The Roosevelt Room is Art Deco glam.
A good portion of an event’s theme design falls to décor. What a bonus then to both planner, and budget, if a venue needs very little embellishment to play its role.
Check out these if-the-theme-fits venue options:
The Roaring ’20s
The Roosevelt Room dramatically captures the essence of the 1920s jazz age with its swanky Art Deco supper club setting in opulent gold and black, with vaulted ceilings, luxe fabrics and retro art pieces and accents. Channeling Old Hollywood glitz and glamour, a uniformed doorman greets on the red carpet entrance. As for the costumed wait staff option — flapper gals and ‘20s-dapper guys.
Cocktails are new takes on old classics. Even the menu is retro McCoy, apparently inspired by the first Academy Awards dinner. Hydraulic dinner tables handily lower for bottle service booth duty. Dinner seating is 120 with a 550-person total capacity. A lively cabaret show entertains diners with song, dance and a little burlesque.
A Castle Feast
Rich ornamentation lends an air of nobility to La Castile.
From the gaslight torches standing sentry at the entrance gate, to its intricate stained glass windows and throne-like seating, La Castile casts events way back in time with its regal to-the-manor-born backdrop. Nearly half a century old itself, the Mississauga steak house seats up to 240 (a buy-out is available), with semi-private parties from 10 to 100.
A soaring, vaulted crossbeam ceiling looms over the three-tiered dining area lit by enormous, ornate chandeliers. Large groups can reserve a tier. Dark timber, plush velvet and antiques permeate the room for an over-the-top opulence. Waiters are tuxedoed, and steak and seafood are the specialties. Group menus offer choice. Start with cocktails in the piano lounge (Capacity: 60) – a pre-dinner sherry would be most fitting.
Take A Vow
The Toronto Wedding Chapel is always I-do ready.
Saying “I do” is definitely a themed event that The Toronto Wedding Chapel can make happen with not only a dreamy setting, but also with convenient one-stop shopping for everything an intimate nuptial or gathering needs. A vision in white, the wedding-ready mid-town venue is pre-decorated with florals and candles. Multi-language, multi-faith and non-denominational officiates preside.
The 30-seat chapel also serves as the post-ceremony reception site with catering, wait staff and musicians available. In fact, event planner-owner Katherine Parris can do it all, from booking photography to organizing a web-cast of the occasion. While wedding perfect, the space is also a blank canvas for corporate and social events.
Sporting Spirit
Get your game on at Real Sports Bar & Grill.
With 199 HD TVs, and a two-storey screen just for good measure, it’s easy to keep an eye on the game (all games!) at Real Sports Bar & Grill. Located at the Maple Leaf Square adjacent the Air Canada Centre, the six-month-old bar – dubbed Best Sports Bar in America by ESPN – is a cavernous shrine to sports, where up to a 1,000 people, pints and food in hand, can get their game on from comfy chairs.
The classy interior design – minimum jock paraphernalia here – is upscale lounge, with two-levels of comfy leather couches and chairs. Several group entertainment areas include three private suites, with capacities ranging from 40 to 75, offering a bird’s eye view of the action below, and a private dining area for up to 100. Chances are good you’ll spy a real player or two quenching their post-game thirst in the main floor’s VIP Players Lounge.
Latin Flavour
The Lula Lounge design is tropical eclectic.
Have a need for some cha cha cha? Little Portugal’s Lula Lounge is salsa central for sultry Latin moves and Afro-Cuban beats. Once home to a movie theatre, the space is now awash in tropical brights of coral and green, and has great old dance hall vibe happening. Overhead, giant red lanterns seductively light the merengeuing dancers below. The building’s exterior belies its interior sprawl — up to 200 dancing guests or 150 seated.
The club’s renowned music programming is steeped in world roots, offering planners an excellent connection to some seriously storied acts and groovin’ DJs. Tasty mojitos cool the heat of Latin-infused cuisine. Group salsa lessons are also on the menu. Private buy-out is available, or groups of 35 can enjoy semi-privacy and great sight lines from the front lounge.
Bowl ’Em Over
All Star Interactive makes a party out of bowling.
All Star Interactive isn’t your daddy’s old bowling league alley. The renovated two-storey east-end venue wraps its 24 lanes (12 per floor plus automatic scoring system) in a casual, easy elegance with room for 120 people on each level. For special fx fun, switch on the black lighting and let the neon shine for a game of cosmic bowling.
Private events score with the second-level Danforth Suite, dressed for upscale play on its own lanes. Dark hues and leather lounge seating set the mood for mix-and-mingle cocktails and bowling. Unique art – butterflies created from bowling pins, shoes and machine parts – are conversation starters. Order from the kitchen or up the food ante with selections catered in.
Takin’ It To The Streets
Charter the TTC's old trolley car.
Quick! Put the party on a Red Rocket before Mayor Rob Ford derails this city’s great transit icons! So many event themes can play off the passing streetscape, from presentations and product launches that speak to demographics and the city, to a VIP Toronto welcome tour and detail-perfect transportation for a neighbourhood dine-around.
Go transport retro, chartering one of two (or both!) restored, circa-1950s Toronto Transit Commission’s streetcars. Or put the ride on an old-fashioned trolley. Follow the route of today’s streetcars (which are also available), design your own tour (with TTC approval), or veer off for a historical trip along original tracks still in existence. The cars hold approximately 40 guests. Food-friendly rides but no booze. If budget is ample, consider wrapping the car in an event banner.
Marrakesh In The City
Rich woods and lush tones in the Berber Lounge.
Located directly beneath the Sultan’s Tent restaurant on Front Street East is the year-old sibling, the Berber Lounge, offering its own lavishly designed, culturally hip scene steeped in the exotic mystery of a distant land.
The setting – including the authentic carpets —takes its cue from the Berbers, the North African-Moroccan tribe the venue pays homage to. Authentic furnishings, lush hues and plush pillows fill the space. Private buy-out is available for groups of up to 210, with smaller gatherings enjoying the semi-privacy of intimate banquette nooks. A menu skewed to platter presentations is event friendly. 
