Santa Ana, CA 92706
(map) Phone: 714-567-3630
Reviews for Tangata at the Bowers Museum
Our all time favorite Museum to visit. It does sounds very intersting to have a receiption there, which would have been very unique.
Fabulous to spend a weekend w/ your honey at this museum, just a very relaxing time and make sure you reserve for the restaurant.
GUEST
I highly recommend Tangata for any event. We planned on having approximately 100 guests, though we ultimately had about 75. The serving staff is fantastic, the food is not only wonderful and delicious, but served hot, promptly, and with an impressive presentation. The administrative staff worked with us to adjust the menu to suit our guests' needs, accomodated a family recipe, and was just overall delightful to work with. We used the cake that comes with the package (from Great Dane Bakery) and it worked perfectly. I wish we could do it all again!
Ultimately, the Bowers was a little more per person than I had budgeted, but it was SO WORTH IT. The site is beautiful to start with, then they decorate it with twinkle lights, and, the bride gets to come down a staircase as she walks down the aisle! If that doesn't make you feel like a princess, I don't know what does. (Frankly, it was the stairway that sold us on the venue!) They set up chairs for the ceremony and then while everyone is enjoying cocktail hour on the patio, they switch the ceremony area over to dinner settings. It was beautiful, everyone loved it. We used the site in the evening, and sunset was so gorgeous.
Tangata is the Patina Catering Group restaurant at the Bowers Museum. The food is delicious, and the service is great. The servers were quick, professional, and very helpful. They kept the dinner moving at the right pace, they watched and took cues from us (the bride and groom). Dinner was served hot to everyone, at the same time! The catering managers are delightful to work with and even accommodated a special family dessert for us. The whole experience was warm and hospitable, from the very beginning of negotiations until the final dance!
Everyone is still talking about dinner. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I'm so glad I did, it was worth every penny.
Vendor response to review
Thank you Eva!! It was wonderful to work with you as well:) Best wishes!
What can I say...I've been dreaming about having our reception at a museum for as long as I can remember. We had originally booked at the PMCA for our reception venue, but after a falling out with the event coordinator we decided to take our business elsewhere. It was a blessing in disguise because the next venue we went to look at was the Bowers Museum. At the time I thought they only had the Cleo Courtyard (which are what most of the pictures you see when you look up the Bowers online) available for events, but just my luck, they had finished completion on their brand new (and totally modern and funky!) museum wing. It fit all our needs perfectly. There was an outdoor space for cocktail hour since I really like outdoor spaces and an indoor area for the reception (to please our parents who aren't into outdoor spaces at all). There were all these amazing pieces of art just within the reception space and for those of you showing some kind of video, there are two drop down screens. No more messing with those large projector screens. Everything in the room is completely modern and up-to-date. Judy was so wonderful to work with. She was very professional and unlike our previous experiences, when we decided to book the John M. Lee Court & Huang Courtyard our contract was finalized within less than a week! Judy responded to all my emails quickly and she is such a sweet person to correspond with. Anything that happens at that museum has to be okayed by Judy and even though I asked for a lot of things and was probably pushing my luck more often than not, she was always very, very nice and did her best to make things happen.
Bowers has an exclusive contract with Tangata, which is a member of the fabulous Patina family, to cater all events held at the museum. Jackpot! I've been a huge fan of Patina being a avid theater junkie who loves all the Patina restaurants in downtown LA near the Ahmanson. My cousin and MOH had her engagment party at the beautiful Cafe Pinot and had such an amazing experience that I knew we would also have an amazing experience. The initial director of catering was another lady named Rebecca, but about 6 months prior she left the company and Jennifer took over. I was a little worried at first since I had been working so closely with Rebecca, but it turned out Jennifer had been the previous director and had moved on to the Patina restaurants at Downtown Disney. She had returned and was now managing both locations! Not only does Jennifer help you prepare your menu for the evening, but she also coordinates with Classic Party Rentals to provide the rentals needed for your event. Jennifer, God bless her, was so extremely patient with me. I had many, many changes the months prior to the wedding. I'm sure that when she saw my emails in her inbox she would dread reading them. I know it. But whenever I talked to her on the phone or corresponded via email she was always very, very sweet to me. She is also very thorough and always responded to my numerous questions. Her long history with Bowers and Classics was also very helpful because she is very experienced about the space and what it take for the events to run smoothly. I'm so fortunate to have worked with her during the planning process. And the food...the food was exquisite! Everyone kept raving about delicious everything was. I didn't expect anything less from a caterer like Patina.
GUEST
I loved the people and the location. Everything went perfectly and the food was amazing. I still hear comments about how beautiful the wedding was and how yummy the food was.
LOVE Bower's. It is such a GREAT place to get married, lots of wonderful places to get photos done and the food is delicious! We ahd the ceremony in the courtyard (walking down the stairs was awesome), reception in the courtyard (so romantic after the sun sets), dance floor on the cement by the musuem entrance. The DJ set up mad lighting for the dance floor, the photographer got LOTS of angles all over the place. Don't pass up this gem of a place in Santa Ana, you may regret it.
About Tangata at the Bowers Museum
Looking around, you quickly realize that the reason this haven feels so secluded is because it’s completely enclosed by the museum buildings. To your left is a 1930s hacienda, with a second-floor balcony and a sun-dappled garden. Forming an L-shape to your right and behind you is an inviting arcade, whose shady interior offers a cool contrast to the buildings’ bright white walls and red-tile roofs. At the far end of the courtyard is a sunny terrace, backed by the museum’s new wing, which houses some striking event spaces including a gourmet restaurant, Tangata. And linking them all is a broad tree-shaded lawn in the center, bordered by flowers, palms and cacti.
The Courtyard is a natural for weddings. A wide stairway leading down from the hacienda’s second story provides a graceful entrance for the bride. Vows are exchanged anywhere in the Courtyard you like—beneath the bell tower, under the hacienda’s balcony or in front of the statue. Afterwards, the reception is usually held here, too, with tables set up on the lawn and patios. You can also turn the arcade into an open-air dining room; softly lit at night, it makes a very romantic setting.
Another option is hosting your reception in Tangata. Opened in 2000 by famed restaurateur and chef Joachim Splichal, the restaurant serves a diverse menu of California cuisine, "colored" with Splichal’s signature French style. In the main dining room natural light flows in through large picture windows, illuminating the Mediterranean décor. Al fresco dining takes place outside on Tangata’s two-tiered patio, which overlooks the courtyard.
The Museum’s interior spaces also lend themselves to a variety of events. The Fluor & Family Gallery, located on the second floor of the hacienda building, accommodates upscale dinners, cocktail receptions and small ceremonies. The ambiance here is Old World, thanks to the stunning beamed ceiling inset with vibrant murals. These colorful paintings, as well as the exhibits in this room, depict the history of Orange County and California. A stained-glass window at one end also makes the space feel a little like a chapel. The gallery opens out onto a balcony, giving you the option of having cocktails outdoors and a sophisticated sit-down dinner inside. However, one corporation actually hosted a medieval banquet on the balcony itself, seating 40 people around a long table set with candelabras.
Other conference and meeting rooms are available, and for corporate parties you can arrange to have specific exhibits, and even the gift store, kept open for your event. It’s a rare facility that has everything—drama, beauty, excitement and good food—but the Bowers Museum delivers on all counts. So take that walk through the belltower entrance and be enchanted. You won’t believe you’re in a museum, and you’ll be ever so grateful you stopped by.
www.patinagroup.com
Images provided by Bella Pictures
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