Restaurants for Weddings

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  • Casual place for rehearsal dinner (60 guests) oak/ berkeley

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    Sep 28, 2016

    My friend from out of state is planning a rehearsal dinner for her son's wedding in April- they want a fairly casual and inexpensive place - either a back room or possibly the whole restaurant- in Oakland or Berkeley. Recommendations please?

    Sep 28, 2016

    Berkeley Yacht Club, (located in Berkeley Marina,) is a great venue with fantastic views of the bay. You have to arrange your own catering; Either have a restaurant cater, or use the full kitchen and cook your own. (BYC does have a list of caterers) 

    Telephone number: 1510 843 9292 Website: http://www.berkeleyyc.org/rent-our-facilities

    Oct 6, 2016

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Nice Restaurant for Wedding Lunch

April 2007

I'm looking for recommendations for a very nice restaurant in Berkeley that can serve Sunday lunch to a small (30 person) wedding party. Thanks! Berkeley Bride

We held our [non-formal] wedding dinner at Pomegranet on University near Sacramento. There's a back room which we rented. And they have parking! Enjoy -- Letitia

You might try Lalimes on Gilman (they're not open for lunch Sunday, but maybe they would do a private party). It's a pretty, sunny space with very good food. Downtown restaurant has a private room that will seat 30. Adagia is another possibility. In Oakland, Oliveto (fabulous food) has a private room that will seat 28. You could also check into Baywolf (also fabulous). Good luck and have fun!

I'd like to recommend Adagia Restaurant in Berkeley for a wedding lunch. They are located at 2700 Bancroft Way, telephone is 510-647-2300, email is catering at adagiarestaurant.com. The Catering Director is Kelly McCartney, who I've enjoyed working with on my events. Her email is kelly at bancrofthotel.com. Check out their website at http://adagiarestaurant.com/ If you'd like to speak with me about my experience there, please contact me. Andrea

I would recommend Scott's in Jack london Square--OK, it's not Berkeley, but close. They have different sized banquet rooms you can reserve, including smaller ones, the food is great, and the area is beautiful & fun. If you want to take pictures of your wedding party, it is right on the bay with beautiful views of the water and SF in the background. We actually had a small wedding there and it turned out fantastic! Good luck. Katie

Restaurant for small wedding and dinner

oct 2006

I'm looking for a recommendation for a restaurant that will accommodate a small wedding of about 25 people, that has a garden or outdoor deck with a view for the ceremony, and has really good food for the wedding party, preferably in Berkeley (but other East Bay cities ok too). Am I being too demanding? Hey, I can dream! anon

I once went to an event at Mudd's restaurant in San Ramon and was pleasantly surprised (being a Berkeley snob and thinking all culture ends on this side of the tunnel) by the pleasant setting, organic garden, and good food. It might be worth looking into--I checked their website and they do take wedding parties

You'll love Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur (I believe). Very pretty, very intimate, they do small weddings and the food is top notch. I'm sure they have a website. Jennifer B

Casual Oakland/Berkeley restaurant for rehearsal dinner

June 2004

I'm looking for a not-terribly-formal (flat-out casual would be fine, actually) but yummy restaurant in the Oakland/Berkeley area for a rehearsal dinner. There will be about 25 people attending, and the budget is around $40 per person. Any and all suggestions welcome--thanks in advance!

I think Fondue Fred's would be a fun, very casual and inexpensive place to have a rehearsal dinner (and a little different). For $20 per person or so, you are provided fondue (savory and sweet) and unlimited salad, wine and coffee. They are on Telegraph Ave. in South Berkely. I've been there with a group of people and it's a hoot, and by the very nature of fondue's they welcome celebrations. susan

I can recommend Speisekammer German Restaurant in Alameda. They have large wooden tables and wonderful food. There is a room that will accomodate parties of your size. I used to work there, and still love to eat there. In the world of restaurant workers, this is one of the highest recommendations you can get!

