The Trafalgar St James’s | 2 Spring Gardens | Trafalgar Square | SW1A 2TS
Private Room: Biblio |Lower Ground Floor.
Wednesday 26th February | 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Going with the flow at Locket’s
St James’s regulars would have observed the transformation of one of London’s most beloved architectural icons, the Economist HQ, designed by the husband and wife duo of Alison & Peter Smithson in 1964. After a loving restoration, the building is now fondly known as Smithson Plaza.
Nestled central stage is Locket’s restaurant/wine bar – its arrival is attributed to Locket Hambro, the great-granddaughter of Olaf Hambro who bought Wilton’s, London’s second oldest restaurant, over 275 years ago, and whose family has run it along with Franco’s, a few doors down, ever since.
Positioned as a more casual alternative, the restaurant is a café by day, serving breakfast and light lunch options before being gently transformed into a wine bar and casual dining by night. We visited for lunch and picked a selection of sharing plates off the daily changing menu, in addition to the salads served buffet-style from the counter, everything presented and served to Franco’s-style perfection. Given that it was a diary-crammed December, our lunch inexorably slid into a separate coffee meeting, significantly changed-up when our guest decided to order several glasses of champagne – who were we to argue! Such is the alluring charm of the versatile Locket’s, part restaurant, part wine bar, you never know where the mood is going to take you – ‘going with the flow’ had never been so endearing!
Festive at No, Fifty Cheyne, 3rd December
What a fabulous time we had on Tuesday night at No. Fifty Cheyne, so much so, it was difficult to leave its settle-in-for-the-night charms!
We were greeted with a delicate china teacup of mulled wine and scrumptious Christmas mince pies by head chef Iain Smith. Plus, a delicious warm welcome from our favourite hostess Bethany Russell. Anyone who comes to our parties will know that Bethany and I have a bit of a fan club with each other – we love her, and she loves Rendezvous and our cheeky bunch of characters. We’ve followed her from Franco’s to The Goat, to Aquavit and she’s unfailingly there to help create glorious, elegant, fun-filled parties – thank you Bethany!
Bethany’s good friend actor/singer Anton Stephan’s joined us to entertain us with some sassy show tunes and in show topping sparkly pants he did just that! He fun-handled the guests into moving and shaking, in such party spirit and high energy, he was quite irresistible. Our guests love to dance, and our February party will be all about that, see details on our events page.
No Fifty Cheyne, is a complete makeover of what used to be the Cheyne Walk Brasserie, originally created in 2004 by Sally Greene, who also owns the Old Vic and Ronnie Scott’s. With its elegant townhouse style, it has clearly been carried out with love and style. We can’t wait to go back.
Some Lovely Feedback –
“What a perfect venue for Christmas drinks, thank you for organising it. I very much enjoyed last night’s party together with the added excitement of the entertaining singer, where did he get those sequined leggings?! As usual a lovely atmosphere and an interesting mix of friendly people. “
“Thank so much for last night: really enjoyed myself. I was suffering a bit today!”
“Thanks for the warm welcome last night. I thought you threw a great get together!”
“Anton was the best decision! and I can’t believe how wonderful he was at getting all the barriers broken down and getting people to dance. It was super cute.
“Thanks so much for lovely party last night! Look forward to next Rendezvous party.”
Locket’s 23-27 St James’s St, St. James’s, SW1A 1HA
Thursday 23rd January. 6:30 pm – 8.30 pm
Wednesday 23rd October. The Court, Kingly Street, Soho.
Our Rendezvous at The Court this October evening proved to be pure genius on every level. Nestling in buzzy Carnaby Street, just along from 90’s haunt Shampers. The Court is an absolute gem of a venue. The bar soon began to rock with our guests, moving The Court’s own members swiftly to the side so we could entertain our very special list. Service was contactless club-land style, wonderful staff, helped create an eclectic ambience that set us up for a splendid night!
On the site of the legendary music venue Bag O’Nails, where in the 60s, the likes of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones frequently partied, we had a ball.
This iconic spot is a trendy new private members’ club: The Court which opened its doors in February and is a sophisticated space with hot new restaurant and a chic Gatsby-style basement bar with an extensive cocktail menu. The décor is stunning created by the internationally renowned artist Bradley Theodore and celebrity florist Nikki Tibbles.
The club echoes the venue’s rich musical history with live entertainment nightly including pianists, soul singer, jazz/funk/rock bands and the occasional show. We were wowed by the gorgeous Amber Topaz an actress, and comedienne who transformed the club with her explosive charisma and stage presence hovering between music and jazz songs and seduction, a true vision in red!!
The Court is an amazing club and we think there are some very compelling reasons to join…particularly as this incredibly chic and charming bolt hole has a membership offer just for us. Until the end of November, you can take annual membership for just £400 reduced from the usual £600.00. Please email Pamela Giuliana pam@thecourt.co.uk.
Some Lovely Feedback:
Hi Barbara
Great evening last night, lots of people, very good venue. It was lovely to have live band and a singer made a great atmosphere. Let’s have more music!
Love S x
Hi B
Just wanted to say thank you for the other night, what a lovely venue!
T x
Dear Barbara
Congrats again on another vibrant, happy event at The Court, I enjoyed meeting more new faces.
Look forward to seeing you and everyone again at the next one. Great night last night. Thank you!
P x
Dear Barbara
I just wanted to write and thank you for yesterday evening’s lovely drinks party at The Court. I had a really wonderful time and met some truly delightful and interesting people. It was a great pleasure to finally meet you and also Lou too! I will look forward to hearing about the next event.
N x