Suggestions for 50th Birthday Celebration Please

[lebdog]

My wife and I are coming to SF from LA in March for her 50th. I am the Chow Hound in the couple. I am looking for a place where I could host a dinner of 10-20 people (depending on RSVPs). I am interested in places that are at least one $ below the likes of Coi, Manresa, Benu, Saison etc. We lived in the Bay Area for 10 years (until 2005) and I've lost track of the restaurant scene there. We want to stay in the SF itself. I'd appreciate the help of my fellow 'hounds. Thanks.

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Manresa Restaurant
320 Village Lane, Los Gatos, CA 95030

Saison
2124 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94110

Benu
22 Hawthorne St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[bbulkow]

Town Hall has a nice room upstairs, if your other options don't pan out.

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Town Hall Restaurant
342 Howard St., San Francisco, CA 94105

[lebdog]

Thanks. I'm still trying to decide. How does Acquerello compare in terms of food and atmosphere. I know it's pricey too but I may just have to splurge. By the way, Boulette's, for those who don't know, is $175 per person.

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Acquerello Restaurant
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

[bobpantzer]

In my opinion, the food at Acquerello is equal to that at Quince. As far as the atmosphee, I do prefer the Quince space, especially the private dining area. The service at both is excellent. Until Quince came along, Acquerello was my favorite high end restaurant in the City. The atmosphere in the main dining room is subdued and the spacing between tables is roomy. Quince, because of it's bar is livelier and noisier but in the private dining room that would not be a problem. For me it's probably a toss-up. Both, incidentally, have excellent wine lists with knowlegeable staff.

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Acquerello Restaurant
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

[Robert Lauriston]

Acquerello's in a class by itself when it comes to old Italian wines, since they've been building their cellar for over 20 years. Some great values.

http://www.acquerello.com/wine_list/red_Italy_piemonte.html
http://www.acquerello.com/wine_list/r...

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Acquerello Restaurant
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

[bobpantzer]

And the owner is very helpful in navigating you through that remarkable wine list if you're unfamiliar wiith Italian wines.

[bobpantzer]

Two that immediately come to mind are Perbacco (private room seats up to 18) and Wayfare Tavern (Billiard room seats up to 14). Pricier options are Comice or Acquerello. You can also check Opentable. com--they have a private dining room function which displays many options.

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Acquerello Restaurant
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

Wayfare Tavern
558 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94111

[lebdog]

These are great suggestions. Unfortunately, Boulette's is booked already. Do you know anything about Quince. I like the looks of the regular menu. Thanks for your help. Looking forward to getting some more suggestions!

[nocharge]

Quince is very good but also quite pricey. For instance, $95 for the five-course tasting menu, which is almost Saison territory. For the price conscious, Perbacco is better value.

[lebdog]

Looks Like it's Perbacco. Acquerello is booked and Quince is "over the top" expensive for the party I want to throw. The minimum spend for the private dining room is $3300 including tax and gratuity. Perbacco, as you know, is less than 1/2 that amount. I will have to try Quince and/or Acquerello when I'm not buying dinner for 20+ people.

Thanks again for the recommendations. Would never have found Perbacco on my own. I'll write up a review of our event.

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Acquerello Restaurant
1722 Sacramento St., San Francisco, CA 94109

[lebdog]

We had a 50th birthday party for my wife based on a suggestion I received on this Board. Thank you so much for the suggestion. The party was fantastic and the staff at Perbacco were, obviously, responsible for how well things went. We had 16 people in the Barolo room which is a great space for that size party. Although it was a little tight during the cocktail reception, it was perfect for dinner. For the cocktail hour we had three hors d'oeuvres - shrimp with salsa verde, crudo (hamachi) and the suppli (wild mushroom risotto croquettes with truffle aioli). Each portion was beautifully presented on a single, square glass plate. They were perfect bites to eat with our prosecco. For dinner we had the spinach ravioli with egg. This was perfectly sauced and cooked with the egg running out from the center and flavoring every bite. Second course was either the fish of the day (sea bass) or shortribs. I did not see a morsel of food left on anyone's plate. We had the warm gianduca (like nutella) for dessert. It was a really yummy version of the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake. We had Emer as our designated server. She was the model of professionalism, overseeing everything with skill and a sense of humor. I also met Davide (from Venice) who seemed to be overseeing events in other parts of the restaurant and (Mauro - I think) who seemed to be in charge downstairs. I was told the owners were not in the restaurant that evening. Ordinarily, especially because one of them is the chef, that would have been a disappointment but the kitchen did not miss a beat either. Final thanks and kudos for a job well done to Nicole Bautista, private event planner. Nicole was responsive to my every request and always in an extraordinarily timely fashion. I had never heard of this restaurant before. My wife and I came up from LA and hosted the party for former friends from the Bay Area whom we had become close to during our 10 years in Orinda. I am sorry I had not heard of Perbacco during our time there. What a great event! Thanks again for the recommendation and once more to the Perbacoo staff who made my wife's birthday party a truly special event indeed.

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Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Barolo Restaurant
404 San Pedro Ave, Pacifica, CA 94044

[bobpantzer]

Actually, I meant Quince, not Comice--I'm not sure where that came from because I don't think I know of a restaurant named Comice. Anyhow, Quince is terrific! The space is very attractive. The pastas are particularly wonderful and the service is excellent. It is quite expensive however though I believe less so than Coi, Manresa and the others you mentioned. As nocharge says below, Perbacco is a real value. Their private room is on the mezzanine level and overlooks the kitchen, though there is no noise from the kitchen. I think it may be lined with wine bottles.

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Manresa Restaurant
320 Village Lane, Los Gatos, CA 95030

Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[lebdog]

You may be thinking of Commis in Oakland. Thanks for your responses.

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Commis
3859 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611

[bobpantzer]

Actually, I think I just got the fruit mixed up--quince versus comice pear.

[JENNYBEEAY]

We had a 40'th birthday party 2 years ago at Boulette's Larder in the Ferry Building and it was a huge hit. We had about 20 people and took over the space for the evening. The food was absolutely delicous and it was tailored to our requests. The owners were there cooking and were on hand the entire time. I highly recommend it for your celebration.

[bobpantzer]

Yes, though I've never been, I've heard from friends that that is a great venue for a private celebration.