The Spinnaker Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Bay Area Institution Since 1960

It started on a spit of land called Shell Beach — so named because oyster shells from local restaurants were deposited there — when Bill McDonnell and California State Senator Gene McAteer built The Spinnaker on the Sausalito waterfront. More than six decades later, the restaurant remains one of the rare family-owned and operated dining destinations in the Bay Area. Bill's son Tim McDonnell now leads the family business, alongside General Manager Jeff Scharosch, who has been with the restaurant for over 27 years. That kind of continuity is felt the moment you walk in.

The Setting

Perched on piers directly over San Francisco Bay, just minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, The Spinnaker's floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame an unbroken panorama: the San Francisco skyline, Alcatraz, Angel Island, Belvedere, and the Bay Bridge all visible from the dining room, bar, and banquet spaces. Sailboats and harbor seals pass by the waterfront deck. It is, in the restaurant's own words, a "world class vista" — and the dining room earns it.

The Food and Wine

Executive Chef Hiram Diaz leads the kitchen, where the focus is on classic American-Continental cuisine anchored by the freshest seafood and the finest available ingredients. The menu spans lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch, with a dessert menu rounding out each service. The wine list earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a recognition that reflects Beverage Manager Donna Naughton's careful curation and speaks to the seriousness with which the restaurant approaches the full dining experience.

Events and Private Dining

The banquet facility — described as "the best value on the Bay" — accommodates up to 170 guests for seated events or 220 for receptions. With its own dedicated kitchen and open-air waterfront deck, it hosts weddings, corporate functions, anniversary celebrations, and more. An on-site event planner handles every detail, supported by a network of local vendors built over decades of practice.

For anyone seeking classic American seafood dining with a setting that few restaurants anywhere can match, The Spinnaker remains exactly what it has been since 1960: a genuine destination.