The Dark Side
Executive dinners, client lunches, whiskey tastings
The original 1935 bar. Low light, dark wood, and the room where most of the last ninety years actually happened. It reads as private without being cut off from the pub.
Private Events
Private events & full buyouts for up to 200 guests
Book the room, or the whole house. Ninety years on Front Street, three connected spaces, and a team that will build the night around what you actually want rather than handing you a package.
200
Guests, full buyout
3
Connected spaces
0.8 mi
From Moscone Center
1935
On Front Street since
Why planners come back
Most venues hand you the rules. We start with your event.
The honest reason people book us twice: almost every other room in this city runs on fixed packages, set menus and a list of what you are not allowed to do. We would rather find a way to make your night work. That has never cost us a booking, and it is the thing clients mention first when they come back the following year.
We start from your event, not our package
Most venues hand you three tiers and ask which one you want. We would rather hear what the night is supposed to feel like, then build the food, the timing and the room around it.
The menu is a starting point
Off-menu dishes, a family-style build, passed bites instead of a buffet, a whole course dropped because half your team is flying in late. If the kitchen can make it, we will look at it.
Bring what you need
Your own cake, your own AV vendor, branded signage, a photographer, a DJ, a step-and-repeat in the corner. We are not going to invent a fee for a laptop and an HDMI cable.
The timings bend
Early start for a breakfast briefing, a 4pm handover between two groups, a bar that stays open an hour past the plan because the conversation is still going. Weekends are closed to the public, which makes them ideal for a buyout.
Dietary needs are not a surcharge
Vegan, gluten-free, halal, allergies. Send the list, we will handle it, and nobody at the table will be handed a sad plate of steamed vegetables.
You talk to a person the whole way
No ticketing portal, no account login, no five-day wait for a proposal. The same person answers your first email and is in the room on the night.
The Spaces
Room by room
Three rooms that work on their own or open into each other. Take one for a dinner, two for a reception, or the whole building and lock the door behind you.
The Light Side
Receptions, client happy hours, conference parties
Bright, open and built for a crowd. Long bar down one side, room to move, and enough wall for a projector if you want to say a few words or run a demo.
The Patio
Overflow, breakout space, smoking-permitted air
Front Street, outdoors, and the pressure valve on a busy party. Works as a second room when the Light Side is full, or on its own when the fog burns off.
| Space | Seated | Standing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Side | 60 | On request | Executive dinners, client lunches, whiskey tastings |
| The Light Side | On request | 100 | Receptions, client happy hours, conference parties |
| The Patio | On request | 40 | Overflow, breakout space, smoking-permitted air |
| Full buyout | On request | 200 | Company parties, convention takeovers |
| Front Street block party | — | 300–500 | Entertainment Zone activations |
Layouts flex, so these are starting points rather than hard ceilings. Tell us your number and we will tell you honestly whether the room carries it.
Getting here
Out of the convention bubble
We are 0.8 miles from Moscone Center, about a fifteen minute walk, or one stop on BART. Moscone’s own directions send attendees to Montgomery station, which is four blocks from our door, and Embarcadero station is three blocks the other way.
That distance is the point. A customer dinner during Dreamforce should not be held in a room where three competitors are working the crowd. Fifteen minutes buys your team a ninety-year-old pub with the door shut behind them.
- · Hyatt Regency, Le Méridien, the Omni, Club Quarters and the Four Seasons at Embarcadero are all inside a four minute walk — roughly 1,600 rooms.
- · Westin St. Francis, home of JPM Healthcare week, is sixteen minutes on foot.
- · Embarcadero BART and Muni is three blocks; Montgomery is four.
What it costs
Straight answers, quickly
Minimums move with the space, the day, the season and the headcount. Tell us your date and budget and we will tell you straight away whether it works.
No proposal process to sit through before you find out whether we are in your range. Send a date and a rough budget and you will have a real answer the same day.
Get a NumberWe answer event inquiries personally, within two hours during business hours, and same-day through Dreamforce, RSAC and JPM weeks.
As covered in
Inquire
Tell us what you have in mind
The more you tell us, the more useful the first reply is. Date, headcount and a rough budget are enough to get availability, a menu direction and a real number back the same day.
We answer event inquiries personally, within two hours during business hours, and same-day through Dreamforce, RSAC and JPM weeks.
Prefer to talk it through? (415) 236-0095
Event inquiry
Only a name and email are required. The more you tell us, the more useful the first reply is.
We reply within two hours during business hours. Prefer to talk it through? (415) 236-0095
Questions
The short answers
- How many people can Harrington's hold for a private event?
- Up to 200 standing for a full buyout across three connected spaces: the Dark Side, the Light Side and the Patio. Smaller groups take one room. During Front Street Entertainment Zone activations we can host considerably more, since the street itself becomes part of the event.
- How far is Harrington's from Moscone Center?
- 0.8 miles, about a 15 minute walk, or one stop on BART. Moscone's own directions tell attendees to use Montgomery station, which is four blocks from our door. Embarcadero station is three blocks the other way.
- What does a private event cost?
- Minimum spend depends on the space, the day of the week, the season and your headcount. Send us your date and rough budget and we will tell you within a couple of hours whether it works, rather than making you sit through a proposal process to find out.
- Can you host on a Saturday or Sunday?
- Yes. We are closed to the public at weekends, which means a weekend buyout gets you the entire building with no other guests in it. Weekend events are by arrangement.
- Can we bring our own AV, decor, cake or entertainment?
- Yes. Outside AV vendors, branded signage, photographers, DJs, cake, step-and-repeats. We would rather make your idea work than send you a list of what is not allowed.
- Can you work around dietary requirements?
- Yes, and at no extra charge. Send the list when you confirm numbers. Vegan, gluten-free, halal and allergy requirements are handled as part of the menu, not bolted on.
- Can you customise the menu?
- Yes. The published menus are where we start, not where we finish. Family style, passed canapés, a single shared course, an off-menu dish someone remembers from a previous visit. Tell the kitchen what you want.
- How quickly will someone get back to me?
- Within two hours during business hours, and same-day during Dreamforce, RSA, JPM Healthcare and GDC weeks. A person, not a portal.