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The French Dining Society
The French Dining Society creates intimate dining experiences where French cooking, local ingredients, art and conversation come together around beautifully laid tables.
Founded in Belfast by French chef Marion Lancial, each gathering is created as an invitation to pause, to experience food slowly, meet thoughtfully and allow the evening to linger.
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Our Story
The French Dining Society began with a simple desire: to protect the art of gathering beautifully.
Founded in Belfast by French chef Marion Lancial, the Society creates intimate dining experiences inspired by the traditions of French hospitality. Each event brings together seasonal cooking, local ingredients, art, music and carefully laid tables in a setting chosen especially for the occasion.
At the heart of the Society is the belief that a memorable dinner is about more than the food. It is found in the atmosphere of a room, the conversation between strangers, the light of the candles and the rare pleasure of allowing an evening to unfold without hurry.
Some of the silver once belonged to Marion’s grandmother. Some of the linen crossed generations before arriving in Belfast. These pieces carry their history with them, a reminder that beauty does not come from perfection, but from having been loved.
With only a small number of guests at each table, every gathering is personal and each edition tells a different story. The locations, menus and artistic collaborations may change, but the invitation remains the same: to pause, to connect and to let the evening linger.
Founder Biography
Marion Lancial is a French chef, pastry chef and the founder of the French Dining Society.
Originally from Normandy, Marion trained in the traditions of French cuisine with Escoffier School before building a career shaped by travel, teaching and hospitality. During five years in Washington, D.C., she worked as a private chef for international families and within the city’s diplomatic community, creating intimate dining experiences where food became a way of bringing different cultures together.
After moving to Belfast, Marion continued to develop her work as both a chef and educator. She has taught professional and home cooks, worked alongside some of Northern Ireland’s respected chefs, and created pastries for occasions including a visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
She is also the chef behind Le Cheval Noir at Belfast’s historic Dark Horse, where she brings French classics into a relaxed and distinctly local setting and works at the Waterman House Cookery School alongside Chef Niall McKenna.
Marion founded the French Dining Society to bring together everything she values most about hospitality: thoughtful food, beautiful tables, meaningful conversation and the feeling of being genuinely welcomed.
Her approach is rooted in French tradition but shaped by the places she has lived and the people she has met. For Marion, hospitality is not about perfection or formality. It is about creating a space where guests can slow down, connect and feel that, for one evening, life was a little more beautiful than usual.
Some moments from our pasts events
Our next invitations
This October, the French Dining Society will set its table inside one of Belfast’s most characterful houses: The Harrison.
Rich with art, history and quiet eccentricity, the hotel offers the perfect setting for an intimate evening devoted to French cooking, conversation and the pleasure of taking time.
Twelve guests will gather around one beautifully laid table for a seasonal menu inspired by autumn and grounded in classic French technique. Each course will celebrate carefully chosen local ingredients, accompanied by art, music and the small details that transform dinner into something lasting.
As candlelight settles over the table, the evening will be allowed to unfold without hurry. Guests may arrive as strangers, but through shared food and conversation, something warmer begins to take shape.
More than a dinner, this is an opportunity to step away from the everyday and enter another world for a few hours, one created to be tasted, felt and remembered.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at the table.
This October, the French Dining Society will set its table inside one of Belfast’s most characterful houses: The Harrison.
Rich with art, history and quiet eccentricity, the hotel offers the perfect setting for an intimate evening devoted to French cooking, conversation and the pleasure of taking time.
Twelve guests will gather around one beautifully laid table for a seasonal menu inspired by autumn and grounded in classic French technique. Each course will celebrate carefully chosen local ingredients, accompanied by art, music and the small details that transform dinner into something lasting.
As candlelight settles over the table, the evening will be allowed to unfold without hurry. Guests may arrive as strangers, but through shared food and conversation, something warmer begins to take shape.
More than a dinner, this is an opportunity to step away from the everyday and enter another world for a few hours, one created to be tasted, felt and remembered.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at the table.
