Have you ever eaten out while lying down on a comfy bed? Chances are, if you’ve visited Amsterdam you would have been to or heard of the famous Dutch restaurant/bar/club – supperclub – which does exactly that. Now they have opened in London’s Notting Hill.
The space is located under the Westway near the top end of Portobello Road on the site of the once legendary 90s nightclub, Subterranea. The space is designed by Concrete, the Dutch design practice also responsible for the various other supperclub locations in the world and the forthcoming W Hotel in London’s Leicester Square (opening Summer 2010).
On arrival, you pass through impressive double doors leading into Bar Rouge – a sumptuous take on a classic hotel bar. This is where patrons meet for a pre-dinner drink and suss out the crowd. When the kitchen is ready for dinner (around 8pm), frosted glass doors slide open and diners are ushered into the vast Salle Neige, a sheer white space and the epicenter of the dining concept.
Diners are shown to their, er, oversized beds which line the sides of the room, as well as along the mezzanine level. It is from here that the rest of the evening unfolds. To a super-cool DJ soundtrack and video projections, drinks are served to your bed along with a four-course tasting menu (£50), which is interspersed with live performances from a myriad of weird and wonderful artists. From the comfort of your bed, you embark on a people-watching extravaganza.
At the end of the meal, the space is cleared and evolves into a nightclub.
EDITOR’S COMMENTS:
If truth be told, I haven’t yet been to this new London outpost of supperclub. However, with nearly 10 visits to the Amsterdam original under my belt, I feel comfortable enough with their format to comment.
I defy anyone not to enjoy a night at supperclub. However, I say that from the relative anonymity of their Amsterdam venue. On each visit there, I have wondered if the concept would work in London – an altogether more uptight, self-conscious, dare-I-say pretentious city. Us Brits are not always very good at letting our hair down in public and tend to resort to heavy drinking and embarrassing behaviour to get there. But at supperclub, you really must lose your inhibitions without exercising such tactics.
First up, no matter how cool you think you are or look, remember that you’re dining with no shoes on (note: check no holes in socks before heading out). You’re also lying horizontal, which ends up looking either super-sexy or downright slobbish. Negotiating your plate of food from this position also proves challenging.
My message is simply – don’t go here with the wrong expectations. Relax, smile, chat to your neighbours, laugh at yourself and flirt ferociously. As owner Bert van der Leden would put it, “If you just want to look you should go to the theatre. Here, you make the evening yourself. Come, see, and give yourself over to the world called supperclub.”
A few additional tips: Don’t go here on business unless you are very comfortable with your guests. Don’t expect much change from £100 each. Don’t take a normal table in the middle of the space as you will feel self-conscious all night.
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RESTAURANT: SUPPERCLUB LONDON, NOTTING HILL
Have you ever eaten out while lying down on a comfy bed? Chances are, if you’ve visited Amsterdam you would have been to or heard of the famous Dutch restaurant/bar/club – supperclub – which does exactly that. Now they have opened in London’s Notting Hill.
SUPPERCLUB LONDON
12 Acklam Road, London W10 5QZ (020 8964 6600)
The space is located under the Westway near the top end of Portobello Road on the site of the once legendary 90s nightclub, Subterranea. The space is designed by Concrete, the Dutch design practice also responsible for the various other supperclub locations in the world and the forthcoming W Hotel in London’s Leicester Square (opening Summer 2010).
On arrival, you pass through impressive double doors leading into Bar Rouge – a sumptuous take on a classic hotel bar. This is where patrons meet for a pre-dinner drink and suss out the crowd. When the kitchen is ready for dinner (around 8pm), frosted glass doors slide open and diners are ushered into the vast Salle Neige, a sheer white space and the epicenter of the dining concept.
Diners are shown to their, er, oversized beds which line the sides of the room, as well as along the mezzanine level. It is from here that the rest of the evening unfolds. To a super-cool DJ soundtrack and video projections, drinks are served to your bed along with a four-course tasting menu (£50), which is interspersed with live performances from a myriad of weird and wonderful artists. From the comfort of your bed, you embark on a people-watching extravaganza.
At the end of the meal, the space is cleared and evolves into a nightclub.
EDITOR’S COMMENTS:
If truth be told, I haven’t yet been to this new London outpost of supperclub. However, with nearly 10 visits to the Amsterdam original under my belt, I feel comfortable enough with their format to comment.
I defy anyone not to enjoy a night at supperclub. However, I say that from the relative anonymity of their Amsterdam venue. On each visit there, I have wondered if the concept would work in London – an altogether more uptight, self-conscious, dare-I-say pretentious city. Us Brits are not always very good at letting our hair down in public and tend to resort to heavy drinking and embarrassing behaviour to get there. But at supperclub, you really must lose your inhibitions without exercising such tactics.
First up, no matter how cool you think you are or look, remember that you’re dining with no shoes on (note: check no holes in socks before heading out). You’re also lying horizontal, which ends up looking either super-sexy or downright slobbish. Negotiating your plate of food from this position also proves challenging.
My message is simply – don’t go here with the wrong expectations. Relax, smile, chat to your neighbours, laugh at yourself and flirt ferociously. As owner Bert van der Leden would put it, “If you just want to look you should go to the theatre. Here, you make the evening yourself. Come, see, and give yourself over to the world called supperclub.”
A few additional tips: Don’t go here on business unless you are very comfortable with your guests. Don’t expect much change from £100 each. Don’t take a normal table in the middle of the space as you will feel self-conscious all night.
Tags Concrete | Notting Hill | supperclub
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 1:46 PM and is filed under Editor's Comments, LDG addition, Restaurant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.