SEAGuide
The Private Dining Directory
photo credit: Cascina Spinasse
A lot of restaurants in Seattle that work well for a massive group gathering either don’t take reservations, or don’t have room for a party that fits enough people. For whatever occasion where you need a large space, whether your boss is finally retiring or you’re planning the company holiday party, ordering takeout to your office conference room isn’t a viable option. You need a private room.
Here’s a guide to our favorite restaurants with private rooms that can hold anywhere from 10 to 100 of your family members, colleagues, or whomever else you need to have a secluded meal with. Call ahead for once, because these places book up quickly.
SMALL GROUPS (8-15ISH PEOPLE)
Capacity: Tatami Rooms: 10
If you’re planning a birthday and want to do a reasonably-priced but highly memorable sushi experience, give Maneki a call or text. One of their private tatami rooms fits 10 people maximum, requires you to take your shoes off, and is the perfect spot to have a Japanese dinner alongside people you really like.
Capacity: 12
We love Stoneburner for their pizzas. They also have a secluded wine room set off to the side of the main dining room that works for an intimate dinner for 12 where you can order all the charred pies and bottles of wine you like.
Capacity: 15
RockCreek is an excellent restaurant specializing in every type of seafood from oysters on the half-shell to blackened Hawaiian Opa. Their private room has one of the best tables in the city—it seats 15 and the whole space looks like the foyer of a sunny vacation cabin rental.
photo credit: Nate Watters
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Capacity: 8
Umi Sake House feels like a bamboo garden crossed with a lounge, and it’s perfect for a group dinner powered by salmon nigiri samplers and rolls filled with things like seared snow crab, spicy yellowtail, and jalapeño citrus truffle oil. Inside the semi-private tatami room, you can sit on comfy cushions and eat your sushi far away from the noise of the rest of the restaurant.
MEDIUM-SIZED GROUPS (16-25ISH PEOPLE)
Capacity: 16
You probably know about Ciudad, the fun Middle Eastern spot in Georgetown that serves grilled marinated meats and delicious hummus. But what you might not know that they have a hidden room in the back that you can book for 16 people. This place works really well for people with dietary restrictions, too, since there are so many gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian/vegan options.
Capacity: 16
While sitting in a private room full of family or coworkers can be stressful, it won’t be quite as stressful if everybody is drinking strong margaritas and eating nachos. You can do that at Sal Y Limon, a great Mexican restaurant in Queen Anne. If your office is near the Space Needle, book your team dinners here.
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Capacity: 18
Much like Scooby-Doo and the rest of Mystery Incorporated can’t resist unmasking bad guys, we can’t resist the quiche from Cafe Campagne. This French staple at Pike Place is perfect for a private weekday lunch situation—as long as you keep it to Wednesdays or Thursdays, which are the only times the restaurant hosts private dining.
Capacity: 10, 18
The comfy private rooms at Djan’s seem to always be available no matter how last-minute you try and book them. This Thai restaurant in Wallingford is located in a retrofitted home, and there’s a big room (that seats 18) and a small room (that seats 10) where you can get many orders of curry and noodles as you want.
photo credit: Nate Watters
Capacity: 20
It’s your party, and you can eat a lot of jamon if you want to. One of our favorite Spanish restaurants in the city has a basement that you can book if you want your event to scream “rustic wine cellar.”
Capacity: 18
Staple And Fancy’s main dining room is already great for special occasions, but they have a private room in the back with a big, long table that’s an extra special place to get their $70 chef’s tasting menu.
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Capacity: 16
It’s hard to top a pizza party (unless you have a bouncy castle). For reliable Neapolitan-style pizza and an abundance of Aperol spritzes, book the private room at Via Tribunali. Just make sure you get some of their spicy chili oil to pass around.
Capacity: 14 (20 standing)
The Corson Building is a little house in Georgetown with a romantic garden that works for any celebration involving eternal love. Use their private upstairs table for something like a small wedding, engagement party, or your parents’ anniversary dinner.
