Akin to its close cousin - the pop up restaurant, underground dining and secret restaurants have become a trend in many cities. It began in Latin America with restaurante de puertas cerradas (closed door restaurants). In the US they call them supper clubs, Scandinavians talk about guerrilla dining, The Zingara Cucina (Italian for gypsy kitchen) underground restaurant is the hottest ticket down under in Melbourne, its unlicensed, illegal and transient; it changes location weekly and with a waiting list of four thousand, is booked solid for the next year.
Gary Bell (former head chef at Thornton’s) has brought the concept to Ireland; His Faoi Thalamh (Irish for underground) events put an emphasis on eating as a social experience. The idea is simple: groups of people who don’t know each other get together and share a quality meal in an offbeat venue such as an art gallery, abandoned warehouse or empty office.
The most recent event was held in a warehouse on Dublin’s Barrow Street. Always open to trying something new I headed along. On arrival we met Bell and his team and mingled with some of the other (50+) guests. Once we settled at our table the drinks and conversation began to flow (guests bring their own drinks). The lady sitting next to me had previously been to a similar type event in Lisbon, it was hosted in someone's living room and was entirely illegal and so all the guests were instructed that should a policeman burst in everyone was to to sing Happy Birthday in Portuguese! Just being there and meeting other diners created a bonhomie that no typical restaurant experience can match. It’s like everyone is sharing a secret but no one is sure exactly what to expect.
Our meal for the night was a six course tasting menu prepared starting with salt and vinegar fish skin poppadoms with baby chips; pan fried king scallop with spring pea puree and dill butter was followed by risotto of wild rabbit with Parma ham and parmesan cheese; next up was a palette cleanser of lemon sorbet which had a punchy vodka kick which freshened us for our main course of roast shoulder of Wicklow lamb with baby spinach and dauphinoise potatoes before finishing off with a strawberry and champagne torte which everyone agreed was best in show.
Overall it was a fun night and one that will be remembered for being so different. When economies go south for the winter and stay there then many people forgo eating out and so chefs and hosts begin to utilize spaces and opportunities previously ignored. Here is where creativity meets economy.
Note: The events and locations change monthly, The next Faoi Thalamh is happening at the Body and Soul Festival on June 22nd-24th. More details at http://www.faoithalamh.com
