Her Place Supper Club, a restaurant that started as a small-scale dinner party experience on the Philadelphia food scene, officially opened its doors in Rittenhouse in 2021 and has quickly grown. Her Place kept its momentum with its “dinner party at your friend’s house” feel … only your friend can REALLY cook, and you don’t have to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Every two weeks, its fixed-price menu changes and they release reservations for the following weeks. Since they only host two seating times a night for small groups of guests, it’s become a tough spot to secure a reservation. For months I’ve had my heart set on going, and for Christmas this year my sister booked us a table to celebrate the holiday season and the end of 2022.

It was well worth the wait. The dinner came with seven courses, each one a whole new experience in itself, from creatively serving the matzo ball soup in a teacup to making food combinations I would have never thought of. Everything was delicious, making it really hard to choose a favorite dish; however, the Sunchoke Gougere and the Citrus Salad with hazelnuts and tête de moine cheese spirals really stole the show for me. While each course consists of rather small plates, by the time dessert came I was stuffed. However, the chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream managed to convince me otherwise.

While these might sound like complicated dishes, Amanda Shulman, head chef and creator, talks her guests through each course, adding to the intimate dinner-party feel. The majority of the food is sourced locally and focuses on quality ingredients. They even list their sources on the back of the menu. There is an option to make add-ons to your meal, including courses like oysters or a meat dish, and adding fresh-shaved truffles to some of the courses. Originally a BYOB, they now serve cocktails and have an impressive wine list. While I do think that BYOB fits the dinner party vibe Her Place is going for a bit more, this does offer the opportunity to better pair your meal with your drink choice and match the fine-dining feel of the courses.

After this experience, I definitely wouldn’t let the hard-to-get reservations discourage you. It was completely unique, keeping a casual and engaging feel to an upscale dining experience. Her Place gave my sister and me a chance to celebrate together by enjoying a delicious meal and great company, and we definitely will be back to try out future menus.

— Aly Evans, administrative assistant