Hot New Pick: Supperclub

Dinner. Dancing. And a boy named Billy. What more do you need for a faaaaabulous night out on the town? Nothing, as long as you have a sense of humor and a taste for the not so usual. Supperclub LA has arrived in the City of Angels–right inside the historic Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, to be exact–and this all-in-one experience is ready to whisk you away to an ever-changing world of the whimsical, the wildly delicious and the downright wacky. Taking its cues from the original in Amsterdam (and subsequent locales in London, Istanbul, and San Francisco), Supperclub LA is at once a restaurant, dance club, and entertainment venue. So what can you expect once you walk past the red carpet? (Yes, they have a red carpet.) Read on…

The bar before the storm

If you’re doing the full Supperclub LA experience (I don’t recommend it any other way), you’ll need to plan on showing up around 7:30pm. It seems like an early start, but this is dinner, entertainment and dancing. Once you’re in, you’re in. So cast away those worries that you’re stuck for the night (the thought did cross my mind), loosen up that collar and revel in the fact that you don’t have to drive somewhere else for a post-prandial drink and pay another $10 for parking.

Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by a costumed individual–the night I was there our friendly greeter, who spoke in a fake British accent, was donning silk Mandarin pajamas–who will confirm your dinner reservation. You’ll then be treated to a vodka shot of some sort before being ushered into the anterior bar, where you can hang about the u-shaped lounges and ratchet up your bill with lots o’ cocktails before supper even begins.

Aerial acrobats & really comfy beds

Once 8 o’clock rolls around, the soaring curtains open and behold: an enormous room washed in white with sky-high ceilings, a huge exhibition kitchen in the center of the stage (where a DJ will also play while the chef and his team cook) and wall-to-wall beds where guests  enjoy dinner. Did I say beds? Well, they’re really more like TempurPedic-ish lounges that are so dang comfortable you will literally kick off your shoes, recline on the cushy pillows, and wait for your $75  four-course meal to be brought to you. Amazingly, the food (at least on my visit) was nothing short of impeccable.

Tiger prawns...they're greaaat!

From the tiger prawns with wasabi foam and the poached salmon & fennel soup to the vegetarian ratatouille (they cater to dietary restrictions) and chocolate chip bread pudding, every dish was better than the next. Admittedly, I had assumed that the food here would be secondary. Not at all. Like the entertainment and overall club theme, the menu at Supperclub LA changes about every three weeks, so while there will likely be different dishes each time you visit (that’s kinda the point),  if chef Joost de Bruijn–who was poached from Amsterdam–keeps this high standard of cuisine, you won’t be disappointed.

Scene of the mime: Crazy white guy

As for the entertainment. Yes, it’s all quite a spectacle. There are the performance artists, like the weird white guy (seriously, he’s painted white) who writhes against cool graphics on a screen before crawling around the room to go eye-to-eye with guests. There are the aerial acrobats, defying gravity with their body-bending moves. There are even contests and audience participation. And then, of course, there’s Billy.

Meow: Billy the Cat

Billy on an exercise bike, dripping in rhinestone chandelier earrings and a sequined bolero. Billy in an off-the-shoulder black leotard and six-inch stilettos encouraging everyone in the room to hula-hoop with him. Billy in a cat suit, neck framed in boas and feathers, tail in hand. Billy prancing around in a pink wig. Billy sporting a headband and wrestling with…a shake weight?! And then there’s the club that opens up to the general public at 10pm, which dinner guests are welcome to stay for. (I wasn’t interested, so I called it a night lest any of the magic disappear.)

I admit Supperclub sounded rather tacky to me when I first heard about it. Dinner in bed? Puh-leez. So passe. So trying too hard. But now that I’ve actually gone, my mind has changed. The real test will be going back and having another great experience. If they keep the place clean, don’t skimp on food quality and execution, and manage to maintain the friendliness and creative energy of the staff, Supperclub will make good on its promise to be a special place where people can let themselves go and have a truly memorable experience.

More info: www.supperclub.com

Mar Yvette

Lifestyle writer Mar Yvette is on a mission to bring you the best people, places and products to make your life pop!