We used it for a recent meeting. Great service, great facilitate, good price and AWESOME mission. Keep up the good work.

We hosted a small after wedding brunch at the Key Room and the experience exceeded expectations in every respect. Darby was a gem to work with and helped make the event planning go so smoothly. The event staff during brunch was outstanding. They were efficient, friendly, hospitable and so very accommodating in every way. And the food was amazing. All in all the Key Room experience was better than the wedding venue. In fact, the food at the Key Room was much better! I would not hesitate to hold another event here. The icing on the cake is that all proceeds from these events go to support Homeward Bound of Marin in their mission to provide housing and build employment skills for the homeless and people facing crisis. You won't go wrong having your event here. Ten stars! read more

Long overdue review! We hosted my sister's baby shower here a year ago and everything exceeded our expectations from planning to the execution of the event. Working with Laura was an absolute pleasure. She was so accommodating and helped us craft a delicious menu. On the day of, the staff was so hospitable and friendly to our family and friends. They even joined in the dancing and eased all nerves. We had one minor hiccup with the adapter to connect the iPhone for music (someone had taken the adapter from the previous event). One of the staff went to Target to get another adapter and it was smooth sailing after that. We had plenty of food and every dish was fantastic. It was one of the best catered meals I have had and I've been to many corporate events and dinners around the country. We went with the fajita buffet option and did a chicken/veggie option instead of a chicken/beef option. We are lucky to have this venue in the North Bay! read more

The Key Room has great food and the venue is perfect for a business luncheon. However, be aware they do not cater outside of the Key Room.

I could not have been happier about hosting my work holiday party at The Key Room. We had about 70 people there, and there was still room for the DJ and space to dance. The team there was fantastic. From the onset of the process, everyone I talked to was friendly, helpful, and welcoming. There were several dates I was considering, and while some were not available due to the relatively late notice (my fault), we managed to find one that worked quite well. Contact was regular, easy, and I never felt like an afterthought when I was working with the coordinator (an experience I've had at several other venues in the Bay Area). The menu options provided gave me enough latitude to build out a dinner plan that worked for everyone even given some dietary restrictions. The pricing was good, the food was EXCELLENT, and everyone there was polite, professional, and most of all, FUN. It's a great facility, a great team, and helps serve a great cause. Host your event at The Key Room - you'll be glad you did! I wish I could give more than 5 stars! read more

What a terrific venue for events (both big and small)! I've heard about this place for years, but I've never been before. And then I came here last night for one of their popular Fresh Starts Chef Events. This month's featured chef was actually my pal/podcast co-host Jeff Burkhart ("Barfly" columnist for the Marin IJ + author of "Twenty Years Behind Bars: the Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender"). At this event, Jeff whipped up 3 classic cocktails for our tasting pleasure (Vesper Martini, Cucumber Gimlet, and an Old Fashioned). Each cocktail was masterfully paired with a small dish from Homeward Bound of Marin's Kitchen (we enjoyed everything from caviar to sliders to an heirloom tomato salad). In between all the yummy courses and libations, Jeff read passages from his new book and answered audience questions. It was a blast! Their kitchen is quite a thing to behold. It looks like something out of the Food Network. And the rest of The Key Room can easily seat 100 people, so it's perfect for a wedding reception, large birthday party, or corporate affair. But here's the best part of this place... all proceeds from their events benefit Homeward Bound of Marin, a wonderful non-profit that provides shelter and job-training programs for homeless families and individuals. These local angels serve approximately 1,200 people per year in 16 inter-related residential programs throughout the county! In fact, most of the kitchen and wait staff are members of this great program. If you're looking for an affordable venue in Marin for a private event (that also gives back to the community), I can't think of a better place than The Key Room. read more

The Key Room - Delicious Slider Trio at one of their Fresh Starts Chef Events. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Novato, California

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We recently held our church's 75th anniversary luncheon at the Key room and everyone agreed the food is excellent and the staff was friendly, attentive, and efficient. Plus when you host an event there, you are helping one of the most effective organizations addressing homelessness. We highly recommend it! read more

