Escape the City for a Night of Cocktails and Live Fire Cooking at Theodora Beach Club
If you’ve yet to escape the city for a quaint beach town this summer and a multi-day trip isn’t in the cards, we’ve got a suggestion for a night out that will give you those vibes yet is only an eight-minute ferry ride from lower Manhattan. Sound impossible? Thanks to the season’s hottest pop-up, it’s not only a reality but one you have a few weeks left to experience. Welcome to Theodora Beach Club.
Just steps away from the ferry landing at what is usually a casual spot called Taco Vista, Fort Greene’s popular live-fire Mediterranean restaurant Theodora, which received the VinePair Next Wave Award for Food and Beverage Program of the Year in 2024, is putting on a real show, offering a multi-course, family-style tasting menu to those lucky enough to snag a ticket.
Credit: Sarah Strong
The evening starts with a Spritz made with La Marca Prosecco, verdant with flavors of melon and gentian from a trio of additions: Rockey’s Botanical Liqueur, Artonic Melonade aperitif, and Method Spirits Pearline American Bitter. Bar manager Calvin Czypinski took a local approach to creating this bubbly refresher (Rockey’s and Method Spirits are both made in New York), resulting in a drink driven by the crisp, floral notes in the La Marca with a touch of tropical fruit flavor. After picking up a drink, guests can relax in lounge chairs or play a game of cornhole while the central open hearth invites gawkers to sneak a peek at their dinner as it cooks.
Over the summer there will be appearances from guest chefs and popular bars to collaborate on the menu. Bar participants, curated by VinePair, include local favorite Sip & Guzzle, Chicago’s up-and-coming Bar Bambi, Mírate from Los Angeles (which also won the Next Wave Award for Food & Beverage Program of the Year in 2023), and more. Drinks are served from a central bar as well as a satellite cart, and beer and wine are also on offer throughout the night. “The guest bars and I always meet on a call so I can immerse them in the feeling we’ve been building on the island and what I’ve tried to achieve with my menu, helping them get into the headspace for easy island drinking,” Czypinski says.
After happy hour, the main event begins. Tables seat up to 10, so strangers quickly become friends, especially since dishes are shared among two, four, or the full table of people. “Putting on an event like this and not having anyone be upset about sharing and sitting with other people is a real pleasure,” says the restaurant’s head captain Dave Clardy.
Credit: Sarah Strong
Each setting sports a name tag pinned to a vegetable like a shishito pepper, and in lieu of a centerpiece hangs a chandelier-like bouquet of vegetables, a somewhat perplexing fixture that comes into play later in the meal. To kick off the feast, a celebratory grilled oyster shooter brings a convivial spirit to the group.
The menu progresses in five sections, with exact dishes changing each week based on the best available ingredients: crudo, bread, vegetables, from the fire, and dessert. Fresh, raw fish dishes accented with vibrant sauces and produce — including the grilled pineapple that previously hung above the flames — set the tone for the meal with bright, punchy flavors. Highlights of the bread course include rolled saj flatbread and a silky eggplant dip that invites guests to clip the aforementioned suspended bunch of crudité from its post and use it to scoop up any remaining dip. These courses and a few cocktails would make for a five-star dinner, but there is so much more to come.
Vegetables arrive in quick succession, each one treated to a different treatment over the fire, from quickly grilled to smoked to slowly roasted until charred. While others might relegate these dishes to serve as sides with the protein, Theodora gives them the respect they’ve earned and a place of prominence in the meal’s progression.
Credit: Sarah Strong
Though it’s a difficult task, you’d be wise to save room for the large-format proteins that arrive at the table to oohs and aahs. A whole fish brings the group together to scrounge for the best hidden bits, and a fire-kissed steak sliced into plump, pink pieces carries smoky flavor without overwhelming the palate. Unexpected sauces like tahini and amba (pickled mango) take the meat from heavy to exciting. Echoes of “I couldn’t eat another bite” and calls for one last Martini permeate as the sun’s last rays fade into night.
An intermediary treat gets guests on their feet before the plated dessert: s’mores. A buffet of graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate bars, and extendable roasting sticks proves irresistible to even those who think they’re above the campfire treat. With smiles and sticky fingers all around, one last show-stopping dish — creamy lemon posset topped with grilled stone fruit and icy basil granita — waits at the table as guests mingle and exchange information with their new friends.
While the lavish meal is a splurge, it’s an experience that can’t be beat. From the welcome Spritz to the last, smoky bite, Theodora Beach Club transports diners from the bustling city to a relaxing beach where cocktails flow and there’s always room for one last bite.
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