I recently held my mother's memorial at AAG in the Dining Room. Five stars for the venue itself, but dealing with the event coordinator made the experience very frustrating. From the beginning it was hard to get a response about reserving the space. Weeks went by after I sent multiple emails and left voicemails. After finally hearing back from the event coordinator and reserving the space a month later, there was a consistent lack of communication on her end. Eventually I asked to be connected with her manager to express my concerns. Thankfully she referred us to Angel, who was so helpful and responsive to my needs. She really turned my whole experience around. The service went smoothly and it was a beautiful place to honor my mom. The food was pretty good and the staff were friendly. Overall AAG is a lovely venue for any special event. read more

We hosted a team meeting here a few months ago. I worked with Tiana Wong to coordinate all the details. It really is a beautiful space. They had a projector to display our slides but no video or audio options for people who needed to dial in. The wifi was pretty slow so most people used the hot spots on their phones. Tiana was super responsive and helpful to all my inquiries leading up to the event. I was able to ship supplies to their office the week before and she held them for me. I also dropped off waters/snacks and she let me keep them in the office. Everyone really enjoyed the Sunset room. We had catered breakfast inside and then sat outside on the patio for lunch. The Sunset room has a lot of windows and natural light-- definitely a nice change from the stuffy old conference rooms we are usually in. read more

So much to see. Beautiful gardens, fascinating trees, touristy art shops, and the feel of a secret gem hidden from the world.

For my 100th review, I wanted to write about a place that will, in a few months, hold a very special place in my heart. Our ideal wedding: a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony venue for 125 guests with indoor / outdoor reception area. My fiance and I spent a whole summer looking for the perfect outdoor space for our wedding ceremony. To just find a place we loved was not an easy task and it became increasingly frustrating when paired with venues who were rigid with catering and had tons of restrictions. These venues required us to use exclusive caterers or pay absurd amounts of money to use an outside caterer. And of course, catering is $$$ and you are required to buy beverages from them, which is also $$$. As we neared the end of summer and I was almost about to give up, I came upon Allied Arts Guild on Here Comes The Guide. The photos showed a beautiful Spanish-inspired architectural garden. We set up a visit with the Event Coordinator and we were IN LOVE with it! The ceremony site we will be using, the Blue Garden has a blue fountain in the center where we can put floating dahlias and gardenias. When we made our visit in September, the entire area was surrounded by blue / purple hydrangeas. Right next to it was the Rose Allee, which was lined with beautiful roses. We will be using the Sunset Terrace for our reception, which is a great outdoor area surrounded by trees. It is connected to the Sunset Room, an indoor space. After sunset, the Terrace can get dark but the surrounding bushes have uplighting and candles can be added to tables. We will likely add strings lights. The venue has a bridal changing room. The preferred caterer is Cafe Primavera, who is well-priced and very flexible. Outside caterers are allowed but there is a catering out fee. The Event Coordinator, Tiana, is very easy to work with and has been an enormous help in my wedding planning process. We have hired her as our Day-of-Coordinator and she has been phenomenal. So far, we haven't had any problems with reaching her and I must say I am a big stickler when it comes to e-mail response time. There are downsides to this venue for some people. It is not a huge deal for what we are imagining our wedding to be like. If you are looking for a venue where you can host a huge, loud party with dancing into the night, this is not the venue for you. The party must end by 9 pm, which may be too early for some. There are restrictions on music because this venue is located in a residential area. DJ's and speakers must be inside the Sunset Room to limit the noise. Other logistics to note: the only weekend day they are open is Saturday so no Sunday weddings. This venue has a maximum capacity of approximately 140 guests so it is perfect for couples looking for a more intimate wedding. The rental of both the Blue Garden and Sunset Terrace / Garden / Room is not cheap but if it makes a difference, Allied Arts Guild benefits the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Beautiful wedding venue AND it helps young children! I will be back to update my review after our wedding! read more