Food was incredible, staff were helpful and amazing from start to finish. The space was warm and inviting and perfect for our event! Best thing about using the Key Room is moving their mission forward and helping others. We will have our annual Hall of Fame event there moving forward. read more

My family and I attended a "celebration of life" event for a family member who passed away recently. I wanted to say what a lovely job the workers did making an attractive, well organized space for the group. They put on a fresh and tasty luncheon, served buffet style, including beverages, wine, beer, coffee and dessert. I truly felt that the workers were very professional, yet sensitive and caring toward all of our needs. I would recommend The Key Room highly for anyone having a similar event or a low-key type of gathering. I could even see it used as a corporate meeting place, or a wedding reception, or bar or bat mitzvah. Thank you to everyone there who made the event memorable, comfortable and satisfying for us at a time that was difficult. I really think it's wonderful that it's a part of Outward Bound giving people an opportunity to learn professional cooking and catering, I would highly recommend it! read more

I have used The Key Room for various events over the last 5 years. The lighting is beautiful and the room is big enough for a large gathering. I highly recommend this space. read more

I have attended several events in "The Key Room". It is a beautiful space ... comparable to anything in Marin ....with access to an outdoor patio as well when the weather is good ... and the room can be used for almost anything as it has full audio video support, internet, and a full view of where the food is custom prepared for your particular event. I attended a beautiful wedding reception .. and a couple of chef events with star chefs who were teaching as well as preparing food. i also attended a graduation event. The cherry on the sundae is that you are also doing social good booking this particular venue as the Fresh Starts Cooking school is housed and provides culinary training when "The Key Room" is not in use. read more

Soroptimist International of Novato hosted a membership/speaker meeting last night at the Key Room, Homeward Bound of Marin with 40 . people attending, club members and guests. As the point person, I worked with Event Co-ordinator Viki Card, starting the process in July. Viki was always pleasant, very professional, with suggestions for me to consider as I was new to planning an event of this kind. The room was lovely, the AV worked well, and the kitchen staff was absolutely incredible making sure they had a tasty meal prepared, accommodating various dietary needs of guests, and communicating with me to make sure the event worked smoothly. This is a well kept secret and I hope the community makes an effort to host events at the Key Room on a frequent basis. Great people, great food, great service, beautiful dining room, serving the community of Marin in many ways. read more

We contacted the key room for a Dr, Seuss baby shower. I love the beautiful space. The staff is friendly and loved the Dr. Seuss idea . I especially like they have catering school and all the money goes to good cause. Vicki helped me coordinate the whole thing. I recommend the Key room for your next event. I will post some pics of amazing dishes. read more

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Had an event at the key Room and I highly recommend this place. The room was bright and spacious with a fully equipped kitchen and a nice patio. The staff was wonderful and my guests were impressed. I brought my own catering so I can't comment on their food. Their event coordinator, Viki was a pleasure to work with. read more

The Key Room for my wife's 70th birthday was an overwhelming success, thanks to the room itself and manager Viki's patience and flexibility in helping my daughters play the evening. Affordable, clean, professional staff, kitchen, Audio/Visual needs, and all the services available for a creative event experience. I highly recommend! read more

We had our wedding rehearsal dinner here last August and had an amazing time! Viki made the whole process easy and organized. She made us feel comfortable and cared for. All our guests agreed it was a beautiful venue and that the staff were great! The servers and bartenders were welcoming and very kind to our friends and family. Wish I had an excuse to have another event here! read more

Excellent party food!! Good vibes I want my next event to be just like this experience.

