After Sean proposed back in December, we took a few photos and then of course we were starving so we went to the Plant Cafe on Pier 3. This was my first visit there and we loved it because of the fresh, organic, locally grown & sourced food.
So when it came time to find a spot for the reception, I immediately wanted to see if the Plant did events so we contacted their Catering Director, Sarah, who was awesome! and got their menus. They were very reasonably priced for their location and were willing to work with us to create a custom menu.
We had a very small wedding with only 21 guests and we knew we didn’t want to be in some hotel ballroom so we looked at a few other restaurants to compare prices, what was included, etc. After getting information from these other venues, we decided to go for it with the Plant Cafe at Pier 3 on the Embarcadero.
They had an option where we could either get the cake thru them, or you could bring your own and pay a $3.00/per person cake cutting fee. We decided to go with them and that experience is outlined here.
We decided to have the reception on the patio which overlooks the bay, and it was such a beautiful day. The weather was just perfect and even though we only had 1/2 of the patio for our party, I never even realized that the were others dining on the other side.
From the beginning I wanted to have a long table for all the guests to sit together. We wanted to be able to see and talk to everyone throughout the meal. And do selfies with the whole fam :). lol
Because they use a lot of seasonal ingredients, we had to wait until we got much closer to the event, to make the food selections.
There were 3 different menus to choose from with prices ranging from $35 per person to $50 per person. We decided to go with the 4 course meal which included an appetizer, salad, entree & dessert.
We love food! as most of you probably know, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time. So it was really important to us to have a great meal.
For the first course, we choose an Avocado & Grapefruit Salad with wild arugula, shaved fennel, macadamia nuts, black pepper and macadamia nut dressing which was vegan & gluten free. We decided on this salad because of Sean’s Hawaiian background.
For the second course, we went with my Italian background and selected a Crispy Polenta Cake with Parmesan cheese & wild mushrooms.
Because we were such a small group, we were able to select the entree at the table. We had 4 selections for the guests to choose from a Seared Cod, a Pan-Seared Chicken Breast, Grilled Shrimp Skewers or a Corn & Pablano Pizza as the vegetarian option.
I’m pretty sure that 17/21 choose the Seared Cod which was amazing. It was served with a stir fried black rice with miso roasted spring vegetables and a citrus butter sauce. My dad was so impressed with the black rice, which I’m pretty sure he never had before, he practically licked his plate clean ;).
And then for dessert…Sean & I love dessert!! So we asked them to see if they could make our favorite dessert, creme brulee. At first Sarah wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to do it because they didn’t have the proper dishes to make it in. But she was able to find some and I’m so grateful, because this was truly one of the best creme brulee’s I’ve ever had (and I’ve tried a lot!). I’m not entirely sure what the actual flavoring was, but it had a bit of chocolate on the bottom and then some espresso mixed in. It was amazing!
After the creme brulee, came the cake…I was super happy with the way that the cake came out. Because the cakes were a bit cool when we tasted them originally at the tasting, the butter in the buttercream was much more prominent. This time, it was so yummy and exactly the way we wanted it to be. And we were super unique with a peanut butter cake, raspberry preserves for the filling and a peanut butter buttercream frosting, all made with organic ingredients. It was soooo yummy. We had cupcakes for the guests to take home and we could have eaten them all ourselves!
Being as we were such a small party and we didn’t have a “traditional” reception, there was no dancing but we did still do a cake cutting, which was fun. Having done so many weddings, I’m a pro at the cake cutting, but Sean was not and had no clue what I was talking about on how to hold the knife, etc. But we got it done and fed each with no smashing of cake ;). Neither of us wanted to waste any of that yummy goodness.
And then it was time for a siesta before heading to the Giants game.
A huge Thank You to the Plant Cafe at Pier 3 & Sarah, our catering director, for an absolutely fabulous luncheon. The food, the venue, the views, everything was so awesome, we received so many compliments and it was a truly amazing afternoon.
If you are a foodie, and love organic, locally grown food, or if you just love yummy food and are in the San Francisco area definitely check out the Plant Cafe for your next event or your next meal.