It's so difficult to write this review because I LOVE Allied Arts Guild. It's has the most beautiful gardens and tranquil atmosphere and wonderful shops. (The best place to take your mom on mother's day or to pick out a unique gift). In fact, I liked it so much I recently went in for a wedding consultation and while the location was lovely and the actual rental price was fair, they were pretty snobby about the catering. I asked what they could do for snacks and asked if they could work with a budget of around $1000 (which I admit is low, but this is for a morning snack and we are hosting a separate dinner reception). The event coordinator said that such a low fee "is definitely not our style or standards" (direct quote) and suggested instead $25-40 per person (not including service or gratuity fees) for SNACKS! While I understand why they cannot accommodate the budget they could have been classier when letting me know... Anyway, now I have mixed feelings about the Allied Arts Guild...lovely surroundings with a real air of snobbery! read more

We recently tied the knot at the Allied Arts Guild (www.alliedartsguild.org) on 06/14/14 in Menlo Park. It is a hidden gem tucked in a quiet residential neighborhood. You have to visit this place to really experience its beauty and gorgeous old Spanish colonial architecture. They possess beautiful, lush and well-kept gardens. My fiancé (now husband) found them online and when we visited for the first time we just knew that it was no doubt the perfect place for our "Valentine's in June". We visited a few other wedding venues (wineries, etc.) prior but none of them really came close to the charm of the AAG. This place just made us fall in love with it! I, personally, love the Spanish/Mediterranean aesthetic so it really just fit the bill. And we knew that we did not want to do it in a hotel, banquet hall, or country club somewhere. It had to have the specific aesthetic that we were looking for and for us to have an outdoor wedding with an option for indoor as well. The AAG definitely delivered the goods on all accounts. They also benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, which we felt was a great cause. We liked that they had a cause helping children with cancer since we lost both of our previous spouses to this terrible disease (side note: we met in grief counseling). So it wasn't like they just pocket the money they make from all of their event reservations. Their pricing was also comparable to some of the places we visited and definitely less expensive than most if I recall correctly. The natural beauty of the setting was a plus and it complimented all of our floral arrangements and color scheme. The AAG has some limitations given their location such as no vocal amplification outside, no loud brass bands, wedding ending by 9:00pm and all guests leaving by 9:30pm. But honestly, none of these were a big deal considering all of their many positive aspects. Parking is also ample as they have their own lot and street parking is an option as well. We had our ceremony in the Merner Garden, our cocktail hour in the Blue Garden, and our dinner reception out in the Sunset Terrace. For dinner and dancing, we used the Sunset Room located adjacent to the Sunset Terrace. It truly worked seamlessly and it was an easy transition for everyone. They also have an onsite restaurant called the Blue Garden Cafe, which is operated by JW Catering. They are full-service company and you can choose to hire them for your wedding but also have the option to hire someone else. We decided to go with another company only because they were focused on serving paella and we wanted our menu to really reflect and compliment the aesthetic of the venue, which was Spanish colonial as mentioned earlier. On to their Event Director, TIANA WONG. Well, she was great and easy to work with. She responded to our inquiries in a timely manner. She is a busy bee since she is pretty much in-charge of dealing with all of their events. And I can imagine that they are a popular place for different types of events. So you have to be patient but she will get back to you with an answer. We dealt with her pretty much the entire process. We had a long engagement (one year) so you can imagine how many exchanged e-mails were there. She was friendly, professional and especially very accommodating with our requests. She is a joy! She even let us do our set-up the day before our wedding...so nice! As the bride I also played the part of Wedding Planner/Coordinator and this really made our lives easier since we were able to relax more on our wedding day. Her assistant, EMMA, was also a joy to work with! They were both there on our wedding day and made sure that things were going smoothly and as planned. They checked-in and made sure we had everything we needed. In the end, all of our guests (including us, of course!) were very much impressed with our venue and had a grand time enjoying and admiring its beautiful setting. We highly recommend this venue to everyone! You and your guests will truly be impressed. Thanks so much, AAG, for helping us turn our vision into reality and we wish you continued success!!! We can't thank you enough!!! We will forever have these beautiful and wonderful memories and of course photographs. read more

