are available with ‘plated duet’ meals (two entrees served as a sort of combo plate for each guest) is possible for groups of 30 or fewer only.
Food is usually served family-style (or as a buffet if preferred) and can be customized according to you and your guests’ preferences. Menus are seasonal and change every 6-8 weeks.
Examples of dishes from wedding menus include that famous organic fried chicken, pappardelle, devilled eggs, burrata-wrapped potatoes (they are absolutely heavenly – the best whipped potatoes I’ve ever eaten), butter lettuce salad, vanilla bean panna cotta and their famous crowd-pleasing brownie.
Their popover is absolutely delicious and is included with all plated and family-style menus.
Amenities provided
Wayfare Tavern offers the following services at the current time:
- Chairs
- China
- Flatware
- Full bar
- Glassware
- Premium
- Private entrance
- Private restroom
- Tables
- Valet parking
Please check with the venue for the most up-to-date amenities.
Can you bring a dancefloor into the Wayfare Tavern?
You can bring a dancefloor into the Sequoia Room if desired, just not the Bartlett Room.
Photos from Wayfare Tavern weddings
Recommended vendors for the Wayfare Tavern
I (Zoe Larkin Photography) would be a great photographer for your Wayfare Tavern wedding!
I have photographed there on countless occasions, have a good relationship with the venue’s events lead Andrea and love pushing myself to get the best out of the spaces for both candid and posed moments, indoors and outdoors!
Photographer
Zoe Larkin Photography – photos on this page by both Zoe and team members (associate photographers)
Planner
Floral design
Wedding cake
Rentals
AV
In conclusion
The Wayfare Tavern is a stunning San Francisco venue for your reception and even your wedding ceremony, too.
It’s easily the best and most popular local reception venue to pair with your San Francisco City Hall ceremony.
The food is delicious, the service is attentive, and dealing with their events team prior to your booking is a breeze.
They allow flexibility and little things like you can plug in your wedding playlist to the stereo system!
The spaces are exquisite (particularly the Sequoia Room, my fave!) and versatile. The ambiance is perfect – not too stuffy, not too casual! There are ample spaces dotted around for romantic portraits throughout, particularly the show-stopping facade of the building on Sacramento Street.
Overall I can’t think of a bad thing to say about this place – book the Wayfare Tavern now for your rad San Francisco wedding! To book your wedding there, reach out directly to the venue via their website as all information conveyed here is subject to change.
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!
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