“Well, I haven’t been on the Murder Express before, but I’ve heard it’s great”. ‘Frank’, in full character, assures those waiting at the station bar. With luggage in one hand and a bowler’s hat on his head, he speaks in a smooth drawl as you wonder what exactly will be his role to play. The notion of a murder mystery is age-old. Many credit Edgar Allen Poe for creating the first fictional detective in ‘The Murder in the Rue Morgue’ back in 1844. However, the act of murder stretches back throughout all recorded human history. Murder is man’s greatest sin. And, here in London, you have the chance to unpick sin for yourself – clue by clue, stitch by stitch.

Straddling the famed East End neighbourhoods of Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, the Murder Express sits at the specially designed Pedley Street Station. Easily accessible as a Zone 2 district, Pedley Street Station is a quick hop on the tube or overground from Central London. The Murder Express is an ideal half-day murder mystery dining experience for a flutter of entertainment.

And, true to the murder element of the experience, the local area is steeped with history and notorious stories. The Whitechapel murders are some of the most well-known in the country. And, the area’s 19th-century plague of the serial killer, Jack the Ripper, attracts floods of curious tourists today. Even the Murder Express’ building holds a legacy, as Pedley Street Station was built on the remains of the Victorian Shoreditch Station – closed back in 2006. Setting is everything, and the Murder Express ticks every box for its murder mystery dining experience.

Guests are greeted by the ‘conductor’ in character and full green uniformed attire. Led through Arch 63 and red velvet curtains, you enter the Seven Sins Bar. For Harry Potter fans, the experience is akin to arriving on Platform 9 ¾ – stepping from the street straight into the midst of a railway station scene. The attention to detail is remarkable. 1920s music and train station audio play as background noise. The life-sized ‘train’ is parked awaiting departure alongside the platform. By its door, luggage sits waiting to be loaded, and even Victorian streetlamps illuminate the space.

You are granted a ticket corresponding with your seat number onboard and a private bar table on the platform. The platform tables, decorated with candles, are generously spaced apart. The table design allows for group privacy and spacious enjoyment of the experience build up. While guests wait to board, complimentary WI-FI enables you to order drinks online. By scanning a QR code, you access an impressive range of drink options through the platform Yoello. Whether you want a gin and tonic, cocktail, whiskey, or even an alcohol-free beer, there is a varied assortment of drinks. For those wanting a soft drink, you can enjoy low-cost beverages such as ginger beer, served refreshingly chilled with ice. Of course, for special occasions and a bit of extra luxury, Sevens Sins Bar offers high-end bubbles such as Bollinger.

While you settle into the excitement and atmosphere, characters float around the platform – alternating between light-hearted conversation and complaining about complex relationships with other characters. And, when the characters meet, you can expect a comic human enaction of fire meets gasoline.

Once boarded on the train by the ‘conductor’, you are directed immediately to your tables. Train seating has never been so luxurious. Blue leather sofa-style seating and glass screens between tables give the impression of contained carriages. The channel between the two rows of tables is the stage for the mystery’s action. While, on the walls, table-to-ceiling screens play immersive footage of country and platform scenes. Many thoughtful luxuries accentuate the dedication to guest experience. Traditional sets of cutlery, ornate golden writing on deep green napkins, white flowers in a glass vase, and 1920s style lamps decorate each table.

As the action unfolds and guests and actors alike board the train heading to Murder, a fictitious French town, food is served. Designed by Masterchef Finalist Louisa Ellis, the menu comes in four courses of delicious fine dining. The pre-starter amuse-bouche rolls out as a celeriac and truffle soup served in a white soup dish. The beetroot tartare then timely arrives as an impressive starter dish, artistically displayed and served with perfectly balanced flavours of apple, cream, and sorrel.

Between servings, the murder plot thickens. Characters mingle with guests, highlighting the performance as an immersive theatrical experience and mounting investment in the storyline. By the time the main course is served, you are well and truly in the thick of the dramatic action and murder mystery dining experience.

The main course has a meat and vegan option, with alternative dietary requirements happily catered to beforehand. The meat main is a generously curated dish of ‘braised blade of beef’. The meat is complimented with ‘carrot, black garlic, oinion, potato rosti, and braised lettuce’ – drizzled in a red wine gravy sauce. For vegan or vegetarian diners, you can anticipate a sage gnocchi dish, complete with ‘black garlic, onion, braised lettuce, and shimeji mushrooms’.

All too quick, by dessert, it is time for guests to cast their opinion on the murder unravelling around them. Expect to be involved throughout the performance – everyone, of course, is suspect to the crime. While attentive waiting staff serves dessert, the power switches to the audience in an all-deciding leap of faith.

Fortunately, the tension is mediated by the pause for an enjoyable final course. A buttermilk panna cotta comes with raspberries, crunchy puffed wild rice, and a sprinkling of sherbet powder. Louisa has outdone herself with her menu design. For vegan or dairy intolerant diners, the second dessert option is thoughtfully adjusted. Swapping buttermilk to coconut cream, the dish is an equally delicious sweet-tasting experience.

Once the final plate is cleared, decisions snowball, culminating in an ending rarely foreseen by guests in a shocking twist. Well-paced and aided by the passionate talents and downright hilarity of actors, the murder mystery dining experience is undoubtedly a theatrical success.

The Murder Express offers an expert blend of fine dining meets theatre. The attention to realistic set detail, interactive characters, and friendly serving of epicurean delights highlight it as an ultimate London experience. With sky-high standards of both hospitality and entertainment – the Murder Express proves you can have the best of both worlds. ‘Frank’ was right; it certainly is “great”.