Dinner on the tube - A quirky London dining experience

Finally over my jet lag and the epic delay, what better way is there to get stuck back into London life than dinner on the tube? I'm not talking about stinking up the carriage with fast food during peak hour, a big no-no in commuter London, I'm talking about the people at Basement Galley of course. Tickets to this underground supper club, held in an decommissioned 1967 Victoria line tube carriage, sell out fast so I made sure to quickly nab a couple back in November last year.

Entrance to the restaurant

I was in for a fun night. Sitting in a tube carriage with a long table covered in white linen, and set for an evening dinner is odd to say least, especially as I travel on the tube every day. The map of the Victoria line, and other typical tube insignia are all around us (thankfully all adverts have been removed!), the only thing missing, as one fellow diner said, is a copy of the Metro discarded on the window ledge. I almost expected to hear the occasional announcement advising that we are being held at a red signal, or as my friend E- said, one asking us to 'mind the gap between the plate and your mouth' ;)

E- sitting at our table for the night

While there were tables for 2, it was nice to sit with others at our long table. We got to chatting with two couples and exchanging opinions on the food for the evening. I do think that if I went on my own, while perfectly fine, I might have felt a little awkward so if you go, drag a friend along and if you want to go on your own, don't be shy, strike up a conversation with your neighbours.

A table set by the doors - you'll never see this on the tube!

Throughout the dinner, the staff were very attentive, friendly and always checking that we had everything we wanted. Tip: If you book a dinner here, take some change with you to tip the staff later, as everything was paid for beforehand, we didn't take anything with us and it was a shame.

Intimate tube dining for two

Each course throughout the night was delicious, but the first and last courses were my favourite. The combination of flavours in the first course was perfect, the croutons crunchy, the sumac adding a surprising tang and the sweetness of the apple gel complementing the other savoury elements.

Whipped goat's curd, confit pumpkin, apple gel, sumac and rye bread

The second course was the favourite dish of our fellow diners. Turns out I'm not a huge fan of grapefruit but I did enjoy the hunks of salmon with the hazelnuts, quite a surprising and yummy combination.

Caramelised grapefruit, roasted hazelnuts, camomile syrup, cured salmon and dill

Our main was a very generous griddled duck breast served on curried parsnip drizzled with smoked porter reduction accompanied with roasted beets and topped with fortified berries. The duck was tender the reduction so delicious we all wanted more of it. We all thought that the curried parsnips was little too strong but that didn't stop any of us polishing off every last bite of this warming dish.

Are you drooling yet?

To finish up our courses, we were treated to a very unusual ice cream, citrus and rosemary, which I had misgivings about but was utterly delicious, I could have it on its own anytime! The ice cream was served on top of a crystallised almond crumb (nice crunchy texture), chocolate and pickled pear tart. The pickled pear was diced finely and had a hint of ginger which worked well. Overall, a very tasty and interesting desert dish.

The last stop - it disappeared off everyone's plates in seconds.

After dinner Chef Alex Cooper, having laboured away for our dining pleasure, came on board to chat with us and see if we enjoyed it all. It was nice of him to come out and he got resounding positive feedback from all of us. You don't always get to meet the person making your dinner at a restaurant, I think it was a nice touch. I guess that is the beauty of a small supper club and such a talented chef. You can also tell a dining success when the tables are left like this - not a morsel left, the plates almost licked clean! Blame the ice cream for this one.

The aftermath of a delicious dining experience

I hardly wanted to leave at the end of the dinner. It was such a surreal experience. I don't think I've ever spoken to another person on tube (its really not a done thing in London, if you ever try to strike up a conversation with someone, you will get some weird looks) and here we were, seated next to strangers and daring to talk to them!

The proper way to climb out of your seat on exiting after dinner...

There is one thing I don't get, and this question is perhaps for the folks at Basement Galley, or those (ladies only) who have dined here before...what on earth...'incinerator'???

London does have some unique venues to dine in, but if you don't fancy grabbing a coffee in a converted Victorian toilet or trying to guess whats on your plate while dining in the dark, then this one is for you. Give it a try, let me know what you think.