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If you are looking for venues to host a party or wedding, this place is really adorable and deserves 5 stars. You'll notice I'm giving it only 3 stars because the person/people you have to deal with to actually plan your wedding here are less than ideal. Our contact would often not get back to us and I would have to call her or email her multiple times just to get simple responses. read more

We had our wedding celebration here a couple of weeks ago, and we couldn't have asked for a better place! As soon as we walked into Allied Arts Guild, we knew this was the perfect setting for our wedding celebration. We love that it's a surprising oasis in the middle of a residential neighborhood. We love the vibrant colors in the gardens, and the old school charm of the grounds. We love that it's relaxed. We worked with Tiana Wong, and she was very responsive (including nights and weekends) and helpful throughout the planning process. She's also very knowledgeable about various vendors and offered us some creative suggestions. Tiana was also on site the day-of to ensure everything went smoothly for us. On the day of, we were lucky enough to get a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze. And so many of the flowers were in full bloom! Many of our guests were surprised that we found such a hidden gem in the bay area. We had our ceremony at the Blue Garden under the oak tree. The guests sat around the fountain (which we asked to be turned off) on the lawn, which felt intimate to us. The cocktail hour was hosted in the Cervantes Court, which is not open to the general public and provided an more private area for our guests to mingle. The dinner reception was set up at Sunset Terrace. With the sunny and warm weather, it was beautiful to dine al fresco. We spread out ~100 guests over both sides of the terrace so there was plenty of room to move around without feeling distant. Finally, we moved into the Sunset Room for cake cutting and dancing. Being able to use different parts of Allied Arts Guild for our wedding celebration definitely helped entertain our guests throughout the day and evening. Oh, an added bonus, Allied Arts donates all its profits to benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. So not only did we have a great wedding, we also helped out a great cause. read more

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Allied Arts Guild is a historic and spanish colonial style building established in the 30's. it was built to create a serene, beautiful workplace for artists and is surrounded by beautiful gardens, shops, artists' studios, and a charming restaurant. we dropped by to check it out for a possible wedding site for my friend and ended up having lunch here as well. it is a selective menu and changes daily. for $10 we were served a cup of soup and a chicken salad on a croissant...i was surprised at how good it was! and we HAD to get the dessert, a chocolate pecan pie.....YUM! it's a cute place to have a mother's day luncheon. lots of older ladies and gents dining here - truly a refreshing and lovely change of pace in our busy world. definitely a unique lil gem in the area! and for the cherry on top...the restaurant and shops are solely operated by volunteers for the benefit of children who need medical care. the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, once the Convalescent Home, receives all profits from Allied Arts Guild for aid to critically ill children. read more

This is a great place for a wedding or special event if you are looking for outdoor space. They have paths through beautifully manicured lawn, shrubs and gorgeous flowers. I'm sure that the pretty fountains and Spanish architecture make for nice photos. It wasn't quite what we were looking because the indoor area was a little limited. I was drawn in by photos of the doublesided fireplace and exposed wood beams. The ceiling was really low and the fireplace looked a little fake. We were planning a March wedding and couldn't risk only loving the outside of a place. I was happy to have found it though. There are several craftmen shops in the back of the area. Its worth a look. read more

Still as good as it gets! Everything totally went smoothly, and my guests keep telling me how beautiful and intimate the place was. It was totally worth it to get the entire place for the day - I can't imagine what a planning nightmare I would have had with an additional location for tea ceremony.... Tiana was great and, to my knowledge, my maid of honor had no problem finding her for extra things that we needed here and there. Although it seemed early, the 9pm end was just about right. It was pretty hot that day (about 95 degrees, with little breeze), and people were getting tired. It was probably better that I had a chance to rest before going on to my wedding after-party. :) Despite the 95-degree weather, the heat was still quite bearable because of the constant flow of cool drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Furthermore, the mingling part of the reception occurred in the Blue Garden, which was quite shady and almost cool. There were plenty of chairs for people to sit, and plenty of space for people to mingle. The dinner area (Sunset Garden) was a bit sunny in the afternoon. We had an early dinner at 5:00pm. However, the umbrellas did a pretty good job of maintaining shade for the guests. All-in-all no complaints, and everyone had a really good time. We keep getting compliments on how beautiful wedding was, and I think it had a lot to do with the beautiful venue. :) read more

