Desk openReel 06 · OfferingsFrom £250
A companion for couples visiting the river and the City
Couples come to this offering with different occasions in mind: an anniversary in London, a first trip to the city, a wish to spend an evening with someone new and interesting. A companion joins you both for dinner, a play, a gallery late or a slow round of bars, and brings conversation and local knowledge to an evening you would otherwise have spent as two.
It is priced as one companion's booking on the ordinary ladder, from £250 an hour, whether one guest is present or two. Most couples choose the four-hour dinner at £900, which leaves room for a drink before the meal and a walk after it.
Chosen for For couples
The companions the desk puts forward first when this evening is requested. Anyone on the reel may be asked.
Two guests, one thread
The desk arranges a couples evening only once both guests have said yes to it. The easiest way is a group chat on WhatsApp or Telegram with the two of you and the desk; a message from one of you that the other then confirms works too. The desk asks what sort of evening you both have in mind, and she is told the same, so nobody walks in with different expectations. The booking stays within what has been written, and she, like either of you, is free to end the evening at any point.
Evenings that work for three
South of the river, Waterloo packs the Old Vic, the National and the concert halls of the Southbank Centre into ten minutes on foot, with restaurants on every side for before or after. Bankside adds the Globe and the late openings at Tate Modern. North of the water, the City of London has the Barbican for concerts and the Sky Garden for a drink with the whole skyline spread below. A companion who knows these places saves you half an hour of deciding, and often suggests the one you would not have found alone. On a fine evening the walk between them, along the river past the lit arches of Blackfriars and Southwark bridges, is half the charm of the night, and it costs nothing at all.
A shape for a first evening together
Couples who have never done this before often find a simple outline helps. Something like this, adjusted to taste, rarely goes wrong:
Four with an easy manner in company
Sonya is calm, hazel eyed and in her early thirties, with a dancer's posture and a way of settling a table; she is easiest to book between five and ten in the evening. Thea, caramel blonde with green eyes, has the sort of laugh that makes any room feel informal, and a weakness for ramen counters. Michelle is talkative and warm and easy to fold into a conversation that is already under way. Rosa, with long chestnut curls, bakes, loves small galleries and always has something to say about the last one she visited. Thea, Michelle and Rosa are all in the curvaceous group.
Hosting, hours and what the fee covers
You host: the table, the tickets and the drinks are yours to arrange and settle, as they would be for any friend joining you. The fee is for her company over the booked hours and nothing more, paid to her directly, face to face, once she walks in, in pounds. Should all three of you want the evening to run on, ask the desk before the booked time ends. The booking page walks through each step between the first message and her knock.
For couples, answered
Entirely. Say so in your message, and the desk suggests a companion who is relaxed with first-time guests and a plan that begins somewhere public, a bar or a restaurant, so the evening can find its own pace.
Yes. Tell the desk what you both enjoy and it will suggest a play, a table or a bar, and she can add ideas once you have met. Any reservations stay in your own name.
Two hours suits drinks and conversation. Four hours with dinner is the usual choice. Anything longer is agreed with the desk, in writing, beforehand.
Either. Many couples prefer to meet her at the venue, which lets the evening begin naturally. If you are staying at a hotel on the river, she can meet you in its bar first.
Yes, and the desk will not confirm until you both have. If you cannot decide, describe the evening and let it suggest two names; the choice between them is usually quick.
Read first
- 5 min readWhen the traders go home: Borough Market's second act, table by tableBorough Market is famous by day and overlooked at night. Once the stalls shut, its restaurants, galleried inn and lanes beneath the railway make one of the best settings in London for a quiet date.
- 5 min readSunday in the Square Mile: empty floors, open doors and a calm first eveningFrom Friday night the City of London empties, and by Sunday its business hotels run at half pace. Why that makes Sunday the easiest evening for a first booking, and how to plan around Monday.
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Describe the plan in a line or two. The desk confirms a companion, a fee and the time she arrives.