And now…the launch of Tropolis.me, from the founder of the C.C.C.

The Civet Cat Club has moved on to pastures new, to make time and space for Tropolis.me.

At best the city experience is enlightening, exciting and memorable. At worst it’s overwhelming, frustrating, exhausting and impenetrable. Not everyone has the time or inclination to research and stay on the pulse – sometimes it’s truly brilliant to be spoonfed and led by the hand!

Tropolis is a cultural pleasure platform that cuts through the dross, noise and mediocrity with insight and passion. We obsessively unearth the rich and fulfilling to offer up killer culture, strange and timeless spots. Tropolis champions the very best of the independent and combines the classic, the beautiful and quintessential with the cream of the new, secret, edgy and avant garde.  We’ll show you the best spots for naughty fun or just some inertia, and oblique spots that fly under the radar. We’ll give you a dash of deluxe via swish drinks and dining, but Tropolis isn’t jumped up – yes we love glamour but we gravitate to the humble, dark and moody matter too. We won’t use words like ‘funky’, nor refer to Pret a Manger as a great ‘go to restaurant’.

Behind the scenes we are building some clever functionality to slice and dice the city and deliver beautifully calibrated itineraries for every imaginable need to help you eek out the best. Our intelligent social itinerary builder will enable you to create, download and share smart itineraries – taking the hassle out of planning and making the city experience more fun, fulfilling and sharable. Pluck one out and go and have a damn good time without having to think or plan. The geo-loco intelligence won’t let you overload your day, so you won’t end up on your knees or miss a trick right under your nose.

Tropolis is for an audience of curious, informed hedonists of all ages who look beyond the mainstream, shaking up patterns of routine and apathy. Visitors will be thrown to the lions to explore the wider corners of the city.

We’re kicking off with murky old London before delivering a few more cities we’ve devoured over the years.

Our brand promise? Great design and usability are the key foundations so the user experience will feel natural, look good and function brilliantly.

If you are after some inspiration, get in touch: tess@tropolis.me

www.tropolis.me

Welcome to the Civet Cat Club

We have opened up our home to  join London’s growing group of secret supper clubs.  We are happy to take bookings for individuals, groups or talk about exclusive hire and menus for special events.

Please see Reservations and Dates or email: civetcatclub@gmail.com.

Some of you may already be familiar with the area if you have visited any of the following hidden restaurants in the area: http://theshedlikesfood.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/…Secret-Ingredient/114200085161 and the slightly further afield http://tonyhornecker.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-pale-blue-door/ and www.nunomendes.co.uk/loft.html.

Infrequently Asked Questions

Q: Who will be dishing up dinner and why?

A:  Each night will see a combination of two friends cooking and serving – we’ll be pulling out all the best from our respective repertoires and we’ll get any experimentation well out of the way first. Hobby and hosting aside, most of us do have a professional connection to food – either as professional chefs, restaurant managers or brand owners. The CCC is chance to step aside from the confines of the 9-5 (or should I say the 16 hours shift) and get creative again with our own menus and the chance to meet lots of new people.

Q: Why Civet Cats?

A: Newington Green, London N1 has a long, varied and radical history. Henry VIII’s hunting lodge was established here with bear baiting battle zones to the south. Writer Daniel Defoe lived and studied on the green as did fellow writer Edgar Allen Poe who noted that Newington Green was a “misty looking village of England with gigantic and gnarled trees and deeply shadowed avenues.”  The Radicalists and Feminists campaigned from here and even the Muppets were conceived and made from the original studio – albeit a marginally less political creature.

However, we wanted to pay homage to the local civet cat – bred on the green in the 1600s for their oil used in the perfume industry. Now, the contemporary Civet is tracked for its part in processing Kopi Luwak coffee in Indonesia and the Philippines. These cats pick their way through coffee plantations at night grazing on the ripest cherries. The stones, which eventually form coffee beans are separated from the droppings. The unique flavour of the coffee is down to the partial fermentation which has taken place by passing through the digestive system of the Civet. It is one of the most rare and expensive coffees in the world…

Q: Are secret restaurants just a passing trend?

A: Underground restaurants, supper clubs, secret dining rooms – however you wish to refer to them, we think they’re here to stay. People across the length and breadth of the American continent have been frequenting them for many years.

There’s a real diversity of cuisine and dining spaces amongst these hidden restaurants already and that reflects what you will find on the high street. London’s ‘Open House’ has long proved that people love having a good look around strangers’ homes and couple this with good food, new people and control over the music? What can go wrong?!

Q: Aren’t you a bit late on jumping on the band wagon??

A: Actually we’re quite happy to let The Metro et al spoil it all and then emerge into the climate of Secret Dinnering v2.0. It’s not about being first – it’s about being good.

Q: What are Mr Singh’s Bangras™?

The hosts are bringing to market a range of premium Indian pork sausages which were first created in India in the 1940s. This secret recipe has been passed down the generations of this Singh family from the foothills of the Himalayas to London. Mr Singh’s Bangras are now produced for everyone to enjoy by Harnam’s grandson and The Cinnamon Club’s executive chef Vivek Singh. Please see www.bangras.com for further details. We will be serving these at all sessions as a complimentary pre-launch taster – they will hit the shelves early into the new year. 

Q: How can we book?

A: Please just email civetcatclub@gmail.com with your preferred date, numbers and any special dietary requirements and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.