Dinner dates, timed from the aperitif to the last cab home

The streets west of Paddington hold a broader spread of dining rooms than most visitors expect. Queensway and its side streets are known for serious Cantonese cooking, Mandarin Kitchen for its lobster noodles and Four Seasons for roast duck. Hereford Road serves a short, seasonal menu in a calm Bayswater room. Over in Notting Hill, The Ledbury and Core by Clare Smyth are the reservations to make weeks ahead for a genuine occasion, while Edgware Road keeps its Lebanese grills, Maroush the best known, busy long into the night. None of these restaurants has any link to us; they are good places to eat, and all sit inside her free travel zone.

A typical evening runs something like this. At 19:00 you find her waiting in the hotel bar, or at the restaurant's bar when that is closer. By 19:40 you are seated. Coffee lands around 21:45, and by 22:15 you are walking back along the Bayswater Road, or hailing a cab if it has started to rain. The final forty five minutes belong to a nightcap wherever you are staying. Read those times as a sketch rather than a schedule: the plan bends around the kitchen and the conversation, and she keeps track of the booked hours so you never have to.

Make the reservation under your name and pass the desk three details: venue, hour, dress code. Prefer a recommendation? Describe the food you enjoy and any occasion behind the evening, and two or three options arrive in the same chat. On a first dinner, ask for a corner or a banquette, since conversation flows more easily away from the centre of the room. Her outfit follows the room you choose: tailored for The Ledbury, relaxed for a busy dining hall on Queensway.

She sits down as your guest. That means conversation that follows your lead, an honest opinion on the wine list when you ask for one, and a phone that stays in her bag. If a colleague or a friend will be joining for part of the meal, mention it when you book, since an evening for couples or a properly briefed business dinner may fit the occasion better, and the desk will say which.

If the fourth hour arrives and neither of you feels ready to leave, ask before it ends. Where her diary allows, the desk quotes the extra time and confirms the new total in writing before it begins. A dinner likely to carry on until morning is better booked as an overnight from the outset, because that format is planned further ahead.

The opposite happens too. If a long day catches up with you by the main course, say so. She will not be offended, the evening can close early and graciously, and the fee stays exactly as confirmed, with no awkward conversation about it at the table.

Bianka cooks Italian food for pleasure and has a real feel for wine, so an early table with a thoughtful cellar suits her perfectly. Liana prefers candlelight, a white Burgundy and a meal that takes its time. Roxi orders with confidence at a dim sum table and makes sure nothing goes untasted. Milena will tell you plainly if a restaurant is overrated, which saves a disappointing second visit. Bianka and Liana are both listed with the brunettes, while Milena and Roxi appear among the raven haired companions.