10 Festive New Venues for Holiday Parties in San Francisco

In October, Claremont Club & Spa’s restaurant Limewood will become available for private events. The Berkeley hotel introduced Limewood in August. Led by chef Joseph Humphrey, Limewood offers California cuisine with local, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant has two private dining rooms. The first room is separated from the main dining room by a floor-length curtain, and can seat as many as 12 guests at one table and 14 guests at separate tables. The second room features a longer conference table that can accommodate as many as 14 guests. These rooms combined can hold 26 guests at one long table.

Graton Resort & Casino in Sonoma County's Rohnert Park will debut its new six-story hotel tower in November. The $175 million, 342,000-square-foot expansion will boast 200 guest rooms and more than 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. A divisible ballroom can host as many as 1,600 guests for receptions. Three other meeting rooms can host as many as 40 guests for receptions, and Graton Meeting Room 1 & 2 can be combined to host as many as 90 guests reception-style. The hotel’s decor is based on a theme of “California casual elegance” inspiration, with natural elements and vivid accent colors. The hotel also offers three restaurants with private dining options. The Daily Grill’s private dining room can host 40 seated guests or 60 for standing receptions, and is equipped with a flat-screen television with A/V input and an attached patio. The Daily Grill’s chef table seats as many as 24 guests, while the restaurant’s semiprivate balcony can host 25 seated guests or 40 for receptions and the patio can seat 75 guests or host 100 guests for receptions, with heaters available. For private dining rooms, Graton’s 630 Park Steakhouse seats 14, and Tony’s of North Beach seats 12.

Covo, a co-working space that includes a public cafe, opened in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood in August. The 8,000-square-foot main space is available for booking for holiday parties via Peerspace. For a full space rental, Covo can host 500 standing guests. Groups can also rent Covo’s private room, which can host 35 standing guests.  

Chef Kim Alter’s restaurant Nightbird in San Francisco's Hayes Valley opened in August, offering a $125-per-person tasting menu of Californian cuisine with local produce. The intimate 38-seat, 1,400 square-foot restaurant is decorated with accents like blue velvet chairs, a mural by Caroline Lizarraga, and a carved owl—the restaurant’s namesake. Nightbird is available for full buyouts, and can host 38 seated guests or as many as 60 standing guests.

Nightbird isn’t Kim Alter’s only new venue in Hayes Valley. The chef also opened Linden Room in August, a 1930s-themed cocktail lounge adjacent to her restaurant Nightbird. Decorated in the style of a Depression-era New York City bar, Linden Room’s interior includes ceiling murals, thick carpet, vintage glassware, and a record player. Linden Room can accommodate six seated guests and around 20 standing guests.

Italian restaurant Fiorella in the Richmond district opened up its heated patio for buyouts in September. The 40-seat restaurant, which opened in January, is offering up the patio for private parties. It will host 30 seated guests or 40 standing guests.

Barebottle Brew Co. hosts full buyouts of its expansive brewery for parties and events. The brewery, which opened in June in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, can accommodate as many as 250 standing guests or 120 seated guests. The brewery also has a warehouse space that can accommodate as many as 150. Barebottle Brew Co. can easily host mid-day events during the week, but evenings can also be available depending on the size of the party and budget.

Buffalo Theory, a new restaurant and craft beer bar located on Polk Street in San Francisco, opened in August. Chef Tim Luym’s bar fare is tapas-inspired with a global focus. Ted Kim is helming the beer program, which features 30 craft beers on tap. Buffalo Theory’s private room is set to open later this fall and will accommodate as many as 15 seated guests. The restaurant is available for full buyouts with a seated capacity of approximately 80 guest and standing capacity of 110 guests.

Black Cat. a retro supper club and lounge, opened in the Tenderloin District in July. The two-level Black Cat serves modern American cuisine, and jazz and cabaret acts perform on a small stage. The downstairs level can hold 64 seated or 130 standing guests. The full venue can accommodate 88 seated guests or 200 standing guests.

Loma Brewing Company, which opened in Los Gatos in August, serves pub fare and craft beer, including a handful of their own house-brewed beers with more to come in the near future. A private room will open in mid-to-late October and will hold 40 seated guests and 50 standing guests. The private room with have its own full bar. For buyouts, the restaurant holds 150 seated guests and 200 standing guests.