Rosa, warm from the oven

Cinnamon, vanilla, a hint of warm orange: Rosa often arrives smelling faintly of whatever she baked that afternoon. She is petite and curvy at 160 cm, with long chestnut brown curls tumbling past her shoulders, warm brown eyes and a relaxed boho elegance all her own, a flowing paisley dress, a shell pendant on a fine chain, soft suede boots. The overall impression is of someone completely at ease in her own skin, and that ease is catching.

Earthy, warm and gloriously easygoing, Rosa is the companion to book when you want an evening that feels natural from the first minute. Her English is fluent, her laugh low and generous, and she is interested in everything. She bakes bread and cakes with serious dedication, collects records, mostly soul and old jazz pressed on heavy vinyl, and spends Sunday mornings drifting around galleries. She has a lovely way of making the grandest room feel like a friend's kitchen.

Marylebone is her home, and she treats its elegant streets like a neighbourhood full of friends. Her favourite outing begins in the late afternoon among the paintings at the Wallace Collection on Manchester Square, lingering over the Fragonards, then continues with a relaxed supper somewhere cosy on Marylebone Lane. Later she walks you back past the Georgian doorways to The Langham or a quiet apartment near Baker Street, telling you which bakery windows to visit in the morning.

Rosa is based in Marylebone and happily travels across to Paddington and Mayfair. The rates page shows every fare, and booking takes a single message, Sunday to Thursday.