Dinner With Friends at the River Café 2024
Soirée Committiéer
19 December 2024
‘Tis the time for traditions, and surely none could be more festive, more fun than our annual Friends Christmas Dinner. Like clockwork, each year come the second to last Friday of December we fill The River Cafe’s private dining room, Sylvia’s, with our most near and dear to toast the exciting times to come.
Guests were greeted by glasses of sparkling rosé and a band of warm hellos. Tempting trays of pizetta and artichoke fritti circled about the room, charming their way into each passing conversation.
A culinary treat for all, the dinner menu featured a fresh pasta course - Rigatoni al cavalo nero or Tagliatelle al Ragu - a light Branzino al forno with lemon, wild oregano black olives and Pinot Bianco, and an almond tart pudding served with a roulette wheel of ice creams to share.
For the table setting, a rich hue of purples and pinks punctuated the scene; arrangements of poppies and moss playfully sprouted from silver chalices, as dreamt up by art curator and florist Silka Rittson-Thomas.
Of course no Christmas table is complete sans a set of crackers to snap, surprise and delight. Inside our custom crackers - wrapped with a wintry scene of our holiday characters - guests discovered miniature decks of cards, pocket-sized puzzles, petite pairs of dice, chuckle-inducing jokes, Métier stickers, and, but of course, silver crowns.
As it is the gift giving season, each place setting was laid with our 2025 Diary - a must-have accessory to carry through the year ahead - an issue of our bi-annual Zine, to entertain those en route to holiday destinations, and a hand calligraphed card writ with well wishes.
A menagerie of Métiers! Each season, we turn to the talented illustrator Jochen Gerner to bring our core bags to life. Ever on the go, our stylish characters, the ‘Holidériers’ - including a martini balancing Ease, a poised Parallel, a sporty Racer and more - posted up at the bar and around the piano.
An invitation to dine at The River Cafe is certainly not one to pass up. Since Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray opened the culinary mainstay back in 1987, the restaurant has been a destination for discerning diners in search of impeccably prepared, simple, seasonal Italian fare. Perched on the bank of the Thames, it’s known for being one of the most beautiful dining rooms in London.
Ruth Roger’s talents stretch far beyond the plate; the delightful conversationalist has found well-deserved success as the host of the podcast, Ruthie’s Table 4, which invites friends old and new to pull up a seat to chat about, appropriately enough, their fondest food memories.
Notable episodes include Laura Dern, Wes Anderson and Ed Ruscha.