Wormwood hosts private and semi-private dinners and cocktail events for up to 105 guests in University Heights, San Diego. The restaurant, an absinthe bar and French bistro at 4677 30th St, has three event spaces: the Main Dining Room, the Outdoor Terrace and the Secret Garden, known as Le Jardin Secret. Together they seat 105 guests for dinner or cocktails.
Seminars and company events
The venue states that it welcomes corporate events as well as social ones. A team dinner, a client evening or a company celebration fits the format: seated dinner or cocktail reception, in one space or across all three. The restaurant offers a Chef's Table Dinner, an Absinthe Tasting and live music and entertainment as additions to an event. Wormwood does not describe meeting rooms or audiovisual equipment, so a daytime seminar is not what the place is set up for. Event requests go through an online form or a call booking with the team, and the private event software is Tripleseat.
Weddings and receptions
The official site speaks of social events in general and does not list weddings. A reception, birthday or private celebration can be discussed with the events team, which handles requests for seated dinners and cocktail evenings throughout the three spaces.
Rooms and capacities
The three spaces can be used together or, for a semi-private format, one at a time. The Main Dining Room is the indoor restaurant. The Outdoor Terrace is a brick-walled courtyard and patio. The Secret Garden is a semi-private event space that the patio leads into. The combined seating for dinner and cocktail events across the three spaces is 105 guests. The site does not give a separate capacity for each space, so ask the team for the figure that matches your format.
Catering
Food and drink come from the restaurant. The kitchen serves French haute cuisine, according to the press the venue links to, and the bar is built around absinthe, with the spirit served traditionally from slow-drip fountains with a sugar cube. A Chef's Table Dinner gives a seated group a menu led by the kitchen, and an Absinthe Tasting introduces guests to a selection of the spirit. Menus and formats are agreed with the team.
History and setting
Wormwood opened in University Heights, on the border with Normal Heights, in the space that housed Jayne's Gastropub. It comes from the team behind Tahona Bar in Old Town and describes itself as San Diego's first absinthe bar. The design is a vintage Paris look with a brick-walled courtyard. The theme draws on Belle Epoque Paris, when poets, writers and painters made absinthe their muse, and on the long period when the spirit was banned in the United States.
Getting there
The address is 4677 30th St, San Diego, CA 92116, in the heart of University Heights. Contact the restaurant by phone or through its event form for parking and transit advice.
