House rules
How we behave
Short, and meant literally. Booking a seat means agreeing to these.
Come alone
The format only works if nobody arrives with a buffer. Book your friend onto another night — they'll have a better time too.
Turn up, or cancel early
Five people are counting on the sixth chair. If you can't make it, release the seat on Luma so someone on the waitlist can take it.
Talk to the whole table
Six people, one conversation, as much as possible. If you notice someone hasn't said anything in twenty minutes, ask them something.
It isn't a pitch meeting
Nobody came to be sold to, recruited, or added to a mailing list. Talk about your work all you like — just don't work the room.
Nobody owes you their number
Swapping contacts is normal and welcome. Pushing after someone has declined is not, and it's the fastest way to not be invited back.
What's said at the table stays there
People open up over dinner. Don't repeat it, and don't post it.
Pay your share
Split it fairly and don't make the table do arithmetic on your behalf.
Tell us if something's wrong
If someone made the table uncomfortable, say so. We'd rather lose a guest than a regular, and we act on it.
If something goes wrong
Tell us. We'd rather lose a guest than a regular.
If someone at your table made the night uncomfortable — pushy, rude, wouldn't take no — say so afterwards. It stays between you and whoever organises the night, and it changes who gets seated next time. You don't have to justify it or produce evidence.
People who repeatedly don't turn up, or who make other guests want to leave, stop getting seats. That's the only enforcement mechanism there is, and it works.