Underground Dining Scene

I add places as I hear about them. I do try to keep the listings up to date – if you know about a place that’s opened, closed, moved, changed its website, let me know (at the email link above). I go through some of the listings now and again and try to contact those that appear to be defunct, but it’d be great to keep it more up to date. Please understand I have nothing directly to do with any of the other places besides my own – I can’t make reservations for you, I don’t know the details of the dinners, the prices, or anything else. You’ll have to contact the one(s) you want to reach all on your own. Nor am I endorsing them, I haven’t been to the vast majority of them. 

[Note as of 8/19/22: I am finally getting around to trying to update this list after the last couple of years of pandemic closings and openings. Of necessity, I’m doing this sort of short-shrift – if a link no longer exists, or the last time an event was posted was pre-pandemic, I’m assuming a place no longer exists and eliminating it from the list, rather than trying to track down more info, like a new website or social media page. There are just too many changes for me to keep on top it. I can always add a place back in, and I’m happy to hear about new places that have opened if you know of any or run one.]

Note: please don’t ask to be listed if you’re not really an underground supperclub – this isn’t a place for listing your hot, trendy nightclub, restaurant, your social club, meet-up group, members only event, or what-have-you. This is a resource for people who cook and offer dinners in their homes, galleries, offices, or other private spaces and the people who like to dine with them – the so called “guerilla” or “anti-” restaurants. And these are simply linked listings – I have enough work to do on my own dining club – if you have photos, testimonials, reviews, etc., to post, post them at the site you’ve had me link to.

A similar concept is the “pop-up restaurant” – often open just for a single or short-term event, perhaps held at an art space or warehouse or exhibition hall, though sometimes in a private home; or a visiting chef (or local chef without his or her own restaurant) taking over the kitchen and dining room of another existing restaurant on their closed night(s). What tends to be different about these is that they’re generally operating out of licensed facilities – either taking over the kitchen of a regular restaurant on an off-night, or at fairs and events that have things like single day licensing for food service. It ain’t underground, it ain’t guerilla, which isn’t “wrong” it’s just not what this list is about. Plenty of hits on internet searches for the term, and, although some of those may creep into the list, there’s just too many of them for me to keep track of and it’s not my intention to do so.

For those who aren’t quite sure what the “scene” is all about – here’s a link to our information page: Frequently Asked Questions/Preguntas Frecuentes and a link to an article I wrote on the topic for the Guardian UK.

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Social Networking Sites

Bon Appetour
Eataway
EatWith
Le Cesarine (Italy only)
Like-a-Local
OneTable (shabbat dinners)
Supper Club Fan Group – ning.com group for fans of hidden restaurants, and also often my source of listings in the UK in particular
TasteMade
Traveling Spoon

Note: with the exception of the Supper Club Fan Group listing site, the sites above charge either the guest, host, or both for arranging bookings/reservations.

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Individual Supper Club Listings

North & Central America

— Canada —

Montreal – Vegan Secret Supper

Singhampton, Ontario – Eigensinn Farm

Toronto – The Depanneur – private space that hosts for various supper clubs
Toronto – L.U.S.T Supper Club
Toronto – Massimo Bruno’s Italian Supper Club

Vancouver – Swallow Tail Supper Club
Vancouver – Vegan Secret Supper

— Caribbean —

Havana – Top 10 Paladares in Havana
Havana – Cuisine only tourists can afford
Havana – La Guarida

Chalky Hill, Jamaica – Woolery Kitchen
Port Antonio, Jamaica – Dickie’s Best Kept Secret

— Mexico —

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca – The Mexykan Supper Club

Rosarito, Baja California – Mi Casa Supper Club

— United States —

Ann Arbor, MI – Selma Cafe

Asheville, NC – Blind Pig

Atlanta – Curry Cravings (and Los Angeles)
Atlanta – Hi-Five Supper Club

Badin Lake, NC – Badin Lake Supper Club

Belfast, ME – The Lost Kitchen

Boston – O.N.C.E.

