The Bay Area’s Best Restaurants for Celebrations, No Matter the Occasion

door The OpenTable team

Bijgewerkt 18 november 2020

From takeout omakase to iconic roast chicken, this list highlights some of the Bay Area’s best ways to celebrate a special occasion with restaurants right now, with outdoor and takeout options for every restaurant to meet your comfort level.

China Live

4.7

4.7 (3206)

$30 en minder

Chinees

Chinatown

Over het restaurant

When China Live opened in 2017, it was unlike anything else in San Francisco, let alone the United States. Sprawling over 30,000 square feet, the space is ambitious in its scale and offerings, with a sit-down restaurant, marketplace selling Chinese pantry items and home goods, a cocktail bar, tea counter, and more. And while much of the space remains closed, fortunately diners still have ways to sample the restaurant’s stellar Chinese menu. Outdoor seating is available on the sidewalk, where diners can enjoy signature dishes such as stone oven-roasted Peking duck and sheng jian bao, or pan-fried soup dumpling al fresco. The food emporium also offers both delivery and curbside pick-up. The to-go menu has many of the restaurant’s mainstays; bring home dishes such as mapo tofu or crispy-skinned Cantonese garlic chicken to create a festive feast at your dining room table.

Topbeoordeling

Sarah

Gegeten op 5 aug 2024

Heerlijk gegeten met het gezin. Ik zelf eet geen vlees maar er waren genoeg opties. Zeker een aanrader!!

Zuni Cafe

4.6

4.6 (7845)

van $31 tot $50

Modern Europees

Civic Center / Hayes Valley / Van Ness

Over het restaurant

The simple, but refined California cooking of late chef Judy Rogers put Zuni Café on the map, making it a place where San Franciscans would flock to mark milestones, meet friends, or just have a Monday dinner. Since the 1980s, the restaurant has focused on seasonal, farm-to-table cooking, long before both terms were buzzwords. The results are comforting and sophisticated, like the legendary roast chicken. The restaurant currently has outdoor dining for both lunch and dinner. Clad in white tablecloths, the al fresco tables are the perfect setting for toasting over oysters, seasonal salads, and a rotating selection of mains like pan-seared King salmon. If there is a bright side to this year, it’s that Zuni Café’s epic roast chicken, served over chicken juice-soaked bread salad, is available for takeout for the first time in recent history. For an extra-special evening, tack on a bottle of Champagne and a bouquet from the restaurant’s florist to your order.

Topbeoordeling

honeeNmee

Gegeten op 21 jul 2021

Love Zuni!

Ontdek meer

5.0

5 (216)

$50 en meer

Sushi

SOMA

Over het restaurant

With a focus on precision and ceremony, Japanese kaiseki (seasonally focused) and omakase (chef’s choice) tasting menus have a naturally celebratory air about them. Hashiri, a Michelin-starred Tokyo offshoot in SoMa, offers first-rate versions of both experiences with a focus on quality — the restaurant’s fish is flown in from famed Tokyo fish market Tsukiji on a daily basis. Hashiri has two seatings per night on the restaurant’s Mint Plaza patio, when diners can choose from a five-course kaiseki or omakase menu, both for $200 per person. For celebrating at home, the restaurant has a rotating selection of bento boxes that go beyond typical takeout. Menus are posted weekly to Facebook and Instagram, with pick-up available Wednesday through Sunday. Past offerings have included a $100, ten-piece sushi and hand roll set.

Topbeoordeling

OpenTable Diner

Gegeten op 26 sep 2020

Wonderful!

Ontdek meer

Experience

"OMAKASE EDOMAE SUSHI"

Experience

"KODAWARI EDOMAE SUSHI"

ROOH San Francisco

4.4

4.4 (894)

van $31 tot $50

Modern Indiaas

SOMA

Over het restaurant

One of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 restaurants, ROOH dresses up California ingredients in regional Indian flavors, creating a unique, seasonally driven menu. The restaurant’s shared platters and small plates make for a celebratory spread, which are complemented by the Ayurvedic-themed drinks menu that revolves around sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent flavors. ROOH is welcoming diners for dinner on the restaurant’s patio, which features heaters and, on cooler nights, sells branded fleece blankets for $17. The outdoor area serves the full menu, featuring creative dishes such as beef short rib curry, served with semolina and bone marrow dumplings. The restaurant offers a pared-down menu for takeout or delivery, focusing on more traditional preparations like butter chicken and vegetable pulao.

