In the 21st century, we no longer eat just to nourish our body – we also eat to nourish our spirit.
It is perhaps why we are looking for fascinating places and fascinating people that will round up the entire dining experience.
This is where underground supper clubs come into the picture. You usually get great food, paired up with the atmosphere not unlike that of a speakeasy.
And the food! Ah, the food! It’s superb and it makes you want to ditch dining in traditional restaurants and to devote all of your life to eating in such a way.
Here are some of the best underground supper clubs you might want to check out!
New York
Is there anything that comes from New York that’s not great?
Its supper clubs are simply incredible, if we do say so ourselves, but that’s not surprising. As per usual, New York takes the lead in new-age culinary experience for those looking for pure and unadulterated enjoyment.
Here’s what New York has to offer on the supper club scene.
1) The Tuscan Gun
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0gUZT3JCU-/
Really, if nothing else works (yet it does), the name itself is enough to drag you there by the ear. It’s something you simply have to experience.
It’s open Fridays and Saturdays every other week. At 6pm on the dot, the restaurant closes for an intimate experience, and 26 lucky diners, who were invited (but of course!), get to enjoy the truly amazing food prepared there.
According to Chef Gabriele Corcos, he wanted an intimate surrounding, somewhere where people “are not pushed in and out.” The Chef makes a five-course meal, which includes what seem to be Italian dishes. However, the food is made always “with a twist.” And what a twist it is!
If you want to join, you can sign up for their email newsletter on their website. They also make announcements about their events on their Instagram page.
2) The Victory Club
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw1_cjZhUhh/
Again, the name is such a blatant invitation – is there any cooler way of feeling victorious?
(Asking for a friend.)
The Victory Club offers two events to members every month. They partner with various institutions (such as museums, art galleries), to make their vision come true.
If you apply to become a member, you’re in for a whirlwind of culinary feels.
This is basically because the founder of the Victory Club, Chef Stefanie Nass, comes from an artistic background, having studied Art History at Columbia. She decided to combine her love of art with her love of cooking.
Each event is surprising and thrilling in and on itself, but what makes it more enjoyable are the guests – artists, historians, designers – who help spark deep conversation about art during meals.
So, if you love fine dining and art – look no further!
3) Tasting Collective
The Tasting Collective wants, simply put, “to create a different kind of restaurant experience.”
And that they do.
Every time they organize an event, their chefs experiment with new recipes (and, by the way, the experiments are huge successes every time!) and actually come out of the kitchen to converse with the diners.
A dinner and a show, right?
The events are usually organized at restaurants that are owned by the chefs preparing the food. They share their stories and connect with the guests of the event. Mostly, they talk about what inspired them to open their restaurant and how they created their food.
If you want to join, again, you can request an invitation from their website.
San Francisco
Underground supper clubs are to be expected in a place like San Francisco. It’s basically the cool capital of the US! (Sorry, Washington D.C. but the people have spoken.)
Like pretty much anything in SF, their dining scene is to die for. It is characterized by variety and, most of all, quality, so you can’t really go wrong with San Francisco restaurants.
But its supper clubs…
Their supper clubs are simply off the charts.
You come for the food, you stay for the… well, for the food, but also the experience. Like much of San Francisco, its supper club scene thrives on mixing things up. It mixes food with art, with music, it mixes strangers together to create a new vibrant symbiosis.
One thing’s for sure – you’ll never be bored at a San Francisco supper club!
4) Lazy Bear
Don’t be fooled by the name – Lazy Bear is anything but lazy.
Their food is delicious, their preparation unbelievable and their service flawless.
They are trying to recreate what they believe is the “best dining experience” – sitting around a table, sharing food and stories.
So, basically, like a good old Thanksgiving meal, without the bickering of family relatives.
They present “modern American food,” that is, they wish to use flavors that are both delicious and familiar.
They sell monthly tickets at once, on the Wednesday in the middle of the previous month. If you apply to their mailing list, you will receive an announcement of ticket sales. They also announce them on Twitter.
5) Naked Kitchen
No, it’s not a secret supper club founded by Jamie Oliver. Although… maybe?
No, just kidding.
Or are we?
Well, you’ll just have to find out for yourself.
Basically, if you sign up to attend one of their pop-up events, you’ve basically signed up for the unknown, but the unknown with a flair.
The events are held inside a glorious Queen Victorian building constructed in 1870. Talk about a perfect venue…
And if you haven’t guessed it already, the events have nothing to do with Jamie Oliver. Essentially, chefs who aren’t that well-known, but who have a gift and a tale to tell create a menu based on their personal story. In some dinners, you can learn about the history of the chef’s culture. In others, you can engage in a discussion on a prearranged topic (but don’t be fooled, the topics are usually quite deep and quite meaningful).
Such dinners are usually organized once or twice a month, and everyone is allowed to see where and how the magic happens, as most of the dinners take place at the chef’s table.
