10 New Venues in San Francisco for Summer 2021 Meetings and Events

Acclaimed chef Ho Chee Boon opened a new restaurant with a bar and tea lounge in June in one of Chinatown's historic banquet halls. Empress by Boon serves modern Cantonese dishes made with ingredients from its own organic farm in Gilroy, Calif. Located on the sixth floor of the Empress building, the restaurant's look involves a moody blue color scheme while incorporating original features like a wooden pergola. The restaurant is lit by natural light during the day and hand-blown glass pendants at night. The Yan Yan Room spans half of the main dining room, with views of the Financial District from large windows, and seats 45 guests or accommodates 65 standing guests. The Empress Room features a tile accent wall and seats 20. For full buyouts, the 7,500-square-foot space accommodates as many as 150 guests seated or 275 guests for a cocktail reception only.

Peruvian chef Carlos Altamirano closed his Michelin-starred restaurant La Costanera during the pandemic and reopened in a new 10,000-square-foot location in June in Half Moon Bay. The Altamirano Restaurant Group's newest outpost channels Altamirano's seaside vacations in Peru, with options like pan-seared dayboat scallops. La Costanera's look also is inspired by the coast, with impressive views of the Pillar Point Harbour. Whimsical decor includes a seashell-embedded mosaic, antique ship hulls and repurposed fishing nets. The two-story restaurant seats 104 upstairs, 68 downstairs and 62 on the patio.

Lion’s Den Bar and Lounge, which soft-opened in March, aims to channel Chinatown's glamorous nightlife of the 1940s and 1950s. Vintage photos of Chinatown decorate the lounge's walls, while decor includes materials like velvet and dark wood along with pops of bright red. Lion's Den's max capacity is 180 guests, who will enjoy light appetizers along with live music and DJ performances.

Moxy Oakland Downtown brings an artful aesthetic to the corner of Telegraph and West Grand Avenues in Oakland: The 172-room hotel's facade features a 12,000-pound, six-story aluminum art installation from artist Thom Faulders. Art abounds inside the Marriott International property, with murals from local artist Bud Snow and pieces from local art center Creative Growth, which works with artists who have disabilities. The lobby includes a 35-seat Moxy boardroom that doubles as an art gallery, featuring rotating pieces courtesy of local artists. This space will also serve as a private event space for on-site restaurant La Palabra, set to open this summer. A second-floor outdoor terrace with a ping-pong table serves as an additional seating area for hotel guests and the public.

In March, a new source for American comfort food and classic cocktails opened in Noe Valley. Meant to be a neighborhood go-to, Mr. Digby’s is outfitted with leather seating and plaid wallpaper. The art here focuses on portraits of dogs, which makes sense since the restaurant is named after co-owner Mike McCaffery's childhood pup. For full buyouts, Mr. Digby's can accommodate 40 seated indoors, and there are 12 additional bar seats as well as outdoor tables.

Yountvile's North Block hotel opened a new restaurant in March helmed by Momofuku alum chef Nick Tamburo. The restaurant is devoted to seasonal dishes with California ingredients and wood-fired, naturally leavened pizzas. North Block's imaginative interiors are from local designer Erin Martin: a 15-seat private dining room is painted with artist Michael Dute's mural of egrets silhouetted on the ceiling and wall.

Oakland event venue Overland Station is located in a historic building in the heart of Jack London Square. The venue on the ground floor features an open floor plan and includes a stage, kitchen space and a full bar made of restored wood. The space is equipped with a Sonos Audio System, and audiovisual packages are available. Overland Station's vintage look embraces its circa-1909 Warnecke & Michaels Building while adding contemporary details. The venue is now accepting bookings and will host an official launch party in August. Available for full- and half-day events, Overland Station can accommodate small to large groups from 40 to 160 guests.

Peruvian food truck favorite Sanguchon went brick-and-mortar this spring with the opening of a fast-casual restaurant on Valencia Street in April. Chef Carlos Altamirano serves seven different sandwiches, including lomo saltado and pan con chicharron, as well as treats like yucca fries and dulce de leche shortbread cookies. The restaurant's ambiance includes two murals by Forest Kell and a laser-cut version of Peru's famous Nazca Lines. Sanguchon seats 29 inside, and an outdoor parklet seats 10.

AC Hotel Palo Alto opened in April with 144 guest rooms and suites across five floors. Gensler designed the LEED Silver-certified hotel, incorporating a neutral color scheme of gray and blue with streamlined furniture. Find more than 2,100 square feet of meeting and event space at the Silicon Valley hotel. Media Salon A and Media Salon C each seat 12 for conferences or accommodate 20 for receptions. The 940-square-foot Innovation Lab can accommodate 54 for banquet-style events, 85 for theater-style events or 85 for receptions. The Innovation Lab's outdoor space can accommodate 40 for receptions.

The Kimpton Alton Hotel opened in May in tourist-friendly Fisherman’s Wharf, and the 248-room hotel is the first new local property for Kimpton in six years. The aesthetic of The Alton's original 1970s building inspired the hotel's groovy decor. There's an original work by psychedelic artist Alton Kelley (the hotel’s namesake), record players in the lobby, vintage area rugs and touches of harbor blue and celery green. The Alton's 986-square-foot event space, the Studio, can accommodate 73 for banquets, 88 for receptions or 95 for theater-style events. Abacá by Chef Francis Ang, a contemporary Filipino-Californian restaurant, is slated to open in the hotel this summer.