On our price list the dinner date goes by the name cover story, and it earns the title. Four hours, £1,300, built around a single reservation: a glass beforehand, a long table in the middle and time afterwards to let the evening settle. It is the format for guests who value the conversation as much as the menu, and who would rather not glance at a watch between courses.
She joins you in your lobby or at the restaurant entrance, dressed for the room you have chosen. Samanta, who prefers dinner dates to any other booking, and Bianka, who has never met a wine list she did not want to read cover to cover, are two of the first names Bella tends to suggest.
Most dinner dates open with half an hour at a hotel bar, the Connaught Bar or the American Bar at The Beaumont, while the table is being laid. Dinner itself takes a little over two hours when nobody is rushing the kitchen. That leaves a last stretch for a nightcap, a turn through Mount Street Gardens on a mild night or coffee back in your suite. Four hours sounds generous on paper; at a good table it goes by quickly.
Mayfair holds one of the densest runs of fine dining rooms anywhere in London, and our companions know a good many of them. Scott's on Mount Street for oysters and a summer terrace, Murano on Queen Street for Italian cooking in a calm room, Park Chinois on Berkeley Street when you would like music after the main course. For a view, Galvin at Windows looks down across Hyde Park from the top of the Hilton on Park Lane. Tell Bella the sort of room you enjoy and she can point you at one.
Usually you book the table, since it sits in your name and many Mayfair rooms want details to hold it. If you would rather not, tell Bella a day ahead and she will suggest places that are easier to secure at short notice. The meal and the wine are yours to settle with the restaurant, exactly as on any dinner you host. The £1,300 covers your companion's time and company across the four hours, and nothing besides.
A handful of W1 restaurants still expect a jacket, and a few evenings begin somewhere with a stricter code. Tell Bella where you are eating and she will choose accordingly: a tailored dress for Scott's, something with a little more shine for a late table on Berkeley Street, black tie if dinner follows a gala. She walks in looking as if she had been invited, because she has.
The women Bella picks for dinner share one gift: they are good company across a table for two hours without either of you having to work at it. Samanta and Liana, both in their late twenties, are the quieter pair, Liana calm and bookish and happiest over a weeknight table. Nancy will talk you into an omakase counter and make it the highlight of your trip, and Vanessa likes to open with oysters on Swallow Street. Ask for someone who suits your own temperament and Bella will find her.
A dinner date does not have to begin at eight. A long Saturday lunch that drifts past four works beautifully, and an early supper before an evening flight suits guests on a tight schedule. Late starts are fine as long as the kitchen is still taking orders. The four hours and the £1,300 stay the same; only the clock moves. For a quicker meal, the three hour line at £1,050 on the rates page is the better fit.
5 answers below. Tap a question to open it, and send anything we missed to Bella on WhatsApp.
Either works. Meeting at the hotel lets you walk in together, while meeting at the table saves time when your last appointment runs late. Tell Bella which and she will give your companion the name on the reservation.
No. As host you settle the meal and the wine with the restaurant yourself. The £1,300 is for your companion's time and company over four hours and is handed to her in person when the evening begins.
Mention it to her, then send Bella a line. If her diary is clear the evening simply continues, and the extra time is agreed before it starts rather than added up afterwards.
Teatime on the day is usually enough. A Friday or Saturday at a sought after room is easier with a day in hand, and a counter or chef's table can need two.
Yes, and it is often the easiest plan of all. Jean-Georges at The Connaught, the restaurant at Claridge's or The Grill at The Dorchester mean nobody needs a taxi, and the nightcap is a short lift ride away.
A long supper, a gallery opening, a slow night upstairs: give Bella the outline and she will suggest the companion who fits it best.
