Le Dîner à San Francisco

Amazing event ! So relaxing, classy and well organized. Can not wait for the next year) we start planning already !

This event has it’s success and failure all at the same time. It’s simply amazing to be a part of such a grand moment in time. Everyone comes together to take part in something extraordinary. Some people keep it simple and some people go all out, dressing to the nines, carting in suitcases full of, extravagant table settings, exquisite wines along with fine foods and accompaniments. On the simple side, a backpack with a white table cloth simple settings and some take out from a deli.
No question the highlights of the event delightful dress and good friends.
The most unfortunate oversight is that the event this year crammed far too many people in to far too small a space. Dinning in close quarters is never delightful, being bummed and pushed in to a table while you are trying to eat is hardly ever expected nor tolerated at a nice restaurant, unless that happens to be part of the charm. Even a chain fast food restaurant provides enough elbow space to not feel claustrophobic while eating.
When one goes out for a picnic the idea is to find a nice space to relax. The Le Dîner à San Francisco held in Justin Herman Plaza failed miserably to provide a space to relax and enjoy. The tables were cramped, the isles were just barely wide enough to walk though without having people sitting down let alone people on both sides sitting down. In order to gain access to a table inside the center of the event you have to ask others to make room and possibly ask them to stand up to make room for you to pass. Also the sponsorship is more predominant this last year.
All of this makes the event seem more about turning profit than creating a fun safe environment for people to have a fun relaxing diner.

Love, Love, Love this event!
I live in Alameda, prepare most of the dishes, trek out there with the food, the dinnerware (real china BTW), glassware, silverware and napkins braving the 5 o’clock traffic so why all the complaints about the locations? It’s in SAN FRANCISCO! It’s always cold in the evening, crowded, and parking challenged.
This year I decided to try Über so I could solve the parking problem and be able to drink to my heart’s content! I totally recommend it, especially if you have a lot to bring.
That being said, I always look forward to both the outdoor white event and the Winter indoor Black and White Masquerade. I enjoy cooking and like a good party with close friends and family. I especially like seeing everyone’s decorations.
The outdoor Le Diner en Blanc allows you to really decorate your table: Lights, large centerpieces and ornaments hanging from tent frames light up the night as the sun sets
The indoor Masquerade is much more intimate– very limited tickets available– and because it’s indoors, the bathrooms are better and the music is heard and gets everyone out on the dance floor!
If the Wine Country dinner wasn’t so soon after Le Diner, I would’ve signed up for that too!

I did have fun, only because I was with friends. $ 38 a head for just tables and chairs? Really? «entertainment» sucked. Was just a guitarist playing solo all night. Most people were so bored, they left by 9. Not worth it. Total rip off

The event was magical!
The weather was so cold at the 2012 event that after that year I have not been able to convince anyone to go with me again — so minus 1 star for that! Not sure why they don’t just have it in August when it’s warmer.

A little late but at least I’m not feeling the overhype. But really… this thing is pretty awesome. Perhaps 2012 was a little disappointing since the weather by the Marina in the unpredictability during the end of September is just dismal. The fog rolling in, the cold air, the gusts of wind… it doesn’t make it any more awesome, but does make it lose its magic.
But thanks to some of the Housewives of the Bay, they manage to add their magic touch and bring barrels of lights, ornaments, table settings, and the whole nine yards to transform what would seem to be a normal Marina Green, into a setting almost equivalent to that of a wedding. The spirit of Le Diner is definitely admirable, and I wish I could say I was for sure going to the upcoming one this year in 2013, but alas, it falls in a most inconvenient date so therefore, I will have to abstain.
But the idea of flash dinners is still a great one and I implore many others to join in on the festivities. You simply purchase a ticket that includes the venue setup, and chairs. If you are like me, you’d wonder why you’d pay $ 25 for a seat with a bunch of strangers in a remote place while bringing your own food. Well… that’s simply because theres so much more to it, but its better experienced than described.
Best of luck this year to a better venue!

Attended for the first time in 2012. It was hard to get to the MArina and never would have attended if I had known it would be there. It was frigid and wet, which is normal weather for the location. Can’t believe they chose it. Felt stupid for paying $ 25 for a table and no chair and people were just walking over the thin rope «fence»…Huge ripoff. Did meet some really cool people who shared (SF people are great!), and also made the trek to the Safeway to contribute food, but this event smacks of where it came from: L. A…mindless moneygrubbing, pomp and circumstance and anything but humanity.

I have attended all of the dinners. they sell out in SF which surprises no one. SF always ready to party. each party has their own story. They are part elegance, theater, gourmet, but mostly magic. I call it the party for the rest of us. the ones who still believe in grace… I am always grateful to the organizers as I planned a small wedding no easy task and the event in SF on the Marina was for over 4000 people. well done.cant wait for the next party. Masquerade on the 26^th.

