What's included in a private dinner
A flat per-head figure covering Niamh, Aoife, all food, plating, the kitchen-on-the-night work and pack-down. We bring our own knife rolls and any specialist kit. You provide the plates, glassware, table, candles and the room.
- Menu conversation by phone or email two to three weeks ahead — no full tasting required for private dinners
- All food shopping and prep done at Synge Street that morning
- Niamh on site from 16.00 (for a 19.30 service), kitchen takeover for the evening
- Aoife on the room from first-guest arrival — pouring water, plating-coordinating, table-clearing
- Plate-up and service of each course (4–6 courses depending on menu)
- Kitchen left cleaner than we found it — dishes washed, surfaces wiped, hob clean
- Allergen briefing built in from the start — kosher-style, halal-style, vegetarian, vegan, coeliac all standard
Menu format — four, five or six courses
We typically do four courses for a relaxed dinner, five if it's a celebration, six if you're treating yourselves. Each course is a single plate (no buffets, no platters — that's the family-style wedding service, not private dinners).
- 4-course (from €85pp). Starter, fish or vegetable, main, pudding. Two-and-a-half hour table time.
- 5-course (from €105pp). Amuse, starter, fish, main, pudding. Three-hour table time. Standard birthday / anniversary booking.
- 6-course (from €125pp). Amuse, starter, fish, intermezzo, main, cheese, pudding. Three-and-a-half-hour table time. Big-night-out booking.
- Wine service. Whatever you have on the sideboard, we'll pour. Aoife knows wine well enough to advise on glass shape but we're not sommeliers and we don't sell wine.
Menus tend to lean European-Irish — seasonal fish from Sallynoggin, lamb from Wicklow, vegetables from the Tuesday market at Smithfield. We don't do sushi, we don't do barbecue, and we won't try to recreate a specific restaurant's dish — but most things between those guardrails we can work with.
What we need from your kitchen
Most Dublin home kitchens are fine. The list below is what makes the night smoother — none of it is a deal-breaker, but if one or two items are missing we'll know to bring our own.
- Four hob rings (gas or induction — both fine)
- An oven that can hit 220°C (a single oven is enough for up to 12 people; 16+ ideally needs a double or a second oven across the hall)
- Worktop space of about 1.5 metres for plating
- Plates: dinner plates, side plates, soup bowls, dessert plates for the head count
- Standard kitchen kit — chopping boards, a couple of saucepans (we bring our own knives and key pans)
- A sink we can wash up at as we go
- For 20+ guests we sometimes bring a portable burner — we'll mention it ahead
How the night runs
A typical 19.30 sit-down dinner for ten goes like this. Adjust the times if your party has a different sit-down.
- 16.00 — Niamh arrives, unloads the van, sets up the kitchen station. Two-thirds of the prep is already done at Synge Street.
- 17.30 — Aoife arrives, walks through the room with you, sets the table if you want her to, briefs you on the wine service.
- 19.15 — first canapé plate is ready. Guests arrive any time after this.
- 19.45 — first course goes down. Niamh stays in the kitchen, Aoife in the dining room.
- 22.30–23.00 — pudding cleared. Cheese plate goes down if it's a 6-course. Coffee.
- 23.30 — kitchen left clean, dishwasher loaded, surfaces wiped. We're gone by midnight on most jobs.
Per-head pricing — VAT included
- 4-course dinner, 8–14 guests: from €85pp
- 5-course dinner, 6–16 guests: from €105pp
- 6-course dinner, 8–18 guests: from €125pp
- Larger group (18–24): per-head drops €5–€10 from the figures above
- Travel inside the M50 ring included; Wicklow / Howth direction €30 flat
- Premium protein (turbot, dry-aged sirloin, langoustines): individual quote, typically +€15–€25pp
Pricing is for the food, the cook and the room-runner. Wine, drinks, flowers, music and any rented table-ware are on you (most Dublin homes have everything we need plate-wise; if you want a specific glassware hire we'll point you at the rental firm we use on weddings).
Related services
- Wedding catering — for the larger version of the same idea
- Corporate lunches — for board / client dinners off-premises