11 New Options for Business Entertaining in San Francisco

With interiors inspired by the French mansion where the Rolling Stones composed Exile on Main St., the restaurant and bar Bergerac opened in the SoMa district in September. Designed by Josh Rowland, the 3,500-square-foot space features rich jewel tones, a 25-seat bar finished with a zinc countertop, and velvet and leather tufted couches. The cocktail menu comes from Russell Davis, co-star of Spike TV’s Bar Rescue, and includes soda-fountain-era inspired drinks, punches, table-shaken cocktails, and seasonal bottle services; house-blended spirits and vermouths, as well a bourbon aged in a cocktail-infused barrel, are also on offer. The space seats 75 or holds 250 people for receptions. There is a draped private banquette in the back, appropriate for entertaining small groups.

Contemporary American restaurant State Bird Provisions recently finished a renovation and expansion, adding more options for group dining and entertaining. Two new alcove tables accommodate groups of eight or combine for groups of 16. For buyouts, the restaurant seats 60 guests or holds 75 for receptions. One consistent item on the changing menu is its namesake California valley quail.

For entertaining with a view, the Forge is a new California-style pizza restaurant located in Jack London Square. Featuring a wood-fired Valorini oven, an Italian import, the restaurant offers buyouts inside for 100 seated guests and on the patio for 50. The outside dining area features fire pits and a view of the bay.

Roka Akor's newest outpost opened in Jackson Square in June 2013. The staple in the restaurant is the central robata grill that offers open charcoal cuisine and is surrounded by a shou-sugi-ban counter which seats as many as 10 guests. The two-level 8,681-square-foot steak, seafood, and sushi restaurant holds 110 guests for a sit-down dinner, 16 in the private dining room, 400 for receptions in the dining room and Roka Bar, or 150 for receptions in the Roka Bar.

Alioto’s Restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf renovated its banquet rooms in October. The Harbor Room, which seats 55 guests, has large windows with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay. The room includes a private bar and is equipped with an audiovisual system, television, and projection screen, making it appropriate for business presentations. The Bridge Room seats 18 guests and includes design features such as antique crystal lighting, granite-top buffets, and bronze leather ceiling tiles; a window frames views of the water.

Novela, a literary-theme bar, opened May 2013 at the intersection of Union Square and the SoMa district. The 3,500-square-foot space juxtaposes old and new with a vintage book collection lining the walls and artwork representing historic novel characters. The bar is divided into dedicated areas including the Hemingway Room, which accommodates 40 and features a large birdcage lighting fixture and a mosaic tile bar.

Opened last August, La Urbana serves contemporary Mexican cuisine in a setting designed by Garduño Arquitectos to reflect urban Mexico City. Its L-shaped bar is a focal point of the space and the Mezcal-focused bar menu features more than 30 different varieties of the spirit. The restaurant seats 90, and a glass-walled room, the Mezcaleria, seats 10 for private dining and entertaining. An adjoining space dubbed the Mercado with folding tables and chairs opened a few months later.

Opened at the Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa last August, the Park Bistro & Bar replaces the 27-year-old Duck Club. A renovation of the space imparted a European country farmhouse look, and the new menu emphasizes steaks and shared plates. The main dining room seats 120 while the Wayside Room seats 15 for private dining and entertaining. The covered patio was also renovated and now has two fire pits and lounge seating.

Downtown's Café Claude has opened a new location, Café Claude Marina, serving its French bistro fare in an Old World, glam setting. The design features burgundy flocked wallpaper, vintage French chandeliers, and tin ceilings. The 1,700-square-foot space includes a 49-seat dining room, a 12-seat bar, and outside tables that seat eight. The restaurant does not offer buyouts, but groups may request the private chef's table, a crescent-shaped leather banquette that seats six. The area is enveloped in damask wallpaper and is separated from the rest of the restaurant by fabric drapes.

Chef April Bloomfield and partner Ken Friedman reopened the historic Tosca Café in October and made it available for private events. The North Beach restaurant—with red leather chairs and booths, a vintage jukebox, and an open kitchen—is available for buyouts and holds 165 people. Smaller events and groups can use the café's back room, which seats 25 or holds 40 for receptions.

Another new spot at the Warwick San Francisco Hotel is the European, a bar and lounge under the direction of barman Adam Wilson. The 35-seat space serve original craft cocktails and classic drinks influenced by European spirits. The decor mixes the aesthetic of Paris with Northern California.