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15 Eye-Catching Private Dining Rooms in San Francisco

For cocktail receptions or seated formal dinners, there’s a room for you

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For the most part, San Franciscans are back to celebrating birthdays, weddings, and holidays together. But as the city continues to rebound from its most difficult pandemic days, diners may find the landscape looks decidedly different from years past — with longtime favorites shuttered and new places that may or may not be on the radar already. The good news: there are plenty of great options for hosting a graduation get-together or holiday party, with stylish and casual private rooms scattered across the city. Whether you’re hosting an intimate dinner or a sizable soiree, this list sums up the most interesting and inviting of San Francisco's private dining rooms.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Maybeck's

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Maybeck’s made its post-pandemic return earlier this year and just in time for the holiday season the restaurant’s private dining space is ready to rock and roll. It can fit up to 30 seated or 45 standing with guests enjoying savory plates like grilled avocados, sweet and spicy duck wings, and ricotta-black pepper gnudi. For reservations and pricing, check the restaurant website.

Maybeck’s

Restaurant Nisei

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Chef David Yoshimura’s debut restaurant Nisei opened in late summer 2021 in the former home of La Folie, which has been elegantly transformed into a sleek space with inky black walls and snow white banquettes. Sunlight streams into the private dining room through skylights embedded in the tall ceilings, under which guests will enjoy the chef’s Japanese-American tasting menus inspired by Washoku cuisine. The space seats up to 20. Learn more here

Brianna Danner

China Live

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Considering how massive China Live is — encompassing two restaurants, a bar, and a market all in one building — it’s perhaps no surprise that there are handful of options for hosting private events. The Gold Mountain Lounge is a smaller private dining space, while Space*88 on the 3rd floor can host truly giant events with up to 825 guests. For pricing and more details, check the China Live website.

Leo's Oyster Bar

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Leo’s Oyster Bar brings big Palm Springs glamour to the heart of downtown San Francisco with splashy fern-filled wallpaper and a luxurious menu of oysters and other raw seafood items. The private dining room hides in the back of the space, and it’s a tiki-themed oasis wrapped in bamboo and string lights — perfect for a kitschy caviar and Champagne evening. Email events@annaweinberg.com for pricing and availability.

Boulevard

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Boulevard’s Wine Vault can house up to 12 guests for a fully private meal with a highly adaptable set price menu consisting of three courses or more. It’s a truly unique space, designed by none other than Ken Fulk, with dark wallpaper and rich gold accents. Diners sit among walls lined with bottles of wine. To book an event, reach out through the restaurant website.

The Vault Garden

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For a socially distanced private dining experience, the Vault Garden hosts groups inside covered and heated tents with views of the massive outdoor space. Semi-private and private setups are available for up to 60 guests. The menu remains meaty with options including seared scallops, roasted chicken, and steak frites. Learn more here

The Vault Garden The Vault Garden

Located at the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown, Nari serves a sophisticated menu of Thai cuisine that’s punctuated with bright bold flavors from chef Pim Techamuanvivit. The restaurant’s main dining room is lush and dripping with plants, but the private dining space is a peaceful oasis with a bank of windows and cool blue walls. Seats 24. Learn more here

The private dining room at Nari Nari

AFICI, the new fine dining Italian restaurant from the folks behind Alexander’s Steakhouse, has a fully private dining space complete with A/V hookups and a screen, should your event require a little bit of tech. On the food side, chef Eric Upper and team offer fresh pasta and wagyu-filled prix fixe menus. To book the space, email Hannah Widders, Director of Special Events, at hannahwidders@aficisf.com.

Joseph Weaver

Fans likely know that chef Mourad Lahlou’s eponymous FiDi stunner has a handsome private dining room, but it’s a lesser-known fact that the chef’s more casual Richmond District restaurant also has space for your next event. The modern Moroccan restaurant can host up to 32 guests in this separate space off the back dining room. For more information and pricing check the Aziza website or email reservations@azizasf.com.

