An evening for two guests, with a companion both of you chose

Nothing is confirmed for a couple until each partner has said yes in the chat. The simplest way is for one of you to write and the other to add a line confirming, or to open a group chat with Philippa. It takes thirty seconds, it costs nothing, and it means nobody at the table is surprised by anything. Should one of you have second thoughts on the evening itself, say so; she leaves graciously, and the standard cancellation terms are the only terms that apply.

Greenwich is the easiest place to begin. The river bus drops you at the pier beside the Cutty Sark, the Old Royal Naval College is floodlit after dark, and the Trafalgar Tavern keeps tables at its windows over the water. For a concert, the O2 is one stop from Canary Wharf on the Jubilee line, and the InterContinental beside it has a bar high above the river with the towers lit up on the far bank.

For something with more history, Wapping keeps a line of riverside pubs that have stood beside the Thames for centuries, the Prospect of Whitby among them, with warehouse streets between them that fall almost silent at night. From there it is a short walk upstream to St Katharine Docks and the lights of Tower Bridge, a fine place to end an evening that began with dinner downstream.

Three people take longer to order, longer to choose where next and longer to say goodnight, so allow for it. A couples evening works best with one main event, dinner or a show, and one gentler one, a walk or a single drink. She is a guest of you both: she talks to each of you, reads the pair of you as a single host, and never sides with one partner against the other, even over which pub to try next. If anyone tires early, the evening can close early too, with no change to the fee.

Patricia, 172 cm with long auburn brown hair, paints in watercolour, loves black and white thrillers and puts people at ease without trying. Nancy, in her early thirties, golden blonde and cheerful, is often the one couples laugh with first. Luna, with deep auburn hair and a proper knowledge of wine, is good at choosing a bottle for three. Lucy, soft-spoken with dark curls, suits a gentler evening and knows the way through the foot tunnel to Greenwich after dark. Patricia and Luna both appear under auburn and red.

Keep the reservations in your own name; the restaurant or box office only needs to know there are three of you. Tell Philippa where you are staying and where the evening begins. Inside Zones 1 and 2 her travel adds nothing, and most couples choose three hours for a first evening, long enough for dinner and a walk without anyone glancing at a phone. Copy the message from the booking page and add a line to say you are two.

Look through the Tonight page together, or let each of you shortlist two names and send all four. Philippa comes back with the names that are free and which of them couples tend to find the easiest company. If you cannot agree, she can suggest someone neither of you had considered, which settles more debates than you might expect.