Guest Dinner

Details

The fabulous MCR Guest Dinners are held every Friday night during term time. Despite the name, MCR members are very welcome to come without guests!

Guest Dinner Format

We meet at 6.30pm in the  MCR for a sparkling wine reception. The MCR bar is open and red and white wine available for purchase, starting at £10.00 per bottle. At 6.55pm we walk from the MCR over to Hall, where the lovely 4 course meal (complete with coffee at the end!) commences at 7.10pm. After dinner (typically 8.45pm) we return to the MCR where cheese and Port is served. The MCR bar is also open – with a range of drinks available for purchase. Non-alcoholic beverages are available for those who do not drink alcohol, both before and after dinner.

Guest Dinner Types
  1. Regular Dinner (weeks 2-7 of term): The format above with the smart dress code. There are 42 seats for MCR members and their guests.
  2. Black Tie Dinner (week 1 and 8 of term): The regular dinner format with the black tie dress code. Free wine is on the table. A lovely spread of cheese, fruit, and chocolate is served at the MCR after dinner. There are 42 seats for MCR members only.
  3. Exchange Dinner (weeks 2-7 of term – typically 1-2 per term): The regular dinner format, but with 15 seats allocated to visitors from the MCR of a different college. It is called an ‘exchange dinner’ because another night we then get to send 15 members of the Catz MCR to their college for dinner. Here free wine is on the table, and chocolates are served after dinner in addition to cheese.

The minimum number of bookings for the whole guest dinner is 15. If there are fewer bookings than this then the dinner will be cancelled automatically. MCR members that had signed up for the dinner will be notified by email and payments will be refunded.

Guest Dinner Signup

The guest dinner sign-up can be found here.

Normal signup

Signup for the guest dinner opens at 4pm on Saturday and closes at 1pm on the Sunday prior to the guest dinner. As an MCR member, you may sign up yourself and any guest(s) you wish to bring, as well as note down any dietary requirements and seating preferences.

Late signup

If there are still seats available at the guest dinner after normal signup, MCR members can signup themselves or guests by emailing the MCR social secretaries between 1pm on the Sunday prior to the guest dinner and 5pm on the Tuesday prior to the guest dinner.

Deadline

The guest list is published on Monday here on the MCR website. After the deadline, the final guest list is made available to the MCR social secretaries who then put together the seating plan for the guest dinner.

Ticket Prices and Payment

Once you have been allocated a seat for guest dinner, tickets can be purchased via UPay until Wednesday 6am. If you fail do so, you lose your seat and will be penalised by not being allowed for the next three guest dinners.

Ticket prices (From Michaelmas 2025)

MCR members and associate members (students): £15.75
Guests (external): £18.90

If you are not on the guest list and purchase a ticket on UPay, you will not be able to attend dinner and your money will be refunded.

Cancellation

If you have been allocated a seat at the guest dinner but are no longer able to attend, please cancel your place to allow someone else to go.

Deadline

The deadline for the guest dinner cancellation is Tuesday 12pm. Any cancellations of bookings must be made by emailing mcr.social@stcatz.ox.ac.uk. The next person on the waiting list will automatically replace the cancelled spot and receive notification of this.

Getting a seat but failing to purchase the ticket

If you have been allocated a seat at the guest dinner but fail to purchase a ticket on UPay by Wednesday at 6am (or forget to cancel by the deadline above) you lose your seat and will be penalised by not being allowed for the next three guest dinners.

Cancellations after the deadline

If you purchase a ticket but need to cancel dinner, it is your responsibility to find a replacement and organise repayment. Please note that dietary requirements, seating preferences, and names cannot be changed after this deadline.

Priority Rights and Seat Allocation

Seats at the Guest Dinner are allocated according to a set priority.

Note that the following section is a summary.

  • There are two ways MCR members can reserve seats for themselves and their guests.
    • Priority Pass: Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass (see section below for more information).
    • Ballot: Every MCR member can enter the ballot with their guests during regular signup, and if won, seats are reserved for themselves and their guests (see section below for mote information).
  • All remaining seats are allocated based on time of signup, with MCR Executive Committee members having priority over everyone else. The order of priority is otherwise as follows: MCR members have priority over guests, first guests over second guests, and second guests over third guests.

The Priority Pass

Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass. This is useful if, for example, family and friends are visiting from abroad and you would like to guarantee that they can join you for a fabulous dinner at the Catz Hall.

  • Every MCR member has an annual right to reserve seats, ahead of time, for themselves and guests using their priority pass.
  • When using the priority pass, seats at the guest dinner can be reserved for up to three guests.
  • The priority pass can only be used in weeks 2-7 of term – and not week 1 and 8, as the Black Tie Dinners are for MCR members only.
  • The number of priority passes available for guest dinners depends on the guest dinner type. At Regular Dinners, 3 priority passes are available. At Exchange Dinners, 2 priority passes are available.
How to use your priority pass

The priority passes are allocated on a first come first serve basis, so email the MCR social secretaries as soon as you know you will need to reserve seats for your guests at a specific dinner, and at the very latest one week before the dinner. These can be taken up quite quickly, so do get in touch sooner rather than later!

Please note that you must still sign up as usual between 4pm on the Saturday and 1pm on the Sunday prior to the dinner, and add all your guest details. Under ‘signup details’ tick the relevant box to use your priority pass.

The Ballot

The ballot has been introduced as a means of allowing MCR members to bring guests without having to use their priority pass.

Note that the following section is a summary.

  • Every MCR member can enter the ballot for the chance of winning seats for themselves and their guests.
  • When entering the ballot, seats at the guest dinner can be reserved for up to three guests.
  • The ballot can only be entered in weeks 2-7 of term – and not week 1 and 8, as the Black Tie Dinners are for MCR members only.
  • The maximum number of seats allocated via the ballot depends on the guest dinner type. At Regular Dinners 15 seats are reserved for ballot winners and at Exchange Dinners 12 seats are reserved for ballot winners.
  • Ballot losers and guests are dropped to the bottom of the wait list, below all other attendees.
How to enter the ballot

Sign up as usual between 4pm on the Saturday and 1pm on the Sunday prior to the dinner, and add all your guest details. Under ‘signup details’ tick the relevant box to enter the ballot.

The ballot picks winners at random and not on the basis of time of signup, so there is no need to rush when signing up – just make sure to stay between the specified sign up times.

Last updated: 12th October 2025