30th Birthday Dinner

[jrobind]

I am turning 30 next month. I am hoping to have a comedy roast dinner event for 20-30 people. I am looking for a restaurant that:

1) has a private space (in case the comedy get offensive)
2) will allow people to order what they want and pay separately (as a grad student, I can't afford everyone's meal)
3) preferably is in Oakland or Berkeley, but in the city near a BART would be okay too
4) has good beer and/or fun drinks
5) doesn't have a ridiculously expensive rental cost/minimum

Thanks!

[Robert Lauriston]

You might try Schroeder's.

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Schroeder's Cafe
240 Front St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[Scott M]

Possibilities In the East Bay

Bocanova
Speisekammer
Mua

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Speisekammer
2424 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

Bocanova
55 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94607

[Robert Lauriston]

I'm skeptical that any of those places would take a reservation for 20-30 people ordering and paying separately.

Mua doesn't have a private room, and the music is sometimes quite loud.

[oakjoan]

Robert: We need a not tremendously expensive place to take friends Friday night. I was thinking of Mua. I've never been there, but was a regular at Soizic over the years. The dinner will be pretty early because one friend has to leave to go to the City around 7:30.

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Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

[JasmineG]

I like Mua, the food is good, and it's definitely not expensive, but it can be pretty loud, especially on weekend nights. Since you're getting there on the early side, it's a lot better, but just recognize that it has hard floors and very very high ceilings, so it's never going to be super quiet. The food is good and it's fun, though.

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Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

[JasmineG]

I would be very surprised if you would be able to find that ordering and paying separately thing. No one is going to give you a private room without a deposit and probably a set menu, so you could certainly do that and have people all pay a set amount. In SF, I know that Pauline's Pizza has a private room, and you can get a fixed price meal there (they're near BART). You could see if you could reserve a part of Jupiter's upstairs, they have good pizza and lots of beer options.

Mua will let you reserve a portion of their upstairs, but I don't think it's cheap.

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Pauline's Pizza
260 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

[jrobind]

I found a spot! Thanks.

Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery, and Restaurant in Berkeley has a private room for up to 30 people with a really cheap rental fee and a very reasonable minimum purchase. They are willing to have people pay individually (but on one big check) and have access to full menu. Plus they have a great beer selection and brewery tours for before dinner.

[Robert Lauriston]

Isn't Pyramid's private area a balcony, like Mua's? Or do they have a private room as well? It's not as noisy as Mua, so a balcony would work better.

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Mua
2442A Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94612

[jrobind]

Pyramid has two private rooms and a balcony space!