Raw Bar Near Me Downtown: Wayfare Tavern's New Pine Street Plateau

Wayfare Tavern moved to 201 Pine Street in the spring of 2025 after 14 years on Sacramento Street, and the new room still opens its menu with a raw bar. Chef Tyler Florence's flagship lists a chef's selection of West Coast oysters at $29 a half dozen or $56 a dozen, and Le Grand Plateau de Fruits de Mer at $175. It is the raw bar near me for anyone downtown who wants oysters in a dining room that looks like the 1900s.

Wayfare Tavern is Tyler Florence's flagship, built around American dishes inspired by San Francisco dining at the turn of the 20th century. The restaurant says fried chicken, seasonal deviled eggs and burrata whipped potatoes have stayed on the menu for 15 years. In the spring of 2025 it left its home of 14 years on Sacramento Street for 201 Pine Street, gaining a bigger bar, more private dining space and a larger kitchen.

Designer Jon De la Cruz shaped the new space as a nod to the original. Guest notes on the homepage mention Chef Tyler visiting tables in the new room, and longtime regulars comparing it with the old bar and the speakeasy upstairs on Sacramento Street. The site's footer reads Copyright 2026.

The room is the draw. The floors are black, green and white marble, the paneling is white oak, and the booths are tufted red leather and velvet. A gold leaf mural by de Gournay nods to the California Gold Rush and the Barbary Coast, and the custom chandeliers each carry 21 lights, inspired by turn-of-the-century European cafés.

The bar is a green serpentine stone, chosen to echo the historic buildings around the Financial District. For a raw bar meal, a seat at that bar is the best spot in the house: you can watch the room, order oysters a half dozen at a time, and skip the commitment of a full dinner booking.

The sauces are made in-house: a cocktail sauce, a hot sauce and the giardiniera mignonette, a pickled-vegetable twist on the classic shallot dressing that suits briny Pacific oysters. If you like heat, ask for the hot sauce on the side and try a couple of oysters plain first, then dress the rest.

The raw bar section is short and focused. The chef's selection of West Coast oysters comes with charred lemon, giardiniera mignonette and house-made hot sauce, at $29 for six or $56 for twelve. Tuna ceviche with cucumber, red onion, crispy corn nuts, agua chile and cilantro is $24. The Dungeness crab cocktail with avocado, pickled onions and dijonnaise is $33, and a shrimp cocktail is $28.

For a group, the Plateau de Fruits de Mer at $95 brings oysters, tuna ceviche and shrimp cocktail. Le Grand Plateau at $175 adds Dungeness crab. The same raw bar list appears on the weekend brunch menu, which runs Saturday and Sunday until 2 pm, so a late-morning plateau is an option too.

Oysters alone do not show what Wayfare does best. The clam chowder at $16 comes with clam bellies and smoked bacon and jalapeño hushpuppies, and the Petaluma Farms deviled eggs with pickled Pink Lady apples and crispy ham are $18. The California fried chicken, made with Mary's Farm chicken, roasted garlic and crispy herbs, is $36.

An honest call: skip the $95 plateau if there are only two of you. Six oysters at $29 plus a crab cocktail at $33 cost less, include the Dungeness that the smaller plateau leaves out, and leave room for the deviled eggs. Save the $175 Grand Plateau for a table of four.

Hours are Sunday to Wednesday from 11:30 am to 9 pm and Thursday to Saturday from 11:30 am to 10 pm. Every bill carries a 6.5 percent surcharge that the restaurant says helps cover healthcare for its employees.

For groups, the new building has several private rooms: the Sequoia Lounge seats 18, the Barbary Room seats 50, the Juniper Bar seats 10, the Juniper Dining Room seats 30, and the Cellar Dining Room seats 30. The Juniper Bar and the Cellar Dining Room are listed as ADA accessible.

The restaurant pitches itself for business lunches, date nights and weekend dinners with friends, and the menu follows suit: a Cobb salad at $25 for the lunch crowd, a seafood plateau for the celebration table, and a brunch menu with eggs Benedict at $24. The guest notes on the homepage come from regulars who followed the restaurant from Sacramento Street.

A good habit at the bar is to order raw first and decide on mains later, since oysters arrive fast and the hot dishes take longer from the kitchen. If you want the quietest room, book an early lunch at 11:30, before the downtown crowd arrives.

The restaurant says it is easy to reach by BART and Muni. From 201 Pine, Tadich Grill at 240 California Street is a short walk away and serves Miyagi oysters at $24.50 for six; it takes reservations and welcomes walk-ins, which makes it the natural backup if Wayfare is fully booked.

After eating, walk east toward the water and the Ferry Building at One Ferry Building, where the marketplace hall and the Bay views make a good digestive stroll. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP to compare tables at Wayfare and Tadich before you leave the office.

Address: Wayfare Tavern, 201 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94104. Email: contact@wayfaretavern.com. Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 11:30 am to 9 pm; Thursday to Saturday 11:30 am to 10 pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday until 2 pm. Reservations online.

Raw bar prices: West Coast oysters $29 a half dozen or $56 a dozen, tuna ceviche $24, shrimp cocktail $28, Dungeness crab cocktail $33, Plateau de Fruits de Mer $95, Le Grand Plateau $175. Also worth ordering: clam chowder $16, deviled eggs $18, fried chicken $36. A 6.5 percent healthcare surcharge is added to every bill.