It’s almost New Year’s Eve 2014-2015! If you’re planning to dine in San Francisco or Oakland for the occasion, here are a few restaurants to consider.
San Francisco
A16
Details: A16 is ringing in 2015 with a festive New Year’s Eve tasting menu from Executive Chef Rocky Maselli and traditional wine pairing options from Wine Director/Co-Owner Shelley Lindgren. The special menu embodies the flavor of Southern Italy with dishes like Maccaronara with liberty duck sugo, black trumpet mushrooms and duck fat bread crumbs and Roasted Devil’s Gulch Rabbit Saddle wrapped in pancetta, lentils, sage and rosemary. The four-course tasting menu will be offered at $95 per person with $75 wine pairings. Reservations can be made by calling 415-771-2216.
Rose Pistola
On Wednesday, December 31st plan to celebrate the end of 2014 and ring in 2015 with Rose Pistola in North Beach. Come early to enjoy a special 4-course prix fix dinner (choice of hot & cold antipasti, entrée & dessert). Reservations will be available from 5:30 until 7:00pm. Music is by The Cosmo Alleycats, who will be playing vintage jazz/dance music with a dynamic, but soulful delivery from 7:00 until 9:45pm; $65.00 per person. Rose Pistola’s later seating, starting at 8:00pm, provides the option to stay and toast the New Year with them, while enjoying The Cosmo Alleycats, playing livelier, danceable American music drawing from eras spanning Swing & Big Band, Blues, 60s, soul & R&B and Motown from 10:00pm until 12:30am. Enjoy a 5-course prix fixe dinner (hot & cold antipasti, pasta, entrée & dessert) and toast the New Year with complimentary Prosecco & party favors for all; $95.00 per person. You can make a reservation online or by calling the restaurant at 415-399-0499.
Luce at the InterContinental San Francisco
Guests are invited to ring in the New Year with dinner prepared by a Michelin-star chef and live entertainment throughout the evening at Luce at the InterContinental San Francisco. Chef Daniel Corey presents a multi-course menu of seasonal, California fare with dish highlights including Tartare of Kona Kampachi, avocado, smoked trout roe, and crème fraiche; Dungeness Crab with aged Carnaroli rice, Marcona almond milk, and espelette; Butter Poached Maine Lobster with fennel, apple, and onion; and Roasted Breast of Squab, leg confit, chestnut, and orange marmalade. Live entertainment by jazz group The Steve Carter Trio kicks off at 8:30pm and rings in the New Year until 12:30am. Pricing is $125 per person for the four-course dinner or $195 with wine pairing. Luce is taking reservations from 6:30pm – 10:30. Reservations are required. Call 415-616-6566.
Top of the Mark at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins
Intercontinentalmarkhopkins.com
New Year’s Eve at Top of the Mark
From 7:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., enjoy a special reception, entertainment, dinner, dancing, and a Champagne toast at midnight. Start your evening with Champagne and hors d’oeuvres including assorted caviar, Tomales Bay & Rockefeller oysters, Spanish Serrano ham carving station, raw seafood selections, and more. Following the reception, guests will enjoy a seated five-course dinner with bottle of Moet & Chandon Imperial before dancing the night away and toasting the New Year with a glass of Moet & Chandon Rose. Rounding out the festivities is live entertainment by Mirage, whose exciting style ranges from Jazz to rock. Formal dress is required. Regular reservations are $400 per person; window seating is $450 per person. Reservations required. Please call 415-616-6941.
Nob Hill Club at Intercontinental Mark Hopkins
Raise a glass to the New Year at the Nob Hill Club at Intercontinental Mark Hopkins. Guests are invited to enjoy a sophisticated evening full of California wines and tantalizing bites prepared by Chef Nenad Stefanovic. A delicious four course meal will be served including Oysters with grape mignonette, Shredded Duck Confit with dried figs, wild mizuna and pistachio pesto, Filet Mignon with smoked corttin de chavignol, pepper chimichurri, sweet potato gnocchi and baby romanesco, and a Valrhona Chocolate with whiskey, sea salted caramel and praline. Each dinner is $79 per adult, $109 per adult with wine pairing and $49 per child (ages 4 – 12). Call 415-392-3434 for reservations.
