Super-Temporary Restaurant Serves Dinners In Trains And Bathrooms

Just when pop-up restaurants were starting to bore the hell out of us, we received an email from the people behind Wilddineren (Wild Dining), a super-temporary not-for-profit restaurant that serves unconventional dinners in even more unconventional locations.

Wilddineren is so temporary that it can hardly be called a restaurant. Last autumn a group of Dutch foodies took up the idea to organize a series of experimental luxury dinner nights. Each of the dinners is prepared by a different chef, takes place at an unconventional location, and features a specific side program. The locations of the dinners are kept secret for the guests until the day of the event. The dinners have no fixed price — guests are free to pay whatever they want.

The first Wild Diner took place in a commuter train (photos: Adriaan de Groot)

The first dinner in the series, that took place last October, was held in a busy train during peak hour. The second event invited guests to the boiler room of Amsterdam’s former commodity exchange, the Beurs van Berlage. For the third edition of Wilddineren, the bathrooms of Haarlem concert hall Patronaat were transformed into a one-night restaurant.

Wild dinners in the bathrooms of Haarlem music venue Patronaat and the boiler room of Amsterdam’s Beurs van Berlage building (photos: Adriaan de Groot)

Thomas Steigenga, one of the founders of Wilddineren, explains that there was no financial incentive in starting the restaurant. Everyone, even the cooks, is involved on a voluntary basis. Instead, enthusiasm and curiosity are the driving forces behind the project. Steigenga explains that Wilddineren wants to take the diners out of their daily routine, and explore creative ideas for multi-purposed spaces. Head over to the restaurant’s subscription page if you want to be a guest at the the next Wild Dinner.