photo by
Gantes Co.
Weddings
12 of San Diego's Coolest Engagement Party Venues
You’ve said “yes.” Posted “the” perfect ring picture, started your Pinterest board and are deliriously, intoxicatingly in love with your person and a shared life you’ve only dreamed of. Whether you’re...
You’ve said “yes.” Posted “the” perfect ring picture, started your Pinterest board and are deliriously, intoxicatingly in love with your person and a shared life you’ve only dreamed of. Whether you’re planning a big black-tie bash, an intimate glamping affair or you’re leaving it all behind and eloping to a far-off elegant land, celebrating with family and friends before you take the proverbial plunge is a seriously special way to kick things off. Here are 12 engagement party hotspots in sunny San Diego to set the perfect pre-wedding tone.
Reporter: Katie Bush
Reporter: Katie Bush
Is there any more romantic a notion than gathering all of your favorite faces around the warmth of a campfire? There is if its personified in restaurant form, aptly called Campfire, a deliciously innovative food and cocktail concept in Carlsbad. Enjoy the whimsical and wondrous design by Bells and Whistles, including warm woods, mismatched pottery and amber lighting while dining on sustainable and locally sourced meats and seafood. The menu utilizes wood, charcoal embers and ash to create food memories straight from your childhood bonfire days, yet one hundred times more delicious (and paired with an intoxicating array of hand-crafted cocktails).
The scene at Sidebar at the Rose, a Spanish colonial style warehouse in South Park is convivial and quite conveniently, attached to The Rose Wine Bar + Bottle Shop which features a large selection of natural and organic wine and food. Enjoy your own private entrance and patio under the shade of jacaranda trees while you and your guests take an interactive journey through the world of organic and low-intervention wine with one of the friendly sommeliers.
Inspired by growing up in the 1970's, Sycamore Den is filled with leather banquets, amber pendant lights, shotguns hanging on the walls and wood paneling, plenty of wood paneling. Comfortable and maybe even familiar, the cozy space easily dresses up with simple florals and foliage to set the scene for celebrating your groovy love.
Take your seats at the most beautifully fabricated feasting table in San Diego (built around an olive tree) on the patio at Moniker General. Located behind the Moniker General Store within Liberty Station, the personally fabricated long wood and steel banquet table has seating for 40 of your closest pals. It glows at night under market lights for a sunset soiree and is shaded during the day for a beautiful engagement brunch, catered by your choice of a few fabulous local restaurants.
One of North County San Diego’s closely guarded secrets, Viewpoint Brewing Co. is one of the best locations for an engagement party on the coast. Boasting a spot right on the San Dieguito lagoons and across the street from the Del Mar Racetrack - enjoy your engagement party with pristine views. Nosh on reinterpreted American classics washed down with house made beer of beautiful complexity.
Head out east to Vista and reserve The Wood Shed by Booze Brothers, combining craft beer with beautiful, bohemian design for your stylish engagement soiree. The beautifully designed space is space overflowing with greenery, unique wood walls, custom light fixtures and fantastic craft beer and wine from a local winery. Extra perk: make sure to ask for the ping pong table.
Puesto at the Headquarters located in downtown San Diego, is a farm-to-table taco emporium filled with organic Mexican food, delicious cocktails and a mix of stunning street art. Reserve a long marble feasting table laden with all the tacos you can eat and then belly up to the beautifully tiled bar for a little after-dinner mezcal toast.
Flower Child Del Mar is a restaurant as infused with happiness as it is good, nourishing food. From the plethora of green plants to the cheerful, mismatched wicker chairs and overhanging mint light fixtures, it oozes sophisticated style with sweet photo opportunities at every turn. Book the beautiful outdoor patio for up to 75 people or indoors for up to 100 and feast on farm-fresh ingredients paired with wine, beer or house made kombucha.
For a sweet and sunny engagement spot, pop into Fairweather, hidden in plain sight above delicious deli, Rare Form, it also boasts beautiful views overlooking Petco Park. With sparkling turquoise tiles, a living wall and drinks inspired by “sunny places,” this is a bar for the happiest of occasions.
RELATED ARTICLES
You might be interested in…
Photo by Fruitcraft Fermentery & Distillery
For the cutting-edge romantics who love the notion of crafting something by hand and for whom a tried-and-true restaurant won’t do, book a feasting table at Fruitcraft Fermentery & Distillery in the heart of Hillcrest. All the wine and spirits you’ll toast with are made in house and the elegant, industrial style of the space is perfectly refined for celebrating the coolest of couples.
Photo by Kettner Exchange
Kettner Exchange is two levels of indoor/outdoor drinking and dining in the heart of Little Italy with room for everyone you know (and everyone they know). Kettner Exchange is a beautiful open-air eating and drinking destination and recipient of the Orchid & Onion award for architecture. The food is divine, featuring a rotating menu of some of the most innovative dishes in San Diego, from Tender Belly Farms suckling pig larb, to hamachi ceviche, foie gras French toast and Grilled quail char sui washed down with exclusive, seasonal cocktails.
Inspired by the sea and local farmers, the Farmer and the Seahorse is celebrity Chef Brian Malarkey’s expansive La Jolla restaurant with a patio perfect for the sunniest of engagement brunches. The menu has a little something for everyone from breakfast pizza featuring house chorizo, fried egg, cheddar cheese curds, & candied jalapeños to fried chicken and biscuits washed down with house made Bloody Marys or mimosas mixed with cucumber mint, grapefruit or blood orange.
