According to reports in the national press, the latest craze to sweep the London eating out scene is the underground restaurant. A cross between a dinner party and dining in a restaurant, these semi-secret events take place in the organiser’s home and usually feature a fixed price set menu. Rather like the illegal warehouse parties of yesteryear, diners find out about them through word of mouth and social networking sites.
Those who run them get to make a little cash in hand and the punters get a unique experience for less than they might pay in a traditional restaurant. There are a couple of pieces on them here and here.
As they are not strictly legal (health and safety, environmental agencies and licensing authorities are not on the guest list), it is all a bit cloak and dagger. Rather like Fight Club, the first rule of underground restaurants is that there are no underground restaurants.
This is literally true in Scotland. Or at least it is as far as I can find out. It may be that Glasgow’s Merchant City or Leith are both seething with underground dining rooms and I am just out of the loop. Has anybody out there heard tell of such a thing north of the border?