Small San Francisco Restaurants for Buyout
June 6, 2015 3:16 PM   Subscribe

We are planning a wedding! One thought I have is to buyout a small restaurant for the reception or even ceremony+reception. Do you know any restaurants that are small-ish (and thus may be semi-affordable for buyout) with excellent food & drink, nice decor and hopefully a nice outdoor space in the back? We are thinking we will likely have something like 60 guests and probably not a full band -- maybe some type of strings grouping. Fairly neighborhood and cuisine agnostic, and would also be open to Marin.

I will also be looking at restaurant banquet space options, but for this question am interested in full buyouts. Thanks!
posted by imalaowai to Food & Drink (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
If you don't need to buy out the whole space but would be satisfied with a restaurant that has good private spaces, consider the Parlor / Upper Deck at Park Chow.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:38 PM on June 6, 2015


I don't have any firsthand experience with this place, but you might want to look into The Plant Cafe. It seems to tick all your requirement boxes, and looks like a really cool space!

Also, if you haven't already, check out Here Comes The Guide. It was a great resource for me when I was planning my wedding last year and found myself back at square one when my original venue fell through without warning.
posted by darkchocolatepyramid at 10:42 AM on June 7, 2015




The Plant Cafe can definitely do this - we considered using them for another event.

Take a look at Foreign Cinema. They have two different spaces for private events - the gallery space and the outdoor patio space. The gallery is awesome - has its own bar, space for a small dance floor, its own mic/sound system and you'll get great service and phenomenal food. Highly recommended, though it's not exactly cheap. You can google around for photos of the different spaces on wedding blogs. We had an event there and EVERYONE raved about the service, food, space, bar, etc. So many people commented that it was some of the best food they'd ever had at a wedding.

A Practical Wedding also has lots of great vendors and other suggestions!
posted by barnone at 2:18 PM on June 8, 2015


Response by poster: Thank you all for the tips. I love the look of the Park Chow space but it's not quite the type of food I'm thinking of (though I am now wondering how to incorporate milkshakes into the wedding). Plant Cafe also looks like a beautiful space but feels a bit too healthy! I would really like red meat to be on the menu.

I've definitely checked out listings of restaurants with private dining and am exploring that. What I'm afraid I'm missing (and would love to consider) are smaller neighborhood gems that may not be well-known but which have good food and a lovely space.

Do let me know if you think of anything else!
posted by imalaowai at 10:17 PM on June 9, 2015


My only tip in looking for a small neighborhood gem is to consider how you want the food served. If you want courses, served to your guests sitting down, make sure the smaller restaurants can handle such a rush of food all at once. Most smaller neighborhood restaurants are set up to handle staggered diners - some proportion of their tables being served at the same time, but not all of the tables. Make sure they have the kitchen staff, equipment, servers, space and timing know-how to deliver a 3+ course meal to 60+ people. It's not a small feat. It can be made easier by the meal decisions - so soup rather than fussy individually plated salads. Or the appetizers could be served on several large plates, family style, and the guests can pass the plates amongst themselves. Anyway - it absolutely doesn't mean it's impossible, just something to consider when you're looking at places that don't regularly do group events such as this!
posted by barnone at 9:05 AM on June 11, 2015


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