6) Eatwith
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0T9KgDp_K0/
Eatwith is not just for San Francisco – it can be enjoyed by citizens/visitors of Rome, Barcelona, Paris, London, Tokyo and Tel Aviv.
But since we’re in San Francisco here, we’ll reel it back in.
Eatwith is perfect if you’re craving a home-cooked meal. (And many of us often crave it so much we’re willing to pay any amount to get it.)
It goes a little something like this – amateur chefs design meals that are meant to represent their passion for food. And then – then! – they invite strangers into their homes to enjoy it with them.
But don’t be fooled by the word amateur – their passion and their zeal makes every brunch, lunch, dinner, you name it, a unique experience. They simply pour their passion into some of the tastiest treats you’ve ever tried in your life.
When it comes to the type of food, there is no rule. You can get Thai, Italian, Mexican, you name it. Just follow your heart’s desire, find an event that appeals to your delicate palate and register.
Dinners are held all over the city and the guest list can be narrow (as few as six guests) or it can be quite wide (about 25 guests). And prices depend on what is being served.
Los Angeles
Well, you can’t have a list if you don’t include Los Angeles, are we right or are we right?
And this is definitely a list that should not exclude the City of Angels.
As with anything, LA takes a simple enough concept, such as the underground supper clubs, and then takes them to the nth degree – the degree of awesomeness, many would say. (That would be us… we would say that.)
But, just so you know, eating at the supper clubs of LA is an experience you do not want to miss!
7) Wolvesmouth
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnCTDdVA4_S/
This is usually lauded as a unique LA experience, and, frankly, we can’t argue with that description.
First of all, you have to sign up for their mailing list in order to get the invitation. Then, when they email you, you just have a couple of hours to buy the tickets.
Later, you will receive the address for the intimate dinner that will most likely blow your mind. Their chef creates dishes with flavors you might not have thought go together – oh, but they do. Every meal, every bite, is thoughtfully created, to become a work of art.
Oh, and it’s BYOB, so basically, when it comes to choosing your drink, wing it. It can be a hit or miss when it comes to pairing with the food, but at least you’ll have fun. Some people even donate their drinks to the communal table, so you’ll probably be able to choose what’s better suited.
At the end of this fine dining escapade, you’ll receive a red envelope, in which you are free to put as much money as you want.
The only downside here seems to be that you can end up waiting for months for an invitation. However, as many guests have noted, it’s well worth it!
So, arm yourself with patience, and sign up for the mailing list. Good luck!
8) RoomForty
You might have heard of RoomForty if you like Jay-Z.
“How are those two things connected?” you might ask.
Well, when Jay-Z re-launched Tidal, guess which company fed the guests of the event?
That’s right – RoomForty!
Now if that’s not a big deal, we don’t know what is.
Although it’s primarily a catering company, RoomForty also has much experience in experimental dinners. Basically, they’ve been doing their pop-up + pop-in thing since 2007!
And that means that they know exactly how to woo you. (After all, they wooed Jay-Z.)
If you want to apply to their pop-up and pop-in events, you have to go on their website, but know that their events usually take place on Thursday. Pop-ups will appear in an unexpected location, while pop-ins are held in their tasting room, where you “pop in” for a full experience created by their team.
9) Chicks With Knives
Simply exquisite.
We mean the name.
And, of course, the food.
As the chicks say, their goal is to “feed, enlighten and entertain everyone who cares about food.”
They, of course, have various ways of doing that – aside from hosting the supper club, they also hold cooking classes and offer catering services.
Every 5-7 weeks, you, along with 15-21 other people, can be invited to join Chicks With Knives in a private home. But that’s not all, they even host inspiring culinary events in the form of field trips. They have already had day long boat trips to harvest salt and went to a papaya farm for a visit.
Wouldn’t you just love it if you were a part of that gang?
Super Cities with Supper Clubs
While we’ve listed the best of the best, there are still some other supper clubs you should definitely visit in other US cities, and here’s some of them.
10) Sunday Dinner Club
A Chicago-based supper club, it hosts about 10-15 gatherings every month. The dining experience includes multi-course menus that change quite often, but are always made to highlight the best of the local farmers’ markets. You can sign up for the mailing list on their website.
11) The Elephant Table
https://www.instagram.com/p/B01wh8olZ6N/
When it comes to creativity in dining, this is it. Founded by two creative foodies, the Elephant Table hosts small collaborative dinners in Austin. Each dinner brings a brand new food and art collaboration with local talents. To take part in the magnificent dinners, you have to join the Elephant Table Supper Club.
12) The Miami Supper Club
Created by a local chef, the Miami Supper Club organizes dinners in an intimate atmosphere, away from traditional restaurants. Their chef is dedicated to “fostering community through food.” And, really, is there any better way to do that?
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