You booked a Pop Up Picnic! Congrats!

First off, we’re super excited to host you! Every picnic is extremely special to us because we know you’re celebrating what is special to YOU! Whether it’s a special day or a special someone, we are honored to be part of the fun! Here are some best practices to make your Pop Up Picnic as fun and effortless as possible!

  • Location: We feature dozens of amazing locations around San Diego and North County and to help you get there easily, we send a confirmation email with a map (and address or pin-point location, depending on the spot.) You should see this email within a day of booking. Please make sure to open the map and familiarize yourself with the location before heading out- reception can be spotty by the beach! If you do have trouble, just text or call your picnic tech and we’ll help you navigate!

  • Parking: Parking by the water can be tough, especially in the summer. Many of our location recommendations take parking into consideration or will include special parking details when necessary. Here are a few quick tips: all state beaches charge for parking in their lots and street parking adjacent to their sites. Keep an eye out for signs and please obey all parking rules.

  • Early Arrival: We often have an extremely tight schedule so we try to have a 15min buffer for early guests but we can’t always accommodate. If you’re early, text your tech and they will direct you to the spot (if ready) or ask for a few more minutes. Please give them a little space, it’s nerve-wracking to have guests watching the setup and we think it loses a lot of its ‘pop-up’ magic. We prefer you to take a walk, enjoy the scenery and come back at the appropriate time. Our techs are trained for efficient delivery and design so please, trust the process. :)

  • Late Arrival: We often have an extremely tight schedule so we try to have a 15min buffer to offer late guests their full reservation time but we can’t always accommodate. We totally understand that traffic and parking by the beach are nuts and for many this is a long-overdo date night which means coordinating the babysitter and everything else that goes into getting out of the house just made you a few minutes late. Seriously, no worries. We definitely don’t want you stressing on our account. We will wait for you until you arrive and make sure you get settled. If we can offer an extended reservation, we are happy to do it, but it just depends on our schedule that day. For evening picnics, techs have a strict curfew and must be back within a certain time after sunset. So even though we may not have any more picnics, we are not able to offer more than 30 minutes after sunset.

  • Food + Drink: We now serve individual charcuterie grazing boxes. Since they are packed individually, we can accommodate a range of dietary restrictions, see below. As far as food allergies are concerned, we do our best to avoid cross-contamination but we do work in a kitchen that houses and serves a range of allergenic foods (dairy, meats, tree nuts.) We cannot guarantee that no cross-contamination has occurred. All our boards are gluten-free.

    • Sample Menu: Charcuterie Grazing Boxes w/ assorted meats including prosciutto, spicy soppressata and genoa salami, all from Mona Lisa Italian Deli; Vlaskaas (gouda), Fromager d’Affinois (brie-style) and a third cheese of our choice that changes weekly; fresh fruit including apples and grapes; Milton's crackers (Del Mar); assorted savory and sweet pairings including olives, pickles, local honey, candied nuts and dried fruit. (Items may change slightly based on availability.)

    • If you have dietary restrictions, we will omit the necessary foods and make the following substitutions:

      • Gluten-free: All our boards are gluten-free, we've got you covered!

      • Vegetarian: We will omit the meat and add extra cheese and hummus.

      • Vegan: We will omit the meat, cheese, candied pecans and honey and replace with nut cheese, hummus, jam (and crudites when available.)

      • Dairy-free: We will omit the cheese and candied pecans and add extra meat and hummus.

      • No Pork: We will substitute the pork products for Bresaola, a cured beef.

      • Keto: We will omit fruit, honey and crackers and add pickles, olives (and crudites when available.)

      • Pregnancy-friendly: We will omit the meats and include only pasteurized cheeses. We will add hummus.

  • How it works: Your Tech will be onsite to setup and make sure you arrive comfortably and ensure everything gets off to a good start. If you need anything, feel free to call or text 30 min before or during your picnic. Once you are settled, we leave so you can enjoy your privacy. Your Tech will return at the end of your reservation; if you want to leave earlier, just text and we'll come right over.

    • FYI, we're loading and driving before that time so we may be unavailable- text is preferred.

      1. If you need something outside of that 30 minute window, please reach out to Lauren at the main office.

  • Photos: Our picnic techs will offer to take a photo before they leave. We use our own phones to cutdown on unnecessary touching (thanks COVID!) We will text you your photos. If you included your tags when booking, we will tag you if we post them!