Maria Reidy, home restauranteur (Photo: Brenda Fitzsimons, The Irish Times)
Since the economy plummeted, secret “underground” restaurants have really taken off in the UK, especially in London. For a set price, an amateur cook will prepare an evening meal for you and other paying guests in their own home. It looks like a really interesting, intimate, and affordable night out; a quality dinner party with a sense of occasion.
They’re not strictly legal – health and safety, labour regulations, and licensing laws see to that – so people hear about them through word of mouth or through Facebook. One of the first to spring up in Ireland was organised by 29-year-old events manager Maria Reidy, profiled in last Saturday’s Irish Times Magazine. Her guests paid €35 for a four-course meal made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients, with all profits going to the ISPCC.
I’d love to eat in an underground restaurant, but a quick flick through various Irish sites suggest that there’s nothing like this here. Not yet, at least. Perhaps some CheapEats readers can alert me otherwise. Have you eaten in an underground restaurant, either in Ireland or elsewhere? Or would you like to?
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