Thyme Supperclub round up the city’s best private dining experiences…
Fisk & Gröönsaken
Small supperclub in Prenzlauer Berg serving pescetarian (fish only) cuisine for up to 8 guests. The hosts are an exceptionally friendly German couple who go out of their way to make guests feel at home in their home.
The food was beautifully presented and extremely tasty. With recommended donations usually not much more than €20 per person, they also represent the best value supperclub in Berlin. I stand in awe at how they are able to produce such excellent food for so little money!
Good Stuff
Another British chef, this one with a mission “to show that English cuisine is more than fish, chips and Jamie Oliver”. She’s passionate about using locally-sourced ingredients to serve up simple and delicious food to guests in a charming and unusual apartment in Neukölln. Service was provided by an equally lovely Canadian woman.
Update: The chef of this supperclub now runs a bar in Neukölln: Geist im Glas and her supperclubs now take place there, on a weekly basis.
Krauted Haus
Helmed by two young women, one German/Persian, one American, in an apartment in Neukölln. We went on their vegetarian night and sampled a range of great food, including homemade pickles, gnocchi alla romana and a blow-away salted chocolate caramel cake. Seats up to 16 guests, with a lively atmosphere.
Metti Una Sera A Cena
Usually serving up to 8 people, this supperclub in Prenzlauer Berg also has occasional “tasting parties” for larger groups. They are a young Italian couple serving modern Italian cuisine of high quality. The hosts are artists and Metti Una Sera A Cena dinners take place in their studio which comprises one large room of their apartment. Their artistry spills across onto the plates with very attractively presented plates of food.
Phoebe in Berlin
We’ve welcomed Phoebe a couple of times as a guest at Thyme Supperclub and were delighted to hear that she’s started her own supper club in Friedrichshain. She’s from Taiwan, but classically trained as a chef in the French style. Suppers alternate between French evenings and Chinese evenings; we went on a Chinese evening.
The food was great, from a powerfully flavoured pineapple and olive canape to a delicate and delicious steamed fish. This was really innovative and unusual Chinese cooking – and Phoebe tells us her French food is even better! Service charmingly provided by Matthias, Phoebe’s husband.
Zuhause Berlin
A brand new supperclub in Kreuzberg, Zuhause opened their doors for their first dinner in September 2011.
It’s run by a friendly Irish/Canadian couple, one of whom is a professional chef with experience in restaurants and on private yachts.
Their food is contemporary European with international influences and they serve up to 12 guests. We ate there on New Year’s Eve and had a great time. If you’re after a good tasting menu for a fraction of the price you’d pay in a restaurant, this is the supper club for you.
B Alive
With up to 10 guests, host Boris serves a 4-course dinner consisting entirely of raw vegan food in a stylish loft house in Kreuzberg. Don’t be put off by the raw vegan bit, we’ve been assured that “you won’t get served a hippie salad bowl with sprouts and shredded carrots. Boris’s creations are little pieces of art offering a unknown experience in delicate flavors and textures.” With an emphasis on seasonality and organic food, we’re very interested in going along soon to try this unusual cuisine “uncooked” from thoughtfully sourced ingredients.
Daniel’s Eatery
Daniel hosts up to 10 guests in Prenzlauer Berg on two consecutive days a month. His food is international, with a seasonal element and he’s particularly interested in bringing a twist to familiar ingredients or dishes, to present them in an unusual way, or in a new context. We’re looking forward to trying it out soon.
Entretempo
Entretempo aim to combine art and food in their kitchen-gallery on Prenzauer Berg’s quiet Stargarder Straße. Their weekly supper clubs take place in the petite gallery space, surrounded by the works from current exhibitions. Chef and artist Taniá Guedes and her small team of chefs create each dish in the open plan kitchen that spans the back of the unique gallery space. Each supper club is based around a different theme; previous ones have included a Cinema Night, where each course is themed around selected scenes from the evening’s film.
Festin
A very small and intimate supper club in Schöneberg, Festin serves up to 12 guests, but really specialises in creating romantic evenings for couples. So if you want to pop the question to your partner, this is the place to bring him/her. Hostess Deborah is from New York City, cooks a whole range of cuisines (with truffles and chipotles listed on her website as two particular obsessions) and will take requests for special dishes. She’ll also travel and cook for you in your own home.
Food Fellows
Food Fellows, who describe themselves as a ‘social food learning community’ invite guests to choose from a variety of supper club hosts, from Germany’s youngest Michelin-starred cook to some of Berlin’s finest street food artists. The twist with these dinners is that, as well as enjoying a yummy dinner, you’ll also be taught how to cook the dish as everyone rolls up their sleeves and helps prepare the meal together.
Mother’s Mother
Mother’s Mother is a dinner club that celebrates Mothers’ and Grandmothers’ food from around the world. Every meal is created by a new chef and pays homage to one single Mother. Organiser Kavita finds chefs and cooks and tasks them with creating a special menu based on the food they grew up eating as a child. A great concept, and we’ll certainly be going along soon.
Update: Mother’s Mother will be taking their supper club to New York for Winter 2014
Mulax
More of a pop-up restaurant than a supper club; nevertheless, Mulax certainly belongs in this list. Their motto is “Kunst.Kultur.Kulinarik.” (Art.Culture.Cuisine.) and they describe themselves as a social network dining room, with a real emphasis on getting to know new people. Two long tables seat up to 24 guests in a courtyard in Kreuzberg. Additionally, artists and musicians are invited to present work during the dinners.
Mund Art Berlin
Gourmet vegan food in a variety of Berlin locations. The number of guests depends on the venue, but they generally cater for larger groups, with most dinners seating between 20 – 40 people. They prefer to use regional products where possible, and enjoy seeking out special ingredients from small producers, with interesting stories behind them. Hostesses and cooks, Felicia and Nicole, are both food bloggers of longstanding with a real passion for culinary veganism.
Parlour Dinners
This supper club takes place in a showroom for handmade wooden furniture and seems to be designed to showcase quality food and unique handmade furniture. We particularly like the concept of bringing the hand-designed furniture to the forefront – as every host knows, a great party is about more than just great food.
Update: Parlour Dinners are currently looking for a new location and will resume cooking in early 2015.
Speisenklub Neukölln
Run by a German woman, Speisenklub Neukölln meets on the last Sunday of every month with up to 20 guests. Menus and locations change every time, but they have always an emphasis on fresh and preferably organic ingredients (see Cathrin’s comment below).
Zagreus Projekt
The Zagreus Projekt is not exactly a supper club, but certainly falls into the category of alternative dining. Set in a small art gallery in Brunnenstrasse, the concept is that an artist works in conjunction with the chef to create an installation and menu that is inspired by the art. Installations change every couple of months or so, and the menu alters accordingly. Dinners are held every two weeks or so, and Zagreus hosts twenty or so guests.
For supperclubs outside of Berlin, this website run by Kerstin Rodgers AKA MsMarmiteLover has a good worldwide list.
About The Author
Thyme Supperclub is a hobby project run by a keen amateur cook and an oenophile (wine connoisseur), who host dinners in their own home for friends, guests and food enthusiasts. Founded in 2010, and one of the first supper clubs in Berlin, Thyme Supperclub entertains 18 guests at an eight-course meal, once a month, with guests invited to contribute a donation to cover costs.
This post was updated in December 2014 by Laura Harker.