A night by the canal where you eat Peruvian food in a hot tub with strangers and rubber ducks couldn’t happen anywhere but in Hackney Wick. Here’s what went down at Supper Tub‘s press night.
Launched on Friday 3rd July and running for only one month, Supper Tub is exactly what it sounds like: a night out where you can eat in a bath tub.Open Thursday to Sunday, Supper Tub is right behind the Number 90 Bar on the pretty Hackney Wick canal.But don’t be scared by the concept or the location: however hipster it sounds, there were actually very few beards involved – and it turned out to be a great way to socialise. 
The lone wolf I am, I went on my own. When I met the founder Adam Taffler – the only full-on bearded man at the event – and asked him which tub to join, he said: “Up to you. You can always choose one and then go tub-hopping. It’s ‘casj’ like that.”
It turned out to be really ‘casj’ indeed. I ended up in the best tub I could find, having really great conversation both with my tub mates and with tub hoppers. At some point – probably two Pisco sours and a beer later – we started a rubber duck war with the tub next to us. Even the owner himself went tub hopping to have a chat with us.
When the food came out we tried to act more serious – no one likes a piece of Peruvian stake floating in the tub. We had the pleasure to try an incredibly tasty selection of ‘La Tigressa’ skewers from the grill:
- Organic British rump steak marinated with pisco and herbs, scorched in the grill and drizzled with lime and herb oil
- King prawn grilled and tossed with pomegranate molasses and scallion
- Halloumi and water melon salad skewer dressed with minted oil
We then moved onto some really fresh ‘Leche de Pantera’ Ceviche served in one bite crisp cups:
- Sea bass, applewood smoked chilli pepper, red onion, leche de pantera
- Tiger prawns, pink grapefruit, applewood smoked chilli pepper, coriander, leche de pantera
- Avocado, applewood smoked chilli pepper, red onion, leche de pantera
We finished up with watermelon and passion fruit skewers and strawberries covered in chocolate. All dishes cost between £4 and £6 each. The fusion aspect is big at Supper Tub. Although the focus is Peruvian, the venue provided some really colourful Indian-print kimonos to wear each time you went back to the main bar – and beer played quite a bit part during the night. 
Supper Tub features three wooden hot tubs, meaning guests can hire a whole hot tub for eight (£150) or book a pair of tickets in a shared tub (£50, so £25 each). The venue provides changing rooms and hot showers, with towels for hire at £5.
Hipster or not, Supper Tub was great fun. The food was very well presented, enough to fill me but not to kill me while floating in the tub, and the company was just awesome. Watching the sun set on the canal on a lovely summer evening, as the sky darkens and the space lights up is an experience I really recommend. Sure, it’s not cheap and the food is not included. But if you’re looking for a treat on a hot summer night, Supper Tub should probably be it. 
Pictures (because, of course, I dropped my phone in the tub): Kapranos PR, The Culture Mag
La versione italiana dell’articolo è su Italian Kingdom.