Aziza

Che Fico

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Up to 14 diners can take over the upstairs Celentano Room at Che Fico, the Italian restaurant that took over a former garage on Divisidero. With red-and-white tile flooring, Italian magazine covers papering the walls, and exposed concrete, it’s a stylish space for a small event. Check the Che Fico website for pricing and more.

Dumpling Time

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If your next event happens to be a pre-game dinner, then there’s no more convenient location to host the evening at Dumpling Time’s Thrive City location, which has a space for up to 28 diners. The restaurant is located right off the courtyard outside Chase Center and serves a full bar, plus all manner of dumplings, wagyu beef fried rice, and bouncy shrimp garlic noodles. For more information and pricing check the Dumpling Time Thrive City website.

Dumpling Time

Fiorella Sunset

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There aren’t many private dining options in the Sunset, so a private rooftop makes Fiorella’s 9th Avenue outpost all the more appealing. Up to 70 guests can take over the full rooftop, or smaller parties up to 34 guests can take the semi-private upper rooftop deck for a meal of antipasti, pizza, pasta, and cocktails. Menus and pricing are available on the restaurant website.

Chezchez

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The Trick Dog team may have bid adieu to Bon Voyage but they’ve flipped the Valencia Street storefront into Chezchez, a destination for everlasting aperitivo hours — complete with a list of spritzes and menu of tinned fish. For a private party, celebrate in the upstairs lounge, which boasts a midcentury design aesthetic and its own bar.   

A selection of food from Chezchez, the new bar and restaurant from BV Hospitality Tiago Russo

Penny Roma

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The aptly named Upstairs at Flour + Water hospitality’s newer restaurant Penny Roma can accommodate parties of up to 32 seated guests. Diners are required to participate in a $125 per person chef’s choice tasting menu, though there are snack boards of cheese, salumi, and crudites for $35 available for standing receptions of up to 45 people. For more information and availability, visit the Penny Roma website.

Patricia Chang

Foreign Cinema

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Take a seat at Foreign Cinema's "director’s table" for an evening of sophisticated California-Mediterranean fare and a view onto the romantic, string-lit courtyard below. Adjacent to the table sits a vintage 35 mm projector which plays out classic films beneath the translucent canopy. Seats 12. Pricing varies. Learn more here.

Foreign Cinema

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Maybeck's

Maybeck’s made its post-pandemic return earlier this year and just in time for the holiday season the restaurant’s private dining space is ready to rock and roll. It can fit up to 30 seated or 45 standing with guests enjoying savory plates like grilled avocados, sweet and spicy duck wings, and ricotta-black pepper gnudi. For reservations and pricing, check the restaurant website.

Maybeck’s

Restaurant Nisei

Chef David Yoshimura’s debut restaurant Nisei opened in late summer 2021 in the former home of La Folie, which has been elegantly transformed into a sleek space with inky black walls and snow white banquettes. Sunlight streams into the private dining room through skylights embedded in the tall ceilings, under which guests will enjoy the chef’s Japanese-American tasting menus inspired by Washoku cuisine. The space seats up to 20. Learn more here

Brianna Danner

China Live

Considering how massive China Live is — encompassing two restaurants, a bar, and a market all in one building — it’s perhaps no surprise that there are handful of options for hosting private events. The Gold Mountain Lounge is a smaller private dining space, while Space*88 on the 3rd floor can host truly giant events with up to 825 guests. For pricing and more details, check the China Live website.

Leo's Oyster Bar

Leo’s Oyster Bar brings big Palm Springs glamour to the heart of downtown San Francisco with splashy fern-filled wallpaper and a luxurious menu of oysters and other raw seafood items. The private dining room hides in the back of the space, and it’s a tiki-themed oasis wrapped in bamboo and string lights — perfect for a kitschy caviar and Champagne evening. Email events@annaweinberg.com for pricing and availability.

