The wedding banquet is a celebration of the bride and groom’s union and journey forth as a married couple. If you have decided to host a wedding banquet or reception, the first question you will likely have is where you will host the event.

Planning a Chinese wedding banquet is hard work, and booking the right venue for a Chinese wedding banquet requires hours of research, phone calls, note-taking, and thoroughly weighing the options — so, we’ve done the work for you! For our Bay Area Brides, we have compiled a list of the seven most popular Chinese wedding venues that vary in location, price point, and services, so that you will be one step closer to booking the banquet venue that meets your needs. If you like any of these venues, make sure you book these banquet halls at least months in advance, especially for popular auspicious dates in Chinese culture! 

1: HL Peninsula

With locations in South San Francisco and Burlingame, HL Peninsula restaurant and banquet hall is owned by Chinese chef Li Yongzhou, and specializes in catering fine Chinese cuisine. With five restaurants in Guangzhou, Beijing and Vancouver.

The Space: Maximum capacity is 430 individuals, and the room is fully customizable to your liking. 

The Menu: Their banquet menus range from $770-$1330 for a meal that serves 10 people. All menu options include a whole roasted suckling pig, braised abalone, and the traditional lotus seed soup for dessert. Menu substitutions are available. 

Services: No decorations are provided, so you will need to bring your own, but a dance floor is available upon request. TVs are situated in the banquet hall for still photos or photo slideshows. The venue can connect you with outside vendors for music, live entertainment and lion dances. The hall also has its own selection of beer and wine, and bottle service is available. 

Highlight: You can book the banquet hall by the whole or half room, based on your party size. 

Things to consider: Because this restaurant is relatively new, there have been some questions raised about the quality of the service, organization, and communication with clients.  

Reviews: “We had our wedding banquet here and they accommodated all of our needs. We booked half the main dining area and upgraded our tables to fit 240 people. Our guests came from all over the country and really enjoyed the food. Special thanks to the manger, Leon, for working with us as we figured out the menu, floor plan, and all the small details.” —Siki, Yelp

2: Grand Palace Seafood Restaurant 

Located in Downtown South San Francisco on Grand Avenue, this restaurant and banquet hall offers a customizable private event space with four menu options to choose from. Grand Palace specializes in authentic Cantonese cooking and their guarantee is that food will always be fresh and steaming hot.

The Space: Their event space holds, at capacity, 300 individuals and each table can seat ten guests. There is no charge to book the event space, only a meal price per table. 

The Menu: The average amount clients spend per table is $680, but menu options range from $518-$738 per table. Menu substitutions are allowed in case you or your guests have any dietary needs. 

Services: Grand Palace Seafood offers a number of additional services that come at an additional charge, including some limited decoration options (seat covers are available for $2.50/chair), bottle service, (they have their own selection of beer and wine, but if you bring your own it’s free!) a dancefloor, and Lion dancers. 

Highlights: This venue has a large guest capacity and is fully customizable, so you can bring as many of your own decorations as you’d like. It’s a great option for your Chinese wedding banquet if you’re on a budget, and the food is just as good as the pricier options. 

Things to consider: Some clients have noted that the food is “just enough” but others have noted the food was bountiful. You might be subject to a small fee if you use a credit card. 

Reviews: “Grand Palace is a great reception venue for Chinese Banquets. It's amazingly beautiful and the food is excellent! The manager Tony is a real people person and very kind and polite. The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous, pretty fancy. Tony was able to help us out with the perfect menu. He showed us that we can still have a beautiful, bountiful Chinese banquet with our budget for 20 tables. They're also flexible with the menu and replaced some menu items we didn't like with what we liked.” —Stanley, Weddingwire

3: Harborview SF Restaurant & Bar  

Located in San Francisco’s Financial District, Harborview Restaurant & Bar was founded in 2018 by a team of culinary and hospitality professionals led by Kinson Wong. The owners and operators of this Chinese banquet hall have more than 30 years of restaurant industry success, and Harborview continues the vision of serving authentic Cantonese cuisine in a beautifully elevated space.

The Space: Harborview’s restaurant space will comfortably seat 200-250 guests

The Menu: Menu options are around $688-$1398 per table of ten, depending on how many guests you plan to have, and Harborview also offers an entirely vegetarian menu option. Just about every menu includes some kind of seafood, rice dish, and chicken. The menu is customizable based on tastes and dietary needs.

Services: Although Harborview does not have decorations and entertainment of their own, they have plenty of connections to outside vendors. A full audio setup and a dance floor is available to clients upon request at an extra cost, and the restaurant has a full bar and bottle service, where guests can be served at the bar or at the table.

Highlights: Harborview has a number of dining room options for your Chinese wedding banquet, each with its own seating capacity, so if you’re having a smaller banquet, you can choose a more intimate dining hall, or if you’re having a huge bash, you can host your banquet on their expansive patio with spectacular views. 

Things to consider: This venue is on the pricier end, and one reviewer noted that the audio wasn’t the best quality, but based on reviews, there seems to be very little to criticize. 

Reviews: “Let me rave about Harborview’s banquet and wedding services. Harborview fully met our needs and desires. We changed the menu without much hassle, added bite-sized dim sum for cocktail hour, and continued to shift our tables as people dropped out or were added. Throughout the whole process, we met very few obstacles, and on the fateful day, service was prompt and attentive, and the place was gorgeous. Moreover, our guests raved about the food, particularly the baked cod. You'll thank me later.” —Danny, Yelp 

4: Koi Palace

With locations in Daly City, Dublin, and Milpitas, Koi Palace has been around since 1996 and is a tried and true option for Chinese wedding banquets in the Bay area. Koi Palace is family owned and operated, and specializes in authentic Cantonese cuisine, seafood, and dim sum.

