The Client Dinner Protocol: How to Stay on Track Without Ordering a Side Salad

Published: 8 April 2026 · By Bruno Dalledone

If you work in the City, client entertaining isn't optional. The question is whether you have a framework that lets you handle both professional obligations and physique goals without white-knuckling it through every restaurant menu.

Understanding the actual risk

Restaurant meals in City environments are typically 30–50% higher in calories than they appear. For someone with four client meals per week, that gap compounds to 1,600–2,400 additional calories over seven days — enough to completely offset a training programme that's otherwise running well.

The pre-dinner setup

What you eat before a client dinner has a larger impact on the outcome than the menu choices at the restaurant. Arriving having eaten a protein-rich lunch means you approach the menu from a position of control. Arriving having skipped lunch means every decision — the bread basket, the starter, the second glass — becomes harder to calibrate.

How to navigate the menu

Choose a lean protein as the main — fish, chicken, steak with the sauce on the side — and treat everything else as variable. On alcohol: the realistic approach is a maximum of two drinks. Having a default means most dinners land within range, and the occasional outlier doesn't compound into a structural problem.

The morning after

Eat normally the morning after, with a slight increase in protein and a modest reduction in fats and carbohydrates. No skipping, no punitive restriction — just a minor recalibration that brings the weekly average back toward target.