Capacity: 25
Tacos and tequila statistically make work functions better. So if you book the private room at Casco Antiguo, which is the perfect blend of corporate and fun, you’ll be the hero of the office.
Capacity: 14 seated, 30 standing (Gold Room); 20 seated, 30 standing (Mezzanine); up to 100 (full buyout)
For more of a some-people-sitting, some-people-standing scenario with excellent cocktails and snacks, Dead Line in Pioneer Square is an amazing pick. Their Gold Room looks like an antique parlor filled with old furniture, and we can see a classy 30th birthday party happening here.
BIG GROUPS (26-50ISH PEOPLE)
Capacity: 40
One of the newest group spaces in town is Spinasse's private dining room, a.k.a. SPDR. And seeing as this is the best Italian restaurant in the city, it's a great idea for a group of 40 or fewer. Minimums vary based on whether you book on a weekday or weekend, but you can expect a $300 room fee, a choice of set tasting menus or family-style dinners, wine pairings, and the option for an open bar.
Capacity: 30
If having chorizo, manchego, and cava in a moody, narrow space sounds like the kind of private party you want to have, Jarrbar is a no-brainer. This tapas spot has a convenient location for most Downtown office buildings, and yet is so far removed from the Pike Place hecticness that it should feel peaceful. We also highly recommend hosting a relaxed birthday party here.
Capacity: 30
A successful event for us is sitting with a bunch of happy people surrounded by bowls of delicious pasta like carbonara and cacio e pepe. If you feel the same way, reserve the mezzanine at Tavolata in Belltown—this area in the restaurant is completely covered with dark wood and candles.
Capacity: 22
The private room at Serious Pie doubles as the place where the staff makes the dough for the day and where they put on cooking classes. It’s a pretty chill place to have a low-key celebration/pizza party.
Capacity: 32
If you work near the Spheres, you’ll probably go to 2120 for dinner at some point, or sit at the bar with your laptop and a lamb shank while getting some work done. Book the back room here, which is pretty quiet compared to the rest of the restaurant, so you’ll be able to hear your conversations easily.
Capacity: 30
Ballard Pizza Company makes good New York-style pies. The back room is where the private parties go—and it looks like the entertainment room of someone’s well-designed basement. It’s perfect for eating pizza and watching something on the TV you also get access to.
Capacity: 40
This sibling restaurant to Tavolata serves pizza, pasta, and entrees like king salmon and roasted chicken. Their private space looks like a conference room that has a couple of long tables placed inside, so it’s great for a work event. It won’t be the best meal you and your company eat all year, but Cortina does a solid Italian meal.
Capacity: 20-40 (28 seated)
Black Bottle is a great little bar that serves a bunch of small plates such as smoked tea duck along with some great cocktails. But in the back, they have a room you can book if you’re trying to organize something like a team Happy Hour. Expect a nice mingling session with your coworkers in this dimly lit room with lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling.
Capacity: 50
It’s easier to solve a Rubik’s Cube with your eyes closed than it is to get a table at Din Tai Fung. Which is why it makes more sense to book a private event here than try to get in for dinner. The upstairs mezzanine space is removed from the rest of the main dining room’s craziness, but you’re not so secluded eating dumplings and fried green beans in silence—you can still hear the buzz of the restaurant.
photo credit: Nate Watters
Capacity: Elliot Bay Room: 40 (60 standing)
Elliott’s isn’t just a place to pound oysters on the patio. It’s also where you can host a get-together in their Elliott Bay Room—it’s a big space that has a great view of the water.
Capacity: 50
Ba Bar is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in town—and at the University District location, you can reserve the back room for up to 50 people. There’s a $2,000 food and drink minimum for dinner on weekends, and the price is slightly less than that ($1,500) if you book lunch or a weekday.
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Capacity: 40 (75 standing)
You can reserve the mezzanine at Cinque Terre, an Italian restaurant in South Lake Union, for 40 people. It’s not as flashy as the main dining room, but it’s perfect if you want to schedule something professional during work hours and also just want some really good Neapolitan pizza.
