Some of the loveliest bookings on the desk come from couples: partners celebrating an anniversary in town, two visitors who want someone local to show them Mayfair after dark, or a pair who simply enjoy a lively extra voice at dinner. The couples evening is built for them, and it starts with both of you being equally keen.
The format is social at heart: a table for three on Mount Street, cocktails at a hotel bar, a stroll through the lit arcades off Piccadilly. Your companion shares her attention evenly between you, and she is booked, like every companion on this site, for time and companionship only.
Bella asks one question before anything else: have you both chosen this? A booking made as a surprise for a partner is not accepted, because an evening for three depends on every person at the table having said yes. She usually exchanges a message or two with whichever of you writes first, and either partner is welcome to ask her anything before she confirms.
Dinner is the classic: Scott's for oysters, the Colony Grill Room at The Beaumont for something clubby, or a round of cocktails at the Connaught Bar before a table nearby. Visitors often ask for a guided evening instead, with a companion who knows which Mayfair bars stay open late and which galleries hold evening views. For an anniversary, the four hour line at £1,300 is the usual choice, since it leaves time for a proper celebration.
Couples evenings call for someone socially easy, a person who reads two moods at once and keeps the talk flowing in both directions. Michelle, chatty and full of opinions about garnish, is a favourite. Nancy is cheerful company with an early thirties calm, Jasmin, petite and bright, brings salsa night energy to any table, and Lea will happily discuss interiors and small-stage theatre with anyone who asks.
If neither of you has booked a companion before, begin with two hours at £750: drinks and a light supper, with room to extend if it is going well. Tell Bella what the two of you enjoy, whether that is wine, music, art or simply very good food, and she will choose someone who shares it. She may also suggest a round table rather than a banquette, which makes conversation for three far easier. Most first time nerves have gone by the second glass.
Couples in town usually stay in a hotel, and The Connaught, The Biltmore on Grosvenor Square and the suites of Grosvenor House all make easy starting points. A London home works just as well. Bella checks the booking once, under the name of whichever partner is hosting, and nothing about the evening appears on your hotel bill. The full ladder of lengths and figures is on the rates page.
A good couples evening feels like dinner with a witty friend who happens to know the neighbourhood. Your companion never takes sides, never plays one partner against the other and never lets either of you feel left out of the conversation. The two of you set the pace together, and either of you can bring the evening to a close whenever you like.
Discretion works exactly as it does for a single guest, only doubled. Bella keeps one thread with whichever partner writes, asks for the hotel details once and shares nothing with anyone. Your companion uses the first names you give her, talks about anything but how the evening was arranged, and says goodbye in the lobby or at your door as you prefer. If you are regulars somewhere in W1, she will be the soul of tact when the maître d' greets you by name.
5 answers below. Tap a question to open it, and send anything we missed to Bella on WhatsApp.
Please talk first. Bella confirms couples bookings only once both partners have agreed, because a surprise of this kind rarely lands well for anyone, least of all the companion.
No. One companion is booked at the usual rate, from £400 for the first hour, whether she is meeting one guest or two.
Yes, and many couples prefer it. Book two hours, start with cocktails downstairs and settle the rest of the plan between the three of you; extending on the night is simple.
Not at all. Londoners book couples evenings for birthdays, anniversaries and ordinary Fridays; visitors simply tend to add a little sightseeing.
Either, as long as the message makes clear that you are both keen. Bella will reply to that thread only, and the partner who writes is the one whose hotel details she checks.
A long supper, a gallery opening, a slow night upstairs: give Bella the outline and she will suggest the companion who fits it best.
