Garrick Club

Founded in 1831 as a meeting ground for actors and "men of refinement" at a time when the stage carried little social standing, the Garrick Club takes its name from David Garrick, whose era at Drury Lane defined a golden age of British theatre. It moved into its present clubhouse at 15 Garrick Street in 1864, a purpose-built Italianate palazzo by Frederick Marrable, Grade II* listed since 1970. The building holds the largest collection of theatrical paintings and drawings in existence, hung along a carved oak staircase and through every reception room.

Six private dining rooms are set aside for members' own parties, each named for a figure from the Club's history: the Pinero Dining Room for the playwright Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, the Sinden Room for the actor Donald Sinden, the Milne Room for A. A. Milne. The Milne Room is the largest, seating up to forty-eight or holding seventy for a reception, alongside the Private Dining Room, the Wine Cellar Dining Room, and a first-floor Library kept for dinner only. Every reservation runs through a member or reciprocal member rather than a direct booking, which is the Club's own long-standing model of hospitality.

The Club voted in May 2024 to admit women after nearly two centuries, with Dame Judi Dench and Siân Phillips among the first to join. Jacket and tie remain expected in the Coffee Room, and the roof terrace above the clubhouse offers a rare outdoor coda to an evening among the portraits.