Private Dining Rooms

Overview

Located in the former Reuters building in Fleet Street, Lutyens is the latest project from Prescott & Conran Limited, the company behind the recently opened Boundary and Albion in Shoreditch.

Lutyens opened on Monday 29th June 2009 and includes a large bar on Fleet Street with a charcuterie counter, 130 seat restaurant, crustacea, members club and 4 private dining and meeting rooms.

Lutyens is the dining destination of choice for business lunches, corporate events and intimate gatherings of family and friends.

Robin Soutar heads up the events team looking after our 4 private dining Rooms. The private dining rooms have been named after buildings designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens: Great Dixter, Viceroy House, St John the Evangelist and Reuters.

The rooms are suitable for interviews, small breakfast gatherings, private dining from 2 to 26, receptions up to 40 and are fully equipped for meetings and presentations. For further enquiries please email robin@lutyens-restaurant.com.

Insider View

This City favourite doesn’t need the crustacean bar at the front to scream that it’s a Conran venture. The classic clean lines, grey-painted steel girders, muted decor and minimal cool and airy feel all do that as you walk in.

The main dining room and bar, which can be hired for exclusive use at weekends when the restaurant is normally shut, has the feel of a cross between Bluebird and Bibendum – ie refined and understated luxury. Its pale sage ribbed velvet chairs and white linen table cloths provide a calm ambience, while the pretty posies of red and pink roses on the table ensure it doesn’t become too clinical.

But it’s downstairs where the main private dining rooms are located – although the opaque glass eggshell blue walls mean that it doesn’t feel in the slightest bit dark or dreary, more it’s surprisingly light and airy for what are essentially spaces with little or no natural daylight.

There are four private rooms in all, although the spaces are versatile and can be opened out to form two larger rooms. The Fleet Street location is drawn upon throughout the interior design, with printing and Lutyens inspired objet d’art adorning the shelves. The Great Dixter and St John Evangalist rooms go one step further, with pages of Punch magazine covering one wall as wallpaper.

The Viceroy House and Reuters rooms seat around 26 or 30 – 35 theatre style when combined. The velvet chairs are alternated with leather ones in the same hue, the tables are dark wood to match the shelving and door frames. It’s all from the Conran Shop and looks suitably stylish without being ‘try-hard’ - classic Conran. There’s also an LCD screen available for presentations.

These rooms are lit with spotlights, while some natural daylight filters through from the glass skylight blocks that are on the pavement level above, although I’m assured there’s no chance of getting unexpected views by accident when looking up.

One final space for any Conran members who want to use a private dining room is the members bar area. On the same floor as the rest of the private dining rooms, this beautifully designed space (again fitted out with Conran furniture), has the feel of a living room, albeit much tidier than mine and with a large bar at one end. The black glass tables are given warmth by the brown leather slouch sofas, blue chairs, light wood surrounds and cream walls. In winter there’s a roaring fire too.