An Evening with Popist Supper Club: Istanbul’s Newest Pop-Up Dining Experience

There is an old Turkish saying stating if you are bored with Istanbul, you are bored with life. Although Istanbul is rarely boring there are times when I do yearn for for a bigger variety of global cuisine. Enter the pop-up dinner!

Whether it’s temporary shops, bars or restaurants the pop-up is a worldwide trend that shows no sign of abating. Thankfully Istanbul has not been immune from the phenomenon.

Recently, lured by the promise of authentic Korean food I went along to a dinner hosted by the newest kids on the block – Popist Supper Club.

Hosted from a secret location in Nişantaşı, Popist Supper club is the brain child of Jen, an American chef, and Emma, a self confessed food nerd.

I was curious about what kind of people would attend the event and having lived in Korea before, whether the food would be as delicious as I remembered it.

When I arrived the party was already in full swing and I didn’t hesitate to crack open the bottle of red I had brought. Alcohol is normally not supplied at pop-ups which presents the perfect opportunity to crack open that Spanish Chianti you have been saving or spending a little extra money on a new craft beer you have been meaning to try.

As the ‘welcome bites’ streamed in and out the kitchen by some seemingly invisible force, the guests, who had been strangers ten minutes ago were now chatting with ease about work, food and city life. It turns out that a few of the guests had already attended previous events and couldn’t stop coming back. I was disappointed to hear I had missed out on what had obviously been a well received Mexican taco night.

If you have never been to a pop up dinner I urge you to pace yourself. When you have many courses in front of you it is better to curb your enthusiasm for the finger food at the start of the night. My downfall this time was the fried chicken marinated in garlic and chili (dakgangjeong). Having spent two years living in Korea, I acquired a taste for all things obnoxiously spicy and its not very often I find something to satiate these cravings.

Soon the party of fifteen moved from the lounge into the dining area, a long rustic wooden table now completely covered in colorful banchan (small Korean dishes). I was impressed and practically squealed in delight when I saw there were three kinds of kimchi, not to mention three different kinds of traditional Korean meat dishes. Nostalgia had never tasted so good.

In hindsight I apologize to the other diners for my lack of etiquette. I took out my phone and snapped a few pictures every time a new dish was brought out. In my defense I felt it was very in keeping with the Korean theme! One dish that bemused me was the kimchi vodka shot we were all given. Definitely not something you would be likely to spot in Korea but definitely a fun talking point for everyone.

I was glad that the last course was something light as I had already eaten to excess. The desert, a poached pear with black garlic tofu cream served as a subtle yet intriguing palate cleanser.

I love events like this for a perhaps strange reason. For one night I get to pretend I am the kind of adult who has sophisticated dinner parties. Plus all of the energy I save from not planning the evening can be then channeled into making outfit choices and of course charming dinner conversation . Popist Supper club will be hosting a dinner with the theme ‘A global Iftar’ on June 3rd. For more details on all future dinners, follow them at Popist Supper Club on Facebook.

All images courtesy of the author and Popist Supper Club.