Cambridge, MA – Cantina Serena

Cape Cod, MA – Frank’s Cucina

Chicago – Clandestino
Chicago – Sinhá
Chicago – Sobremesa
Chicago – Sunday Dinner

Dallas – Noche Underground Dinner Club

Dayton, OH – La Embajada Underground

Denver – Queen City Supper Club

Dundee, OR – Sub Rosa

Earlton, NY – Damon Baehrel

Ft. Lauderdale, FL – The Traveling Plate

Greensboro, NC – The Next Supper

Houston, TX – Heirloom

Las Vegas, NV – Dinner De Novo

Los Angeles – Chicks with Knives
Los Angeles – Curry Cravings (and Atlanta)
Los Angeles – de Porres Dinner Series
Los Angeles – The Hidden Agenda (caterer who offers bi-monthly underground dinners)
Los Angeles – Miguel Nelson – large scale events
Los Angeles – Taste of Pace
Los Angeles – The Whaling Club
Los Angeles – Wolvesden

Madison, WI – Dinner at DebS

Multi-City (NY/SF/DC/LA) – The Gastronauts
Multi-City – Outstanding in the Field
Multi-City – Supper Club
Multi-City – World’s Best Secret Dining Clubs

Nashville, TN – Esoteric Vegan

New York City – Corsair Club (proving this isn’t a new phenomenon…)
New York City (Brooklyn) – Highlands Dinner Club
New York City (Flatiron) – I Forgot It’s Wednesday
New York City (Greenpoint) – Reel Tasty (Forking Tasty)
New York City (“Outer Boroughs”) – Under Belly

Oakland, CA – Paladar Temescal
Oakland, CA – Sound and Savor

Portland, OR – Plate and Pitchfork Farm Dinners

San Francisco – Cook with James
San Francisco – Our Gourmet Life
San Francisco – Sub-Culture Dining

Seattle – Cooking Dolls

Spokane, WA – Baba Spokane

St. Louis – The Test Kitchen

Washington, DC – Hush

———
South America

— Argentina —

Buenos Aires (Congreso) – Bajollave
Buenos Aires (Palermo) – Buri Omakase
Buenos Aires (Palermo) – Casa Oro
Buenos Aires (Recoleta) – Casa SaltShaker – our own place
Buenos Aires (Colegiales) – Catalino
Buenos Aires (Colegiales) – Le Chantier
Buenos Aires (San Telmo) – Delicias de Alicia
Buenos Aires (Monte Castro) – En Virgilio
Buenos Aires (Congreso) – Fuego
Buenos Aires (Chacarita) – Kalos Aeras Comida Griega
Buenos Aires (Once) – Kill the Duck
Buenos Aires (Palermo) – Maru Omakase
Buenos Aires (Paternal) – El Patio de Mabel
Buenos Aires (Villa Crespo) – Toro 777
Buenos Aires (Colegiales) – Treintasillas Ghetto Gourmet

Calafate – Rancho aparte

Santa Fé – Gabriela Restó a Puertas Cerradas

Venado Tuerto – 1909 Restaurante

— Brazil —

Porto Alegre – Casa Cardozo

— Chile —

Santiago – Motemei

— Colombia —

Bogotá – Castro Cocina

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Europe

— France —

Paris – Un artiste à la Table
Paris – Chez Nous Chez Nous
Paris – Derrière

— Germany —

Berlin – Phoebe in Berlin
Berlin – Sophiencafe
Berlin – Zagreus Projekt

Dortmund – Armeritta Supper Club

Düsseldorf – Magic Garden Supper club

Hamburg – Jules’ Kitchen

Köln (Cologne) – Kouzina Marina

— Italy —

Milan – Ma’ Hidden Kitchen

— Netherlands —

Nationwide – Huiskamer Menu – listing of places all over the country – I gather it’s more of a licensed in-home dining setup that’s popular (in Dutch)

Amsterdam – Dine with the Dutch
Amsterdam – Marits Huiskamer Restaurant
Amsterdam – Saskia’s Huiskamer