I wanted to have a very special birthday party for my husband who is struggling with a serious medical diagnosis. I also didnt want it to cost an arm and a leg. I needed a venue for 60+ people and after calling around Marin to some very expensive venues that had me hyperventillating, i stumbled upon the Key Room. What a find! First of all the room was lovely and had french doors opening to a lovely vista. The food was great... Well prepared, unusual and interesting choices and beautifully presented. The wait staff was excellent..professional, courteous and extremely responsive. In between courses we had a video and speeches and I appreciated that courses were served and cleared quickly to allow for our agenda. Now for the best part.... This is a program from Homeward bound. The very professional staff are all part of their program to train previously homeless people in the culinary arts. These people are trained not to be cooks but professional chefs and are trained from the ground up by some of the best chefs in the country. My husband was homeless himself 39 years ago and is very active in 12 step programs. So as I thanked the staff I thought how grateful I was that my husband's life had come full circle and the people who, like my husband, were turning their lives around were able to be acknowledged for their value and contribution to my husband on that day. I also want to mention that Viki Card the coordinator for the Key Room was a mind reader and barely needed to hear what I wanted and she got the whole picture and ordered exactly what I wanted. Oh and the price....wait for it.....I paid less for the whole event including linens, setup, a/v system, FOOD from appetizers, salads, main course, custom birthday cake ....than i would have just to rent a comparable venue in Marin without catering. This would be a lovely venue for a wedding reception for a young couple with the good sense not to get into debt over their reception or any kind of social gathering and I recommend it highly. read more

We celebrated my grandmother's 95th birthday at The Key Room, and it was just great. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Darby is the event manager, she is an amazing woman. The whole party went exactly as I wanted. I highly recommend this place. I look forward to work with them in the future for sure. read more

We recently had a cocktail party here for my daughter and son-in-law. The manager Viki was very helpful in all aspects of planning the event, from food, to flowers, dessert, and beverages. The food was delicious and plentiful. All of the staff were very professional and friendly. Once the party started I never had to worry about or even think about a thing. The room is vey light and airy. There is a nice patio area which worked well for us as we had a number of small children who could run around safely outside. The room is equipped with all the audio and visual equipment you would expect. The prices here are extremely reasonable. Even better is the fact that the Key Room/Fresh Starts is a project of Homeward Bound, which serves as a culinary school for low-income people, so the profit is going to support this very worthwhile program. All in all I highly recommend the Key Room. read more

The Key Room is where you will find the Fresh Starts Cooking School, which provides a training ground for cooking and catering skills to Homeward Bound of Marin's residents. The school offers cooking classes and the quality of the classes, the price point per person, AND the cause that it supports are a win-win-win for anyone who wants a different kind of night out. The variety of cuisine and the formats change from class to class - I've been to three - and they vary from hands-on to hands-off. Regardless of the format, it's a fun night, and a great cause as it provides catering practice for the students at the cooking school. If you don't take a class (book on their website), at least enjoy their handmade truffles or jam (purchase on their website). YUM! http://www.hbofm.org/Fresh-Starts-Chef-Events.html read more

My family held a 130-person event this past weekend at the Key Room. It was a lovely venue - bright and spacious and open. The patio area was glorious and serene. And I cannot say enough about the staff. I could not have been more impressed and pleased with their level of service and professionalism. The on-site catering was convenient and the food was terrific. Everything was set up and broken down timely, and the venue is quite affordable. I highly recommend this venue for any event. read more

Went to an event at The Key Room a few weeks and it was fabulous! The food great, especially the mushroom appetizers, butternut squash lasagna and the strawberry shortcake. I like that the organization holding the event was able to bring their own wine in as I felt like I was supporting the organization. The staff was especially nice and helpful. Thanks for a great evening! read more

Our Daughter Debbie Hanks had her 50th Birthday Party at The Key Room at 1385 Hamilton Parkway. It was May 4, 2013 and it was a beautiful day and evening in Novato, CA. They had the bar outside along with tables and speakers for guest to meet prior to dinner. The dinner room was beautiful with tables and all the necessary items for having dinner, drinks and dancing. They provided the electrical equipment for connecting music and video screen to make this a very special birthday party. The food and service provided by The Key Room was excellent. Everyone truly enjoyed the Birthday Party that our Daughter Debbie planned along the help of The Key Room Team. read more