In great company, I attended the Swallow Tail Supper Club, one of Vancouver’s newest underground restaurants. With Victoria, Sherman, Kim, Mijune, Ben & Suanne, Frank, Joyce, Jenny, Ricky and Anita I was excited to experience another underground dinner. Although I did not know the menu ahead of us, we were given wine recommendations by course and came well prepared.

In addition to the Supper Club, our host Robin runs Swallow Tail Tours as well as catering and organizing food events. Obsessed with local and organic foods, a lot of Robin’s ingredients come out of her (and local) gardens, and she even catches many of her own Dungenes Crab. Look out for some wild game later in the summer (if she can pull the trigger).

It was a gorgeous spring evening and we were put in the garden for an initial drink and the amuse bouche, a sour apple tart on puff pastry and apple reduction, with a big hunk of BC gruyere on top. And I am easily pleased by good cheese!

Moving inside, we found a dedicated dining room in the basement, with a wall of wine, some music, and a long table. The room is comfortable and a bit cottagey, but provides a great private dining room with no neighbours to bother.

We started with a soup of hand picked stinging nettle, arugula, sweet peas and garden rosemary, finished with BC stout bread cubes and a cream garnish. This was quite nice, and an introduction to stinging nettles for me, they do still sting a bit when you eat them, but the soup was very subtle over all.

I normally complain at the style of caesar served with whole leaves of lettuce, or in this case, a whole head. But this salad was quite delicious and slightly grilled; the cedar smoke aroma was generous.

Baked live Dungeness crab is something best eaten in a private dining room, so we were doing well as the crab juices flowed and practiced dissembling skills were on full display. And the garlic crab butter… oh, the dreamy butter.

Bison tenderloin with red onion jam followed with a nice char on it, and served with creamed parsnips with garden rhubarb, sauteed leeks with cattails in BC chardonnay, cleavers and chive flowers. This is my favorite way to cook Bison and the rich onion jam was excellent, my only wish was for more meat!
A bold meritage wine brought it all together, and this was a course I would like to linger over.

For desert we were served a delicious Limbert Mountain Farm Earl Grey, followed by a Beer battered crepe blintz with apples & huckleberries, Amontillado Sherry reduction. This was tasty but I would never order a blintz and I can’t really compare it to anything. I enjoyed the berries, but the plate seemed to lack some character. After that bison, I wanted chocolate!

Overall it was a lovely evening and we enjoyed a lot of good food. Our host and her sous chef were very friendly and welcoming and maintained a very relaxing environment.

The outing sparked some debate about the role of underground restaurants, some people seem to like it more than others. Personally I enjoy that underground restaurants offer a different and unique experience, like a well-catered dinner party. You get a private atmosphere to get silly in, and you save a lot on some good wine to accompany great food. And never touch a dish. It sounds great to me.

Swallow Tail Secret Supper Club (underground restaurant)
Mount Pleasant Area
For reservations email Robin at: theswallowdive@gmail.com

Cost:

$29 per person, 3 course portion
$49 per person, 5 course portion (recommended)
There is a group sitting size of up to 17 people