If you haven’t quite figured out what you’re going to do on New Year’s Eve, you came to the right place. From a decadent 10-course meal to a masquerade ball to a circus-themed affair aboard a train, there is something for everyone. Here are 12 amazing last-minute New Year’s Eve ideas to celebrate in style in San Francisco and wine country.
At one of our favorite hotels, the Vitale on the Embarcadero, Americano is hosting a festive four-course meal. Fried oysters, apple and chestnut soup, butternut squash ravioli, salt-roasted potatoes with caviar and creme fraiche, ribeye with roasted bone marrow, maple-brined heritage pork chop with brown-buttered sweet potatoes, and vanilla bean panna cotta are some of the scrumptious offerings.
Press Club, the wine tasting lounge in downtown San Francisco, is hosting a dance party from 9 pm to 1 am. Live coverage of the New Year’s Eve festivities from around the country will be display. There will also be party favors and lots of sparkling wine to taste.
Foodies should head to AQ where an extravagant 10-course menu will be plated up. There are a bunch of small bites to start including sturgeon chicharron with California caviar, winter green beignet with quince, and aged cheddar truffle financiers. Next up: fish in the form of scallops with persimmon and jasmine tea yogurt and turbot with potato and anchovy. There’s also tortellini en bordo with pumpkin and comte and pork with choucroute and sour orange. A selection of desserts consists of petite fours, creme fraiche with lingonberry, and something interesting-sounding: avocado and hazelnuts.
Spaghetti Brothers is a relatively new restaurant opened in San Francisco’s Marina on the corner of Lombard and Scott streets. For their inaugural NYE party, they are serving a five-course menu filled with bells and whistles. Think oysters, caviar, foie gras, truffles, crab, lobster, and black eyed peas, which are thought to bring good luck when eaten around the last few days of the year. There’s a jazz quartet and a champagne toast at midnight.
Little Italy is Michael Mina’s latest test kitchen concept in the Marina and it’s sensational. Chef Adam Sobel is serving up grandma-style authentic Italian-American cuisine in large portions that are meant to be shared. There’s savory zeppola with burrata and caviar, scallops casino, fried octopus, wild chicarcorie salad with 20-year aged parmigiano reggiano, 100-layer lasagna, and veal saltimbocca. Note that you will be full after this tasty and decadent meal!
Dirty Water in the Twitter building is throwing a masquerade ball. There will be a dance floor with DJ Brigidope mixing tunes, a lounge area with bottle service, and private dining room where you can throw a party with 15 of your favorite people. Nibble on passed appetizers by chef Fissel and countdown with a Champagne toast at midnight. Cocktail attire is a must.
For a luxurious wine country experience, hop on the Napa Valley Wine Train, which is throwing a vintage-style circus-themed party. Circus entertainment will fill the train station and guests will be greeted with a glass of sparkling wine. On the train, you’ll enjoy a multi-course meal and live DJ. There’s also an after party where the ringing of the new year will happen.
The Fifth Annual Red Tie Affair New Year’s Eve Gala is taking place at La Toque at the Westin Verasa Napa. The event kicks off with a Champagne and hors d’ouevres reception. Then there is a five-course dinner (with optional wine pairings) followed by dancing with sweet bites and a bubbly toast to celebrate 2016. Guests are encouraged to dress to impress in their best red tie attire.
Want a nine-course Hollywood glam-inspired meal? Go to Spoonbar in Healdsburg. There’s a caviar tart with avocado, braised marble potatoes with foie gras and black truffles, and beef with yuzu-mushroom consomme. After dinner, guests can get their grove on and sip on champagne granites.
Ninebark is a new three-story restaurant in Napa from chef Matt Lightner and the AvroKO Hospitality Group. If you haven’t been, head up North to ring in 2016. It’s Haute Living’s favorite new restaurant and they are serving up seven courses of Michelin-star-quality food. Think oysters with housemade pickles, sourdough rice with grilled fish, manila clam tortellini pasta with black truffle, aged New York strip steak, and chocolate cake with winter cream ice cream. There’s an option to get the entire meal served with champagne pairings and that is highly recommended.
At Solbar, the amazing restuarant at Calistoga’s Solage, chef Brandon Sharp and pastry chef Sally Camcho are hosting a Têtes de Cuvée. They are making food to pair with their preferred prestige bottles from the world’s best known Champagne houses.
On New Year’s Day, head to The Keystone, in downtown San Francisco, to try out their new brunch menu. Highlights include Southern fried chicken Benedict, short rib and potato hash with caramelized onions, poached eggs, and hollandaise, and buttermilk biscuits with sausage and sage gravy.
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