Some of the evenings we are proudest of have no aisle and no dance floor. Twelve friends, one long table, a villa garden and a menu that arrives slowly. A private dinner is the most personal event there is — and the one where every detail is seen up close.
Occasions that deserve a table of their own
A private villa dinner is a seated evening for a small group, usually between eight and forty guests, in a house or garden rather than a restaurant. It suits any moment worth marking:
- An anniversary — the tenth, the twenty-fifth, or simply this year.
- An engagement or a proposal — with or without friends waiting behind the hedge.
- A welcome or rehearsal dinner the night before a wedding.
- A milestone birthday for someone who would rather talk than dance.
- A family reunion or a summer gathering of old friends.
- A thank-you dinner for a team, clients or the people who helped you through a year.
Choosing the villa
In Athens we look to the gardens of the northern suburbs and the villas of the Riviera, where the table can face the sea. In Corfu, to the Venetian estates of the interior and the houses of the north-east coast. If you already have a house you love — yours, a friend’s or a rented one — even better: an evening at home feels like nothing else.
Beyond the view, a villa has to work. Before we say yes to a place we check that there is a kitchen a chef can use, level ground for a long table, power for lighting, space for cars, a sensible distance from the neighbours and a covered plan if the weather turns.
The table is the stage
At a dinner, the table is the whole set design. We almost always choose one long table over several round ones, because it turns a group of guests into one conversation. Centrepieces stay low, so people can see each other across them. Linen is natural and generous. And the décor comes from the season and the region — pomegranates and olives in autumn, lemons and figs in summer, bread and oil on the table from the start.
Candles matter more than anything else: many of them, at different heights, unscented near the food. Add a handwritten place card and a printed menu at every setting, and the table is ready to be photographed before a single glass is poured.
A menu that arrives slowly
We work with private chefs who cook on site, so the evening smells of the kitchen. A typical menu opens with a few meze to share during the aperitivo, continues with a seasonal starter and one main cooked in front of the guests, and ends with a dessert that relates to the story of the evening. Sharing platters keep the table talking; individual plates make it feel more formal — we choose with you.
The wine list is Greek: an Assyrtiko from Santorini, a Malagousia or a Savatiano from Attica, a Xinomavro or an Agiorgitiko with the main course. A signature cocktail at arrival, and a digestif at the end — in Corfu, kumquat liqueur. Dietary needs are gathered with the RSVP, so no one is surprised at the table.
Light, sound and timing
We invite guests about an hour before sunset, so the aperitivo happens in the golden light and dinner begins as the candles take over. Overhead lights hang in the trees, lanterns mark the paths, and nothing is ever brighter than it needs to be. An acoustic duo plays during the aperitivo; during dinner, a playlist stays low enough to talk over.
A typical evening in September looks like this:
- 18:45 — arrival, welcome drink and meze in the garden.
- 19:45 — guests find their place cards; dinner is served.
- 21:30 — dessert, and the one planned toast of the night.
- 22:30 — digestif, a little more music, conversations that do not want to end.
The small gestures guests remember
A private dinner is judged up close. The details people mention for years are rarely expensive: their name written by hand, a menu they can take home, a toast that was clearly prepared, a small gift from the region — olive oil from the estate, honey, a bottle of kumquat liqueur — and a photographer who stays for the first hour, long enough for a portrait of everyone together.
If the dinner is for a birthday, you may also like our notes on planning a birthday celebration; if it is the start of something bigger, on why stationery matters.
How far ahead to plan a private dinner
For a dinner of up to twenty guests outside high season, six to eight weeks is comfortable. For summer weekends, or when the villa itself has to be found and rented, allow three months. A simpler evening at your own home can come together in a couple of weeks, with the chefs, florists and rental houses we work with all the time.
We design private dinners in Athens, in Corfu and anywhere in Greece. Tell us the occasion, the date and the number of chairs, and we will come back with a first idea for the table.
How many guests work for a private villa dinner?
Between eight and forty guests. Up to about twenty-four fit comfortably at one long table, which keeps the evening a single conversation; larger groups sit at two parallel tables or a U shape.
Can you organise a private dinner in our own home?
Yes. Many of our dinners take place in the host's own house or garden. We bring the table, linen, tableware, lighting, flowers, chef and service, and leave the house as we found it.
Do you arrange the private chef and the wine?
Yes. We work with private chefs who cook on site and build a menu with you around the season and the occasion, with a list of Greek wines to match.
Can you plan a surprise proposal or anniversary dinner?
Yes, with complete discretion. We coordinate the timing, the setting and a photographer so that the moment happens exactly as you imagined it.
How far in advance should we plan a private dinner?
Six to eight weeks for up to twenty guests outside high season, and about three months for summer weekends or when a villa has to be found and rented. Simpler dinners at home can be arranged in a couple of weeks.
Do you plan private dinners outside Athens and Corfu?
Yes. Athens and Corfu are our home ground, but we design private dinners anywhere in Greece.
