What makes a chic rooftop dining experience? Is it the decor, the ambiance, and the views, or the food and drinks on offer? The truth is, these all play a role. In fact, when you have the perfect venue, you don’t even have to be on a roof to enjoy an elevated San Francisco private dining vibe.
Get ready for next-level events with these chic rooftop dining San Francisco venues.
6 of the Best Rooftop Restaurants and Bars in San Francisco
Are your clients intent on rooftop dining in San Francisco? Give them the elevated experience they deserve with these 6 upper-deck venue spaces, rooftop restaurants, and bars.
Amador Club
Are you looking for great views near the rooftop in a penthouse buyout, views from the rooftop on a roof deck, and everything in between?
Amador Club on the 10th floor at 550 Montgomery St offers some of the best rooftop dining experiences in San Francisco with an amazing 12 dedicated event spaces. The Roof Deck offers space for up to 40 standing guests.
What the Amador Club Venue Is Great For
The Amador Club’s Roof Deck is ideal for rooftop dinners, corporate mixers, and small, private celebration events. Need more San Francisco cocktail party inspiration? Check out our unique cocktail party venues in San Francisco.
Trinity
The Trinity Bar & Restaurant on Union Street in the Marina District is the perfect venue for dinner and drinks with friends or colleagues.
Three event spaces are available: the front bar, speakeasy, and upstairs patio. Trinity is not technically a rooftop establishment, but the upstairs patio offers a fun rooftop dining vibe.
What the Trinity Venue Is Great For
If you’re looking for a venue that offers fresh air, cheerful surroundings, delicious food, and expertly crafted cocktails, this is it.
Fiorella Sunset
Fiorella Sunset on 9th Avenue is a great example of the versatility of rooftop event spaces. Its high walls keep the wind at bay, and the retractable roof accommodates any changes in the weather. Built-in heaters keep guests warm and cozy day or night in the cooler seasons.
Hire the entire rooftop space, which accommodates 60 seated or 70 standing guests, for larger gatherings. Need something smaller? Choose the upper deck, which has space for 28 seated or 34 standing people.
What the Fiorella Sunset Venue Is Great For
This is an ideal venue for brunch or dinner rooftop dining in San Francisco. Buffet table arrangements are available. It’s also a great choice for corporate happy hours. For even more choices, check out our top choices for San Francisco corporate happy hour events.
ATwater Tavern
A deck with a view can offer a rooftop dining San Francisco experience, too. And that’s what you’ll find at
the ATwater Tavern on Terry A Francois Boulevard. Five event space options are available, but if you’re looking for something with an outdoor, rooftop ambiance, there are three to choose from.
The Perch is an outdoor rooftop deck with great views of the bay and downtown skyline. It has space for 50 seated or 60 standing guests. Next, there’s the 50s, an outdoor patio area with waterfront views, that accommodates up to 40 standing guests, perfect for cocktail events.
Alternatively, do a second-story buyout and enjoy enough space for up to 74 seated or 100 standing guests.
What the ATwater Tavern Venue Is Great For
Need a bright, open venue for dining and socializing? The Second Story Buyout option includes the Perch deck and a private dining room for the ultimate rooftop dining San Francisco event.
One Kearny Club
The One Kearny Club on Geary Street is a versatile venue with 5 event spaces available, including a boardroom, two lounges, and a full-buyout option. But it’s the Roof Terrace that will grab your attention, with its attractive wood benches, lush greenery, and Union Square skyline views.
What the One Kearny Club Venue Is Great For
With room for up to 80 standing guests, the roof terrace at One Kearny Club is an ideal choice for corporate mixers and cocktail parties. It’s also a great choice for private celebrations and even family reunions or holiday gatherings.
The Third Floor
You don’t have to reach for the stars to host a chic San Francisco rooftop dining event. Sometimes, you only need to go as far as The Third Floor.
This venue on Clay Street offers four distinctive event spaces, including an outdoor terrace. Here, up to 70 seated or 120 standing guests can enjoy a semi-outdoor dining experience elevated in both locale and style.
What the Third Floor Venue Is Great For
Tasteful decor, neutral tones, and soft lighting make the outdoor terrace at The Third Floor a great choice for chic events any time of day.
Tips to Find the Best Rooftop Dining San Francisco Has to Offer
What do you do when your client requests a rooftop event? Don’t worry. Planning the best rooftop dining San Francisco experience ever is a cinch with these three handy tips.
Allowing for the Weather
For all you event planners unfamiliar with the Bay Area, here’s a tip about the weather. San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate. And even when there’s a chill in the air, there are many wonderfully cozy indoor venues for winter events in San Francisco.
The summers are dry and warm, the winters are wet, and temperatures don’t fluctuate much throughout the year. That makes event planning a lot easier. However, closer to the coast, it can sometimes get windy, especially in the spring and summer.
This is a crucial factor when planning outdoor and open rooftop events, so always check the weather forecast when planning such an event.
Pay attention if alerts are issued for Diablo winds. These are warm, strong gusts of wind that sweep through the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s central coast. They increase the risks of forest fires in the spring and fall seasons.
Finding the Perfect Venue
Want to plan a rooftop dining San Francisco event that guests will always remember? Find the perfect venue, and you’re halfway there. As you can see from our venue selection above, rooftop wining and dining is more about the experience than the location.
Think outside the box. Many venues offer versatile event spaces in San Francisco that offer the same magnificent views that rooftop restaurants or bars would. Waterfront venues with stunning Bay views are a great example of this alternative approach.
The Perfect Venue Marketplace has venues in the heart of the city, on the waterfront, and everywhere in between. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a private family gathering for fewer than 10 guests or a corporate event for more than a hundred. You’ll find the perfect venue every time.
Choosing the Perfect Theme
Do your event-planning services include concept creation? Your rooftop event will be even more fun with a theme. But first consider the occasion and the type of event.
Is it a serious occasion or a formal corporate event? A colorful, vibrant theme may not be ideal for those types of events. However, it would be perfect for a fun family gathering.
Open-air rooftop bars and restaurants already offer the best themes of all, from sunrise to sunset. They give guests magnificent views of the skyline, and for evening events, sunset views and the night sky.
If you want to have a theme for nighttime outdoor rooftop events, opt for a night sky theme and carry that through to the decor. In the daytime, a few extra plants or attractive sun loungers can make all the difference to an otherwise unremarkable space for an informal birthday event.
Providing your own menu items? Tie the theme into the names of menu items and craft drinks.
Take Rooftop Dining to New Heights with Perfect Venue
Take your rooftop dining San Francisco events to new heights with the Perfect Venue Marketplace.
It’s the ultimate event-planning resource, and it's so simple to use. Just enter your search criteria—type of venue, number of guests, location, etc.—and you’ll find the perfect San Francisco event venue in minutes. You’ll not only find chic bars and cozy restaurants in the Bay Area but many venues across the US.
Let us help you find the perfect venue today.
