If you’re looking for a unique and magical dining experience, look no further.

Table 13 owner Georgia has converted her kitchen, situated in Wheatley, into a gorgeous plant-based supper club. Seating bookings up to ten at a time, the shared table is just the sort of experience we’re all desperately craving without knowing it.

A night focused on great food, amazing cocktail and wine pairings with a smooth playlist and a candlelit table. Midway through the meal one of the guests said “I feel so relaxed” and I knew exactly what she meant. Although maybe that was the wine talking.

Georgia has been plant-based herself for the last year and is clearly very passionate about changing people’s perception of plant-based food. She was sharing how people don’t treat vegetables the same as meat “you can do everything you can do with meat, marinade, grill, process”. She also talks of foraging; even on her doorstep. Wheatley has plenty to offer “rosemary, sloe berries, apples, mushrooms, and even a sumac tree.”

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The vibe is very upmarket without being the least bit pretentious. Despite not being a vegan myself, there was no sense of this being an exclusive “superiority” club. The night felt extremely warm, hospitality at its finest and some of the best chat I’ve had around a dinner table in a very long time.

Georgia isn’t formally trained which floored me, her dishes are of an incredibly high standard and beautifully creative. She’s also got a love of being front of house which shines, effortlessly gliding from the kitchen to the table – sharing information about each dish.

The meaning behind the name Table 13 encapsulates Georgia’s vision perfectly, sharing “Table 13 often doesn’t exist in most restaurants due to superstition.” She’s not following the crowd. Quietly maverick, we like it.

Georgia works with Antonia, fondly nicknamed “To To”, a mixologist who tends to the guests, showcasing some amazing beverages throughout the night, often from local distilleries or breweries. Get your dibs in quickly to not be designated driver! The tomato negroni upon entrance was a beautiful sign of things to come.

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The 10-course tasting menu starts with “a snack” chickpea on a cracker with a strong kick of lemon, tomato and nori. The cracker was perfectly crisp, a brilliant entree.

Next up was corn rib, double-fried like a chip with blackberry ketchup foraged from nearby Holton. We were encouraged to use our hands, biting the dried sweetcorn off of the hard husk of the corn and dipping it into the ketchup. The Szechuan left your tongue-tingling and almost left a minty taste in your mouth.

Then onto a slice of oat bread with whiskey and black treacle butter. The sweetness from the black treacle along with the bread was divine.

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In between courses, we were served a glass of ‘orange’ wine. Yet another new experience and one I’ll definitely be repeating. Divine.

Course four already, our first warm dish of the night. Beetroot with pearl barley, feta and almond. I’m not a big fan of beetroot but this really was delicious. The bite of the pearl barley, the combination of beetroot with the feta and the flaky almonds on top. This dish was really well marinated, using raw beetroot and then being cooked on a hob for just under an hour. The list of spices was too long to list but this dish almost had a slight curry taste to it.

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Mixing it up again, next was a bao bun with oyster mushroom, cucumber, chilli and peanut – my favourite dish of the evening. Georgia is keen to keep it on the menu but may change up the filling. I could have literally just had one of these and would’ve left a happy customer.

The texture of the bao bun was insanely good, doughy – akin to biting into a burger. The acidity from the cucumber and the bite of the crunchy peanut alongside the mushroom – just perfection!

The largest plating of the night and a first for chef Georgia was a beautiful plating of celeriac, truffle, date and coffee. The earthy flavours of the celeriac which in part almost tasted caramelised with the sweetness of the date. This was comfort food at its finest, the cavolo nero gave it some nice colour and texture. It was paired with one of the most beautiful glasses of red wine I’ve ever had. The colour of beetroot and one of only 2,000 bottles made in the South of Barcelona.

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Now onto the puddings. The next dish was a perfect transition from savoury to sweet. Ice cream with kohlrabi, dill and apple was a great palette cleanser – a surprising flavour combination with the sweetness of the apple and the punchy dill kick. Georgia said “when I came up with this I was very proud of it” and I can see why. An unusual but beautifully plated dish.

Having a sweet tooth, I was pleased to see the next dish was a play on a tiramisu. Georgia explained “I always wanted to make a dessert with mushrooms.” (I must admit, inside I felt slightly horrified). Silken tofu was also listed as a key ingredient in the making of the mascarpone. After a previous conversation in the evening where one guest said to the other “give tofu a chance”, I dived in. Wow – the creaminess, along with the moist sponge cake and the crunch cocoa nibs on top, it was light but perfectly hitting the sweet notes.

A sponge made of dried porcini mushrooms, who would have thought it?!

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Lastly, a spin on a limoncello served with gin alongside a miso fudge with sea salt – sticky and gooey with a salty kick. The kick of lemon in the first dish of the evening and that same zing in my last sip of limoncello provided the perfect bookends to a wonderful evening.

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Leaving, I felt like someone who’d just won the foodie lottery, what a feast.

A very special evening and one I’ll be fondly recommending and re-living in my mind for years to come.

The supper club will be open for business on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and private dining experiences will also be on offer upon request.

Table 13
13 London Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1YJ
www.table13oxford.uk

We dined as guests of Table 13, all views remain our own.