The October Edition
Saturday 24 October 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Harrison, Belfast
This October, the French Dining Society will set its table within the wonderfully individual surroundings of The Harrison for an intimate dinner shared between just twelve guests.
Rich with art, history and quiet eccentricity, The Harrison offers a setting that feels made for storytelling. Behind its doors, every room has a personality of its own and for one autumn evening, it will become home to the French Dining Society.
Around one beautifully laid table, guests will experience a six-course seasonal menu grounded in French tradition and created with carefully chosen local ingredients. Each course will reveal another part of the evening, bringing together food, art, music and the atmosphere of this extraordinary Belfast house.
With only twelve places, the dinner remains personal and unhurried. There is time to appreciate every plate, allow conversations to develop and discover the people seated around the table. Guests may arrive together or alone; everyone is welcomed into the same shared experience.
Candlelight, linen, silver and thoughtful details will shape the room as the evening gently unfolds. For a few hours, the everyday will be left outside and dinner will be allowed to become something more: a journey to be tasted, felt and remembered.
Guests may choose between the six-course dinner or an experience including a specially selected wine pairing. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will also be available during the evening.
The menu will be revealed closer to the date, allowing autumn and its finest ingredients to guide what reaches the table.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at The Harrison table.
As summer gives way to autumn, twelve guests will gather around the French Dining Society table for an intimate evening of seasonal French cooking, local ingredients, art and conversation. A new menu, a beautiful setting and one table created to let the evening linger.
As summer gives way to autumn, twelve guests will gather around the French Dining Society table for an intimate evening of seasonal French cooking, local ingredients, art and conversation. A new menu, a beautiful setting and one table created to let the evening linger.
An Evening Chez Maxim’s
Monday 9 November 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Dark Horse, Belfast
For one evening, The Dark Horse will leave Belfast behind and become a doorway into 1920s Paris.
Inspired by the legendary world of Maxim’s, guests will enter an atmosphere of absinthe, candlelight, artists, music and beautiful excess, a place where Toulouse-Lautrec might have found his next subject and no one was ever quite ready to go home.
The evening will begin with an absinthe cocktail before unfolding through a French menu inspired by the glamour and indulgence of the era. Live music, art and unexpected moments will carry guests deeper into the story, while a silent auction will raise funds for charity.
Rather than a formal wine pairing, an exclusive small wine list will be created especially for the evening, allowing guests to choose what they would like to enjoy. Non-alcoholic options will also be available throughout the night.
Set within the rich, eccentric surroundings of The Dark Horse, this will be more than dinner. It will be an invitation to dress beautifully, surrender to the atmosphere and spend a few hours somewhere between Belfast and Paris, where conversation lingers, the music continues and the night belongs to possibility.
An evening of French decadence, artistic rebellion and a little absinthe.
Take your place chez Maxim’s.
The October Edition
Saturday 24 October 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Harrison, Belfast
This October, the French Dining Society will set its table within the wonderfully individual surroundings of The Harrison for an intimate dinner shared between just twelve guests.
Rich with art, history and quiet eccentricity, The Harrison offers a setting that feels made for storytelling. Behind its doors, every room has a personality of its own and for one autumn evening, it will become home to the French Dining Society.
Around one beautifully laid table, guests will experience a six-course seasonal menu grounded in French tradition and created with carefully chosen local ingredients. Each course will reveal another part of the evening, bringing together food, art, music and the atmosphere of this extraordinary Belfast house.
With only twelve places, the dinner remains personal and unhurried. There is time to appreciate every plate, allow conversations to develop and discover the people seated around the table. Guests may arrive together or alone; everyone is welcomed into the same shared experience.
Candlelight, linen, silver and thoughtful details will shape the room as the evening gently unfolds. For a few hours, the everyday will be left outside and dinner will be allowed to become something more: a journey to be tasted, felt and remembered.
Guests may choose between the six-course dinner or an experience including a specially selected wine pairing. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will also be available during the evening.