Thoroughly unimpressed with Le Diner Blanc. I’m not exactly the spontaneous type, so not being able to plan out where I’ll be for dinner was not ideal for me. Obviously, to some people this is one of the most exciting aspects of this dinner, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. It didn’t help that it was freezing that night.
I know the organizers can’t plan for weather, but when is Marina Green ever good (aka not windy and freezing) when the sun is down? Thankfully (I guess) I was stuck at work and heard how cold it was from friends so I had time to go home, change into my winter whites, and head back out to MG.
Here’s my issue: If I want to picnic on Marina Green, I can do that any time, any day. Hell, my friends and I could dress up in all white and wave a napkin to our hearts’ content on our own without paying $ 30. Another location away from the Bay or would have been a better idea.
I suppose the idea of Le Diner Blanc can be cool, but in reality I thought it was a complete waste of $ 30 plus cost of food/​beverage. Pay $ 30 and get some Top Chef Masters to bring me box lunches? That’d be a steal! Maybe if there’s a better location some other time I would enjoy it more. Problem here, of course, is that it’s a total crapshoot since you won’t know where that location is until the day of next year.
I guess the point is, you’re paying $ 30 to feel like you’re in some exclusive group (of a few hundred people) to wave around a stupid napkin and potentially have your plans derailed because of an awful location. Just. Not. Worth. It.

I attended the Le Diner event in both 2011 & 2012.
The first location in 2011 was fantastic, warm and had wonderful ambiance. There was a dance party with a DJ and people were dancing in lit fountains after dark. Some people released paper floating lanterns. I talked this up all year to friends.
What happened this year?!
You can imagine my utter disappointment with the choice of the frigid, soggy, dog poopy, incredibly dark Marina Green for 2012. Any local could tell you this was a poor choice for any nighttime activity in October. This makes me think the organizers had no idea what they were doing.
If you think I’m being harsh consider the following:
1. The location is the ONLY real job the event planners have to do besides set up tables. The «guests» literally bring everything else from table linens to chairs to light.
2. There was no DJ, no dance floor (as specified in the event details) and the poor string band didn’t last long in the wet darkness. Can we blame them?
3. Porta potties? With no provided lighting? Classy?
4. Each person paid $ 30 for this bullshit.
I’ll be hosting my own Le Diner next year, as will many other participants, in a much better location. Given the high caliber of the tablescapes, I’m sure any one of the guests could host a better Le Diner at home. The 2012 Le Diner event felt like amateur hour.

The only thing difficult to control in San Francisco is the weather. Le Diner 2012 was held on the Marina Green in a driving wind and pervasive fog, and so, we all froze to death, but in a very chic way. People were cool about sharing space and not taking more than one seat per person (when it’s so easy to plop down extra stuff and claim the space as your own).
Seems like a lot of people went all out, with professional catering and event planners = LED light centerpieces, fine linen, china, and white tuxedos. We didn’t go all out, and did it strictly as a BYO event (with … a chicken from costco, hey it’s tasty, don’t judge) and we still had a great time.
Tips: Use real candles (so much more light than the LED votives), and bring hurricane glasses so that your candles don’t blow out. Don’t use lantern enclosures because they’re not totally windproof. For 4 people, we had 6 votives and it was plenty of light.
The only reasons I’m subtracting a star are twofold:
(1) The organizers kept on saying, there will be no parking, but there is parking at Marina Green, a whole lot that is usually empty at night. Of all the locations in SF, this is actually one of the easier places to park (short of GG Park, where the event was held last year, which has an underground garage under the music concourse).
(2) The porta potties were scary in the dark! And the hand washing stations ran out of water (ewww, BYO hand san).

There’s something very special about getting all dressed in white for a party; on a daily basis, I may put on a white shirt, but even that’s rare. Everyone in all white at a party, that’s hot. (Pardon my Kardashianism).
The idea for this event originated in France in 1988 with a small group of friends. It has inspired others to do the same around the world. The first San Francisco event (2011) was put together in a very short time frame and was a huge success. I was lucky to buy tickets early and had a great table spot with my friends.
The concept is a pop-​up dinner in white. The location is not announced until the day of the event. Everyone brings their own food, table settings, wine, and décor. You can bring your own chairs as well, but for the 2012 event, chairs are available for rent, $ 5 a seat pre-​ordered. There’s also a catering option, but what fun is that? Ticket prices are to cover the outdoor facility rental and porta-​potties and entertainment.
It’s part good times with friends and part theater. It’s a blast walking around, checking out everyone”s table decorations and outfits. It’s really a shame that the party ends at 10pm (dictated by park permit). Ticket holders have first priority to buy tickets for the next year. There is music piped through loudspeakers, but it may be difficult to hear depending on your seating. Depending on the location/​layout, it may take a little wandering to find the entertainers.
October offers one of the few times of the year an outdoor evening dinner in SF is possible. Join their Facebook page and keep up with details. Hope to see you there!
Edit: First year was perfectly warm at the Bandshell in GG Park. The second year we froze our asses off in the Marina Green. Can’t fault the organizers of course, it was an odd day, just the night before it was balmy.