A Clinton Hill loft is about to become one of Brooklyn's most exclusive dinner tables, seating just ten strangers and friends side by side for a seven-course meal rooted in Colombian and Caribbean flavors. Studio Tropical Supper Club is set to debut November 13 at 20 Grand Ave., Suite 404, with chef Stephanie Bonnin leading the kitchen and the conversation.
Bonnin, a chef and artist from Colombia, will headline the new venture, which according to WhatNow combines a professional kitchen with an eating area built for shared dining, storytelling, music, and Colombian culinary customs. The space will host exclusive parties, chef collaborations, intimate dinners, and cooking experiences beyond the weekly supper club itself. As Studio Tropical describes itself, it is a chef-led culinary studio and creative hospitality space in Brooklyn founded by Bonnin.
The format is intentionally tight: one seating each Friday and Saturday evening, with ten guests gathered around a single communal table. Per a report from Andrea Strong's newsletter, the opening is slated for a Clinton Hill loft at that same 20 Grand Ave. address, with the ten-guests-one-table setup confirmed as the house style.
A Menu Shaped by Barranquilla and the Caribbean
Bonnin's cooking draws directly from her Colombian cultural heritage and her Caribbean upbringing, according to WhatNow. The newsletter report adds texture to that background, noting she grew up in Barranquilla and that her food channels the flavors of the Caribbean and Latin America more broadly.
The tasting menu will run approximately seven courses inspired by Caribbean and Latin American cuisines, incorporating seasonal ingredients alongside Bonnin's own Colombian-Caribbean background. The same newsletter account pegs the dinner at $140 per person, with an optional wine pairing available for an additional $70. Dinner is also designed to include music and storytelling woven between courses, and guests are asked to communicate dietary restrictions and allergies in advance.
How It Compares to Bonnin's Existing Supper Club
Studio Tropical isn't Bonnin's first supper club. She also runs Patio Tropical, a six-course tasting menu that changes seasonally and is priced at $100 per person, tucked into the back of the Williamsburg store This Is Latin America, according to Resy's blog. That dinner is similarly limited to just ten guests a night, making the new Clinton Hill venture a scaled-up sibling with an extra course and a higher price point.
Bonnin's path to running two supper clubs stretches back further. In 2019, she operated La Tropikitchen as a stand at Smorgasburg, and her early entrepreneurial efforts included supper clubs held in her own apartment, as Eater New York has reported. The intimate, communal-table format has been part of her approach from the start.
Reservations and Limited Availability
Reservations for Studio Tropical Supper Club will be made available through its official website, though seating and availability are described as limited given the ten-person cap. Studio Tropical's Instagram account, which has built a following of more than 6,000, offers a glimpse of the space ahead of the opening.
The small-scale supper club model has precedent well beyond Brooklyn. Lazy Bear in San Francisco, now a celebrated fine-dining destination, began in 2009 as an underground eight-seat supper club founded by chef and former lawyer David Barzelay, according to the same Andrea Strong newsletter report. Whether Studio Tropical follows a similar trajectory from intimate gathering to larger institution remains to be seen, but for now, the draw is the smallness itself: ten chairs, one table, and a chef telling her own story one course at a time.
