Here's a look at new eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces to open in Boston for events this fall. The new and renovated venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
A 6,000-square-foot progressive New England restaurant that seats 195 guests, Ledger Restaurant & Bar is a unique addition to Salem that opened in June. Located in what was formerly the Salem Savings Bank, the 140-seat main dining room includes a six-seat oyster bar, a 10-seat chef's table, and a 22-seat communal table. The 1,200-square-foot private room, called the Macomber Room, which has its own bar, can seat as many as 65 guests, or welcomes as many as 80 for a cocktail reception.
Located in the rapidly developing Jeffries Point neighborhood of East Boston, Cunard Tavern serves elevated pub fare in its 65-seat main dining area, which measures 1,900 square feet, and in the 10-seat bar area that's made from shipping containers and reclaimed wood and iron. The 900-square-foot rooftop will have a full-service bar and raw bar, which can accommodate as many as 35 standing guests. The entire restaurant, or just the rooftop itself, is available for buyouts.
Located on the base level of the Aloft Boston Seaport hotel, the Social Register features an industrial setting, and a lot of grandeur, spread throughout 7,000 square feet of space. Equipped with full audiovisual capabilities, there's an elevated DJ booth and 17 clandestine HDTVs that appear to be framed mirrors when off. The entire 7,000-square-foot space can accommodate 200 seated guests or 360 for reception-style events. There also is a 1,000-square-foot seasonal patio that has space for 40 seated or 60 standing. To accommodate over 100 guests, the patio can be booked in combination with the Penny Bar Lounge, where a mix of low seating and tables can be made entirely private. On its own, the Penny Bar Lounge can seat 15 guests or host 60 standing. The semiprivate main dining room welcomes 100 seated or 200 standing, and can be booked along with an exclusive lounge, which seats 30 guests. The entire space opened in June.
Dig into a seafood tower or prime steak at Mastro's Ocean Club, an upscale restaurant that opened in June. Boasting a 180-degree view of the Boston Harbor, Mastro's features a main dining room, a main bar, a lounge, and two private dining rooms, which together accommodate 350 seated guests for a full buyout. The first private space is the 480-square-foot Mastro's Room, which seats 24, and can be combined with the main dining room to seat 150 guests in a semiprivate space overlooking the Harbor. The other is the Liberty Room, a 624-square-foot space with an LCD flat-screen TV and full audiovisual capabilities that seats 44 guests. The patio space seats as many as 60 people or holds 120 cocktail-style.
Sumiao Hunan Kitchen, which opened in July, serves a modern take on traditional Chinese Hunan cuisine in Kendall Square. The 4,458-square-foot restaurant seats 168 guests indoors, as well as 45 guests in the 780-square-foot outdoor space. Sumiao is available for conferences with full audiovisual capabilities for as many as 25 people, as well as private dining for 24 seated guests. The entire restaurant is available for partial and full buyouts, accommodating as many as 252 people.
A Back Bay Greek hotspot, Doretta Taverna and Raw Bar welcomed a new 390-square-foot private event space in July, which seats as many as 20 guests for dinners or meetings or holds 30 for reception-style events. A portable dividing wall also allows semiprivate capabilities by extending the new room into the bar and lounge space for as many as 45 guests, cocktail-style.
A sprawling 10,000-square-foot venue in the Brighton neighborhood, Rail Stop Restaurant & Bar opened in June and is inspired by the area's history of rail service. Designed with barrel-vaulted ceilings, antique chandeliers, and seats to resemble vintage railroad boxcars, the 284-seat restaurant includes a 30-seat bar as well as a 32-seat private dining room named Brighton Hall, which measures 530 square feet. There are also 62 seats on the 1,000-square-foot patio. New England cuisine is served.
Located in the booming Seaport neighborhood, Yotel Boston opened in June. The 326-room (or "cabin," as the property calls it) hotel is inspired by luxury air travel. The Sky Lounge and Rooftop Terrace is an indoor/outdoor lounge serving cocktails and small bites with 360-degree views of the city; it can be rented for private events. The lounge's four Sky Cabins are also available for rental, and can accommodate as many as 20 people. The two Studios by Club Lounge on the ground floor, which measure 208 square feet and 520 square feet, respectively, are ideal for executive meetings and breakout sessions, and are equipped with full audiovisual capabilities.
A "free roam" (or non-stationary) virtual-reality game arena that opened in July, Mindtrek VR features 4,000-square-feet of gaming space in Woburn. The entire venue can be rented out for private events and corporate outings of all sizes, where a groups of 16 players at a time suit up to hunt zombies or robots, through the magic of virtual reality, for a 45-minute experience. A 500-square-foot meeting room can accommodate as many as 40 seated guests, and has customizable food options.
Cali-Mex cuisine comes to Dorchester with the Yellow Door Taqueria, a 1,200-square-foot restaurant that opened in July. Featuring a 15-seat granite bar and a 60-seat dining room in an urban, gritty-chic environment, Yellow Door is available for full or partial buyouts. In addition to the menu full of tacos, Yellow Door's beverage program is rooted in tequilas and mezcals, and includes creative cocktails and cervezas.
