10 New San Francisco Venues for 2019 Summer Entertaining and Events

Palette is a new cafe/gallery/retail shop/ceramic studio, all in a lovely setting in SoMa. Opened in March, the 8,500-square-foot space is available for private events for as many as 225 guests in its restaurant and gallery. The main dining room is awash in deep blue with colorful carpets, with room for 66 seated guests or 100 standing guests. The stark white gallery can accommodate 100 standing guests or 40 seated. At the 30-foot-long mosaic-covered bar, there's room for 14 seated guests or 20 standing guests, while another semiprivate and casual space accommodates 18 seated guests or 20 with standing room.

New wine and craft beer bottle shop DecantSF opened in April in SoMa with room for a bar serving up drinks and snacks like locally made cheese and charcuterie. The stylish shop is covered with light wood, bright blue walls, and social media-friendly neon signs. DecantSF is available for private events such as tastings, wine list consulting for off-property events, and corporate gifting. The venue can seat 36 or hold about 50 for reception-style events.

The Brixton on 2nd opened in May near Oracle Baseball Park, the second location of this edgy British tavern from Hat Trick Hospitality. Designed by interior designer Lori Yeoman, the restaurant offers two private dining rooms. One room is named #24 after legendary San Francisco Giants baseball player Willie Mayes, with room for 16 seated guests. The space is decorated with 24 black and white photos of musical icons, black and white geometric pattern cement tiles from Cle Tile, and black metal factory doors.
The second, larger space is hidden behind a door of records and named #44 after the iconic player Willie McCovey. The space seats 40 or holds 65 standing, with a mix of vintage wood tables, industrial chairs, gray wainscot walls, vintage-inspired wallpaper, and leather-accented brass chandeliers. The #44 room seats 40 or holds 65 for receptions. It also has full audiovisual capabilities that can be transformed with classroom-style seating for offsite meetings.

In San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood, Story on Union debuted in June as an event space for gatherings from corporate teambuilding to receptions. Formerly home to Italian restaurant Contrada, the space is outfitted with a large kitchen with wood-fire oven, bar, dining room, garden, and back deck. Decor includes antique mirrors, distressed leather banquets, brass light fixtures, and charcoal-stained dining room tables. The space seats 65 people or holds 100 for a reception.

Oakland's nautical-inspired 145-room Waterfront Hotel in Jack London Square revealed a multimillion-dollar refresh in April. The new look begins when guests arrive, with a standout marine-influenced chandelier adorned with white rope and wood-paneled walls reminiscent of a sailboat. The redesign, in collaboration with Oakland-based design firm Studio Hatch, includes a lighter color palette and materials inspired by the hotel's perch with panoramic views of Oakland and San Francisco Bay.
The hotel—a Joie de Vivre property affiliated with the World of Hyatt loyalty program—offers 13 event and meeting venues for groups of as many as 300 guests. The 2,508-square-foot Spinnaker Room accommodates 180 for banquets or 300 for receptions, and the 2,200-square-foot Regatta Room accommodates 200 for receptions or 140 for banquets. Smaller rooms like the Portside Room and the Compass Room hold 70 for receptions or 40 for banquet-style events.

A renovation to Tarla Mediterranean Bar and Grill in Napa this spring boosted its private dining capabilities: the new Jayda private dining room seats 18 guests, while the Veya private dining seats 50 guests. The two rooms can be combined to seat up to 70 people. The restaurant’s capacity for full buyouts is 120 guests, including outdoor seating. Tarla, which means "field" in Turkish, serves upscale takes on classic Mediterranean fare and offers several gluten-free options.

The former Holiday Inn San Francisco-Civic Center is now BEI San Francisco. The 396-room hotel officially reflagged in January, and its $30 million renovation is slated to wrap up this summer. The property will offer 10,000 square feet of co-working, meeting, and event space as well as a restaurant called Sum and a cafe called Ren. BEI offers several spaces for events, including 3,000 square feet of traditional meeting space that can be broken into three smaller rooms with airwalls. That space can accommodate 100 for receptions or 70 for banquet-style events. The lobby's Digital Den offers room for 30 standing guests or 20 seated guests. The Gallery Room on the lobby level seats 12 or holds 15 guests for receptions. There's room for 60 standing guests in the semiprivate lobby level space, and on the fourth floor, a terrace seats 150 for banquet-style events or 300 for receptions.

New Napa Valley event space the Social debuted in May within the Estate Yountville. Designed by SB Architects, the 4,000-square-foot farmhouse features pitched ceilings that soar over 200 feet, sliding walls that open onto a landscaped lawn and private courtyard with bar and lounge, along with an indoor fireplace. The chic, barn-like spaces offer views to the surrounding ridgeline. On the lawn, there's room for 200 for theater-style events or 120 seated at round tables. Indoors, host a theater-style or classroom-style event for 90 to 120 guests depending on configuration, or a banquet that seats from 140 to nearly 200 guests depending on the size of the tables.

Interactive art gallery Onedome opened in downtown San Francisco with augmented reality art. Guests can wander around the 20,000-square-foot space on Market Street, with two immersive experiences and a non-alcoholic bar called the Elixart Cafe & Lounge. LMNL is an immersive labyrinth of experiential art with 14 interactive rooms and installations, while the Unreal Garden is a mixed reality art experience that combines physical elements like plants, rocks, rivers, and waterfalls with spatial sound, projections, and augmented reality. The venue opened in October. Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more; contact the venue for large groups or special bookings.

The minds behind two acclaimed Bay Area bars opened up cocktail spot Nommo in February. The Rincon Hill outpost is from Thad Vogler of James Beard Award-winning Bar Agricole and Jon Santer of Alameda's Prize Fighter, with charcuterie from chef Evan Blackburn. Besides charcuterie and oysters, the menu boasts burgers and salads with ingredients from local farms. The handsome spot boasts a view of the illuminated Bay Bridge lights at night. Nommo can accommodate 150 guests for full buyout or 60 for a seated dinner in designated private space. For privacy, Nommo can erect a modular curtain to span a third of the expansive dining room.