Raff’s Party Machine Rentals

San Francisco, United States

4.9

12 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

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Telephone:
+1 650-362-3629
Website:
raffsbev.com
Address:
San Francisco, CA 94501
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.2 mi51A North
1.2 mi51A South
1.7 miJack London Square Amtrak
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Accepts Credit Cards
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (San Francisco) 10:34 Thursday, 5 June 2025

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Description

Specialties

Raff’s Tropical Beverages (Raff’s Party Machine Rentals) specializes in party machine rental equipment deliveries for public and private events, festivals, weddings, and corporate parties. We deliver commercial grade soft serve machines (Straus Family Creamery organic soft serve ice cream mix and Dole Whip), frozen beverage machines (margarita machines, rum runners, pina coladas), shaved ice machines (shave ice syrups) and chocolate fountains. Our service includes delivery, set up, attendant (optional), and pick up/​clean up. Added options include an attendant, a full gourmet toppings bar, Straus Organic soft serve ice cream, Dole Whip pineapple soft serve, and flavored purees. Some of the events Raff’s has been involved with have been: VISA, AirBnB, LucasFilm, Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Family Museum, Stag Dining, Tiki Oasis, NASCAR, Nutrition53, & other high end weddings and events. Raff’s specializes in catered weddings and events that request soft serve machines using Straus Family Creamery organic soft serve mix, margarita machine rentals, shaved ice machine rentals, and chocolate fountain rentals. Delivery is just a phone call away. «Be a guest at your own party!»

History

Established in 2003.

Raff’s was created in 2003 to fill the need for an upscale margarita machine rental delivery business in the San Francisco Bay Area. Raff’s Part Machine Rentals has since expanded from the bay area into the Reno/​Tahoe area and all points in between. Raff’s specializes in margarita machine rentals, soft serve machine rentals, chocolate fountain rentals, and shaved ice machine rentals. Raff’s machines are commercial grade and freeze down in 10 minutes.

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12 reviews of Raff’s Party Machine Rentals