I came to their open house and checked out the Allied Arts Guild for the first time. It is a super charming architectural gem, tucked away in a neighborhood. It's an idyllic setting for discovering local artisan handiwork, and taking pictures in their gorgeous gardens. Note to self: come back to have lunch at Cafe Primavera. read more

If you like little old ladies, various splendid rose bushes, and expensive local art wares, this is the place for you. The grounds are beautiful, full of flowers and trellises and semi-working fountains. The art work is pleasant enough. I really liked the woodworking shed for its "retro" appeal. The restaurant was surprisingly good, although our elderly waitress completely messed up our order (and I mean COMPLETELY) and then seem annoyed when I asked her to return the dish she brought me by mistake. The tiny complimentary biscuits were very tasty, but I'd have to eat about 25 of them to be remotely satisfied. Beware, the atmosphere is a bit precious: I can't imagine your average guy eating over here (in other words, hetero girls should not consider bringing dates/bfs/husbands to this place), but it's a serene and beautiful place for a light lunch with your mom or mother-in-law (in my case). read more

The waiter poured an entire tray of water all over two of my co workers today at the cafe in side the Allied Arts Guild. Apart from that exciting event, the lunch went well. The cafe serves a variety of dishes from soups to sandwiches. The portions are small and the prices are not so small. The Arts Guild is quiant and a great place to visit if you have time. The gardens and the grounds are well kept. If I have more time I'll have to come back here and visit. I am definitely a fan. read more

The Allied Arts Guild is a hidden gem in a historic residential community: an au naturale setting, inspiring Spanish colonial architecture, lush gardens laden with surprises around every corner, and locational convenience for visiting guests. Given that my husband and I wanted to avoid sterile hotels or fake golf course venues, we could not have asked for a better wedding venue. AAG is pricier than the average wedding venue in South Bay, but the moment I stepped foot I knew it was what I was looking for. The natural beauty of the setting also helped to cut down costs on florals and other periphery decorations, which ultimately helped with my overall budget. Portions of the venue proceeds will also benefit the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, so I felt my investment went to a worthy cause overall. The event sales coordinator, Tiana, is excellent at her job, and is generally on-the-ball with correspondence and follow-up. She seems quite busy juggling all forms of on-site events, but was very level-headed and available when needed. She responded to most email/phone queries within a day or so, and was much more accessible/available in person (especially after I committed to the contract), which is what I'd expect from any professional. She also has a lot of sway in keeping order within her realm and making sure all vendors do their bidding, which was really a godsend when we encountered a catering glitch during our reception. Overall she's an excellent ally to have on your side. The onsite restaurant, the Blue Garden Cafe, is independently operated by JW Catering, but does a phenomenal job with food and service. Otherwise, AAG has some quirks given its residential location (ie. no outside vocal amplification, no brass bands, wedding ends at 9pm and all guests must leave premises by 9:30pm, etc.) but none of this detracts from the intrinsic beauty of AAG. Our guests raved about the venue, and I know I will be going back again to stroll the gardens along with a Saturday brunch. read more

This place is SO BEAUTIFUL! Felt like I was walking into a little bit of paradise. The grounds are perfectly kept, tons of roses, wisteria, trees, arches... they even have an outdoor chandelier! Oh my! A quiet oasis in the middle of an urban chaos. Wish I was getting married again so I could have a wedding here. Absolutely beautiful! read more

