Group Dining in Ryde for 8 to 36 Guests

The organiser of a group dinner does most of the work before anyone sits down: finding a date that suits, chasing replies, and the slightly awkward question of what everyone is happy to spend.

Which room?

Numbers often decide it for you. The minimum is eight in The 1982 and twelve in The 1945, so a party of eight to eleven only fits one of them. If you’re somewhere between twelve and sixteen, think about the kind of evening it is. The 1982 is the more intimate of the two, and the kitchen window gives people something to watch and talk about, which helps when half the table haven’t met. The 1945 has its own bar, which suits a party that wants to get up and move around.

Both rooms look into the wine cellar. They’re named after two of the great vintages of the last century, which gives you some idea of what’s on the other side of the glass.

Tell your guests about the stairs

Both rooms are on the lower ground floor and there’s no step-free access. The team will do their best to help people in and out, but if anyone in your party would find stairs difficult, talk to us before you book so we can plan for it. It’s far easier to raise now than on the night.

Money

Agree what the per-head figure covers before anyone orders, and especially whether it includes drinks. Once the room and date are confirmed, the events team talks through the menu with you and sends the details in writing. It helps to have the group’s budget to hand when it arrives.

One practical point: on the night, bills can be split up to two ways unless the booking is paid in advance. If twelve people are expecting to pay separately, either agree between yourselves who settles up, or pay in advance and collect from everyone beforehand.

Menu choices

We need everyone’s choices seven days before the booking. Ask your guests for theirs a week before that, because somebody always replies late. Keep names, choices and any allergies or dietary requirements in one list. If it reaches us in time, we can print name cards with each guest’s choices on them, which saves a lot of “who ordered the fish?” when the plates come out.

For the drinks, our guide to the wine list is a good start. The quickest way to a good bottle is still to tell us roughly what you’d like to spend and what everyone’s eating.

A few house details

• Music. Both rooms have a Sonos system, so bring a playlist.
• Decorations. We provide glass oil lamps. Balloons and table decorations are welcome as long as they go home with you. No confetti, glitter, party poppers or indoor fireworks, please.
• More than twenty? The two rooms together seat up to 36. For more than that, tell us anyway. Depending on the date, we may be able to suggest another way to seat you.

December has its own Christmas page, with the festive menu, the dates and the private rooms, and a longer party guide to go with it. For any other month, send your date, numbers and a line about the occasion through The Cellar enquiry form, or ring 01983 526118.

Questions we get asked

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