Capacity: 30
Book Liberty’s back room for when you want to have a big-group sushi dinner on Capitol Hill. It’s also a great option for a birthday party since the big room has sofas, fun cocktails, and excellent spicy tuna rolls.
Capacity: 24 (36 standing)
The semi-private loft that overlooks the rest of the dining room at Purple will make everyone happy if you have lots of people to please. The diverse menu has everything from bolognese to pot pie, and the wine list is longer than the opening text crawl of Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith.
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Capacity: 40 (45 standing)
Eating pasta on a patio is always a fantastic party idea. You can do that at Serafina, an upscale Italian spot in Eastlake. The whole space will seat 40 people but can also work for a standing-room situation if you have 45.
REALLY BIG GROUPS (50+ PEOPLE)
Capacity: 60 (80 standing)
Shaker + Spear is the hotel restaurant at The Palladian. If you don’t feel like renting a space in the actual hotel where Shaker + Spear would provide the food, they have their own private room that seats up to 60 people.
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Capacity: Semi-Private Mezzanine 20-40, Entire Bar 60 (85 standing)
This tropical-themed bar on the border between Capitol Hill and Downtown is ideal for an organized Happy Hour or a drinks-and-snacks situation. You can book the upper level if you have 40 people or less, or rent out the entire bar for 60 people.
Capacity: 100
Even though Redhook Brewlab is usually empty enough for a last-minute get-together, you can rent out the entire place for up to 100 people. It’s the only brewery on this directory, so use that information wisely.
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Capacity: Seastar Room: 30 (40 standing), The Fireside Room: 40 (100 standing), The Civica Room: 30-80 (110 standing), The Great Room/West Patio: 150 (250 standing)
If you’re celebrating a special occasion in Bellevue, you can’t go wrong with Seastar, a magical seafood palace that can even make Tim’s Chips-crusted halibut classy. They have a ton of options—The Seastar Room has a bright space with a fireplace, The Civica Room kind of looks like a stuffy boardroom, The Fireside Room, of course, has a fireplace, and The Great Room is in a four-story glass atrium.
Capacity: 40
One of the best Ballard patios is at Percy’s & Co, a cocktail bar that serves Southern food. You can reserve the whole thing if you have at least 30 people (but no more than 40). Unfortunately, their patio isn’t available to book during the summer—but it’s covered and heated during the cooler months. It's also not available on Fridays or Saturdays.
Capacity: South Bay Room: 25; North Bay Room: 75 Seated, 100 Standing; Bar: 60 Seated, 125 Standing; Entire Restaurant: 375 Seated, 500 Standing; Patio: 250 Seated, 300 Standing
Aqua is the place for excellent seafood and an ambience that’s perfect for those dress slacks you own that are dry-clean only. Both private options have access to the waterfront patio, and if you really want to, you can reserve the entire restaurant for 500 of your closest friends.
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Capacity: View Room: 30 (40 Standing), Private Rooms: 15 (20 Standing), The Sun Deck: 40, Full Buyout: 220
Unfortunately, you can only have access to Von’s incredible wheel of drink specials if you reserve the entire bar for 220 guests. For something slightly more low-key, the sun deck accommodates 40 people and can be used with one of their other private rooms: one that has a capacity of 20, a fireplace, and a smart TV, and a similar, larger one that has a capacity of 40 (but no fireplace or smart TV).
Capacity: 36-100
Being able to have free reign of Needle & Thread’s awesome speakeasy space and an unlimited supply of cheddar corn cracklins with serrano fondue? Sign us up. If you have more than 36 people, you can reserve the combination of Needle & Thread and the downstairs bar Tavern Law.
Capacity: Upstairs Loft: 40-100
Leave it to Purple to be able to accommodate any size or situation imaginable. This wine bar serves plates that range from crab cakes to osso bucco and has a ton of private room options.
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Capacity: Full Buyout: 120
You can book a partial section of the dining room at this partytime Mexican restaurant for up to 34 people. Or you can reserve the whole dining room if you want to sit and eat guacamole with 120 people.
