Wayfare Tavern

location: 558 sacramento street (between montgomery and sansome), fidi

when tyler florence touches food you can guarantee it will be good. the expectations were pretty high for my dinner at wayfare tavern and they were met and exceeded! from the minute the doorman let us into the restaurant to the time he put us in a town car after our meal i felt like i was being taken care of. wayfare tavern is a dimly lit, two story, homey restaurant on a random corner in the financial district. there is large bar downstairs with brown leathern bar seating and a more formal dinning room upstairs. exposed wood table tops, a fire place and deer heads mounted on the wall give the atmosphere that you're right at home, although it's nothing like my home.

the food at wayfare tavern is american comfort with a little kick. the bread they start each table off with is crispy on the outside like a croissant and flaky and fluffy inside like a biscuit. j and i had the mac 'n' cheese as a starter and we were amazed by how delicious a bowl of mac n cheese could be. it was perfectly crisp on top and cheesy in the middle. the chives & breadcrumbs added the extra flavor that set them apart from other mac n cheese i've had and loved. a simple dish that would be difficult to replicate. for dinner i had the grilled santa maria tri -tip with slow roasted heirloom onion, truffle butter, and Kennebec potatoes. i ordered the meat well done and it was cooked to perfection. very little red but still as juicy as possible. the onion, potatoes and truffle butter all mixed together with the meat on my plate for one of the best meals i've had. ever.

the restaurant is all about wine. with a long list of wines available the menu separates the wines and makes suggestions for the kind of thing you might want for your meal. the cocktail menu has several different artisan choices with fresh and exotic ingredients.

the wait staff at wayfare tavern are there to serve you. like it's homey atmosphere the waiter almost made me feel as if he was our butler. he was happy to answer questions about the menu, the food, cocktails and the restaurant itself.

if you're planning a dinner at wayfare tavern make a reservation and be prepared to open your wallet. we each had only one cocktail with our meal and it was still over $100.

recommendation: have the mac 'n' cheese, no matter what else you do.

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: okay!

service: yay!