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Updated: May 19

From 6pm sharp to fashionably late — a look at how the aesthetically inclined take their evening meal.

From 6pm sharp to fashionably late — a look at how the aesthetically inclined take their evening meal. The Cow
The Cow

“Supper is ready — and so am I. Come.”

— Emily Dickinson


There’s something quietly revealing about the answer to a question like “What time do you have supper?” On the surface, it’s logistical. But scratch a little deeper and it begins to speak to mood, rhythm, ambition — even personality. Supper isn’t just about food. It’s about what you need the evening to be. A wind-down? A ritual? A performance?


Ask it in the right crowd and you’ll get answers thick with meaning. There are the early eaters — practical, punctual, often hungry. Then there are the 9pm romantics, who like their meals like they like their lighting: low, slow, and with a sense of occasion. Some view supper as the main event, others as a casual afterthought — a plate balanced on the arm of a chair, a fork in one hand, a glass in the other. One person’s formality is another’s leftover.


With this in mind, I turned to a handful of interiors experts — aesthetes, stylists, designers and detail-obsessives — to ask when, exactly, they sit down to eat. These are people who think deeply about atmosphere, and who understand that supper is never just supper. The answers, as expected, were full of charm, variation, and quiet domestic theatre.





Ari Heckman, Co-Founder and CEO of Ash NYC

8/8:30 pm




Elizabeth Metcalfe, Features Editor at House & Garden

I like a late supper so I think 8pm would be the perfect time, a drink first and then supper at 8.30 ish. Leaves plenty of time to get away from work and means you can turn up in a more leisurely fashion than the usual dash from work... 




Anna Glover, Creative Director of Anna Glover

7.30 pm but I don’t want my food order taken before 8pm, I want a drink and chat before. 




William Green, Founder of William Green

Autumn/Winter: 7:30 pm

Spring/Summer: 8 - 8:30 pm


If I’m on hols, push the times to 30 mins later





Georgia Spray, Founder of Partnership Editions

In my old age, it gets earlier. 8 pm - enough time to hopefully get the kids down, but not so late that I can't be in bed by 10 if we have gone out.





Guy Tobin, Founder of Guy Tobin

An equally hot topic in our house: 8 for 8:30 pm start





Benedict Foley, Founder of A.PRIN ART

A movable feast for MW & D!! Weekdays 7 pm catching up with long standing friends when you want time to talk but all need to get your beauty sleep - 8.45 pm after a drinks party, any later and the coach turns into a pumpkin - 8 pm at the weekends when not operating heavy machinery the next day  - 9 pm in Rome with a midnight walk through Piazza Navona!





Kay Westmaas, Founder of Studio Westmaas

I would say the best time for dinner for us is 5:30 pm. This is partly due to having children, so even if we were going out, we'd need to get them home to sleep! Also, we now prefer to have an earlier dinner so we don't feel rushed with having to eat and get home.





Alfie di Trolio, Founder of Oculus

For me 20:30 is the sweet spot, candles flickering, the day winding into evening. If cicadas can be heard then all the better. 





Luke Edward Hall, Founder of Chateau Orlando

If it's a weekday, 7 pm for a drink, 7:30 pm for dinner. Quick and snappy. That's really the ideal because I can be home and in bed by what, 9:30 pm? Can't deal with that European late dinner thing!





Hector Coombs, Co-Founder of Shame Studios


I like to have dinner quite late at 2030 but I hate getting kicked out of restaurants. Definitely best to eat in Europe.









 
 
 

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