10 Los Angeles Venues for Company Picnics and Summer Entertaining

For an airy (ahem) summer event, Santa Monica's Museum of Flying opened in late February, and is available for buyout. The main floor has a maximum seating capacity of 350, or holds 700 for a reception. The Douglas Aircraft executive suite includes the Douglas boardroom (a replica of the aircraft company's boardroom), a reception parlor, and a screening room with a capacity of 50. The aviation museum's three preferred caterers are Schaffer’s Genuine Foods, Bon Mélange Catering, and Gourmet Celebrations.

Planet Dailies L.A. and Mixology101 opened in March. The new concept from Planet Hollywood is a hip, high-tech coffee shop alongside a new cocktail lounge offering signature drinks by European barman Salvatore “The Maestro” Calabrese and head bartender Joseph Brooke. Planet Dailies has a private dining area for about 20 and offers diner fare from chef Adrian Tenorio. Groups can book a mixology class with Brooke, whose past work includes stints at Next Door Lounge, the Edison, and Bar Marmont. Two outdoor spaces, one outside of Mixology101 and one outside of Planet Dailies, are separated by a small walkway.

Meeting and event production company Extraordinary Events is now managing the new indoor-outdoor L3 event space at Santa Monica Place. L3 spans more than 42,000 square feet on the dining deck of the shopping center and bills itself as the largest and most versatile event space in Santa Monica. A blank canvas, the space is customizable for events and has accessible parking and sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.

The Ace Museum, the newest contemporary art museum in town, has 100,000 square feet of space and a 250-car parking lot for events. Level one is an open-air space with a ramp leading to level two, which has 30,000 square feet of event space. The level-three rooftop has 360-degree views of the city.

Bagatelle America, a partnership between Aymeric Clemente and Remi Laba of Brand Essence, and Jonathan Segal of the One Group, has just opened the first Bagatelle location outside of New York, the 2,700-square-foot Bagatelle L.A. Located in the former Boudoir space in West Hollywood, the restaurant opened in February with a multiroom St. Tropez- and Paris-inspired indoor-outdoor layout created by design firm Studio Brasa and food from executive chef Scott Quinn, formerly of Bouchon. For outdoor events, there's a manicured garden hedge surrounding the upper outdoor patio meant to evoke a Parisian city garden. Indoors, the bar area has an oversize fireplace mantle.

The Hotel Amarano Burbank completed an $8 million expansion in March. The new facilities include 31 new guest rooms and suites, a swimming pool and spa, and an 1,800-square-foot penthouse, the Chairman’s Suite. Forchielli Glynn L.L.C. redesigned the hotel, including the giant new suite, which has a large outdoor private deck with a cabana-covered dining table for six guests, a private outdoor spa, sunning area, and exercise equipment. The suite’s entryway has hardwood floors, and the living room has a wet bar with a Viking wine cooler, L-shaped sofa, and a 50-inch television.

Italian restaurant Drago Centro has a new patio space designed by Gensler that occupies the space above the restaurant. Renovation of the area was completed in January. It holds as many as 60 for a seated event or 100 for a reception. The glass-enclosed patio has a fountain, greenery, and built-in ceiling heaters.

In late January, chef-owner Andrew Kirschner opened Tar & Roses, which serves a menu of wood-fired, modern rustic cuisine. The variety of dishes includes small plates like wood-fired duck egg, large plates like roasted crispy pork knuckle, and family-style suppers like whole goose with traditional sides. Carrera marble and wood tabletops are topped with heath ceramic dishes, Staub and Le Crueset serving pieces, Schott Zwiesel stemware, and water glasses made from recycled wine bottles. Polished concrete floors are complemented by sleek black banquettes. The restaurant holds about 75 guests, with 45 in the dining room, eight at the bar, and 20 on the patio.

Il Covo opened in the fall with a private dining room for 50 guests. The restaurant is the most recent project from veteran restaurateur Sean MacPherson (of Swingers Diner, Jones, and the Roger Room). Set in a 1920s former four-plex apartment, the venue has been reinterpreted with the look and feel of a Mediterranean home and garden. It has three salvaged antique fireplaces, a long bar area with carved wood accents, and an enclosed patio. With a menu executed by Milanese-born Roberto Maggioni (formerly of Santa Monica's Locanda del Lago), Il Covo offers a mix of classic and contemporary Italian dishes. The long bar area leads to a fully enclosed outdoor patio.

This August, in the hills just east of Malibu, the Malibu Golf Club unveiled Malibu and Vine Bar & Grille, a wine-centric steak house with farm-to-table influences and a 300-seat outdoor wine bar.