Eleanor, an elderly friend, was the quintessential mid-20'th century wife and homemaker. She recalls working as a volunteer for the Palo Alto Ladies Society, serving tea at Menlo Park's *Allied Arts* in the 1950's. The profits went to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, where all three of her kids were born. Of course all the ladies who came to sip, wore a hat and their nicest white gloves. It's a perfect place for a little time travel. Thankfully the grounds and style of Allied Arts, though recently renovated, have changed little since Eleanor's heyday. It's still chock full of Spanish Colonial Old-world California charm: red tile-roofed buildings, a splashing fountain and plenty of gorgeous painted Mexican tiles. Intriguing shops, stairs and corners abound.There are still plenty of quiet nooks and overhangs where you can just sit with a friend, a good book, or perhaps meditate on some of the artistically placed vintage artifacts. The gardens are a treat in all seasons. I walk over every couple of months with my camera to see what's blooming. I'm just about guaranteed a good shot for my art journal. Oh yes, Eleanor's tea room is still there. Of course it's called "Cafe Primavera" now. These these days you can have an entire delicious meal. And their meals ARE delicious and beautifully cooked. Try the soups, not only healthy but very tasty. All concocted on site. And in case you're wondering, you can leave your white gloves at home. ...... Musing on the Vintage Milk Can at Allied Arts: How many days, in her day after day never ending job, did Whilhelmina get up at 3 or 4 in the morning, to go out to the barn? The dozen patient Holsteins knew her touch so well. It was a rare day when she had to fix the stanchion in place to keep them still. Bucket after bucket filled to the brim, were poured into the big metal can. Did she sing "Springfield Mountain" to them while she worked? Or did she maybe whistle the jaunty little air she'd played on the piano the night before? How many pounds of butter did she make? How many children on her farm, or just down the road in the new town, where people didn't have enough land to keep a cow, flourished on the milk? Even the metal remains of the old milk can, carry me back through time. My illustration of this Allied Arts Scene: http://simpleromantic.blogspot.com/2010/11/milk-can-remembers.html read more

I went to a wedding reception here over the weekend and even though the temperature was in the 90's at times and we were outside for several hours, it was still lovely. The Spanish style architecture and decor was perfect for such a hot summer day. Someone said it reminded him of Santa Barbara. We started with wine/beer and hor d'oeurves in a shaded garden near a fountain. While it wasn't exactly cool, nobody completely melted so it was fine. All the bartenders and servers were great. Dinner was in another outdoor area and once the sun started setting, it was really pleasant. The food was good for wedding food, particularly the salads and vegetables so as a guest, I recommend more people get married here. read more

If you live in Menlo Park, or are visiting the area, you really should go to the Allied Arts Guild! When my sister and I were young, our parents used to take us there occasionally, and it was like entering another world which I never wanted to leave. The place, with it's cafes, old Spanish architecture, tiled fountain, lush, verdant gardens, quaint shops (and my favorite - the glass-blowing studio), made the whole experience a feast for the senses. I haven't been there in many years, so I hope it's still as beautiful and serene as I remember. To me, it was a little bit of paradise right here on earth. read more

We got married there 8 years ago and this place is MAGICAL! We had a small reception, about 40 guest, and these beautiful spanish style garden really did make a huge impression on our guests... Our engagements pictures were also taken there, and the everybody was amazed by this place. Recently we came back to have lunch at the restaurant and we enjoyed a delicious meal in this peaceful and amazing setting. The only thing missing was a glass of wine -- I'm guessing for some licensing issue the restaurant can not serve wine. Anyway if you're looking for a wonderful setting for your wedding ceremony, or just spend a couple of relaxing hours in these beautiful gardens, do not look any further! read more

Hosted a party here and it was fabulous. The staff and scenery were great. The food was perfect and overall they were very accommodating. I really enjoyed the vintage feel. read more

This is a gorgeous spot for an outdoor wedding. My close friend got married here - the place fit 115ish people easily and the grounds were really pretty for pre-wedding photos of our bridal party and groomsmen. The trees were blooming in March and it wasn't too hot, nor too cold. The ceremony was in a brick courtyard with large trees as a nice backdrop. Cocktail hour was inside and the dining took place outside. Would recommend for a wedding - it's gorgeous. read more

Allied Arts Guild is not a fixer upper. This place has a beautiful patio outside of the Sunset Room, a small garden / lawn area, an alley of roses, a blue fountain, artist shops, a barn, and Spanish style architecture! Love it. read more

