A Moveable Feast: A Guide to Brooklyn’s Supper Clubs

By Margaret Eby

Photo Courtesy of Dinner Lab

Forget restaurant week. In fact, forget restaurants altogether. If you want to sample what’s really going on in the Brooklyn culinary scene, you should get a reservation at a supper club. For the adventurous of palate, these groups can offer more variety than your average Michelin-starred place, pairing small groups of game foodies with chefs experimenting with new menu concepts. And it’s not just the food that’s adventurous: Outside of a traditional dining setting, supper clubs gather on rooftops, on helipads, and even in scrubbed-out dumpsters.

DinnerLab
These pop-up dining events are dedicated to the principle that high-end chefs need feedback from their diners, a surprisingly radical concept in the world of haute cuisine. DinnerLab operates three pop-up meals in New York per week— members-only events where a multi-course meal plus tax, tip, and drinks will run you $80, plus an annual fee of $175 for membership. But the food is no joke: An upcoming meal includes alligator, quail eggs, and a chowder that marries pork belly with turtle meat.
dinnerlab.com

The Gastronauts
With eight years throwing underground dinners under their belt and 1,300 members, the Gastronauts is the biggest dinner club of its kind. It’s not super secret, so you’re far more likely to get a spot at the table to sample cuisine they describe as interesting, but not “Fear Factor stuff.”
gastronauts.net

Sinsemil.la
If you prefer your eating experience to have a dash of one particular green herb, this new marijuana-focused supper club might be just the ticket. Per the club’s website, “Sinsemil.la isn’t about getting high—it is about haute cuisine,” which means look elsewhere for cheese curls and tacos. The menu for this one runs more towards scallop crudo and fried baby artichokes.
sinsemil.la

Whisk & Ladle
Serving up cocktails and courses in a loft on the Williamsburg waterfront, Whisk & Ladle is one of the granddaddies of the new supper club scene. Interested parties can apply for reservations to their weekly dinners through their website, but be warned: They’re so booked up that more interesting inquiries are usually the ones that make the cut.
thewhiskandladle.com