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Monday 17 May 2010

London Supper Club - White Room Supper Club

White Room Supper Club

I recently visited Claudia’s supper club in Islington for her Fish and Seafood evening. Originally from Germany, Claudia has also lived in Australia, South Africa and London and her cooking reflects her cosmopolitan background.


Location

Set in a delightful loft style apartment by Regent’s Canal in Islington, Claudia’s flat is, as her supper club’s name suggests, ultra modern and mostly white. It is light and airy with large, beautiful windows which allow plenty of natural light.



Food

A keen cook, Claudia takes her inspiration mostly from her native country’s recipes. The evening’s menu however was not entirely German, and soon after being introduced to some of the guests, we were seated and presented with an amuse bouche of scallop and mango ceviche.


As a starter we were served a lovely smoked fish pate with salad and Claudia’s own homemade bread. The pate was good but the bread, topped with sea salt and freshly baked, was excellent.



This was followed by “Seafood Risotto” which Claudia cooked perfectly. The rice was still slightly al dente, and had a deliciously creamy quality as good risotto should. The seafood tasted fresh and delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.


For main course, we had “Fish fillets stuffed with macadamia nuts”. This dish had an unusual but not unpleasant texture, and the pureed macadamia nuts had been ground with fresh herbs. It was a generous portion served on a bed of wilted spinach.


A rhubarb pie and rhubarb cream in chocolate cup was served as dessert. I enjoyed the tartness of the rhubarb against the dark chocolate, and felt that the combination worked well in this interesting dessert.


Drinks

Claudia served us canapés (the homemade choux puffs filled with horseradish cream were particularly good) with “fruit punch” on arrival.


The White Room Supper Club is BYO and charges no corkage. Claudia also stocks some wine which guests can purchase for an additional donation.


People

Claudia is German, but lived in Australia and the UK for many years. She is a very friendly and caring host, and will go the extra mile to make her guests feel welcome.


Claudia can seat about 10 people around her table making it an intimate event akin to a large dinner party. There were nine of us that evening, an interesting mix of people from different age groups and nationalities.



Dr G and I met Steve, a charming theatre producer (of Vagina Monologues fame) and his wife Chrissie who decided to move from Croydon to another apartment in that same building a couple of years ago.


I was pleased to see some familiar faces like Annette, a German banker whom I have known for a few years, and a half Persian, half Irish woman with whom I exchanged many stories about my attempts to cook tadig and other Iranian dishes.


Cost: £25 per person although she is considering increasing the donation to £30 or possibly £35 depending on the evening’s menu.

Likes: interesting mix of people, great setting, local supper club (I staggered home at three in the morning!), excellent choux pastry and freshly baked, homemade bread.

Dislikes: it would have added to the experience if we had been advised of the menu beforehand either via the blog or e-mailing or a clear explanation prior to each course being served.

Verdict: Claudia is a keen and very ambitious cook and a delightful host. The White Room Supper Club is another interesting and cosmopolitan addition to the London’s underground restaurant scene.

12 comments:

  1. I'm going this weekend for spargel and meat! Looking forward to it!

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  2. Some lovely looking dishes - but I'd be worried about my tendency to spill things if I was surrounded by all that chic, gleaming white.

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  3. @ Jill - hope you will have a good time! I am going to a family wedding on Saturday evening otherwise I would have invited you for a pre-dinner G&T. Let me know next time you are in Islington...

    @ Urban Vegetarian - ha ha, that is funny, I kind of felt the same way myself.

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  4. i'm supper clubbed out :-) But the location looks fab!!

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  5. @ Lee - really, never surely? Location is indeed great, particularly as it is a 3 mins walk from my house!

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  6. This pictures look great, and the place is just special!

    I am part of a similar dinner club, www.dinnerclub.tk

    Maybe we could join the efforts for a special occasion?

    Sometimes we get sponsored by an online market place for foodies, www.FoodAdo.com

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  7. I am not quite sure about that fish, and the cut-out flowers as table decoration look very naive. The starter shaped as a flower looks silly too, it is all very 80's.

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  8. This looks like a great place - worth it for the view alone. Sounds like the food and company was very genial too. I like the aussie touches with the macadamia nuts, i imagine their creamy taste would go well with the fish.

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  9. Met Claudia when she came to our supper club - she was really nice and can not wait to go to this supper club too. Thanks for the insights Luiz xxx

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  10. PS - Although this is not my blog, would also like to add:

    Dear Anonymous - you should appreciate that this is someone's home - and yes - everyone has different tastes and it would be insulting to the host if you saw their home/food and said it looks "silly" and "niave"- I was telling off a 6 year old child the other day for doing exactly the same thing. Fortunately, he learned something. It looks like Claudia has put a lot of effort into her supper club and did not just serve spag bol!

    Perhaps you would not like it if we went to your house and said the same? This is NOT a restaurant - this is someone's home and they are doing it out of love for food and being with people - not to make money!

    Be it your cup of tea or not - this is someone's home and someone's passion!

    LELUU

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  11. I love your supper club reviews Luiz. You really capture the atmposphere and what they are all about. Must try this one soon!

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  12. @ Greg - thanks for the info Greg, will check this site shortly.

    @ Anonymous - thanks for your comment, I don't think the flower decorations detracted from the overall experience (which was lovely).

    @ Fernandez & Leluu - excellent, supper clubbing is a very incestuous business...

    @ Eatlikeagirl - Hi Niamh, glad you are enjoying the reviews, I love supper clubs and really believe they are here to stay!

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