Here's a look at new San Francisco eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this summer. The new and renovated San Francisco venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa Valley, unveiled its new restaurant helmed by celebrity chef Chris Cosentino in May. Acacia House’s menus offer refined takes on seasonal California cusine, and the 50-seat restaurant’s rustic look includes wing-backed banquettes, an open-hearth fireplace, and deep-blue plaster walls. Acacia House itself (the actual restaurant and lounge) is primarily available for events in the case of a hotel buyout. Other private event space at the hotel catered by Acacia House includes the Acacia Event Barn, which accommodates 100 seated guests and 150 for receptions, along with the Acacia Lawn, which also holds 150 for receptions. For smaller groups, the Acacia Terrace holds 40 seated guests or 60 for standing receptions, and the Acacia Patio holds 26 seated or 40 standing.
The 100-acre Liana Estates opened two new spaces in May: the Cultivator’s Club Lounge and the Loft, both designed by Lauren Pique Designs. The second-level Cultivator’s Club Lounge seats eight or holds 12 standing. Decor accents include vintage wine barrels, brass detailing, a contemporary fireplace, and a reclaimed wood-treated wall. The Loft, on the third floor, features dramatic vaulted ceilings and views of the winery and surrounding San Pablo Bay and Carneros Valley. The Loft can accommodate as many as 12 seated. Liana Estates also has a bocce garden space that can accommodate as many as 120 seated, and the winery offers group experiences like tastings and teambuilding programs.
New to Fisherman’s Wharf, Hotel Zoe opened in the beginning of June after a $16 million renovation. The 221-room boutique hotel’s completely renovated meeting rooms accommodate as many as 80. The 1,250-square-foot Tiburon room is outfitted with two fireplaces and offers space for as many as 80 theatre-style, and is divisible into two spaces. The 425-square-foot Farallon room accommodates as many as 30 standing guests for cocktail receptions, and the 345-square-foot Belvedere room holds as many as 12 standing guests. The Farallon and Belvedere rooms can be combined to hold as many as 50 for standing cocktail receptions. An exterior courtyard is available for private events.
Union Square’s Hotel Nikko San Francisco celebrated its 30th anniversary with a $60 million renovation. Spearheaded by Hirsch Bedner Associates, the overhaul updated 405 guest rooms and meeting space, including the 6,652-square-foot ballroom. The space is accented with crystal chandeliers and tall metal-cut wall screens with modern Japanese designs. The ballroom holds as many as 800 for receptions. The renovation included audiovisual upgrades to all of Hotel Nikko’s meeting rooms.Â
Irish pub Sláinte opened in Oakland’s Jack London Square in April, serving up traditional foods like shepherd’s pie, Irish whiskey, and soda bread. Besides the oak bar and exposed brick, the restaurant’s focal point is a cozy fireplace surrounded by books from Irish poets and writers. Sláinte (which means cheers in Gaelic) is available for full and partial buyouts, and the space holds 50 seated or 80 standing guests.
New to the Hayes Valley neighborhood is A Mano, an Italian restaurant that focuses on pasta with simple yet stylish decor. The 2,604-square-foot-restaurant seats 91 guests, and is available for buyouts and private events. A Mano’s color scheme is the colors of the Italian flag (red, white, and green), with a communal table and bar top that’s inspired by a tailor’s work table.
Cocktail bar The Douglas Room opened in March as the final phase of the Tenderloin’s new Tilden Hotel. The Douglas Room springs from the mind of Mo Hodges and Brian Felley of Tenderloin bar Benjamin Cooper. The new Tilden Hotel venue whips up craft cocktails and bites such as cheesesteaks and duck wings. Studio Tack designed custom millwork and furniture to evoke the American Craftsman style, with an expansive bar and hightop and communal tables. The Douglas Room accommodates as many as 60 people. Other private event spaces in the hotel are catered by the Douglas Room, including the penthouse with terrace, which holds as many as 100 for cocktail parties, and the Mechanic’s Room, which holds as many as 50 guests.
Modern Indian restaurant Rooh opened in February in SoMa, serving progressive Indian food and artisanal cocktails. Decor includes a huge mural, dark wood planking, colorful cement tiles, and concrete floors. Rooh seats 92 people inside and 23 outdoors. A section of the restaurant with teal seating and brass drapery is available for semiprivate dining and events.Â
In May, the 144-room Graduate Berkeley opened in what was once the iconic Hotel Durant. Graduate Berkeley’s design is meant to feel residential, with eclectic decor such as a lobby wall lined with thousands of National Geographic magazines and colorful murals by local artist Chris Lux. The hotel’s 750-square-foot California Room is available for small- and medium-size meetings and events. This room seats 55 and holds 70 for a standing reception.  Additionally, the hotel’s boardroom seats as many as 12 people.
House of Rock, in the San Francisco Bay area city of Santa Rosa, is a 15,000-square-foot live performance venue, with room for 683 people standing or 500 seated. The venue is available for special event rentals, and unveiled its brand new multi-track recording studio in April. The studio’s tech capabilities include a Solid State Logic (SSL) 48 Channel Duality console with Delta Automation and dual Pro Tools HDX systems, with full integration throughout the facility. Tech equipment at House of Rock’s live performance venue includes a 120+ fixture stadium-quality light show and five camera live switched HD video production and dual big screen video playback support augmenting live shows and productions. Any special event can be fully documented with full broadcast quality production audio and video, as well as streamed live on the Internet via HD video and full resolution audio. House of Rock includes a 1,000-square-foot stage and catwalk, state-of-the-art sound system, and full theatrical lighting and effects.
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