Allied Arts Guild - Patio outside the reception room (Sunset Room) - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Menlo Park, California

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I want to start my review with the disclaimer that I have not used their services. However, it seems like they are hardly interested in providing them or even returning phone or emails to interested clients. I loved the location for an event we wanted to host and emailed/called them several times over the course of a month. Both the office line as well as the direct email and phone of the event co-ordinator Tiana. No one ever bothered to return my emails or calls. I then wondered if it was even worth trying further if their service sucked from the get-go and decided to take my business elsewhere. And if the business owners are reading this, I would like to let them know that the least courteous thing would be return a one-liner email saying you guys are booked or can't accommodate us, especially if a potential client has tried to reach out to you several times. read more

A hidden gem. Without my GPS, I wouldn't be able to find it. I brought my mom to visit this garden on one sunny day in January. There was only one yellow rose blooming. But from the names along the plants, we could picture an amazing picture during a blooming season. Some rare types of flowers found home here too. The landscaping was well-designed and got the European atmosphere. Not many shops were open when we were there, even it was a Friday morning. It was the only disappointment. read more

This is such a wonderful place, I am not sure why I haven't been here sooner. I grew up receiving gifts from my Auntie that were wonderful and told "I bought it at Allied Arts"! It is rich in history, in 1929, Delight and Garfield Merner bought the property to "provide a serene, beautiful workplace for artists; to encourage the crafting of handsome objects for everyday use; and to support all peasant or folk art, especially that of early California". The buildings are old Spanish colonial architecture surrounded by beautiful gardens, water fountains, and statures/garden decor. There are a handful of cute shops to browse through. We were there about 3pm and only a couple of the stores were open. The Artisan shop was very cute and the staff was very nice. We purchased a few items here that were priced reasonable and unusual from other stores. The Portola Art Gallery is charming, one of the artist, Jared Sines was there and was incredible friendly. He was very informative of all the artist showing that day. It was very nice talking with him. The other store that was open was Special Handling Pottery, it smelled very good in here. However, the woman in the store spent her entire time on the phone talking about the kids back in school and other mundane topics. We were never greeted once, which I hate! Just saw hello, welcome, or I will be right with you and I am content for a pretty long time. When a store is this small it gets uncomfortable quickly when you are ignored. I would have given Allied Arts 5 stars but the stores close so early and the customer service in the one store was disappointing. I have heard the holidays are something to see, I hope I can get there this December. read more

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This is a great private spot for an offsite meeting. It's quiet and beautiful. The staff is very helpful. The food is fresh and delicious. The only down-sides are 1) sometimes the technology doesn't quite work, and 2) both times I've had meetings there the climate control was difficult to moderate. I do think it'd be a lovely setting for an outdoor event or wedding, as well. read more

I love AAG. We had our wedding ceremony here, and everything was perfect. Tiana is wonderful to work with. We asked her to add paper lanterns for the decorations and she did such an amazing job, no need for extra flowers. She also coordinated our ceremony rehearsal with our huge wedding party until everyone knew what they were doing, and then on the wedding day directing everyone to make sure things go smoothly. Our wedding would not have gone as well as it did if it weren't for Tiana. AAG itself is beautiful. We got married in October and there flowers were still blooming, and all of out guests were just blown away by the place. I couldn't imagine a better place for the ceremony. We also got a full day photo permit for the place. We haven't seen the professional pictures yet, but even the pictures taken by our guests turned out really great. read more

Went here yesterday with mom omg this place is so beautiful the art was fantastic and so beautiful the garden's were absolutely amazing I would definitely get married here hehe it's that beautiful if your in the area come see this place you won't be disappointed I guarantee it come here !!! read more

Beautiful wedding venue. My friend had her wedding here. We all enjoy the beautiful scenery.