— Spain —

Solano – La Rosilla – The Chef’s Table

— Switzerland —

Zurich – Spice Lounge Supper Club

— Turkey —

Tatali (Olympus) Mountain – The Rabbit Hole

— United Kingdom —

Bristol – Bishopston Supper Club

Crawley (West Sussex) – The Purple Door Supper Club

Edinburgh – Queen of Tarts

Hanover – Gourmet Girls Pop Up

Kent – Hari Covert

London (Shoreditch) – Bootleg Banquet
London (East London) – The Clove Club
London (Central) – Greekfoodlovers’ Supper Club
London (East/Brick Lane) – Humble Kitchen
London (Tufnell Park) – Joginder’s Supperclub
London (Kilburn) – Ms. Marmitelover’s The Underground Restaurant
London (Holland Park) – Nomad Chef
London (Hackney) – The Pale Blue Door
London (Dalston) – The Parkholme Road Supper Club
London (N1) – White Room Supper Club

North Oxfordshire – The Secret Supper Society

———
Asia

— China —

Beijing – Gourmet Underground

— Malaysia —

Kuala Lumpur – Jen’s Underground Supper Club

Petaling Jaya – Cute Ball Kitchen

Selangor – Huck’s Cafe

— Singapore —

Singapore – The Mixtape Chef

———
Australia, New Zealand, S. Pacific

— Australia —

Melbourne – Enter Via Laundry
Melbourne – Secret Foodies

— New Zealand —

Auckland – Plum Kitchen Supperclub

———
Africa

— Zanzibar —

Stone Town – Sambusi’s Two Tables (no website) (+255 24) 2231979

———
Another similar concept, thought more of a pop-up, is the Dinner en Blanc series that’s hosted around the world.

66 thoughts on “Underground Dining Scene”

  3. […] the spirit of 12B,  I came across a list of underground restaurants being compiled at saltshaker.net.  Not only does the concept seem to be gaining in popularity, but the list led me to read about […]

  7. […] Casa Saltshaker fica em Buenos Aires e é um desses restaurantes underground, geralmente situados na própria residência do chef. Para apoiar o movimento do underground dining experience, fizeram uma lista com contatos de “experiências” semelhantes ao redor do mundo. […]

  9. […] liste assez complete de ces restaurants dans le monde sur le site de saltshaker. (merci coralie!) VN:F [1.8.1_1037]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)VN:F […]

  10. […] mentioned that the SaltShaker site is good to visit if you’d like to get more “underground dining” options. He also […]

  13. […] The Casa SaltShaker List […]

  17. […] é de um jantar fechado para poucos e exclusivos comensais, normalmente em um ambiente bem caseiro. Neste link tem vários destes espalhados pelo […]

  19. […] Very relaxed and a lot more laughs than I expected. If you do not know where to start, try Housebites who are making the link between fans and […]

  20. […] Verdammt, war das ein lustiger Abend. Zehn Wildfremde trafen sich heute abend am Tisch von Dan Perlman, der jeden Freitag und Samstag private Dinnerpartys für bis zu 12 Leute schmeißt. Die lateinamerikanische Sitte der paladares oder puertas cerradas, also der Privatrestaurants hinter nur vorgeblich geschlossenen Türen, hat ja auch schon nach Deutschland, speziell nach Berlin übergegriffen, Dan hat auf seiner Website wunderbarerweise solche Geheimlokale weltweit gesammelt. […]

  23. […] Also known as “supperclubs”, this underground scene is getting bigger by the day. They are hosted by normal, everyday “Come-Diners”, in their front rooms and kitchens. I was feeling ever so shy the first time –  sharing a meal with 10 or 15 strangers might be a long, long dinner… But conversation flowed easily, you already have a love of London in common, usually are a food lover, curious about  new experiences… I filled my notebook with tips and addresses to try. There is a theme for everyone too. You can enjoy a normal home-cooked meal, go gourmet linger over breakfast…afternoon tea or even finish the evening dancing! Have a look at the whole list here. […]

  25. […] Encouraged by that unique evening Nahid and I sampled Chicks with Knives, Taste of Pace and On the Lamb here in Los Angeles. When we traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina we went to SaltShaker. […]

  27. […] Andar, um puertas cerradas em Porto Alegre Você já ouviu falar no fenômeno mundial dos “puertas cerradas”? Então te liga no Primeiro Andar, que fica aqui mesmo em Porto Alegre. Nesse apartamento, […]

  29. […] But he also mentioned that all the guests were lively and fun and talked to each other, which is what sold me, almost more than the prospect of good food. Berliners aren’t the most sociable people around, so if there is a chance to meet fun people I am SO THERE. I decided to look into things myself, to see if the whole supper club thing was as amazing as the claims I’d heard. And interestingly, although the underground dining scene is fairly new to me, it has become really big in cities all around the world. […]

