I'm looking for a nice restaurant that will accomodate approx. 30 clients near the San Francisco Downtown Marriott. Any advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.

What's your budget?

The tab for dinner will be picked up by my company, so it's very generous.

Check out LuLu and Hawthorn Lane. Personally I think LuLu could be fun but it is noisy. The food is very good.Hawthorn Lane is more sedate but still very good food. I would also recommend you check out sfgate.com. There was recently an article on the 100 best restaurants in the Bay Area. You can get some ideas of places I've suggested or others. Most of downtown and the Embarcadero,South of Market will be in close cab access to the Marriot; You might also look at Kokkari(wonderful greek and med food in the Embarcadero very quiet, good service),Boulevard(in the Embarcadero) but I think has a private dining room and the food is very good-this is a very pricey place.

PamSF,
Thanks for the wonderful information. This helps me a lot.

I second Pam's choice of Hawthorne Lane. Excellent food, service and presentation. Lulu's is good too, but very very noisy as Pam said.

PamSF's suggestions are very good and each restaurant offers a different experience depending on your clientel. Lulu is perceived to be hip, young and as stated very loud; Hawthorne Lane is a little more upscale, a little more traditional but only in comparison to Lulu's. I cannot think of anyone who would not enjoy Boulevard.

How about One Market. Located near the Embarcadero end of Market, near the Ferry Building. They're used to handling groups of any size and have a wonderful seasonal menu and wine list. It would be about a 15-minute walk or a very short bus ride from the Marriot. Take the underground to the Embarcadero metro station, or one of the buses going down market that are marked "Ferry".