There were actually 11 of us not 12, and a more apt name for this table could have been called ‘cosmopolitan dining’ (the adjective not the cocktail, although quite a few of the latter were ordered). I shared the table with one fellow Brit, a French-Canadian lady, a guy from the Netherlands and also fellow diners originally from India, Hong Kong, New Zealand (whose avatar / caricature on TableCrowd was a striking resemblance!), France and Spain. The age range was mid 30s to late 40s.

I hosted the table at Rocket in Mayfair. It’s tucked behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street on a quiet, cobbled courtyard. We were given the love lounge (no, I’m not joking, and no I didn’t name it); a private room off the main dining room. It was one of the first tables I had hosted and I felt like I had entered a new world of confident, social people keen to meet others.

We shared a few bottles of red wine and topics that floated around the table included quantum physics, the work ethic of the Spanish, whether there was an American flag on the moon, Jake Bugg, what you would cook if the Queen popped in for dinner and how quickly you could get to Richmond by motor bike (to name a non select few (no religion or politics!)).

Food was tasty; I enjoyed by spicy Italian sausage pizza! I enjoyed more the interesting marketing spin on naming the dishes on the menu. Pretty much everything was a salad, even ‘fish & chip salad’, which was basically fish & chips. Rocket’s goal clearly being to fool us diners into thinking we’d chosen a healthy option from the menu (it worked)!

As host, I was in charge of sorting the bill. It was a pay-as-you-go table, so the calculator was out! Easy for me; very accommodating of the restaurant staff.

Many laughs and great vibe. 5 stars.

TableCrowd is always looking for hosts so that they can run more varied tables, in different locations and restaurants. If you fancy playing host (and this just means making sure everyone has a seat and asking for the bill), then please get in touch to offer your services for this prestigious role at the tables you’d be keen to attend anyway.