Al fresco dining: London's best supper clubs in the open air
London's best outdoor supper clubs where fine dining involves soaking up the sun
Al fresco dining: London's best supper clubs in the open air
If you've visited all the newest al fresco dining spots, been to every rooftop and eaten outdoors on the river already (given that it's only June, you've done well) then it's time for something a little more unusual. We've rounded up the best blink-and-you'll-miss-them supper clubs, popping up in outdoor spots around the city.
Book these al fresco supper clubs while you can, before they sell out.
Sprout, Harvey Nichols
Duck & Waffle head chef Dan Doherty is widening his net this summer and going it alone. Sprout at Harvey Nichols will focus on his brand of seasonal, simple food that needn't be embellished with frills. Encouraging conviviality, the dishes are all for sharing and will be put in the centre of the table. Find him cooking on the intimate balcony on the fifth floor of the department store, but book quickly as there's limited space left. It's a chance to get up close to the superstar chef, who is enjoying a raised profile due to new restaurant opening Duck & Waffle Local recently, which offers the same luxurious food of the flagship, just without the reservations, in a walk-ins-only set up.
June 27 - 30, Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge. Book tickets or read more information
Jimmy Garcia, Southbank
Garcia is an aficionado of the BBQ meat trend we're still seeing everywhere, but for summer 2017 he's stepping things up. Rather than low 'n' slow beef in a bun, Garcia is formalising things with a proper sit down supper club. The dining club is above Garcia's takeout hatch on the Southbank, and features an evolving six course menu of BBQ food mainly cooked on an iconic green egg bbq. Rather than competing with dirty burgers at markets this summer, here's a rather more sophisticated way to try BBQ - with a view.
Open now until September 20, Outside Royal Festival Hall, Riverside at Belvedere Road London, SE1 8XX. More information and book
Edible Drawing with Jennie Webber, The Culpeper, Shoreditch
The Culpeper is, even by London standards, a seriously impressive pub. Reimagined by new owners who found Victorian fixtures and fittings below decades of horrible wallpaper, the pub serves richly ingenious British food in highly glamourous - but very historical - surroundings. For one day only, there's an open-air pop-up on the roof (where they grow their fruit and veg) in association with illustrator Jennie Webber, who will ask that you draw your best impression of the edible flowers growing on the roof. The best works will be displayed in the pub after. When you're done, enjoy lunch on the terrace rooftop with food made from the edible flowers.
July 1, The Culpeper, 40 Commercial Street E1 6LP. More information and tickets
London in the Sky, Chelsea
Fancy eating dinner while dangling 100 feet above Chelsea, harnessed into your chair? It's the sort of thing visitors to London might say officially deems London "gone mad!", yet here we are again with another series of sell out events, following the sky table's first appearance in London in 2015. Go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or cocktails late at night, and arrive 45 minutes before your "flight". There's even waiter service and a guest chef cooking in this enormously (perhaps slightly too literally) 'open' kitchen. Lord only knows what happens if nature calls. Book quickly, there's only a select few experiences left.
July 19 - 30, Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground, Chelsea College of Arts, 16 John Islip Street, London, SW1P 4JU. More information and book
New Moon: That Hungry Chef X Sattyananda Spiritual
"A lot has changed over the past 30 years", say That Hungry Chef and Sattyananda Spiritual, who run DeepSpace movement meditation workshops around London. This one-night supper club aims to combat our fast paced lives with relaxation. It combines wellness with good food, welcoming guests to enjoy a one-hour workshop with ambient music. It takes place in the home of Pratap Chahal - aka That Hungry Chef - who follows the workout with Sattvic food, a type of vegetarian food with spiritual connections, to encourage feelings of peace and relaxation. It's basically organic and seasonal, without any excess fat.
July 22, Highgate Village. Book tickets. That Hungry Chef hosts rolling pop-up suppers at his personal home. More information
Latitudinal Cuisine, Brixton
Supper club hosts Alex & Sinead host these popular themed nights from their garden in Brixton. For only a fiver, plucky and confident guests turn up to meet a crowd of relative strangers with a dish they've created. The only rules of attendance? Be ready to chat, and BYOB. And your own dish, too. Then everybody shares their dishes, and their bottles, in the comfort of generous food chat in (hopefully) sunny late-June. The dinners are based around countries and cultures of different geographical latitudes; the next focuses on Moroccan food.
June 29, Goswell Road, Brixton. Further latitudes planned for throughout the year, including New Zealand in July. More information
Boundary Rooftop, Shoreditch
Shoreditch's Albion hotel is on the corner of a block on Redchurch Street, the area's bohemian quarter. Starting this summer and only at weekends, the boutique hotel is offering wellness packages with carefully designed exclusive food menus. In collaboration with London workout maestros Frame, book into the Albion for a weekend of modern fitness classes, massages and ultimately innovative evening meals. It's pricey, at £600 for the two nights, but if you're after boundary-pushing yoga, with training consultation and menus designed by a famous nutritionist (Libby Limon), this is the foodie detox that strikes a perfect balance between lavish and well behaved.