Topbeoordeling

OpenTable Diner

Gegeten op 27 okt 2019

Best food!!

The Progress

4.8

4.8 (2460)

$50 en meer

Modern Amerikaans

Western Addition

Over het restaurant

Run by James Beard award-winning chefs, boasting a Michelin star, and appearing on both the San Francisco Chronicle and Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 restaurant lists, The Progress is one of the city’s most awarded restaurants serving new American cuisine. With an extensive wine list and a constantly changing menu that always includes a celebratory “banquet” section of family-style dishes, a meal here elevates any occasion. The Progress currently offers outdoor seating for dinner and weekend brunch. The restaurant’s inventive cuisine is on full display at both meals, with recent menus featuring dishes such as smoked local albacore tuna with castelvetrano olives, pine nuts, and egg bottarga. The Progress and sibling restaurant State Bird Provisions have joined forces for a takeout and delivery menu that features the greatest hits from both kitchens, such as State Bird’s fried quail and The Progress’ barbecue duck.

Topbeoordeling

JodiS

Gegeten op 3 okt 2022

One word.... Phenomenal!

Burma Love Downtown

4.7

4.7 (549)

van $31 tot $50

Birmaans

SOMA

Over het restaurant

Waves of Burmese immigrants in the 1960s and late 80s helped turn San Francisco into a hub for the country’s complex cuisine. Burma Club built on this tradition and catapulted the cuisine onto the city’s fine dining scene, serving refined Burmese food in an industrial setting in SoMa. Stop by to celebrate with dishes such as the famed tea leaf salad, which pairs fermented tea leaves with nuts, beans, garlic, and lettuce. Burma Club is currently serving lunch and dinner on the restaurant’s patio space located in Mint Plaza. Both times serve up a full menu of Burmese favorites such as mohinga, a noodle soup with slow-cooked catfish that the restaurant calls “the national dish of Southern Burma.” The majority of Burma Club’s menu is also available for takeout, letting you celebrate at home over Burmese beef curry and platha, a buttery layered bread that’s served with a side of either chicken or vegetarian curry dip.

Topbeoordeling

JohnM

Gegeten op 6 sep 2022

Heerlijk gegeten. Jammer dat we 30 minuten moesten wachten bovenop gereserveerde tijd.

Ontdek meer

Populair gerecht

TEA LEAF SALAD

Populair gerecht

Eggplant Garlic Sauce

Populair gerecht

Spicy & Crispy Chicken

Spruce

4.8

4.8 (5391)

van $31 tot $50

Modern Amerikaans

Presidio Heights

Over het restaurant

Spruce has received awards for both the restaurant’s food and wine list, landing a Michelin star and a Wine Spectator “Grand Award.” The tasting menu changes constantly, with all ingredients sourced directly from SMIP Ranch, a private five-acre organic farm located just south of San Francisco. Stop by to celebrate at a restaurant that has hosted everyone from tech leaders to President Barack Obama. Spruce is open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch outdoors. The $80-per-person dinner tasting menu includes three courses with options such as binchötan-grilled Wagyu bavette steak and sweetbread salad. Caviar service can be added on for those extra-special evenings — and it’s highly recommended. Both takeout and delivery are available with items from the tasting menu interspersed with fine dining takes on comfort food, like a pastrami sandwich and the restaurant’s famed burger. Caviar service is also an option for an over-the-top takeout experience.

Topbeoordeling

MaureenM

Gegeten op 18 nov 2022

Wonderful!

Ontdek meer

Maine Lobster Spaghetti

La Mar Cocina Peruana San Francisco

4.7

4.7 (8496)

van $31 tot $50

Peruaans

Financieel District / Embarcadero

Over het restaurant

Inspired by Peruvian cevicherias, La Mar Cebicheria Peruana is far from your average waterfront restaurant, offering a myriad of seafood preparations that range from raw to simply grilled. The real star here is the bandeja cebichera, a ceviche tasting option that highlights the international influences on the country’s cuisine through dishes like the nigiris criollo: a sushi-like preparation of ahi tuna with an aji amarillo cream sauce that’s distinctively Peruvian. When a view is in order, La Mar is the place to be, with sweeping bay views available from any seat on the restaurant’s patio. Mark a special night with the $72 per person, four-course tasting menu — an exciting way to try many quintessential dishes during one meal. Takeout includes several large format “experiencia” dishes for celebrating at home with your family or quarantine pod. Items like cazuela de pulpo include three pounds of grilled octopus with potato gratin, huancaina sauce, chimichurri, and fried garlic, tailor-made for pairing with the menu’s wide selection of cocktails made with Pisco, a South American brandy.

