Here's a look at the best new San Francisco restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this winter. These new and renovated San Francisco venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
The Dorian opened in September in the Marina district. Designed by Shelly Amoroso, the restaurant serves American classics in an atmosphere meant to evoke a Victorian home. Decor includes rich colors and textured wallpapers, brass accents, and antiques. The restaurant is divided into three distinct spaces: the State Room, Drawing Room, and Study. For receptions, the Study holds 50 guests, the State Room holds 80 guests, and the Drawing Room holds 80 guests; it seats 50 guests for dinner. The Study and the State Room are available together for receptions of 120 guests. The entire restaurant is available for full buyouts of as many as 200 guests.
New event space and music venue Verso opened in October adjacent to sister bar Forgery. Located in the Mid-Market neighborhood within walking distance of the Moscone Center, the loftlike space offers full beverage service, staffing, full audiovisual capabilities, a state-of-the-art sound system, LED lighting, event production, in-house catering provided by PlumpJack Catering, and on-site event management. The two-level space is available for full buyouts of 400 guests. Verso can be rented together with Forgery for full buyouts of more than 500 guests in an 11,000-square-foot space. Napa-based ShopWorks handled the design for Verso, and details include a garage roll-up door at the front entrance, exposed brick walls, concrete flooring, tufted banquettes, and a 20-foot-long white Carrera marble bar.
The Courtyard San Francisco Union Square opened in September with 166 rooms. The 17-story hotel includes meeting space, as well as the Bistro restaurant. A 340-square-foot boardroom seats 12 guests for meetings.
Californian-Mediterranean eatery Oro Restaurant opened in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood in September. The bilevel restaurant has an industrial look with concrete, reclaimed wood, and custom lighting. The mezzanine seats 40 or holds 60 for receptions for private events. The restaurant seats 100 or holds 150 for receptions for full buyouts.
Victory Point Cafe claims to be the Bay Area’s first board game café with more than 800 board games on hand. The venue had its grand opening in September and serves sandwiches, pastries, coffee, and craft beer and snack bowls such as Teddy Grahams and Swedish Fish. The Berkeley restaurant seats 46.
Ca’ Momi Osteria opened in October in a historic 19th-century building in downtown Napa. The renovated 3,800-square-foot space includes rustic reclaimed wood tables, repurposed steel, and a custom mosaic on the wood-burning oven imported from Italy. It serves authentic regional Italian cuisine as well as Verace Pizza Napoletana- and Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani-certified pizzas. The restaurant seats 99 plus 12 on the patio. Full buyouts are available.
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has expanded its brewery and added patio space to its Speakeasy Tap Room following an extensive renovation that wrapped up in October. The room is available for private events and holds 100 people for receptions. The brewery’s parking lot is licensed for events with alcohol and can be used for large tented gatherings. For groups, the brewery also offers tours on Saturday that are limited to 10 guests and include beer tastings.
New craft cocktail bar Whitechapel opened at the end of October in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Whitechapel specializes in gin, with more than 400 types of the liquor on the menu. The bar’s decor is London Underground-inspired and includes two spaces for private events. The Distillery is ideal for 30-person receptions with light appetizers. The larger room, the Gin Palace, includes its own private bar and holds as many as 40 guests.
Armstrong Brewing Company opened its doors in South San Francisco in September. The brewery is located in the cellar of a historic building, and the open floor plan offers views of the brewing process. The space holds around 70 guests for receptions.
Marina district pizzeria Delarosa opened a second location in October in the financial district. The slick, modern interior includes colorful graphic posters and an open kitchen. It seats 40 guests at the bar and at a communal table and 80 in the dining room. A patio, set to open later this month, will seat 46.