The menu will be revealed closer to the date, allowing autumn and its finest ingredients to guide what reaches the table.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at The Harrison table.
Monday 7 December 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Malone Hotel, Belfast
This December, the French Dining Society invites you to its official Christmas celebration: an evening of French food, candlelight, music and festive magic at The Malone Hotel.
Guests will be welcomed into a beautifully dressed setting, where the Christmas tree is glowing, the tables are laid and the sound of live piano fills the room. The evening will begin with a glass of Champagne before unfolding through a four-course menu inspired by the traditions and generosity of a French Christmas.
This is a celebration created to bring people together. Friends, couples, colleagues and those arriving alone are all invited to take their place, share the table and allow the warmth of the evening to carry them.
Throughout dinner, our pianist will perform much-loved Christmas songs, creating moments to listen, sing and remember. Art, thoughtful details and the unmistakable atmosphere of the French Dining Society will transform the celebration into something more than a Christmas meal.
A silent auction will also take place during the evening, raising funds for a charity supporting children. Guests will have the opportunity to bid on a carefully chosen collection of prizes while contributing to something meaningful at the heart of the festive season.
Once dinner comes to an end, the evening will not. The music will change, the dance floor will open and guests will be invited to dance the night away.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available throughout the celebration, ensuring everyone can enjoy the evening in their own way.
Come dressed for Christmas. Come ready to celebrate. Come with friends or arrive knowing that new ones may be waiting around the table.
A French feast. A room filled with music. A night made for dancing.
Celebrate Christmas with the French Dining Society.
The November Edition
Saturday 14 November 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Malone Hotel, Belfast
This November, the French Dining Society returns to The Malone Hotel for an intimate evening shared between just twelve guests.
Around one beautifully laid table, guests will experience a six-course seasonal menu rooted in French tradition and shaped by the finest ingredients available at that moment. Each course will form part of a carefully considered journey, where flavour, atmosphere, art and music come together to tell the story of the evening.
With only twelve places, the experience remains personal. There is time to appreciate each plate, to allow conversation to develop and to enjoy the rare pleasure of dining without hurry. Guests may arrive with someone they know or take their place alone; around the table, everyone becomes part of the gathering.
The warm character of The Malone Hotel provides an elegant setting for this November edition. Candlelight, linen, silver and thoughtful details will transform the table, creating a world that feels removed from the pace of everyday life.
For those joining us without the wine pairing, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to purchase during the evening.
The menu will be revealed closer to the date, allowing the season and its best ingredients to guide what reaches the table.
This is more than an invitation to dinner. It is an invitation to pause, to connect and to experience an evening created not only to be tasted, but to be felt.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at the table.
The November Edition
Saturday 14 November 2026 · 6:30 pm
The Malone Hotel, Belfast
This November, the French Dining Society returns to The Malone Hotel for an intimate evening shared between just twelve guests.
Around one beautifully laid table, guests will experience a six-course seasonal menu rooted in French tradition and shaped by the finest ingredients available at that moment. Each course will form part of a carefully considered journey, where flavour, atmosphere, art and music come together to tell the story of the evening.
With only twelve places, the experience remains personal. There is time to appreciate each plate, to allow conversation to develop and to enjoy the rare pleasure of dining without hurry. Guests may arrive with someone they know or take their place alone; around the table, everyone becomes part of the gathering.
The warm character of The Malone Hotel provides an elegant setting for this November edition. Candlelight, linen, silver and thoughtful details will transform the table, creating a world that feels removed from the pace of everyday life.
For those joining us without the wine pairing, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be available to purchase during the evening.
The menu will be revealed closer to the date, allowing the season and its best ingredients to guide what reaches the table.
This is more than an invitation to dinner. It is an invitation to pause, to connect and to experience an evening created not only to be tasted, but to be felt.
Only twelve places are available.
Take your place at the table.
“Marion has bottled the essence of this grandeur.”
— Joris Minne
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© Daniel Greenan