Topbeoordeling

Casey

Gegeten op 15 okt 2022

Jaime was wonderful

Slanted Door - San Ramon

4.7

4.7 (1548)

van $31 tot $50

Vietnamees

San Ramon

Over het restaurant

This sibling location of the famed San Francisco restaurant serves the same high-end Vietnamese fare in a sleek building designed by star architect Renzo Piano in San Ramon. Celebrate outdoors overlooking the complex’s public plaza with iconic dishes such as the shaking beef, a dish of cubed filet mignon, watercress, red onion, and lime sauce, while toasting from the menu of tropically inspired cocktails. The restaurant is currently accepting reservations for patio seating, where the well-spaced tables are interspersed with heaters, providing a comfortable area to enjoy standbys such as crispy imperial shrimp rolls.

Topbeoordeling

JenniferH

Gegeten op 22 mei 2021

Wonderful meal

Ontdek meer

Experience

3-5pm Happy Hour at Slanted Door

Trader Vic's - Emeryville

4.6

4.6 (2593)

van $31 tot $50

Globaal

San Francisco Bay Area

Over het restaurant

One of two remaining Trader Vic’s locations in the United States, it’s worth a visit to celebrate at an iconic place in American cocktail history. Trader Vic’s is widely credited with two things: creating the distinctly American amalgamation of Polynesian flavors and culture symbols known as “tiki," and inventing the mai tai, a now-famous cocktail of rum, lime, orgeat, orange curaçao, and simple syrup. While many versions of the drink exist today, there’s nothing quite like the original — and views of the Emeryville marina don’t hurt either. The waterfront patio has a slightly more limited menu, but still serves Trader Vic’s classics such as crispy prawns and, of course, many, many rum-based drinks. The entire patio menu is available for takeout or delivery. Bring home hits such as the sweet, salty, and sour huli huli chicken, and wash it down with a glass of Trader Vic’s grog — a potent mix of rum, grapefruit, lime and allspice. Feel like celebrating on a weekday? The restaurant makes $10 drinks to-go every Thursday.

Topbeoordeling

OpenTable Dinervip

Gegeten op 16 sep 2022

Wonderful evening!

Ontdek meer

4.8

4.8 (483)

$50 en meer

Japans

Napa

Over het restaurant

Kenzo combines Napa Valley’s penchant for luxury with Japanese refinement. Owned by Kenzo Estates Winery, the restaurant serves kaiseki — a seasonal tasting menu — and high-end sushi, both made from ingredients flown in daily from Japan. For a complete experience, opt to add a flight of wines from the parent estate. The set kaiseki menu runs $225 per person and typically includes nine seasonally driven dishes and a selection of sushi. Both a la carte items and bento boxes are available for takeout. For an opulent tasting at home, pick up the $400 premium kaiseki bento box for two and a bottle of Kenzo Estate’s unique sparkling semillon, made with a grape normally reserved for dessert wines.

Topbeoordeling

OpenTable Diner

Gegeten op 10 sep 2022

Phenomenal!

Mustards Grill

4.8

4.8 (10928)

van $31 tot $50

Amerikaans

Yountville

Over het restaurant

At Mustard’s Grill, the menu comes with an apology at the bottom: “Sorry, everything is delicious.” There’s truth to this statement, and it is what has made the restaurant a Napa Valley institution for over 30 years. But don’t let the informality fool you, this is a quietly serious restaurant with top notch “roadhouse food” and an excellent selection of wines from around the world. Mustard’s is currently on its lush patio, where you can enjoy hearty stand-bys like the famous Mongolian pork chop and newer favorites such as seafood tostadas. The restaurant’s entire menu is available to take home. If you’re tired of wine after a day of tasting, check out the selection of cocktails with staples like the Mustards margarita, made with higher-end 100 percent blue agave tequila.

Topbeoordeling

OpenTable Diner

Gegeten op 18 sep 2022

Best meal!!

Ontdek meer

Populair gerecht

Dungeness Crab Cakes

Populair gerecht

Our Famous Lemon-Lime Tart

Populair gerecht

Grilled Ahi

Ontdek de andere steden en regio's