The Art House Supper Club
As a, sometimes, self-proclaimed foodie, I couldn’t believe I have never heard of a supper club before. And when a dear friend of mine invited me to The Art House in North Vancouver, British Columbia, I accepted with glee!
A supper club is usually underground, where no one ever knows about it but through word of mouth from someone who attended it before. Depending on your group, you might not know the rest of the guest that are sharing this long table with you. It’s a great way to meet new people, make connections, over delicious food.
When you enter The Art House, you will realize quickly that this supper club is named appropriately. Nestled in the North Shore mountains off Capilano Road, it is easily accessible via the Lions Gate Bridge or off the Upper Levels Highway.
Walking in through the front door is like walking into a small art gallery. The patriarch of the family that’s running this supper club, Andres, is a local artist. The living room, kitchen, as well as their indoor dining room walls, are all adorned with all of his masterpieces.
Walking through the kitchen, you’ll get to meet The Art House’s Master Chef Rose, and hosts Claus and Eamonn (Rose is Andres’s wife, Claus his son, and Eammon Claus’s partner)
With the weather cooperating for the evening, diners are lead out to the long table in their beautiful backyard where they can sit in front of an outdoor fireplace to get to one one another.
Every week the supper club runs a different theme, usually around a different region around the world (themes and menu are listed on their website). This evening’s theme is Italian night. Once all the guests arrived with their own bottle of wine (it’s a BYOW and BYOB system when it comes to underground supper clubs), Eamonn introduced the evening’s theme, emphasising that in Italy, a great meal consists of simple food and great company. With that, he introduced each of the 4 courses of the night as it is brought out.
Tuscan Antipasti with roasted red peppers, spicy pickled mushrooms, olives, prosciutto, and artichoke hearts with balsamic reduction.
Beef and Mushroom Lasagna with side caesar salad.
Limoncello and Blackberry Trifle with toasted almonds and amaretti crumbs.
Cheeseboard with Fontina, Gorgonzola, and Burrata with black and green grapes. Tea or Coffee. (photo credit The Art House)
Guests were never rushed, but when you were ready to call it a night, and your donation was placed in a box (the suggested donation for each meal is $45-50/person) a little goodie bag was given to you at the door with a little something to take home. For this evening the goodie bag contained homemade biscotti…which I devoured the next morning with my morning latte.
If you live in the Vancouver area or are planning to visit, stop by The Art House and reserve a seat at their upcoming events!