Supper clubs are redefining how travellers dine out

I recently attended a ticketed dinner at Timberyard in Edinburgh, held in collaboration with Manchester’s Higher Ground. Guests gathered around candlelit communal tables for a feast of light, bright seasonal dishes. One had just completed an ultramarathon in the Scottish Highlands; another, from LA, was honouring a trip originally planned with his late wife. Diners with deep pockets who were keen to experience the restaurant, but would not have booked a table for one.

The evening exemplifies a generational shift in experiential dining, as people increasingly seek connection through curated social gatherings. The appeal lies in their spontaneity, inclusivity and in-the-know allure, with great food and wine at a set price. The resurgence of supper clubs and communal dining globally reflects a broader change in nightlife culture, which is influencing how we travel and shaking up the star-rated hotel and restaurant status quo.

The evolution of the supper club

Traditionally, a supper club takes place at a venue other than a restaurant, such as someone’s home. The definition has broadened to encompass one-off and ticketed meals, which centre on group dining and a fixed menu.

Supper clubs provide an opportunity to experience a city through its shared tables and meet the communities and individuals that make a destination tick. For solo travellers in particular, they foster conviviality and connection. Search “supper club” on TikTok and you are served an infinite scroll of artfully curated, intimate table settings from across the globe, ranging from lo-fi dinner parties hosted by groups of friends to thriving businesses.

“A restaurant is beautiful, but it can also be a little rigid – reservations, menus, the same rhythm every night. I wanted to create something that felt alive,” says chef Daniele Uditi, who co-founded Lele Dinner Club with sommelier Ferdinando Mucerino. Considered one of the hottest tickets in LA right now, the supper club has amassed a 15,000-strong waitlist for its sociable dinners, which take place two to four times each month and spotlight food and wine from Italy’s Campania region.

Held in an undisclosed location in West Adams, tickets are priced at 295 USD per head and are sold as a minimum of two, but guests are encouraged to mingle and converse with their neighbour. “You’re at one long table, sharing bread, stories, a connection,” says Uditi, who works the room topping up glasses and recalling childhood memories of family meals in Naples that inspire the menu. “It’s intimate, spontaneous, and it makes the evening feel like a secret you were lucky to be part of. In a world where everything is on demand, this kind of one-night-only magic is rare.”

In Singapore – one of the great supper club capitals of the world – Fiji-born chef Kevin WY Lee hosts Poon’s Supper Club from a private address, serving a fusion of Fijian, Cantonese and Singaporean cooking that reflects his upbringing. Lee, who also presents New Asia’s food series, In Search of Heat, is an animated host, always eager to share the stories behind his menu, which might include a Fijian goat curry – a rarity in Singapore – or a corned beef stew, served alongside his homemade sambal sauces. “It’s all about gut, emotions and an innate ability in one’s desire to pull it off,” says Lee. “There are no predetermined plans.”

“It takes a certain sort of person to go to an unknown home, eat whatever is served and dine with complete strangers,” says fellow Singaporean Renjie Wong, who runs a supper club called Salon. “I’ve fed guests as diverse as hungry travellers looking to meet new people and Michelin-starred chefs keen to experience the city’s flavours. Along the way, I’ve also made some of my closest friends.”

When Wong moved to San Francisco, hosting was a way of meeting new people. “The menu focused on the Southeast Asian flavours from home that I missed the most, interpreted through local produce.” Later, in Mumbai, Salon spotlighted rare Maharashtran monsoon and winter vegetables like phodshi and shevla in a Hakka thunder tea rice.

Homeward bound, he plans to relaunch the supper club from a tropical modernist apartment in the Joo Chiat neighbourhood. “I hope it will prompt travellers and locals alike to reconsider what it means to experience Singapore; beyond its glitzy skyline, what can a thoroughly, stubbornly local evening at a Singaporean creative’s home look like?”

Supper clubs in the wild

There is also a growing trend for supper clubs set in the heart of nature. Fforest is an “outdoor hotel” on the west Wales coast, where glamping spots and cabins sit among sandy coves, woodland meadows and the Teifi Marshes. A particular draw is the ongoing series of guest chef dinners, served at a long table in the Cedar Barn, adorned with vases of wild flowers. Esteemed headliners have included Tomos Parry, founder of Michelin-starred Brat, Mountain and Brat x Climpson Arch in London.

“Music, open air, and a focus on space as much as food all contribute to making the evenings feel welcoming, lively and communal,” says Jackson Lynch-Tucker, head of food and beverage at fforest. Dishes are served buffet-style straight from the barbecue, “closer to a village feast than a formal restaurant. Our events encourage conversation and togetherness.”

A short drive north of Florence in Italy, you’ll find Podere Sala, a tranquil homestead in a renovated farmhouse where weekly cookery classes finish with a sociable sit-down meal and supper club lunches draw a multi-generational crowd. Food is cooked by Michela De Mori, who grew up in the house. “The ambience is relaxed and familial – seasonal food, natural wine, long tables, laughter and conversation,” says Waverly Cole, who runs Podere Sala with De Mori. Menus might include “platters of crostini, mozzarella with radicchio, homemade tagliatelle in a perfectly simple sauce with tomatoes from our garden. Always a big well dressed salad, and a tiramisu or crostata for dessert. Dishes that are humble, generous, and meant to be shared.”

In October, Podere Sala will welcome Chloe Walsh, a British chef based in LA, who has hosted supper clubs across the UK, Europe and California and understands the appeal more than most. “Complete strangers connecting over good food is such a special feeling, every single time,” says Walsh, who estimates that around a third of guests are solo diners.

Supper clubs and ticketed dining experiences are blurring the boundaries of food, land and art, creating lasting memories that linger long after the cutlery is cleared. “There is a desire right now for delicious home-cooking, which is thoughtfully presented in a unique environment that differs from the traditional restaurant set-up,” says Walsh. “Supper clubs are a great example of that. They are an exhilarating experience.”