A Guilded Banquet at Fishmongers’ Hall

Against this majestic backdrop, members reunited with warm hugs and kisses, renewing old friendships and filling the grand surroundings with an immediate sense of fellowship and celebration.

As members entered for dinner in the  Banqueting Hall, more than one spontaneous “wow” captured the sense of occasion. Executive Chef and Maître Rôtisseur Stephen Pini upheld a family reputation for some of the City’s finest guild dining. The opening plate of cured salmon, avocado and wasabi, cucumber and fromage blanc balanced richness, freshness and gentle heat. Matetic EQ Quartz Chardonnay 2023 from San Antonio offered a poised, mineral accompaniment.

Next came cod with leeks, wild mushrooms and champagne sauce, an elegant dish whose woodland depth was lifted by the sauce’s delicacy. Klein Constantia Rietbos Chardonnay 2022 provided a rounded partner. The main course brought generous comfort: rack of lamb with Jerusalem artichoke, potato galette, baby spinach, carrots and lamb jus. Viña Real Rioja Alavesa Gran Reserva 2015, poured from magnums, met the lamb with mature complexity and ceremony.

A bright passion-fruit tart, sharpened with lemon-curd sauce and finished with hazelnut praline, closed the meal. Finca Antigua Moscatel Naturalmente Dulce 2025 echoed the dessert’s fragrance without overwhelming its acidity.

Welcomed by the Prime Warden and surrounded by history, guests experienced far more than dinner. This was hospitality with a strong sense of place: polished yet warm, steeped in heritage but alive to contemporary taste. Fishmongers’ Hall supplied the grandeur; Pini’s kitchen supplied the precision; together they created an evening worthy of its remarkable address—and one destined to linger in the memory.

The Dishes