Tabletop Game Shop With $7 Play on Irving: The Game Parlour

The Game Parlour, at 1342 Irving Street in the Inner Sunset, is a tabletop game shop and cafe in one room: $7 buys a seat at the library for as long as you like, and the retail shelves sell new and used games to take home. It opened in 2018 and calls itself San Francisco's first board game cafe.

Pay the $7 gaming fee at the counter and the table is yours with no time limit. There are no in-and-out privileges beyond a quick break for fresh air, so plan to stay once you sit down. The fee still applies if you bring your own games, because it partly covers seating and the wear on the cafe's collection. Anyone who only orders food skips the fee entirely.

Children aged 4 and under play free, while kids 5 and up pay the same $7, and anyone 10 or younger needs an adult with them. Regulars have two ways to save. A 10 Visit Gaming Pass costs $60 for one person and never expires. A 12 Month Membership costs $250 and adds 20% off food and drinks ordered in person or by phone, plus reduced reservation rates.

The shop counter is the part most visitors miss. The Game Parlour describes its retail selection of board and card games as one of the biggest in the city, and it restocks as new titles come out each month. Members get 15% off both new and used tabletop games, which makes the membership worth pricing out if your group buys more than a few boxes a year.

The real advantage over a normal store is that the library sits a few steps from the retail wall. The cafe holds hundreds of games, from old classics to recent releases, and the current list is posted on its website. Play the copy on the shelf for an evening, then buy your own at the counter on the way out, rather than guessing from the back of a box.

The kitchen is built around waffles, and everything prepared in it is gluten-free. Expect savory waffle sandwiches, sweet mochi waffle creations and crispy waffle fries, with milkshakes, beer, wine and house drinks alongside. Only a couple of items served outside the kitchen contain gluten: the beer and the Othello, a cookies and cream latte. The espresso bar pours Ritual Coffee.

Standard reservations cost $10 per person, regardless of age, and replace the gaming fee rather than adding to it. They must be made online, the cafe recommends booking at least 48 hours ahead, and same-day reservations are not accepted at all. Book one reservation for the whole party, arrive within the 15-minute grace period, and expect no refund if plans change.

For more privacy, the Dresden and Jasper tables sit side by side in a semi-private nook near the game library. Each needs at least 4 people and holds up to 10, at $15 per person. A large group can email about a full buyout. Because the cafe holds back part of the room for walk-ins, a reservation is not required, only smart for a fixed start time.

When every table is taken, staff add your name, phone number and party size to a waitlist and call when a table frees up. Answer the phone: they try twice within 5 minutes before moving to the next group, and you then have 15 minutes to get back. The cafe will not estimate wait times, because tables have no time limit and a long strategy game can run all evening.

Our honest advice is to skip walking in with a group of six on a Friday night and hoping for the best; book the Dresden or Jasper table two days out instead. Smaller parties can try the outdoor tables, which are first come, first served. You still check in and pay the fee inside, dogs and games are allowed on the patio, and the whole patio seats up to 24 by email request.

The San Francisco cafe opens Sunday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm. Cards from Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express are accepted, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay. There is wifi, though the owners say the whole point of the room is to put devices down and look at the people across the table.

The N Judah light rail runs one block south along Judah Street, and the stretch of Irving around the cafe is a busy neighborhood shopping street. A second Game Parlour has opened in Oakland for East Bay players, but the Inner Sunset room is the original and the one with the semi-private tables.

Golden Gate Park starts one block north across Lincoln Way, so a long game pairs well with a walk first. The botanical garden and the de Young museum are a short stroll into the park, and Irving Street has plenty of casual places for a snack before your table. Come back with a game in mind and the wait feels shorter.

If the cafe has a long list and you would rather shop than play, Gamescape on Divisadero has a free try-before-you-buy library of its own and sells games without a table fee. It does not serve food, though, so The Game Parlour remains the better pick when you want waffles, coffee and a three-hour session under one roof.