Wayfare Tavern — Restaurant in San Francisco

This was one of the best meals I've had in San Francisco, and the entire evening was near-perfect. More on that near-perfect part at the end but first the decor and food:

Once you've walked in (and especially ascended to the 2nd floor), you feel as if you've time-traveled back about a 100 years or so, to an Edwardian night club or Victorian salon. Imagine vintage prints, maps, flatware, and taxidermy -lots of taxidermy. It all comes together so well, on a base of antique wood floors that apparently was taken from an actual Kentucky barn. Talk about authentic design.

The food was spectacular, some of the nest New American cuisine I've ever had. We started with the deviled eggs with bread & butter pickle, green tabasco, & celery and they were quite good, rivaling my favorites at Park Tavern. My wife also had the butter lettuce salad with the Green Goddess dressing, avocado, ruby grapefruit, & red radish which she enjoyed a lot.

For our main courses, I ordered both the fried chicken and burger because after all, why should I have to decide between them?

The organic fried chicken deserves its own paragraph, it might be the best I've had, at least the best in recent memory. It's made with buttermilk brine, roasted garlic, crisp woody herbs, and lemon There's 3 steps of preparation where the spices, garlic and lemon are worked in, during the brining, during the frying, and the serving (as garnish). It all makes a difference. If you're going to go here once, order the fried chicken.

I also had the burger with brie, roasted bacon, and roasted onion and what was unique was that it was served with a sweet brioche bun, which gave it an interesting flavor. I enjoyed it a lot with the homemade mayonnaise, and while it was superb, it wasn't as good as the chicken. Did I mention I really liked the fried chicken?

And last, we'll give the mac 'n' cheese an honorable mention, it was quite...

Planning is all in the details in getting a table here. I booked our table 3 weeks ahead for 6pm on Sunday night. We were promptly seated, as we were the only ones there waiting for a table. My reservation is pretty much set for a 2 hr period to eat and drink. We stayed there about 1 1/2 hours. First we started out with the roasted bone marrow. If I see this on any menu, I'm getting it It's delicious. Very filling considering it was topped with small chunks of pork belly and came with 4 slices of toasted crusty bread. Delicious, I would want to get it again if I visited but there's so many other appetizers to try on the menu. You also got a popover, and that was a lot of bread after the bone marrow appetizer. Second course, I got the fried chicken. It was a decent fried chicken but not the best that I've had. It's half a bird, but I think I needed something more to go with it. Also the dishes doesn't come with a side. I didn't order one and I think unless I forgo the appetizer, I would then order a side. The star of the night was definite chocolate mousse cake with passion fruit. It was very rich, beautiful, but I couldn't have more than a few bites. Service was wonderful and the waitress was checking up on us as needed and helped us get a picture of our dinner together. I really like that they box your food up and give you a coat check number to claim at the door instead of sliding boxes on the table while you're having dessert. I do want to add that as we were leaving around 7:40, there was a lot of people waiting to get in. It was a bit crazy as there really isn't much of a waiting area and I think most of these people didn't have a...

If you are looking for a venue to host a large group for business or pleasure I highly recommend Wayfare Tavern! I held my husband's surprise 75th dinner here and it was a huge success!

I first inquired online about a party for 20-30 people. I immediately received all the information I needed about the room rental, food, bar and a contact person. My daughter and I scheduled an onsite appointment with Andrea and she graciously showed us the room we were interested in (Bartlett Room, so warm, welcoming and cozy with a view of the wine cellar). Once we saw the room we were sold. The room rental was 500 dollars. Everything else was done online or by phone.

The food was absolutely fabulous! For the short reception period we had the famous chips and a charcuterie board along with beer, wine and champagne. We decided on the Family Style Dinner. Starters were Truffled Deviled Eggs (huge hit), Prime Beef Tartare and Butter Lettuce Salad. Our entrees were the Organic Fried Chicken and Skuna Bay Salmon. Both were to die for! Our sides were the Fried Brussels Sprouts and Burrata Whipped Potatoes. I could have eaten the entire bowl of potatoes. Dessert was perfect with the chocolate cupcakes and amazing Lemon Meringue Tarts, They were the hit!

Our food and bar service by Jason and the support staff was amazing! This event went off exactly as planned and we could not ask for better food or service! I will definitely be back for another large function here, It was so easy, and for 25 people attending the price was very reasonable.

Thank you Andrea and Jason for making our...