Foreign Cinema
This New Year’s Eve, Foreign Cinema will be celebrating with a “Purple Rain” inspired evening. Relive the ‘80s while rocking into 2015 with a four course celebratory menu, priced at $100.00 per guest, excluding wine, tax, and gratuity. Festivities begin at 5:30pm. Reservations are highly recommended.
Farallon
Ring in 2015 under the sea with Farallon’s New Year’s Eve six-course tasting menus from Executive Chef Ryan Simas. Guests will have an option between a traditional tasting menu, offered at $120, or a special Caviar and Truffle menu, offered at $155. Farallon’s decadent seafood fare fused with the whimsically aquatic décor offer the perfect way to celebrate the New Year. Guests can enjoy dishes such as Broiled Maine Lobster Tail with cauliflower mousseline, celery root, apple salad and lemon aioli, and Seared Georges Bank Diver Scallop with warm potato, leek latke, mache and caviar fondue and a limited à la carte menu will also be available. Both menus will include wine pairing options from Wine Director Luke Kenning with the traditional pairing priced at $65 and the Caviar and Truffle pairing at $85. Reservations can be made by visiting www.farallonrestaurant.com or calling 415.956.6969.
CLIFT
Step back in time to a different era at CLIFT’s early 1900s themed New Year’s Eve party. The hotel will be celebrating its 100th anniversary at the turn of midnight with a black tie optional red carpet event from 8pm-2am on December 31, 2014. There will be four areas of festivities including a special musical performance by Donovan, a Billie Holiday tribute, a Ziegfeld Follies show, and a silent film showcase. The festivities will take over the Redwood Room and the first floor of the hotel. Guests can also enjoy a champagne reception with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a glass of bubbles from 8-9pm. Additional details and tickets starting at $49.99 can be found at cliftnye.nightout.com. Hotel room packages are also available here.
flour+water
Close out 2014 and celebrate New Year’s Eve with flour+water. The restaurant will be offering a five course tasting menu for $95.00 per person, excluding tax and gratuity with a $70.00 optional wine pairing. Sample menu dishes include Dungeness Crab with shrimp, n’duja and Brussels Sprouts, Chestnut Agnolotti with pheasant, sunchokes, and speck, and Mixed Roast of Beef with creamed nettles, beets and blue cheese.
central kitchen
Spend the last evening of 2014 at central kitchen. The restaurant will be offering a five course tasting menu for $125 per person, excluding tax and gratuity with a $75 optional wine pairing. Sample menu dishes include Dungeness Crab with parsley root, beet, and vanilla, Matsutake Mushroom with sunchoke, black, lentil, and smoked egg yolk, and Dry Aged Rib Eye with oxtail, date, and cauliflower.
Presidio Social Club
If you’re looking to skip a formal prix-fixe dinner, ring in 2015 at Presidio Social Club, where they’ll be offering a variety of a la carte dishes in addition to a seafood bar with items such as Oysters on the Half Shell, Cracked Dungeness Crab Legs, and Scallop Ceviche. Other tasty options include an Avocado & Winter Citrus Salad, Brown Butter Roasted Maine Lobster Medallions with Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Risotto, and a Truffle Roasted Chicken. A live band will provide entertainment all night long.
SPQR
Modest and inviting, SPQR serves progressive Italian cuisine in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood. Under the direction of Executive Chef Matthew Accarrino, SPQR has been recognized with a Michelin star in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 San Francisco guides. On Wednesday, December 31, SPQR will host a special New Year’s Eve dinner where Accarrino will prepare a nine-course tasting menu for $160 with optional wine pairings from Wine Director Shelley Lindgren for $80. Reservations are required and can be made through Open Table or by calling 415-771-7779.
East Bay
A16 Rockridge in Oakland
Details: Celebrate New Year’s Eve with a special tasting menu from Executive Chef Rocky Maselli and traditional wine pairings from Wine Director/Co-Owner Shelley Lindgren. The four-course meal will feature Southern Italian dishes including Water Buffalo Veal Polpettini with crispy fried mushroom and Grano Arso Capunti with wild boar sugo, rapini and pecorino riserva. As a New Year’s treat, guests will have the option of a “White Truffle Supplement” for the tasting menu dishes. The menu will be available for $85 per person with $68 wine pairings. Reservations can be made by visiting calling 510-768-8003.
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