A la Colthard/Reform club

Recently Bob Tickler held a dinner at the Reform Club for me, his p/a Polly and her best friend Grania.

Bob is most excited about joining the Reform Club. Although he was once  a member of the adjoining RAC, he does not regard himself as a conventional St James club man.

The Reform with its radical ancestry is not yer typical gentleman’s club.  For a start, it was the first to admit women some 42 years ago.

The architect Sir Charles Barry, most famous  for the Houses of Parliament, also designed the Travellers Club next door.

Bob joked to a Traveller member  “You have the edge over us – you are the only club to have a member hanged – Joachim von Ribbentrop – Hitler ‘s foreign minister.”

The façade of The Reform is modelled on the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The interior had a large atrium. The whole building is indeed impressive.

We had drinks in the garden – which is shared with the Travellers – and dinner in the main restaurant called The Coffee Room.

I chose a white onion soup with ham knuckles and tomato. which was flavoursome.

Polly and I then had the Cornish Plaice with a cheese crust and creamy sauce surrounded by samphire. I finished with summer pudding.

Grania and Polly do both drink alcohol and I had a crisp vouvray. It was good fare and the service was excellent and attentive.

Bob as ever was holding forth and we were the last diners in the restaurant but not under pressure to leave. We stayed over in comfortable accommodation and enjoyed a decent breakfast in the morning.

A club is now a good option to stay with ever-increasing hotel prices. As a woman I did not feel at all uncomfortable there!!!!

The club has associated links with other overseas clubs and I am sure visitors from abroad avail themselves of this option.