Gianna’s Gem: I Went to Dinner at Wolfsbane. I Took Notes. Here's Why…
Hi there,
I’ve spent my career designing the kind of experiences that make people feel truly seen, surprised, and delighted. Corporate conferences, product launches, intimate executive dinners. I think about every touchpoint, every transition, every detail. So when I sat down recently at Wolfsbane, the stunning new tasting menu restaurant in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood, I didn’t just eat dinner. I took notes for you.
What I experienced was fresh, deeply thoughtful, and unmistakably intentional…A nine-course journey that drew parallel after parallel to how I craft experiences for events. Wolfsbane is, without question, a masterclass in creating a memorable experience that surprises and delights at every turn - is elevated yet approachable, and an experience I’d unequivocally recommend to anyone.
The Dream Team Behind the Magic
Wolfsbane is the creation of three culinary forces: Tommy Halvorson, a Kentucky-born chef, catering veteran, and the owner of Foxtail Catering & Events, teamed up with Michelin-starred chef Rupert Blease and his wife and general manager Carrie Blease, the beloved couple behind Lord Stanley, which earned a Michelin star and ran for a decade in San Francisco before closing in May 2025. Together, they transformed the former Serpentine space at 2495 Third Street into one of the city’s most anticipated fine dining destinations.
Rupert and Carrie met at Raymond Blanc’s legendary Michelin two-starred Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in England, worked through New York kitchens including Per Se and Blue Hill, and made San Francisco their home and life’s work. Wolfsbane, named for the folkloric plant said to help werewolves hold onto their humanity, is their second act. And it is extraordinary.
The experience was part Michelin-star fine dining, part whimsical adventure; a beautifully decorated room hung with flowers, elevated service, and playful, approachable touches that make the room feel alive rather than stuffy.
Gianna’s Gem: Great hospitality, whether it’s a tasting menu or a corporate conference, is never accidental. It’s obsessively, lovingly designed. And when it works, people don’t just remember what they ate or what they heard. They remember how they felt.
What We Can Learn From Wolfsbane
Here’s how Wolfsbane’s experience maps directly to the principles I apply to every event I design:
1. Personalization: The Details That Say “We See You”
At the best events, guests never feel like one of thousands. They feel like the only one in the room. Wolfsbane achieves this with effortless grace:
• Guests choose their own chopstick holder at the start of a fish course - each “chopstick animal” playfully named by the staff to add an extra element of fun.
• Pick your steak knife color: a tiny choice that feels surprisingly personal.
• For guests with dietary restrictions, the adaptation is seamless and invisible. My gluten and dairy-free menu never made me feel like an afterthought. My dessert was a perfect truffle, exactly what I would have wanted. I didn’t feel like I was missing out. I felt considered and perfectly satisfied, not deprived.
• A thoughtfully curated mocktail menu for non-drinkers, because inclusion is an experience design decision.
• For guests who want the Wolfsbane magic without the full prix-fixe commitment, a communal table offers à la carte dining. There’s a format for everyone.
2. Presentation: Surprising, Delightful, and Deeply Creative
In events, we talk constantly about “surprise and delight.” Wolfsbane delivers it with every single course. These are the moments that made me lean over and grab my phone to take notes:
• A carved-out onion arrived filled with scallop, onion “soup,” and fried onions. It tasted like the pure, concentrated essence of onion, surprising in execution and deeply delicious.
• At the first course, sunflowers were presented, and the base of each flower was an artichoke heart filled with sunbutter and poppy seeds. Beauty and function, united.
• For dessert: a chocolate and banana creation that looked, and smelled, exactly like a cigar. They actually have a room in the back where cigar smoke is blown onto the dessert. It’s theater. It’s genius and evokes all the senses.
• A whole leg of squab, including the feet, was presented tableside. What could have been off-putting became memorable (and the drumstick was one of the best bites of the night!). Alongside it: a piece of bread soaked in the jus, a nod to the Italian “scarpetta” tradition of mopping up sauces at family meals. Story told through food.
• A single oversized ice cube, the size of a stick of butter, in my water glass. A tiny detail that somehow felt extraordinarily considered.
3. Ambiance: Every Sense Is an Opportunity
• The main dining room and the bathroom play different music. Different soundscapes for different moments, a detail so few bother with and so easy to implement.
• Whimsical flowers hang from the ceiling throughout, creating a sense of wonder and warmth that draws you into another world.
• The room is clean and elevated without being stuffy. Fine dining without the formality barrier, approachable enough that guests can relax, polished enough that they feel special. There is no other dining room like it.
4. The Full Journey: From Welcome to Send-Off
In event design, I always say: the experience doesn’t end when the last session ends. The closing moment is the one people carry home. Wolfsbane understands this better than almost any event I’ve attended:
• Guests are welcomed by name at the door, and that genuine warmth carries through the evening with thoughtful servers and the owners themselves circulating, checking in, and making real conversation.
• As you leave, you’re handed a gorgeous branded artisanal wood box filled with a freshly baked loaf of bread and preserves. The last impression is one of abundance and generosity. You don’t just leave full, you leave with a gift, and a story to share over their homemade bread for breakfast the next day.
5. Quality: The Foundation Everything Else Rests On
Here’s what I say to every client: surprise and delight can’t save a bad product. At Wolfsbane, the substance matched every ounce of the theater:
• Every single dish was a home run: well-seasoned, balanced, seasonal, and genuinely unique. Nothing felt dated or gimmicky.
• The portions were substantial enough to be filling (almost unheard of at a tasting menu) and I actually had to share bites with my husband. That’s saying something.
• Service was seamless throughout, water always refilled, the table always tended, attention always present without being intrusive.
• Every element of the table setting, the ceramics, the silverware, the glassware, was gorgeous. No detail too small to care about. Every course different and intriguing.
Gianna’s Gem Action Step: Map your next event (or dinner party, or meeting) as a guest journey: arrival through departure. At every single touchpoint, ask: “How can I make this person feel more seen, more surprised and delighted, or more memorable?” Then make one change you haven’t made before.
Wolfsbane is currently one of the hardest reservations in San Francisco, and worth every effort to secure one. It is not just a meal. It is a reminder of what’s possible when a team of deeply talented, deeply caring people decide that ordinary is never enough.
That’s the bar. For them. For us. If you live in San Francisco, or have a chance to visit, this is a can’t miss experience - you have my word.
What I’m Loving This Week
Wolfsbane: 2495 Third Street, San Francisco (Dogpatch). The nine-course tasting menu rooted in Northern California’s seasonal bounty. Book it. Reserve the communal table if the main dining room is sold out. Check out the private dining room as well for groups up to 10.
Gianna’s Gems is a weekly exploration of ideas that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. If you found this valuable, please share it with a fellow magic-maker, and subscribe for more inspiration delivered directly to your inbox.
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