A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a

social club A social club or social organization may be a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity with in an organizational association known as a Club (organization), club. Exampl ...

. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image, even if the price is affordable to all. In the 2010s, a newer usage of the term ''supper club'' emerged, referring to underground restaurants.

Other names

Supper clubs, when used in the newer context of underground restaurants, are also known as home bistros, guerrilla diners, secret restaurants, ''paladares'', ''puertas cerradas'', pop-up restaurants, guestaurants, speakeasies, and anti-restaurants.

In the United States

In the U.S., a supper club is a dining establishment generally found across the United States, but currently concentrated in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

ern states of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. These establishments typically are located on the edge of town in rural areas. In 2025, a new meaning for "supper club" had taken root in various places. it now refers to a social venue where numerous people can meet over dinner.

History

The first supper club in the United States was established in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, by

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin, native Lawrence Frank. Supper clubs became popular during the 1930s and 1940s, although some establishments that later became supper clubs had previously gained notoriety as

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

roadhouses. Traditionally, supper clubs were considered a "destination" where patrons would spend the whole evening, from cocktail hour to nightclub-style entertainment after dinner.Dennis Getto, "Supper clubs that are a cut above prime time"
, ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' Featuring a casual and relaxed atmosphere, they are now usually just restaurants rather than the all-night entertainment destinations of the past.

Typical menu

Supper clubs generally feature simple menus with somewhat limited offerings featuring typical American cuisine. Dishes may include prime rib,

steak A steak is a cut of meat sliced across muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally Grilling, grilled or Pan frying, fried, and can be diced or cooked in sauce. Steaks are most commonly cut from cattle (beefsteak), but can also ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

, and

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

. An all-you-can-eat Friday night fish fry is particularly common at Wisconsin supper clubs, as are brandy old fashioneds. Relish trays with items such as crackers, cheese, carrots, green onions, pickles, cherry peppers, radishes, and

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'' Dulce Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''dulce'') is a cultivated plant belonging to the species ''Apium graveolens'' in the family Apiaceae that has been used as a vegetable since ancient times. The original wild ...

are typically served at the table on lazy Susans.

In the United Kingdom

Supper clubs in the UK adopted the

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

concept of the American 1930s and 1940s and aimed to bring the ambience of the underground New York jazz club to the UK entertainment scene, where people could enjoy a dinner without the formality of a ball, whilst enjoying live music. These clubs were often the centre of social networks in both rural communities and cities. Traditional supper club menus consisted of standard American fare, and in the UK there was a concerted drive to give the food and wine a British twist. Some supper clubs were purely informal dining societies whilst others incorporated musical acts to complement the atmosphere. There was also a form of supper club which acted as an informal dating platform. Both have largely been replaced by modern nightclubs. The term "supper club" is enjoying a revival with slightly different meaning – generally a small underground club (often with roving premises which are only revealed to the guests when they buy a ticket), where guests eat from a restricted or set menu, and are expected to fraternise with other guests whom they may not know. In the 2020s in the UK 'underground restaurants' and 'supper clubs' started to blossom, with reviews in leading newspapers such as ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. They range across the UK but are mainly concentrated in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. These are advertised by word of mouth and on social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook. There are a number of ways to find out about supper clubs including social media and the website ''Eat My World'',Eat My World
/ref> which lists events all over the UK. Some supper clubs in London are advertised on Grub Club, a London online supperclub platform.

In Latin America

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, a supper club is typically an underground restaurant known as either a '' paladar'' or a ''restaurante de puertas cerradas'' (locked door restaurant). Although technically illegal, this type of restaurant is built into the culture, often with higher standards than many licensed establishments.http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2008/apr/17/undergroundrestaurants . They are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/may/29/underground-restaurants-msmarmitelover-hardeep . The attraction of the underground restaurant for the customer is the ability to sample new food at low prices outside the traditional restaurant experience. For the host, benefits are making some money and experimenting with cooking without having to invest in a restaurant proper. As one host told the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "It's literally like playing restaurant... You can create the event, and then it's over."

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

* Mount, Ian
Buenos Aires: Psst! Want a Discreet Dinner?
''The New York Times'', December 17, 2006. * Williams, Zoe
The secret feast
''The Guardian'', February 10, 2009.

* Omidi, Maryam
Top table: Moscow's fine dining supper club is now serving
''The Calvert Journal'', February 6, 2013.
Are Supper Clubs Helping the Allegedly Lonely Adults of Texas?
Entrepreneurs around the state are curating dinners that encourage breaking bread with strangers. By Meher Yeda, January 16, 2025, Texas Monthly. * Restaurants by type Wisconsin culture