Caffe Venezia (University near McGee) is a great place for a rehearsal dinner. Good food, fun but not-too-noisy atmosphere. They have a private room that's perfect for a party of 20-25. They're also very accommodating to children, in case you have any in your group. Dinner should run less than $40 person unless you get lots of expensive wine. Nomi

I would definitely recommend Siam Bay on Clay Street & 11th in downtown Oakland (next to Le Cheval--which I always bypass in favor of Siam Bay). The staff there is extremely friendly and helpful, they have a raised seating area that could accommodate 25, the food is great, and the prices are reasonable. If you go there, definitely order the grilled eggplant salad (w/ or w/out prawns) and the meang kum as appetizers.

SIAM Bay Authentic Thai 1009 Clay St Oakland, CA 94607-4025 Phone: (510) 452-1499 http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/1015786?cslink=search_name_noncust=search_2_searchslot1_520__0_profile_2_1 shedragon713

Zzza's Trattoria on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt has a separate private party room. Great pizza, pasta, casual environment -- and they can create a menu whereby people can choose from among 3 or so entrees. Good luck and enjoy! Noreen

Restaurant for pre-wedding dinner for 22 adults & kids

March 2004

Hi all, We're getting married in May and would like to have a dinner beforehand so that the two families can meet and spend time together before the big day. We're looking for a restaurant in Berkeley that would accomodate 22 people, 7 of them children. Doesn't need to be fancy; just good food and a nice atmosphere. Would prefer a private room but this seems hard! Recommendations much appreciated.

Check out Picante's on 10th St. We lived right near there for awhile and tried to use it for our rehearsal dinner, but it turned out too small. They have a private room, good food, very laid back Mexican place. Should be fine for kids, and holds 22 people.

Or there's a beautiful priva e room at Cafe de la Paz on Shattuck near the Andronico's. It's more than big enough. Probably a bit pricier. Have fun! deb

Cafe de la Paz on Shattuck has a nice private room. Food is quite good, and they will work with you to figure out budget. Zza's on Grand in Oakland does a lot of larger celebrations in a separate room... The food is above average Italian, the staff very fun, but the space is somewhat spare. Scott's does tons of rehearsal dinners, and is good if you have a fair amount of money to spend. The one in Oakland has a really nice place for a cocktail hour before hand. Le Cheval in downtown Oakland would do well with something like this as well. The food is very, very good, and not terribly expensive. It is Vietnamese food, and quite tasty. Another restaurant that I happen to be personally fond of, which can often accomodate a party in a separate room is Siam Cuisine on University near the Foster's Freeze. I've always had very satisfying meals there. Good Luck

Ginger Island on Fourth Street will block off half of their dining room for you. Pyramid Brewery offers an indoor balcony for parties. Venezia on University has a private room. Teresa

We had our rehearsal dinner in the upstairs banquet room at Pyramid Brewery. It was very easy to coordinate with their manager. They have a different menu offering than what the restaurant serves (in our case in was prime rib and roasted chicken). The room was no additional charge since we had met the mininum pricee of the dinner. We had an attentive waiter the enitire time we were there. I was first thinking, brewery?, sorta of tacky, but it was so carefree, and FUN that I would do again. This was about 5.5 years ago, so the policy may have changed, but I just remember looking at a few other places that weren't as casual and were over priced without a private room. Pyramid seemed to be right for the different generations of families and friends who were there. We had a great time. Kerri

I've recommended it before and I'll recommend it again: Cafe de la Paz. We had our rehearsal dinner there in 2000 and it's wonderful. Great food, private room, not super expensive. I believe we had about 30 people there. If you're not familiar with it, it's located on Shattuck near Cedar. Enjoy!

I was surprised at how affordable Skates on the Bay turned out to be for our rehearsal dinner. They are accustomed to handling large parties with children and special events, the food is delicious, and you can't beat the view. If I recall correctly, they didn't even charge a corkage fee (or it was very modest) so we brought our own double magnum of wine. molly