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Cetrella

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Half Moon Bay Wedding Venue
845 Main Street
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
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Contact: Director of Special Events
Phone: 650/726-4090
www.cetrella.com
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Cetrella

Why We Like This Place

The name of this enticing venue, Cetrella, is taken from a lush green valley on Italy’s famed isle of Capri. Like Half Moon Bay, Capri is an idyllic getaway that’s both luxurious and laid-back, relaxing yet refined. When you cross Cetrella’s stylish threshold, you enter a fine dining restaurant that’s similarly seductive and imbued with a contemporary Mediterranean polish.

Cetrella’s vaulted lobby and newly remodeled dining rooms are topped with rough-hewn wooden beams, and light from a long row of skylights makes the Brazilian cherrywood floors gleam. Beneath the soaring ceilings, the spacious rooms have a sense of intimacy thanks to earth-tone walls and comfortable booths and banquettes. Yet this venue is decidedly upscale, peppered with exquisite design elements that convey an ambiance of coastal chic. Commissioned artwork in soft colors inspired by the sea, sand and sky graces the walls, while rustic wood bowls and large wine bottles line low walls and shelves. (Even the restrooms are elegant, with artsy water basins, tumbled marble tiles, and tiny lit alcoves housing sprays of orchids!)

Guests may first want to meet up at Cetrella’s bar, which opens to a covered indoor/outdoor terrace with cozy stone fireplaces. The mood is at once languorous and lively; and as you relax under the spell of superb food, drink and live jazz, you are also inspired to celebrate heartily.

The main restaurant area spans three large dining rooms. The first is next to the exciting exhibition kitchen outfitted with wood-burning oven, a glass-walled cheese cellar, and a Spanish plancha. The culinary action and the piquant aroma of roasted garlic and tangy marinades may make you want to plop right down and order something immediately, but there are more spaces to explore. Two other dining areas share a double-sided stone hearth, which guests admire from the comfort of upholstered booths or well-dressed tables. As an added bonus, both of these rooms also adjoin the terrace.

If you’re reserving the entire restaurant for a lavish gala, you’ll have access to all of the dining rooms. More than likely, however, your event will be held in one of the three private banquet spaces. The largest is the Provence Room, which overlooks a Mediterranean herb garden beneath the dappled shade of olive trees. Sliding doors from a 150-year-old French monastery partition off the Provence from the rest of Cetrella. A swath of the sun-drenched terrace adds more flexible space, and is a wonderful setting for an al fresco wedding shower or other festive occasion. Finally, rehearsal dinners take on an air of grandeur in the intimate Wine Cellar Room. Windows look out towards the mountains, and guests gather around a 17-foot walnut dining table imported from Italy. Two glass walls showcase the handcrafted wine cellar, which boasts an impressive global collection. Every year since 2004, their wine list has received a Wine Spectator award of excellence.

Chic surroundings are all very nice, but the main reason to have a celebration at Cetrella is the delicious food, which has been featured in Gourmet Magazine. The menu is inspired by the lusty cuisine of Mediterranean seaside villages and created with the freshest produce and seafood from local growers and fishermen. Cetrella offers traditional banquet options and family-style dining. Courses include Spanish tapas, house-made ravioli, rotisseried meats, mesquite-grilled whole fish and many other seafood selections. Cetrella even makes their own fresh-fruit sorbet! Your guests enjoy an array of mouthwatering choices that certainly transcend ordinary banquet fare.

Cetrella goes beyond the ordinary in other ways, too. Every reception is treated to personalized printed menus, candles and wine consultation. With its variety of striking spaces and exceptional cuisine, Cetrella will bring distinction and hospitality to any and all events.

Capacity

Ceremony

Reception/Special Events

Meetings

Max. Seated Indoors: 225
Max. Seated Outdoors: 24 		Max. Seated Indoors: 225
Max. Seated Outdoors: 24
Max. Standing Indoors: 250
Max. Standing Outdoors: 30 		Max. Seated: 225



CEREMONY, EVENT/RECEPTION & MEETING CAPACITY: Indoors, Cetrella holds 225 seated or 250 standing guests. The Wine Cellar Room holds up to 20 seated guests, the Terrace seats 24 and the Provence seats 60 guests. The back half of the restaurant can be partitioned to seat 120, or 75 with a band and dance floor.

Fees & Deposits

50% of the estimated event total and a signed contract are required to reserve your date, the balance is due on the day of the event. Food and beverage minimums apply and vary depending on space rented. Luncheons range $30–50/person, and dinners $55–105/person. Tax, alcohol and a 20% service charge are additional.

Availability

Year-round, daily, 6am–midnight.

Catering

Provided

Alcohol

Provided

Location Uses

Ceremonies
Wedding Receptions
Special Events, Parties
Business Functions/Meetings
Rehearsal Dinners

Services/Amenities

Catering: provided
Kitchen Facilities: n/a
Tables & Chairs: provided
Linens, Silver, etc.: provided
Restrooms: wheelchair accessible
Dance Floor: portable
Bride’s & Groom’s Dressing Area: yes
Meeting Equipment: CBA, extra charge
Parking: on-site
Accommodations: no guestrooms
Telephone: emergency use only
Outdoor Night Lighting: yes
Outdoor Cooking Facilities: no
Cleanup: provided
View: historic Main Street

Other: cakes, flowers, music CBA, grand piano

Amplified Music

Indoors
Outdoors

Wheelchair Access

Wheelchair Accessible

Site Views

Cityscape

Venue Type

Banquet Hall/Events Facility
Restaurant

Restrictions

Alcohol: provided
Smoking: outside only
Music: amplified OK
Wheelchair Access: yes

Insurance: not required


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Meredith At Cetrella

Our Managing Director Meredith Monday Schwartz recently dined at Cetrella and reports, “Cetrella is a wonderful place for a rehearsal dinner or any intimate celebration. The gorgeous interior and stylish décor set just the right note of casual elegance…”[read more].

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