Weekends, from June. You can book the weekend getaways throughout the summer which take place at Boundary Rooftop, Albion Hotel, including specially designed menus and all the food. Email dm@boundary.london to book. More information
Book these al fresco supper clubs while you can, before they sell out.
Sprout, Harvey Nichols
Duck & Waffle head chef Dan Doherty is widening his net this summer and going it alone. Sprout at Harvey Nichols will focus on his brand of seasonal, simple food that needn't be embellished with frills. Encouraging conviviality, the dishes are all for sharing and will be put in the centre of the table. Find him cooking on the intimate balcony on the fifth floor of the department store, but book quickly as there's limited space left. It's a chance to get up close to the superstar chef, who is enjoying a raised profile due to new restaurant opening Duck & Waffle Local recently, which offers the same luxurious food of the flagship, just without the reservations, in a walk-ins-only set up.
June 27 - 30, Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge. Book tickets or read more information
Jimmy Garcia, Southbank
Garcia is an aficionado of the BBQ meat trend we're still seeing everywhere, but for summer 2017 he's stepping things up. Rather than low 'n' slow beef in a bun, Garcia is formalising things with a proper sit down supper club. The dining club is above Garcia's takeout hatch on the Southbank, and features an evolving six course menu of BBQ food mainly cooked on an iconic green egg bbq. Rather than competing with dirty burgers at markets this summer, here's a rather more sophisticated way to try BBQ - with a view.
Open now until September 20, Outside Royal Festival Hall, Riverside at Belvedere Road London, SE1 8XX. More information and book
Edible Drawing with Jennie Webber, The Culpeper, Shoreditch
The Culpeper is, even by London standards, a seriously impressive pub. Reimagined by new owners who found Victorian fixtures and fittings below decades of horrible wallpaper, the pub serves richly ingenious British food in highly glamourous - but very historical - surroundings. For one day only, there's an open-air pop-up on the roof (where they grow their fruit and veg) in association with illustrator Jennie Webber, who will ask that you draw your best impression of the edible flowers growing on the roof. The best works will be displayed in the pub after. When you're done, enjoy lunch on the terrace rooftop with food made from the edible flowers.
July 1, The Culpeper, 40 Commercial Street E1 6LP. More information and tickets
London in the Sky, Chelsea
Fancy eating dinner while dangling 100 feet above Chelsea, harnessed into your chair? It's the sort of thing visitors to London might say officially deems London "gone mad!", yet here we are again with another series of sell out events, following the sky table's first appearance in London in 2015. Go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or cocktails late at night, and arrive 45 minutes before your "flight". There's even waiter service and a guest chef cooking in this enormously (perhaps slightly too literally) 'open' kitchen. Lord only knows what happens if nature calls. Book quickly, there's only a select few experiences left.
July 19 - 30, Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground, Chelsea College of Arts, 16 John Islip Street, London, SW1P 4JU. More information and book
New Moon: That Hungry Chef X Sattyananda Spiritual
"A lot has changed over the past 30 years", say That Hungry Chef and Sattyananda Spiritual, who run DeepSpace movement meditation workshops around London. This one-night supper club aims to combat our fast paced lives with relaxation. It combines wellness with good food, welcoming guests to enjoy a one-hour workshop with ambient music. It takes place in the home of Pratap Chahal - aka That Hungry Chef - who follows the workout with Sattvic food, a type of vegetarian food with spiritual connections, to encourage feelings of peace and relaxation. It's basically organic and seasonal, without any excess fat.
July 22, Highgate Village. Book tickets. That Hungry Chef hosts rolling pop-up suppers at his personal home. More information
Latitudinal Cuisine, Brixton
Supper club hosts Alex & Sinead host these popular themed nights from their garden in Brixton. For only a fiver, plucky and confident guests turn up to meet a crowd of relative strangers with a dish they've created. The only rules of attendance? Be ready to chat, and BYOB. And your own dish, too. Then everybody shares their dishes, and their bottles, in the comfort of generous food chat in (hopefully) sunny late-June. The dinners are based around countries and cultures of different geographical latitudes; the next focuses on Moroccan food.
June 29, Goswell Road, Brixton. Further latitudes planned for throughout the year, including New Zealand in July. More information
Boundary Rooftop, Shoreditch
Shoreditch's Albion hotel is on the corner of a block on Redchurch Street, the area's bohemian quarter. Starting this summer and only at weekends, the boutique hotel is offering wellness packages with carefully designed exclusive food menus. In collaboration with London workout maestros Frame, book into the Albion for a weekend of modern fitness classes, massages and ultimately innovative evening meals. It's pricey, at £600 for the two nights, but if you're after boundary-pushing yoga, with training consultation and menus designed by a famous nutritionist (Libby Limon), this is the foodie detox that strikes a perfect balance between lavish and well behaved.
Weekends, from June. You can book the weekend getaways throughout the summer which take place at Boundary Rooftop, Albion Hotel, including specially designed menus and all the food. Email dm@boundary.london to book. More information
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