  30. […] For more closed-door eateries to look out for, such as Peruvian fusion at Casa Jauretche, or popular pescatarian Diego Felix, click here. […]

  32. […] more secret supper clubs, you can have a look at saltshaker.net, where there is a list of pretty much all of them in every […]

  36. […] since I started food blogging, but for many reasons just never got to try one. Here’s a compiled list of various underground dining places around the world.After arriving at the meet up spot, we were led “down the rabbit […]

  37. […] A pesar de ser clandestinas, estas iniciativas son cada ez más numerosas y están muy bien organizadas. Cualquiera puede vivir una experiencia así en su propia ciudad o en alguno de sus viajes consultando la guía incluida en la web de cocina del neoyorquino Dan Perlman, Saltshaker, en su sección Underground Dinning Scene. […]

  38. […] out this awesome, international list of underground dining  events, personally curated by Saltshaker.net AKA chef and writer Dan Perlman. If you’ve ever wanted to […]

  42. […] Supper Speakeasy in Lima, Peru It’s here! The trend of underground dinners has hit Peru and we’re happy to share the details of our first dinners with you. Intimate, […]

  43. […] here! The trend of underground dinners has hit Peru and we’re happy to share the details of our first dinners with you. Intimate, […]

  44. […] ‘Salt Shaker’ is one such fellow. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to the so-called underground dining […]

  45. […] cartõesInusitado: Primeiro AndarO Primeiro Andar não é um restaurante comum, ele segue o modelo “puertas cerradas”, acontecem jantares fechados para poucos e exclusivos convidados pela Chef Janaína Girardi.Rua […]

  46. […] A pesar de ser clandestinas, estas iniciativas son cada ez más numerosas y están muy bien organizadas. Cualquiera puede vivir una experiencia así en su propia ciudad o en alguno de sus viajes consultando la guía incluida en la web de cocina del neoyorquino Dan Perlman, Saltshaker, en su sección Underground Dinning Scene. […]

  48. […] This is my first introduction to the concept of Guerrilla Dining, also known as Underground Dining. If you’re like me and have never come across the term before, it’s like a paid dinner party. It’s popular in Latin America and there are lots of similar underground dining scenes around the world. […]

  52. […] ‘Salt Shaker’ is one such fellow. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to the so-called underground dining […]

  53. […] an extensive list of clubs around the world, check out this list on Casa Saltshaker’s website. Have you ever been to a pop-up restaurant or supper […]

  55. […] een redelijke prijs een viergangenmenu met maximaal elf andere hipsters. Op de blog SaltShaker post Dan (oorspronkelijk een Amerikaan) ieder nieuw underground restaurant dat hij tegenkomt […]

  56. […] Encouraged by that unique evening Nahid and I sampled Chicks with Knives, Taste of Pace and On the Lamb here in Los Angeles. When we traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina we went to SaltShaker. […]

  60. […] To help you a little bit, here are two websites that list a selection of supper clubs worldwide: Saltshaker and […]

  61. […] Casa Casasaltshaker is one of the best secret supper clubs of the world and among the best restaurants in Argentina. You can read this up on google, tripadvisor or for example on http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/10/29/worlds-11-best-super-secret-supper-clubs, or you just go there and enjoy incredible good food an wine. We are very happy that Dan Perlman, Saltshakers chef, added us to his list of underground dining spots. Check out Casa Saltshakers page: https://www.saltshaker.net/underground-dining-scene. […]

  63. […] Ein echter Geheimtipp sind die sogenannten Closed-door-Restaurants, von denen es in der Stadt eine ganze Menge gibt. Diese Restaurants „hinter verschlossenen Türen“  sind bei Leuten zu Hause. Reservieren tust du vorab über E-Mail und auch das Menü wählst du in der Regel vor deinem Besuch. Das Tolle: Oft ist die Atmosphäre sehr familiär und das Essen mit viel Liebe zubereitet. Eine gute Übersicht über closed-door-Restaurants (auch supper clubs genannt) in Buenos Aires und der Welt findest du hier. […]

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