90 minutes, or 120 for 5 or more
How long the table is yours
Ninety minutes for one to four people, two hours for five or more. It is on the booking form before you book rather than on a card when you sit down, because a number you agreed to is not the same thing as a number you were handed.
The arithmetic, since it is not a secret
Eighteen tables. Sixty-four seats. On a Friday or Saturday evening we can seat each of those tables twice: once around seven and once around nine. That is the entire business model of a room this size, and it only works if the first sitting finishes when it said it would.
If the seven o'clock table runs to nine thirty, the nine o'clock table stands in the doorway with their coats on. Nobody enjoys that, least of all the people already sitting down watching it happen. So the number exists, and the only question is whether you find out about it when you book or when you are handed a bill you did not ask for.
What actually happens at the end of it
Nothing dramatic. Nobody stands over you, nobody clears the table around you, and nobody brings a bill you did not ask for. If the table after you has not arrived, you will not be moved at all. What happens is that somewhere around the ninety-minute mark a server will ask whether you would like anything else, which is a real question and not a signal.
When we will give you longer
Ask. Genuinely — ask when you book, in the notes box. An early table on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday can very often have the whole evening, because there is nobody behind it. A seven o'clock table on a Saturday cannot, and we would rather tell you no in advance than yes and then hurry you.
Why five people costs half an hour more
Because a party of five orders in two waves, talks more between courses and takes longer over pudding, and pretending otherwise just moves the problem to the table waiting. The longer turn is also why a party of five is harder to fit in at seven o'clock on a Saturday than two parties of two — the booking form is doing that arithmetic when it shows you what is free.
No card, and no charge for a no-show. We do not take a card to hold a table of eight or fewer, and we do not charge for a no-show. That is a deliberate choice and it costs us real money — on a Saturday a no-show at eight is a table that earns nothing for the rest of the night. We would rather carry that than treat everybody as a risk. What we ask in return is the thirty seconds it takes to click the cancel link in your confirmation email. Private dining is different, because a room and a set menu are bought in advance; the deposit terms are on that page.
The rest of the things worth knowing
Tuesday to Sunday · closed Mondays
Book a table
Pick a date, tell us how many of you there are, and the form shows the times we can actually seat that many — not every time we are open. Parties of eight and under book instantly; nine or more becomes a private dining enquiry, because a group that size needs a room and a set menu rather than a table. The twelve bar seats are never reservable, so there is always somewhere to eat here without a booking.