The other Saturday night, in the ritzy Wine Country town of Yountville, Ruthie Olalia sat down with 11 strangers for her reservation at the hottest table in Napa Valley — not in the plush dining room of Yountville’s three-Michelin-starred French Laundry, but inside a modest home on a quiet, residential street less than a mile away.
Olalia said she spent months trying to snag a seat at Pasta Lovers Club Napa. Hosted by chef Sarah Heller, formerly of chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and the three-Michelin-starred Meadowood, and her husband, Jason Heller, a master sommelier, the supper club serves 12 guests a five-course meal centered on homemade pastas. Each dinner, held in their home roughly twice a month, typically sells out within 15 minutes. This time around, Olalia put a reminder on her calendar. “I (messaged) them on the minute,” she said, and finally secured a spot.
Since launching a year ago, the Hellers have hosted more than 20 of the sold-out dinners. The events have become notably popular among Napa’s local wine industry, hallowed as much for the caliber of wines poured as for the food.
Supper clubs — intimate, ticketed dinner parties or popups, hosted in living rooms, event spaces and sometimes restaurants — have been around for more than 100 years. They’ve experienced a revival since the COVID-19 pandemic, as people grew desperate to connect with others. Several popped up across the Bay Area in recent years, such as Virgo Supperclub and Oakland’s Monifa Dayo. In Napa Valley, there’s only one other supper club, Stoop Supper Club, founded in 2023…