Here's a look at new San Francisco eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces for all types of summer entertaining and events. The new and renovated San Francisco venues are available for corporate parties, fund-raisers, outdoor events, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, weddings, and more.
After five months of closure due to the Sonoma County wildfires, Kenwood Inn & Spa welcomed back guests in March. The opening coincided with 29 refreshed guestrooms and suites, an updated lobby, and a new wine bar and cabanas. The property is currently renovating its meeting and private event space. Currently, the inn offers five meeting spaces. There's the 750-square-foot Tuscany Room that can accommodate 50, the intimate 120-square-foot Wine Bay that seats eight, and the 250-square-foot La Cucina that accommodates 40 people. Outside, the 680-square-foot Mediterranean-stye Centro Court with center fountain has room for 100 guests, and the 720-square-foot pool courtyard fits100 guests.
The Lodge at the Presidio, the highly anticipated sister property to the Inn at the Presidio, opened at the end of June. The newly rehabilitated historic boutique hotel is the city's closest lodging to the Golden Gate Bridge, offering views of the bay and the Presidio's 300-acre forest. The 42-room Lodge at the Presidio is located in a former Army barracks, and now has features such as a courtyard garden and fire pit, a front porch with rocking chairs, and a large dining room lounge. There aren’t any meeting facilities at this national park hotel, but there are more than 10 event venues within the Presidio.
Popular pop-up restaurant Sorrel opened a permanent home in Presidio Heights in April, serving seasonal cuisine with Italian influences with produce sourced from the Bay area as well as the restaurant's rooftop garden. The 2,800-square-foot eatery includes custom-designed walnut slab tables, ceramics, and a white and green marble bar. The dining room seats 50, while a private dining room seats 16. The private dining room is outfitted with a custom slab table, globe light fixtures, plenty of greenery, a record player, original art on the walls, and a view into the wine room.
Gaige House & Ryokan relaunched in May, offering a zen getaway in Sonoma Valley. The redesign brings a traditional Japanese Ryokan aesthetic to the historic Gaige House. Of the 23 guest rooms, nine are Ryokan Zen Suites situated in a private area of the property. These Zen suites include king beds, fireplaces, private karesansui Zen rock gardens, outdoor patios, and deep granite soaking tubs. A new Meditation Deck along the creek is an ideal place for morning yoga. The hotel's Gathering Room seats 20 guests for board meetings or executive retreats, with sophisticated decor including a wood-burning fireplace, large windows, and access to a peaceful garden terrace.
There's a new restaurant and bar right next to the Mission's performance venue the Chapel. Curio opened in June, serving craft cocktails and Southern low country cuisine (think shellfish towers and smoked beer can chicken). The building was once home to a mortuary, and the design of Curio plays on that history with an "Afterlife" bar, the "Hereafter" dining room, and "La Vida Futura" private dining room. Decor features include a ceiling mural inspired by the Blade Runner films, vintage chandeliers, and a wall covered with antique grandfather clocks. A courtyard seats 75 or accommodates 100 for receptions. The Afterlife bar holds 65 seated guests or 120 for receptions. The La Vida Futura private dining room seats 20 or holds 30 for receptions, and the Hereafter dining room seats 65 guests or accommodates 110 for receptions.
Chef Nicolas and Andrea Delaroque opened Nico in May in Jackson Square. The restaurant serves prix fixe menus with seasonal ingredients in a sophisticated space decked out with exposed brick and patterned tile floors. Nico is available for full buyouts at lunch or dinner. The restaurant seats 32 guests or holds 45 for a reception.
Tabletop Tap House opened in May across from Moscone Center, serving American tavern-style food and drinks. There's a lot to do here: The bar and restaurant is outfitted with foosball, billiard tables, more than 80 board games, dozens of TVs, and a 50-foot video wall. The venue can hold events for 10 to 700 guests, spanning six event spaces. The semiprivate Mini Bar has room for 20 guests for seated events or 30 for receptions, with floor-to-ceiling windows, nine plasma screens, a private entrance, and a private bar. The Lounge includes a billiard table and foosball table with floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall and four plasma screens. It can accommodate 70 guests for a seated meal, 80 guests for theater-style events, 40 for classroom-style events, or 90 guests for receptions. The Lounge can be combined with the executive room, which includes a plasma screen and a billiard table with room for 10 seated guests or 15 guests for receptions or theater-style events. The Mezzanine is semiprivate with a view of the video wall and its own plasma screen; it holds 40 for receptions. The semiprivate main dining room includes a private 50-foot bar and a 50-foot video projection wall. The main dining room accommodates 150 seated guests for sit-down dinners, 400 for receptions, 200 for theater-style events, or 80 guests for classroom-style events. There's also the Break Room with a private entrance and patio, with room for 150 for receptions. The Break Room includes eight billiard tables and nine plasma screens and has an adjoining patio.
The Pearl, an event space in the Dogpatch neighborhood, opened an adjacent bar called School Night in April. As the name implies, it's open to the public as a weeknight-only bar and available for private events Thursday through Saturday. The bar has a private entrance and can be rented independently or together with the Pearl. School Night's 1,388-square-foot room includes a 25-foot black walnut bar, built-in speakers, and a projection screen. Acclaimed San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins created the Peruvian and Mexican-inspired food menu, while bartender Enrique Sanchez is responsible for craft cocktails. School Night can accommodate 87 seated diners with a bar or 76 without a bar, or 120 guests for a reception.
Hotel Trio, a stylish 122-all suite hotel, is slated to open in Sonoma County in July. Located near Healdsburg's central plaza, this could be home base for wine tourists. Each suite offers full kitchens and living areas, and there's even a four-queen bunk bed suite for a group. A 740-square-foot event room can accommodate 80 guests for theater-style events or receptions; 75 guests for a banquet; or 30 guests in a U-shape seating. The space is equipped with audiovisual equipment and catering is available.There's a bocce ball court and an outdoor patio with barbecue areas and fireside seats for relaxing outside.
Open since the end of 2017, Noon All Day serves healthy breakfast, lunch, snacks, and pastries. The black-and-white accented cafe seats 16 at tables and eight at the bar, or 50 for reception-style events. The spacious patio accommodates 40 seated guests.The restaurant also has a relationship with the Dogpatch Arts Plaza, which is adjacent to the restaurant. Guests can rent that space if they want to set up a tent or host a larger event.
