The last time I got stuck in a warehouse with three men in hazard suits, was never.
Attempting to throw away with dinner conventions, The Unconventional Dinner from Barrel & Forks was only my second venture into supperclubs in London, but a pretty zany one at that; if I can creep in such a cartoon adjective and get away with it.
The Venue
Doing our best impressions of headless chickens in Shadwell, we finally stumbled across the warehouse doors. Hidden up a meandering of concrete blocks, The Unconventional Dinner may be in a reasonably conventional location, but it was cute as fluffy, fiery hell. From the scattering of sourced, vintage furniture to a bar, and one grandiose 'couldn't give a damn' cat, someone had clearly snagged themselves a really sweet Shadwell spot, and spared it for this supperclub. The second room however was the main event, with a long table that stretched the space, lit by candlelight and boasting a cutesy gingham cloth, it was intimate, and great to see a supperclub that works to its full potential: making you socialise around the table.
These hazard suit heathens hand out wine from a weed pump at The Unconventional Dinner.
The Food and Drink
Of course, this is where the night got interesting. Given a regaling menu of hints and dishes, we had over five interesting courses to dwell over, and the time to get to grips with our plastic gloves. Ladies and gentleman, cutlery is of course, almost banned.
Starters consisted of parmigiano mousse in a half-cut lemon, and a fresh and warm octopus and avocado salad strewn in baubles from the ceiling; eccentric and fresh, these opening dishes were a good introduction to what was to come. Boasting two mains, like any good off-kilter dinner should, the first was a sausage risotto in a plant pot, the second? A roast dinner (pork fillet en croute with glazed carrots) in a drawer. While the risotto was incredible, warming, and served from a wheelbarrow no less, the roast unfortunately lacked a little luster. The dessert however stole the show, a rich and creamy tiramisu in a jam jar, this paired with a night of drinking red wine from a weed killer pump, rounded off the night nicely. Well, until the music and dancing on tables began that is.
All in all, the only lacking consideration was a slight creative continuity in dishes, but that said, this was called The Unconventional Dinner, and if you want octopus chased by cheese, you've got it.
Summary
While a truly fun event that really kicked off once the courses were over, I wanted a hardier attempt at more of the 'quirks' that were promised. I often eat my lunch out of a Tupperware box, so in a way, doing the same at a supperclub felt ever slightly testing. But that said, the venue was lovely, the host was comedy on a slick stick, and the Tiramisu will soon be worth more than gold. Or saffron, that stuff's a pretty buck too.