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I have used Chris and Raff’s for several events now. I am the Operations Manager for a commercial theatre company in SF, and we have soft-​serve parties for our touring companies during the run of the various shows. The cast members and crew have always loved this soft-​serve — including LaChanze, Anthony Rapp, and James Snyder of IF/​THEN (Idina refrained from enjoying the ice cream, as it wouldn’t be fair to ply her with dairy and then ask her to go belt high E’s all night!). Not only are Chris and Mila great to work with, they are delivering a top quality product. The toppings bar with the ice cream is a huge hit, and it really does make for a nice informal get together for the cast members to let their hair down and enjoy this soft-​serve. I recommend highly!
Place rating: 5
Las Vegas, NV
We rented the soft serve machine for an office activity, and it was a big hit! The ice cream was so thick and creamy, and everyone loved the sugar cones! Chris was on time, friendly and professional. We are definitely using him again in the future– bring on the Raffiritas!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve meant to write this review for a long time. I manage a bar and last October during a heat spell our margarita slushie machine died and needed to be taken away. We were gonna be without the machine for several days and our customers wanted their frozen margaritas. I was panicked. I shopped around for machines and after several calls to different rental companies I spoke with Raff. He said his wife was picking up a machine in the city and she could drop it off at our business if we like. She was able to drop off the machine within an hour. They explained how to use the machine and we were back in business! The machine worked fabulously, actually much better than the one we owned., it froze drinks up in a fraction of the amount of time. I would definitely recommend Raff’s for Frozen drink machines!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Best margarita machine ever! I’ve thrown dozens of parties (60+ people) and invariably, the margarita machine is drained and then it takes several hours for the mix to get slushy again.
Not so with Raff’s Party Machine Rentals.
Chris Raffio informed me his machine, the larger Taylor 430, will work its magic in just 10 minutes. I was a tad skeptical. He delivered the machine on time as promised and we quickly mixed a batch and presto!, in JUST 10 MINUTES, we had awesome sauce margaritas flowing! As Chris being the great guy he is, stayed with us for a few minutes to sample and do a «quality control» check with us.
We also rented a shaved ice machine for the kids and that was a huge hit. It was also well-​received with the adults as we mixed up some adult-​only syrups like Rye Manhattan, Bourbon Sour and Bailey’s Irish Cream for our shaved ices.
Aside from the Patriots beating the Seahawks, the margaritas and shaved ices was the best thing at our Super Bowl party this year.
Thanks a million Chris and Raff’s. We look forward to seeing you again at our next party!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Last week, my sister hosted a party for 60+ and the margarita machine was a big hit!
Chris and Raff’s were punctual, reliable and extremely helpful. The margaritas were delicious. and lethal! My sister gives this place two thumbs up!
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
We had a fantastic party last night thanks in part to Chris and his margarita machines. We served margaritas for the adults and strawberry lemonade for the kids and everyone loved them. The drinks blew everyone away — they were absolutely delicious. I didn’t know what to expect so I had bought a bunch of limes which I thought we’d squeeze in — they ended up just being garnish bc we didn’t need them for flavor. Chris spent a lot of time and care in setting up the machines and making sure we were happy — which we were! An excellent experience!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Can I just rent the Raff’s soft serve machine permanently and have it set it up in my kitchen?! We had the organic soft serve and toppings bar at my dad’s retirement party last weekend, and it was amazing! The ice cream was delicious and the hot fudge topping was my favorite (caramel was a close second). The machine rental was super simple and Chris had everything set up for us and ready to go. I would definitely recommend the soft serve from Raff’s!
Place rating: 5
Burlingame, CA
Yum! Raff’s has something for everyone. We went to a Labor Day BBQ on Sunday. The margarita’s were to die for, and my kids loved the soft serve ice cream. I asked my friend who provided the treats… I was inspired to write this post and can’t wait to have Chris help us with our next backyard party!
Place rating: 4
Castro Valley, CA
The soft serve machine I rented for a 3 person high school graduation was the hit of the party. I had to have something special and renting from Chris was the way to go. I’m a little old school and it was difficult for me to conduct business mostly by e-​mail. I called Chris and expressed my concerns and he made feel much more comfortable. That’s the only reason why it isn’t 5 stars. On the day of the event, Chris was early and very thorough with the instructions. He set everything up perfectly and we didn’t have to clean up afterward. He took care of everything. I would definitely hire Chris again for any future events.
Place rating: 5
Pacific Heights, San Francisco, CA
Chris was wonderful to work with! We had a Tahoe themed private event at MatrixFillmore and he helped us imitate ‘Wet Woodys’ from Gar Woods. He is extremely friendly, professional and your one stop shop for anything frozen! Look no further, you are in great hands! I look forward to working with Chris again soon.
Place rating: 5
Los Altos, CA
I had a party this summer and Raff’s supplied the margarita machine and the soft serve ice cream. Let me tell you, the margaritas were outstanding — not too sweet and perfectly mixed. And the soft serve — yummy. We had adults and kids at the party which made the soft serve a huge hit. Such a success that people at the party have already hired Raff’s for their parties. Now THAT’s a sign that you’re party was a success!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Chris Raffilo is your one man stop for all things frozen. While we used him to rent frozen margarita machines for a large event, he also rents snow cone machines, soft serve ice cream machines and kegerators.
When it comes to margarita machines there are several types available and it’s important to know the differences. The open bin models made of plastic are fine for small gatherings, but if you are going to have any more than 50 people you will want to get an enclosed commercial grade machine with a enclosed freezing cylinder. These models are more hefty and they can handle up to five gallons of mix and freeze a batch in under 20 minutes, even on a hot day. That’s what you will be getting from Raff’s.
There is also a wide variety of mix qualities, and the better mixes provide a nice smooth consistency and are not overly sweet or overly tart. Some of the mixes I have tried tasted so artificial it made having a machine pointless because no one wanted to drink the margaritas! Raff provides a high quality mix which makes some of the best margaritas out there.
And finally Chris Raff is great — he delivered the machines when he said, his rates are reasonable, and made sure we were set up with everything we needed for a successful party — including giving us extra mix that we didn’t have to pay for unless we used it.
So there you have it, five stars for Raff’s!