Whether you’re looking to throw an intimate dinner party or a spot for a special holiday dinner, look no further than L.A.’s best private dining rooms (PDRs). Privacy is key at these spots, which typically come with custom menus and make your special event that much more memorable. While there are many ballrooms and event spaces across Los Angeles, we’ve narrowed the top private spaces to places that are exclusive to your party, while not taking over the entire restaurant and not being so corporate-y like many of the steakhouse PDRs dotting the city.
Cecconi’s
West Hollywood
Accommodating up to 32 people, Cecconi’s Butterfly Room is anchored by a stunning heart-shaped Damien Hirst piece, “Butterfly,” hanging in the center. For a more intimate setting, the side curtains can be closed and the room becomes a true PDR. There’s also a private entrance available for those looking for the utmost privacy. The fare here is Italian-inspired, and the brunch, lunch and dinner menus in the PDR are served family-style.
Baar Baar
Downtown
Expect elevated Indian cuisine at this Downtown L.A. spot from chef Sujan Sarkar. The modern Indian gastro bar by way of New York lands in L.A. with a regal private dining room. With seating for 14 to 30 people, the Victorian-inspired dining room has Indian touches (mirrored accents and modern Indian artwork) throughout and offers a statement fuchsia backdrop for your special event. Book by emailing info@baarbaarla.com.
Crossroads Kitchen
West Hollywood
Known to put plant-based fare on the fine dining map, chef Tal Ronen’s Crossroads Kitchen is an L.A. staple. The private dining room features an old-world vibe with an original Toulouse-Lautrec print and antiqued mirrored walls. There’s a chandelier hanging in the middle of the PDR that seats 10 to 20 people and only has two seating times — 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to close. There’s also a more modern wine room that seats up to 40 guests with the same seating times as the PDR. Here, the restaurant offers tray-passed appetizers and a family-style dinner.
Mr. T
Hollywood
Contemporary French restaurant meets Californian flare, Mr. T is a place to see and be seen. With a first location in Paris, the second outpost features fun takes on classic French “street” fare — try the mac and cheese with truffles (torched tableside). With a capacity of 12 seated, the PDR at Mr. T could also hold 60 in an indoor-outdoor space with an attached alfresco lounge off of the intimate PDR.
A.O.C.
Brentwood and West Hollywood
With two locations, A.O.C. offers two superb PDRs. At the W. 3rd Street location, the upstairs wine room seats 40 guests, and in Brentwood, the dedicated private room (formerly the dining room of Tavern restaurant — a favorite of President Obama’s) seats 30. Both private rooms are perfect for those who want to be separate from the general crowd with closed-off doors and rustic touches, featuring award-winning chef Suzanne Goin and restaurateur Caroline Styne’s celebrated Californian fare.
8700 W 3rd St. / 11648 San Vicente Blvd.
Spago
Beverly Hills
With its own private valet parking entrance, Spago may be the best PDR in town, and perhaps the most celebrity-loved. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, the famous restaurant is chef Wolfgang Puck’s flagship (read where his smoked salmon pizza and tuna cones came to life). There are different PDR options with seating from 15 to 175 people for a fully private event in the separate part of the restaurant, complete with its own paparazzi-swarming entrance.
Providence
Hancock Park
Michelin-starred Providence is known for its sustainable seafood in an elegant atmosphere, all under the direction of star chef Michael Cimarusti. The tasting menu offers influences of Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, but the best seat in the house is arguably the intimate Chef’s Table. This private dining room is unlike others as it’s an enclosed room with a glass wall looking directly into the lively kitchen. Seating is small with only room for a maximum of six guests. Reservations for the special PDR are hard to come by, but the best part is that there is no additional fee.
Funke
Beverly Hills
Chef Evan Funke’s Italian hangouts around town are not to be missed. The private green-hued room at Funke is one of those celebrity-loved spots. Serving a maximum of 20 guests, the secluded room is only second to the rooftop, which can be rented out for larger events.
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Century City
Head to the Fairmont Century Plaza for delectable French fare in a modern American brasserie setting. The private dining room, called The Writer’s Den, is an enclosed space in the center of the restaurant behind a secret door. With seating for up to 16 guests, the space is inspired by The Lost Generation (a group of expat writers in France in the 1920s, living a Boho Parisian lifestyle). Expect antique bronze light fixtures, imported oak herringbone flooring originally from a French villa and a window that opens directly to the bar on the other side of the wall.
Casa Madera
West Hollywood
Expect Tulum vibes at this PDR that is pretty much the opposite of a corporate setting. Inspired by the Riviera Maya, the restaurant highlights Mexican-meets-Mediterranean fare in a lively atmosphere. Here, the PDR, which features a beachy atmosphere, seats a maximum of 12 guests.
Crustacean
Beverly Hills
Head upstairs at this Beverly Hills institution for the perfect setting for your next event. With many different buyout options, the DLR Loft is the real PDR perched above the restaurant with its own entrance. The space seats 60 guests and features an open kitchen, bar, private restroom, A/V system and more. However, the food here is the real star — Asian-fusion Vietnamese cooking helmed by matriarch chef Helene An.
1212
Santa Monica
Escape the crowds on Third Street Promenade at this expansive two-story restaurant serving Californian cuisine in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica. 1212 has two separate private dining spaces with bar and lounge seating. Of the two, the upstairs space offers tufted leather couches and more of a lounge atmosphere, setting the stage for a fun private gathering with views of the patrons dining on the restaurant’s first floor.
Amour
West Hollywood
Enter this jewel box-like space for a French-inspired evening. The restaurant’s private dining room, aptly called Le Salon Privé (“private dining room” in French), offers seating for up to 10 guests and options to choose from a tasting menu, a la carte or a personalized culinary experience. The fare is French-leaning by chef Hendrix Vega, and the decor transports you to Opéra Garnier with revived antique French flooring from the 1800s and custom tapestry chairs, among other elements.
Mirate
Los Feliz
With a giant tree in the middle of the open-air restaurant, Mirate is an indoor-outdoor vibe. The modern Mexican menu offers guests tacos, salads, plates and seafood dishes nightly for dinner and for brunch on the weekends. The restaurant’s stunning setting may make your guests not want to stay secluded in a private dining room, but here the PDR is a quaint escape that can seat 44 guests with contemporary design influences throughout.
Stella
West Hollywood
Italian hot spot Stella has taken the city by storm for authentic eats (get the Roman pizza). Here, the restaurant offers two private dining rooms, the upper level Toscana Room with a capacity of 16 for a seated dinner and downstairs Sorento Room with a capacity of 14 guests.
Mother Wolf
Hollywood
In grandness and scale, Mother Wolf transports you to a Las Vegas-like restaurant, but the food here tops anything on the Vegas Strip. Chef Evan Funke’s Italian hot spot dishes out authentic plates of pizza, pasta and mains, plus offers two private dining rooms. The first, Remus, is a more intimate space that seats 10 around a round table under a glass-blown chandelier, and the second is in a moody darker room (called Romulus) and seats up to 22 guests. They even have their own back entrances if you’re trying to escape the general public out front.
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