Events Ideal For Private Dining

Birthday parties at home, wedding receptions in converted barns, christenings in church halls – they’ve all been done. And while very nice, a lot of people don’t think to take such an event to a restaurant. Why not? Possibly due to the fact that a birthday, wedding or christening involves a lot of people. However, the multitude of eateries across London offering a range of private dining facilities on a grander scale is something that is ever-growing and ever-improving.

Private dining isn’t just for a huddle of businessmen to sit around a table and talk turkey; nor is it simply for a gaggle of ladies that lunch to collate and chatter over varying bottles of pinot grigio. It doesn’t have to just be utilized by small groups either. Many consider a private dining event to be solely for the purpose of gathering some close friends for a small intimate dinner, or even for a one-on-one romantic meal for two. The wonderful thing is, you can use one of London’s exclusive private rooms for these very reasons, but there are also many options across the city to host more of an “event” in one of these locations.

What constitutes an “event”. There needn’t be a definition. Back to the idea of working lunches and girly dinners – London’s restaurants allow you to do this on a personal scale or a grand one. Plenty of the venues around the capital have fully equipped dining rooms, with conference tables and media facilities, so that you can impress your guests with a presentation or proposition accompanied by personal wait staff, a bespoke custom-designed menu and an exceptional environment. Lunching ladies can equally take their event to the next level by hosting a grandiose supper or even a tasting event, with double the amount of guests you might have at a more intimate luncheon.

But where these venues really come into their own is when there’s a celebration to be had! Entire restaurants can be shut down just for you! Or failing that, there are venues around London that section off part of the building for you, merge several private rooms into one, or give you your own floor. Throw in a personalized menu, from some of the city’s top chefs, a bar full of wines and cocktails at your disposal, and the option to decorate your party as you so wish, and you’ll be able to throw a party to remember. A wedding reception on one of London’s private terraces, overlooking one of London’s parks – ideal. A birthday party across a row of sectioned-off rooms, low lit, canapés at the ready, with your i-pod plugged into the room’s sound system – distinct. A christening event on the banks of the Thames, the swans providing natural delicacy to the celebrations, and catered for by a top London kitchen – exceptional.

To name a selection of event-dining venues in London, there’s First Floor in Notting Hill with its outstanding Banqueting Room and it’s Inner Grand Room, both rustic and gothic to a deliciously atmospheric degree, and offering the opportunity to merge both rooms into a 70 person reception; there’s Brown’s Courtrooms in Covent Garden – a truly unique venue, converted from an early 20^th Century law court, and with a choice of using the judge’s chambers or the barrister’s court for your wood paneled, historically rich event, great for weddings and civil ceremonies; then there’s Bank, Westminster, with its joined double-roomed frosted glass surroundings, ideal for events of a corporate or a celebratory nature; Blake’s Hotel in South Kensington is exquisite, and ideal for a large sit-down dinner or an elegant cocktail event, with the added bonus of being able to crash out upstairs in your hotel room at the end of the night; fancy a banquet in a great hall, a 300 person wedding reception, or a summer soiree in the city – then consider BMA House in Bloomsbury with its gold leaf and mahogany pillars, perfect for a grand venue where there will be dinner and dancing; Bellaria, Fitzrovia, offers its party-goer the chance to take over the entire basement – it’s ideal for a more intimate gathering and is very romantic for a quieter wedding reception where up to 50 guests can taste the fresh pastas of Italy in a brick-lined, low-lit vault that is a converted bakery; Cocochan, in the West End, is ideal for those wanting to host a special party – it’s modern, vibrant, colourful theme is ideal for a 21^st or a 30^th, giving you the option to hold dinner parties in one of its smaller rooms, the option to host a canapé event in its large lounge basement, or indeed take over the entire restaurant, bar and basement for a mammoth event to remember.

If you have an event in mind, be sure to look directly at these categories on our website, narrowed down conveniently to plan whatever occasion you have in mind. Be it a wedding, party, a restaurant take-over, or a corporate event.