One of the best ways to connect with your clients or potential clients is to host a private dinner. This can be a carefully curated combination of your clients (clients love to meet each other!) or you could be connecting a community of different people to build your reputation in your sector. With so many restaurants in London to consider – get our top 10 restaurants for London private dining, plus our tips and key things to consider…
Numbers at your private dinner
We find the best number for a private dining group experience is around 10-12, and no more than 16. Being able to have smaller, separate conversations are great, but to also have one conversation at times during the meal is really beneficial. Being able to hear each other offers the best way to learn from each other and build connection.
Just a note on numbers, people will always drop out, particularly last minute. It is not personal, something always comes up, illness, picking up children, work commitments etc. Try to plan dinners around major considerations – other industry events, big sporting fixtures, school holidays and so on. The week after school holidays is often tricky too. (Read our article on the best time of year and best day to host an event)
You’ll find you have the right people in the room, private dining events are an opportunity to create one-off communities, just for one evening. The benefits can ripple far beyond the one dinner.
Speakers
We have organised private dinning events where there is a speaker and a host. Your host must welcome everyone and make them feel at ease. This person usually knows everyone around the table or at least is connected to most people, and can introduce your speaker. The speaker can be someone from a brand or company that is interesting to your sector – think about how they can add to your event without dominating.
A couple of relevant questions between courses in a fireside chat format or a 7-8 minute “talk” can work well for conversations and questions to continue. Avoid speakers using slides, this is not a presentation opportunity, stay in conversation mode. Delivery should be focused on telling stories and intriguing people with anecdotes and though provoking ideas. Done right, it should stimulate more conversations.
Allocate roles
Make people feel welcome and part of the dinner – assign them tasks – someone responsible for always topping up everyone’s water. Someone in charge of making sure wine and drinks are topped up and flowing. Conversation starter – prep a couple of people to make sure conversation is always flowing too.
If you’re the host, it helps to have someone from your team allocated to you. Their role is to make sure they speak to anyone that you don’t get time to properly connect with. Ensure connections are made around the whole table. (Read our article on how to be a good event host)
Location – key considerations for London private dining
Pick a location that is easily accessible for your guests. It takes a lot of effort to spend the evening socialising for work and the slightest reason, such as the dinner venue is the wrong direction away from my train home, can be enough to put someone off.
Successful London private dining requires specific thinking about public transport connection points – is it on a main tube line or bus route? How close is it to your guests office location?
Top 10 places to host a private dinner in London
Here’s the first 3:
- Searcys at the Gherkin [City]
Modern British, 16-50 guests £80+ pp
https://searcysatthegherkin.co.uk - L’escargot [Soho]
French, 5 private dining rooms, seats 8-40 guests £60+ pp
https://www.lescargot.co.uk/ - The Groucho [Soho]
Modern European, seats 12-50 guests £75+ pp
https://www.thegrouchoclub.com/ – (You don’t have to be a member to hire their private event spaces)
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