Boulevard

Boulevard’s Wine Vault can house up to 12 guests for a fully private meal with a highly adaptable set price menu consisting of three courses or more. It’s a truly unique space, designed by none other than Ken Fulk, with dark wallpaper and rich gold accents. Diners sit among walls lined with bottles of wine. To book an event, reach out through the restaurant website.

The Vault Garden

For a socially distanced private dining experience, the Vault Garden hosts groups inside covered and heated tents with views of the massive outdoor space. Semi-private and private setups are available for up to 60 guests. The menu remains meaty with options including seared scallops, roasted chicken, and steak frites. Learn more here

The Vault Garden The Vault Garden

Nari

Located at the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown, Nari serves a sophisticated menu of Thai cuisine that’s punctuated with bright bold flavors from chef Pim Techamuanvivit. The restaurant’s main dining room is lush and dripping with plants, but the private dining space is a peaceful oasis with a bank of windows and cool blue walls. Seats 24. Learn more here

The private dining room at Nari Nari

AFICI

AFICI, the new fine dining Italian restaurant from the folks behind Alexander’s Steakhouse, has a fully private dining space complete with A/V hookups and a screen, should your event require a little bit of tech. On the food side, chef Eric Upper and team offer fresh pasta and wagyu-filled prix fixe menus. To book the space, email Hannah Widders, Director of Special Events, at hannahwidders@aficisf.com.

Joseph Weaver

Aziza

Fans likely know that chef Mourad Lahlou’s eponymous FiDi stunner has a handsome private dining room, but it’s a lesser-known fact that the chef’s more casual Richmond District restaurant also has space for your next event. The modern Moroccan restaurant can host up to 32 guests in this separate space off the back dining room. For more information and pricing check the Aziza website or email reservations@azizasf.com.

Aziza

Che Fico

Up to 14 diners can take over the upstairs Celentano Room at Che Fico, the Italian restaurant that took over a former garage on Divisidero. With red-and-white tile flooring, Italian magazine covers papering the walls, and exposed concrete, it’s a stylish space for a small event. Check the Che Fico website for pricing and more.

Dumpling Time

If your next event happens to be a pre-game dinner, then there’s no more convenient location to host the evening at Dumpling Time’s Thrive City location, which has a space for up to 28 diners. The restaurant is located right off the courtyard outside Chase Center and serves a full bar, plus all manner of dumplings, wagyu beef fried rice, and bouncy shrimp garlic noodles. For more information and pricing check the Dumpling Time Thrive City website.

Dumpling Time

Fiorella Sunset

There aren’t many private dining options in the Sunset, so a private rooftop makes Fiorella’s 9th Avenue outpost all the more appealing. Up to 70 guests can take over the full rooftop, or smaller parties up to 34 guests can take the semi-private upper rooftop deck for a meal of antipasti, pizza, pasta, and cocktails. Menus and pricing are available on the restaurant website.

Chezchez

The Trick Dog team may have bid adieu to Bon Voyage but they’ve flipped the Valencia Street storefront into Chezchez, a destination for everlasting aperitivo hours — complete with a list of spritzes and menu of tinned fish. For a private party, celebrate in the upstairs lounge, which boasts a midcentury design aesthetic and its own bar.   

A selection of food from Chezchez, the new bar and restaurant from BV Hospitality Tiago Russo

Penny Roma

The aptly named Upstairs at Flour + Water hospitality’s newer restaurant Penny Roma can accommodate parties of up to 32 seated guests. Diners are required to participate in a $125 per person chef’s choice tasting menu, though there are snack boards of cheese, salumi, and crudites for $35 available for standing receptions of up to 45 people. For more information and availability, visit the Penny Roma website.

Patricia Chang

Foreign Cinema

Take a seat at Foreign Cinema's "director’s table" for an evening of sophisticated California-Mediterranean fare and a view onto the romantic, string-lit courtyard below. Adjacent to the table sits a vintage 35 mm projector which plays out classic films beneath the translucent canopy. Seats 12. Pricing varies. Learn more here.

Foreign Cinema

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