Starbelly Friendsgiving Dinner in the Castro: Heated Patio

Starbelly, at 3583 16th Street between Market and Noe in the Castro, takes online reservations for 1 to 16 people, which makes it one of the easier Friendsgiving dinner bookings in San Francisco for a mid-sized crowd. Parties of 13 or more are asked to choose a prix-fixe menu through a group dining inquiry, so a table of 12 can still order a la carte. For bigger gatherings, a private banquet room holds up to 50 guests.

The restaurant's best feature for a group is behind the dining room. Starbelly describes its covered, heated outdoor patio as tucked away at the back, and in late November that roof and the heaters make the difference between a pleasant dinner and a cold one. The space suits a Friendsgiving because the tables can be pushed together into one long row, and the noise of a big table carries less out there than in the front room.

One rule to share with the group in advance: the patio closes at 9 pm and must be vacated by 10 pm, so plan the toast and dessert accordingly. Book the patio for 6 pm or 6:30 pm and the group gets nearly three hours before the room turns over. If someone in the party is sensitive to cold, ask for a seat near the heaters when you confirm the reservation.

The dinner menu is California comfort food, and it shares well. The Starbelly bucatini is $22 and the lasagna rotolo is $24, a rolled lasagna that cuts neatly into portions. The winter squash ravioli is $23 and is the seasonal dish that tastes most like Thanksgiving on the list. Order the meatballs at $16 and the pan-roasted Manila clams at $17 as starters for the middle of the table while everyone settles in.

For mains, the roasted Mary's half chicken is $30, and two of them cut into pieces stand in well for the holiday bird when a group would rather skip turkey. The margherita pizza is $19 and the Starbelly burger is also $19. An honest call: the burger is good, but in a sharing format the pizza goes further, since one pie cut into eight slices covers a whole table while a burger is hard to split.

The menu reads simply, but the portions are built for sharing, and the kitchen is used to big tables passing plates. Ask the server to course the food, starters first and pastas and chickens together after, so the table is not crowded with everything at once. That is the easiest way to make a casual dinner feel like a holiday meal, and it keeps a long table from turning into a race.

Keep the 5% surcharge in mind when you split the bill, because it is added to every order. For a group of ten, a workable order is two chickens, two pastas, two pizzas, the meatballs and the clams, which lands at a reasonable per-person total before drinks and leaves room for dessert. The FAQ says the kitchen stays open between meal services, so a late-afternoon arrival is not a problem.

Reservations for up to 16 are made online. Parties of 13 or more should submit a group dining inquiry, and the restaurant then sets a prix-fixe menu for the table. Groups of 17 or more are asked to inquire directly. The private banquet room seats up to 50 guests, which covers a Friendsgiving that has grown into a party, and the events team handles those bookings separately from the main reservation system.

Plan B: if the patio is booked on your preferred Saturday, look at a weekday lunch or a weekend brunch with the same friends. Starbelly also hosts a monthly drag brunch called Bacon and Leggs, hosted by Bobby Friday, with seatings at 11 am and 1:30 pm. It is a different kind of celebration, but for a Castro crowd it can be the more memorable choice, and it books up fast on its scheduled Sundays.

The homepage lists weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm, weekday lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 am to 3 pm, and dinner Sunday to Thursday 5 pm to 9 pm and Friday and Saturday 5 pm to 10 pm. The phone number is (415) 252-7500. The Church Street Muni Metro station is a short walk away, the historic F-Market streetcar runs along Market Street nearby, and Castro Station serves the K, L and M lines.

Driving to the Castro on a weekend night is slow, and street parking around 16th and Noe is mostly residential. A group meeting from different neighborhoods does better meeting at Castro Station and walking the few blocks together. Riders on the F-Market can get off at Noe or Castro and be at the door in a couple of minutes, which is the easiest route from downtown hotels.

Before dinner, walk to Harvey Milk Plaza at Market and Castro, where the giant rainbow flag flies above the Muni entrance and a plaque honors the city's first openly gay supervisor. From there, walk a block south on Castro Street to the Castro Theatre, the 1922 movie palace with its vertical neon sign. The two stops take about 15 minutes and give early arrivals something to do while the rest of the group finds parking.

After dinner, the bars along 18th Street and Castro Street stay busy late, and the walk from Starbelly takes five minutes. For a quieter end to the night, walk up 16th Street toward Dolores Park, where the views over downtown are best just after dark.

Starbelly, 3583 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114, between Market Street and Noe Street in the Castro. Phone (415) 252-7500. Online reservations for 1 to 16 guests, prix-fixe menus for parties of 13 or more, banquet room for up to 50. The patio closes at 9 pm. A 5% surcharge applies to all orders. Bucatini $22, half chicken $30, margherita pizza $19.