This year saw the opening of many significant event and meeting venues in Boston. Here's a look at the best restaurants, party rooms, hotels, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open in 2016. These new and renovated Boston venues suit groups large or small for private and corporate events, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
Open since November, Island Creek Oyster Bar Burlington offers three distinct private dining spaces for a variety of different events. The Kelpa room, an intimate 315-square-foot space with its own boardroom table, can accommodate 16 seated guests or 25 reception-style. The Powder Point is a 420-square-foot larger private dining room that can seat as many as 30 guests or hold 50 reception-style. Finally, the Duxbury room is a spacious room where as many as 46 guests can enjoy a seated dinner, or 70 for a standing reception. The entire 2,962-square-foot dining room, bar, and lounge area are available for full buyouts for as many as 265 standing guests. Island Creek Oyster Bar Burlington also has a raw-bar boat and a professional oyster shucker. The venue’s technological features include a video-and-teleconferencing system, hardwired speakers, multiple microphones, and drop-down monitors. Motorized flat-screen TVs and tabletop HDMI video connections are available, as is streaming for services such as Netflix, iTunes, Airplay, Pandora, and Spotify. With one-touch control and automation, the venue is easy to set up and operate for any event. The seafood restaurant's menu includes lobster rolls and craft cocktails.
Saltie Girl, a 1,000-square-foot Back Bay restaurant, is a seafood-lover’s dream. The restaurant serves globally sustainable iterations of fresh fish and seafood in all forms: Think fried lobster and waffles with sweet corn butter and spicy maple syrup. The venue, which opened in June, can seat 30 guests (half in the main dining area, half in the bar) or host 35 guests reception-style. The restaurant is available for full buyouts.
Open since January, SRV is a Venetian-style Bacaro in the South End neighborhood. Serving shareable dishes like house-made pastas, risotto, proteins, and fish, the restaurant includes an 80-seat dining room, a spacious bar area with seating for 20 guests, and a lush outdoor dining space on a wooden deck for 50. For private dining, there is an 800-square-foot private event space that seats 50 guests or holds 70 for receptions.
Located in Watertown, where Boston meets Cambridge, Residence Inn by Marriott Boston Watertown opened in August. The hotel's East End meeting room measures 845 square feet and can accommodate as many as 60 people reception-style, 32 classroom-style, or 20 conference-style. Guests can check in before their stay with the hotel's mobile app, receive instant alerts when their room is ready, and enjoy express check-out.
North End restaurateur and chef Anthony Caturano opened Tonno in June. Located in the picturesque seaside town of Gloucester, Tonno serves coastal Italian seafood in a comfortable environment with partial ocean views. The 4,000-square-foot space, which seats as many as 99 people, has a dining room, a fireside lounge, a cocktail bar, and a 600-square-foot private dining room that can seat 30 guests.
Located at the Ink Block in the South End, Bar Mezzana is a coastal Italian restaurant owned by several alumni of Barbara Lynch Gruppo restaurants. Opened June 1, the eatery has a 200-square-foot private dining room for 14 seated guests or 20 for a reception. Enclosed by a wall of glass, it maintains a sense of privacy while still embracing the restaurant’s energy. It has a full audiovisual setup, along with temperature controls and a window that opens. There also is an 800-square-foot semiprivate dining room for 45 seated guests, a 350-square-foot dining patio for 28 guests, and a 150-square-foot bar patio for 15 guests. The entire 4,589-square-foot restaurant can also be booked for seated dinners of as many as 130 guests.
The beloved dessert company FoMu serves up artisanal plant-based, vegan-friendly ice cream at its third Boston location in the South End. The new 1,100-square-foot space, which features high ceilings, natural wood floors, and multiple windows, has spacious lounge-and-cafe seating and a large, reclaimed wood community table. FoMu, which opened in May, holds 18 seated guests or 30 reception-style.
Hotel Commonwealth underwent a major renovation, complete with a new wing that nearly doubled the size of the luxe Kenmore Square hotel. Highlights of the project take advantage of the hotel’s location near Fenway Park. The new Fenway Park Suite is decorated with Red Sox memorabilia, and a 1,500-square-foot terrace overlooks the ballpark. The outdoor space holds 250 guests for receptions or seats 100. The renovation finished in January.
Debuting on the South Shore in April, the Range Bar & Grille in Hingham is a lively bar and restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine. The indoor bar and grille is a 7,000-square-foot space that seats 155 guests, including 27 at the bar. Outside, the 2,500-square-foot patio overlooking the driving range can seat 88 guests. If your party wants to hit some balls, the restaurant will accommodate eat-and-play packages so you can get a few swings in before heading back for Cobb salads and Reuben sliders.
In January, the popular Inman Square restaurant Puritan & Company took over the space next door, adding a 600-square-foot private dining room that seats 30 or holds 40 for cocktails. The soft blue walls and hardwood floors are a welcoming setting, and catering options include prix-fixe, à la carte, or buffet-style dining. Other amenities include a small service bar and its own sound system.