I was here, attending an Oct wedding...the bride & groom chose to have a high tea reception. This place is gorgeous, it's very lush with trees, plants & flowers. But not too "nature-y". Because it was a high tea reception, we didn't eat an actual meal here, so I'm not sure how the food is, but from the scones, fresh cut fruit & tea sandwiches we had, it was all good. I'm not sure what the pricing is for this place since I was just an attendee, but it seems like a gorgeous place for a wedding & reception. There were a lot of great spots for pictures!!! If I had known about this place, I totally would've loved to have MY wedding here! =p read more

Whoa fancy! I NEVER knew this place existed until my aunt who was in town took me out for lunch. A bit pricey, but sometimes you feel like splurging and sitting in a beautiful garden. Wild mushroom and gruyere sando was totally worth the $13. The strawberry salad? Neh. The service was superb and the waiter basically did a photo shoot for us after asking for him to snap a picture. LOVE the old architecture and meandering around the guild buying crafts that support a good cause makes things all the better!! Go ahead, treat yourself! read more

Beautiful gardens. Very esthetic setting with quaint artist shops and a nice little cafe to have lunch. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves :) read more

Allied Arts Guild - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Menlo Park, California

Beautiful and serene place to spend a morning or afternoon in. Open to public all year and a beautiful place to host any events for. Especially if anyone is interested in looking for a Wedding place. Should definitely check it out. I happened to be there for the Christmas Art's and craft fair. Everyone boutique and stores were really friendly. The lady at the Artisan shop was so sweet and kind. It was such a pleasure to talk to her. Go there and check out all the stores. One in particular is the Barn Woodshop. Make sure to stop by and see the amazing machines he has inside. There is not too many of this kind of handcraft around any more. read more

I hosted an afternoon garden tea at Allied Arts. It was a milestone birthday - and I was thrilled with how the event turned out. Tiana was extremely helpful throughout the planning. Tiana was positive, organized and very responsive. She was creative in helping determine how to approach the gathering in a socially- distanced way. The garden setting is gorgeous - and my guests commented on how much they enjoyed the food. The serving team worked hard to make it a lovely afternoon. The fact that the venue benefits Lucille Packard Children's Hospital is meaningful as well. I am grateful to the Allied Arts / Café Wisteria team - and can't wait to return. read more

how beautiful place. Kinds of flowers and nice stores.

My honey and I checked out Allied Arts Guild as a potential venue for our wedding. We were looking for an intimate garden setting with a lot of architectural and cultural qualities that define California, and in many ways, this place fits that description. The space has some really lovely spots, though a few things turned us off: - Tiana kept us waiting for 20 minutes while working with another couple. I understand that other engaged couples are eager to go over details and such, but don't keep a couple outside waiting. - After Tiana started talking to us, it seemed like she didn't really want to give us the time of day. She gave us a rushed tour, and we were literally given only 10 minutes of her time. Sure, we probably weren't the happiest of campers after being kept waiting, but she could've tried harder to make the sale. - The ceremony space for our potential guest count would have a pretty unique (read: weird) setup around the fountain. I didn't like how some of our guests would've been positioned at our sides, facing our backs, or farther away behind the fountain. - We were pretty surprised by the rental prices, just for the venue. You'll have to talk to Tiana to get the current rate sheet, but it was something like $6000 for a Saturday evening rental during the summer. Given the catering limitations and our other impressions of the venue and staff, we decided it wasn't worth it for us. I'm sure it was a lovely place for those who have opted to have their weddings here, it just wasn't right for what we were looking for. read more

What a lovely place with beautiful gardens and shops. Lunch was delicious--as always. The waiter was very helpful.

One of my favorite places in the Bay Area. I used to walk through it several times a week when I worked in the area. Watch painters and other craftsmen at work, skim through artsy jewelry, and just stroll through a magical ambiance with geometric gardens and luxurious courtyards. The shops often change owners, so there's always something new. I've been to some beautiful weddings here, and there's a great cafe. We have also taken our benches in to the wood worker there for repair and he is wonderful! read more

It's a smaller version of Filoli Garden. They have shops and galleries. Some stores I used to go a lot are closed, but then they bring in new nice stores. I also went to a floral workshop and it was great. My kids also take their music class here. Great place just to wonder and smell the flowers, but also to have lunch, coffee and shop. read more