Craving a unique dining experience? Meet the underground foodies serving up fine dining in hard-to-find places.
Paris
La Petite Cuisine à Paris/ The Little Paris Kitchen
thelittlepariskitchen.com
twitter.com/rkhooks
Small apartments are de rigueur in the French capital - which is fortunate for Le Cordon Bleu trained chef, Rachel Khoo, who has turned her tiny kitchen into what is often cited as one of the world’s smallest restaurants. For a suggested 30 Euro donation to cover ingredients and wine, guests sit in her miniature salon to dine on scallop soufflé, spiced autumn lamb stew, gingerbread and mascarpone Swiss rolls. With only room for two diners at a time, this is fine French dining at its most intimate and affordable.
Sydney
Secret Foodies
secretfoodies.com.au
twitter.com/msdarlinghurst
Secret Foodies satisfies Sydney’s appetite for novelty and caters to those who like their fine dining with a side of adventure. Purchase tickets online with little to no information about what and where you’ll be dining. A text with an address two hours before service and novelty masks provided upon arrival (to be worn all throughout the meal) give it a Marco Polo meets Eyes Wide Shut appeal.
Sign up for Secret Foodies.
New York
Ted & Amy Supper Club
tedandamysupperclub.com
twitter.com/karamasi
Inspired and named after Ted Allen (of television’s Queer Eye) and comedian Amy Sedaris, Ted and Amy Supper Club has become one of the city’s best-known leaders in the new gastro trend of home cooking and collaborative consumption. With a dinner style is as quirky as its namesake, host Kara Masi invites an assortment of strangers to an apartment where they’ll sit down together for family-style soul food. Think lamb ragu topped with ricotta and fresh mint followed by spiced molten chocolate cakes, complimented with a Queens Collins cocktail with Bulldog Gin.
London
The Loft Project
theloftproject.co.uk
twitter.com/theloftproject
The Loft Project is definitely on the higher-end of underground dining. What chef Nuno Mendes and his partner Clarise Faria originally started as a small private supper club has since grown into a tasting room for regarded chefs (most from local Michelin-starred eateries) to test their own menus away from the pressure of a packed-out dining room. Each event holds a maximum of 16 guests making it ideal for those who crave restaurant-style fare but with the intimate setting of a communal table.