The Space: With wide dining spaces adorned with intricate Chinese brocade and decorative elements, the Daly City location can seat about 300 individuals. The Milpitas location seats around 250, and the Dublin location — the smallest of the three — can seat close to 200 people. 

The Menu: Koi Palace offers different wedding banquet options for its Daly City location and its Dublin and Milpitas locations. For ten people, options range from, on the lower end, $588-$688 to, on the higher end, $888-$988. Substitutions and accommodations can be made for food allergies and dietary restrictions, and they also have a full vegetarian menu. 

Services: Koi Palace offers clients some basic decorative items, but generally to fully customize the space, clients bring their own decor. Depending on the location and party size, a dance floor may be available; the Daly City location has a podium area for guests to use. Bottle service is available and Koi Palace comes equipped with a full bar. 

Highlights: The quality of the food is noted to be high and the prices generally low. With four different set wedding banquet menus, there are a number of delicious options to choose from without breaking the budget. 

Things to consider: It has been reported that the rooms are awkwardly designed and not everybody can be situated with a good view, so it may be difficult to organize the seating charts.

Reviews: “The first time I ate at Koi Palace I was floored at how good the food was. So when my husband's parents suggested the wedding banquet here, it was a yes from me. Everything was prepared as planned and ran smoothly, and the food just wouldn't stop coming. If you want to give your guests the best Chinese banquet at the right price, you can't do better than Koi Palace.” —Rani, Weddingwire 

5: Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood Restaurant

In Emeryville, just across the San Francisco Bay Bridge, you’ll find Hong Kong East Ocean Restaurant, a Bay Area mainstay since 1989 that serves traditional Hong Kong style cuisine, with an emphasis on using the freshest available ingredients. Their space is filled with saltwater seafood tanks and they source rare and exotic seafoods domestically and internationally. On weekdays, the space is a serene dining experience and weekend evenings are filled with private celebrations like wedding banquets, company dinners, and birthday parties.

The Space: The main dining hall seats 420 guests. The space also has two smaller party rooms that hold 100 and 50 people respectively. If your party size is somewhere in between, the main dining hall can be partitioned off into a smaller, more intimate space.  

The Menu: Hong Kong East Ocean offers four different wedding banquet options, with prices ranging from $700-$988. All menus, regardless of price point, include Fish Fin Soup, a fried rice dish, and Red Bean Lotus soup for dessert. Clients also have the option to design their own menu based on tastes, starting at a $530 minimum per table of ten, and menu substitutions for any reason are allowed. 

Services: Hong Kong East Ocean does not provide decorations, and clients are encouraged to bring their own. If clients choose to rent a dance floor for the main dining area, the party time will be extended to 11 pm. The restaurant has a full bar, but clients are allowed to supply their own wine.   

Highlights: There are breathtaking views of the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate bridges from inside the restaurant. 

Things to Consider: If you only book half of the main dining hall, another wedding party may book the other half, which might be an inconvenience or distraction on the day of the big event.  

Reviews: “Last Friday, I helped hosting a wedding banquet of 130 guests for my daughter. They were flexible each time we needed to make changes. Everyone was very pleased with the event, the food, the service, and the view of a setting sun over the Golden Gate Bridge.” —Andrew, Yelp

6: China Live

China Live is an elegant restaurant and wedding venue located in the heart of Chinatown in San Francisco. The creme de la creme of Chinese and California wedding venues alike,  they offer couples an interactive culinary experience with both traditional and modernized elevated Chinese cuisine. They can host both intimate ceremonies and grand receptions.

The Space: Couples can accommodate up to 825 guests at this spacious restaurant. All together, China Live makes up 30,000 square feet of space and offers four indoor event spaces to choose from. Neutral decor throughout their banquet venue allows each couple to decorate as they see fit. The space also has tons of furniture options that clients can choose from. 

The Menu: Please reach out to the venue for specific information on menu pricing. 

Services: China Live offers all-inclusive packages, event planning services, and event rentals to make your planning process stress-free. In addition to providing an in-house caterer and in-house bar, they will also provide cake for your celebration. Lighting and sound equipment and WiFi is also available. 

Highlights: China Live is all-inclusive, fully customizable, and is reported to have excellent service. 

Things to Consider: This venue is definitely on the more expensive end of the price range, but many reviewers felt the value was still high, even for the price. If you can afford to shell out, China Live would make for a memorable banquet experience.  

Reviews: “We hosted our wedding reception at China Live. It is THE perfect balance of beautiful event space and great restaurant. The space and food are incredible, and the planning leading up to it was seamless and easy. They have everything you need in house — no renting needed. Nicole, the event coordinator, is a rock star. She was constantly throwing out ideas to make an excellent party that fit our budget. I would recommend this venue to anyone. It really was a special and memorable event.” —S, Weddingwire

While there are dozens of options in the Bay Area beyond this list, we hope this guide will provide brides a headstart on planning their Chinese wedding banquet and finding the right Chinese wedding venue for them. Be sure to check out our blog for more guides on banquet planning, decorations, and traditional foods for your Chinese wedding banquet. 

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