The era of the 18th and 19th centuries birthed a dazzling array of societies, from gentleman’s clubs like White’s to niche interest groups that gathered around a table. Among them, the most memorable were the dining clubs—places where fine fare, lively debate, and a dash of scandal mixed together. This list of 10 historical dining clubs will make you wonder why anyone ever trusted the menu.
Why 10 Historical Dining Clubs Fascinate Food Lovers
Each of these societies combined a love of cuisine with a peculiar set of rules, rituals, or obsessions that turned ordinary meals into legendary spectacles. From sea‑creature banquets to secret rites in abandoned abbeys, the clubs below illustrate how far a group will go to impress its members – and sometimes, to horrify its outsiders.
10 Ichthyophagous Club
The Ichthyophagous Club, a short‑lived New York phenomenon, convened from 1880 to 1887 with a single, daring mission: to consume as many exotic marine species as possible in one grand annual feast. Its founders boasted that countless oceanic delicacies went uneaten, and they sought to change that by turning the sea’s oddities into a culinary showcase.
Membership was limited to fishing connoisseurs—though not the rough‑and‑ready fishermen deemed too low‑brow—alongside food enthusiasts, journalists, and literary types. Their inaugural dinner, chronicled by The New York Times, featured moonfish prepared Spanish‑style, sea‑robin, and a crisp lettuce salad, setting a high bar for future menus.
By the third year the club’s palate had taken a daring turn: dolphin steaks, lamprey eels (teeth intact) breaded and fried, and dogfish shark croquettes graced the table. The final banquet showcased fifteen different sea creatures, ranging from familiar salmon to a braised terrapin. Dolphin proved a tough sell, while alligator steak delighted diners and starfish soup became an unexpected hit. The club even composed its own anthem, praising the ocean’s bounty and the bravery of those willing to sample it. In the end, the Ichthyophagous Club faded away—perhaps because its members simply could not stomach the prospect of more fishy fare.
9 The Glutton Club
Far from a simple overeating society, the Glutton Club gathered under the auspices of a young Charles Darwin, whose curiosity extended well beyond natural selection to the realm of culinary experimentation. Its purpose was to sample “strange flesh,” a pursuit that made even the most adventurous palate wince.
The club’s early menus featured a parade of avian delicacies—hawk, bittern, and other game birds—before an especially tough, stringy owl forced the members to pivot toward meatier fare. Darwin’s own travels contributed to the club’s menu, with armadillo and several unidentified creatures appearing on the plate, underscoring the club’s mantra that nothing was off‑limits.
One memorable evening, as the diners savored a rare bird, Darwin abruptly leapt from his seat, realizing the meal’s provenance. He salvaged the remnants for scientific study, turning a gastronomic experience into a field‑work opportunity. The Glutton Club’s appetite for the unusual left a lasting impression on culinary history, even if it never became a mainstream institution.
8 The Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club earned its notoriety not through the food it served, but through the caliber of its members and the raucous behavior that accompanied their banquets. Founded in the 18th century, the club admitted only Oxford undergraduates of substantial wealth and powerful connections—those who could buy their way out of any trouble.
Its reputation grew around extravagant feasts, prodigious alcohol consumption, and a litany of outrages: vandalizing university property, abusing kitchen staff, harassing waitresses, and staging bizarre, sometimes illegal, dining rituals. The club’s excesses reached a modern headline when a British prime minister’s initiation ritual—rumored to involve a pig’s mouth, an open zipper, and an intimate anatomical reference—sparked widespread media attention.
Although the Bullingdon Club persists today, its membership has dwindled, largely due to the negative publicity surrounding such scandals. The once‑glamorous institution now serves as a cautionary tale of how privilege and excess can corrupt even the most refined dining traditions.
7 The Beaver Club
Established in Canada in 1785, the Beaver Club reserved its membership for seasoned fur traders who had survived the brutal winters of the Northwest Territories. To qualify, aspirants needed to have overwintered in the harsh frontier and to be deemed upstanding citizens by their peers.
The club convened bi‑weekly, but its hallmark was an annual banquet that all members were expected to attend unless excused by illness or business. The gatherings were regimented affairs: members wore their ornate club medals, recounted tales of perilous voyages, and raised toasts to “the fur trade in all its branches.” The centerpiece of the feast was pemmican—dried buffalo meat blended with berries and rendered fat—served on silver platters in a lavish dining hall, a stark contrast to the rugged meals the traders endured in the wilderness.
At the banquet’s close, the hardened men would sit on the floor in a single line, mimicking a massive canoe, and row an imaginary boat while chanting masculine songs. This theatrical finale reinforced their camaraderie and celebrated the collective spirit that had carried them through countless hardships.
6 The Club
In 1764, literary giant Samuel Johnson and painter Joshua Reynolds founded a modest dining society for artistic and literary gentlemen. Their aim was simple: provide a venue for good food, even better conversation, and a steady supply of brandy and cigars. The original roster comprised fewer than a dozen “good fellows,” each eager to indulge in hearty meals and stimulating discourse.
The club adopted the motto Esto perpetua (“Let it be perpetual”), a phrase whose meaning remains somewhat obscure. Meetings took place in the Turk’s Head Tavern on Soho’s bustling streets, where members enjoyed a generous supper followed by lively debate and generous libations. Over time, the club’s membership swelled, much to the chagrin of its founders, who grew increasingly irritated by the influx of politicians—an addition they felt dulled the culinary experience.
Despite the growing numbers, the club persisted as a hub for artistic exchange, maintaining its reputation for sumptuous fare and spirited conversation well into the later 18th century.
5 The Explorers Club
Founded in 1904 in New York, the Explorers Club gathered adventurers with a shared mission: to promote exploration and conservation while indulging in truly exotic cuisine. Its membership roster reads like a hall of fame, featuring the first climbers of Everest, lunar walkers, and deep‑sea divers.
The club’s collection of curiosities includes a “Yeti scalp” and the skeletal remains of a four‑tusked elephant. Its annual banquet pushes culinary boundaries, offering dishes such as tarantula and big‑game meats prepared by world‑class chefs. In 1951, the club sparked controversy when it served a frozen specimen believed to be woolly mammoth meat from Alaska. Subsequent DNA testing revealed the meat was actually from a green sea turtle, turning the sensational story into a cautionary tale about scientific verification.
Today, the Explorers Club continues its tradition of extraordinary feasts, though mammoth meat has been retired from the menu. The club remains a testament to the intersection of daring exploration and daring dining.
4 Princeton Eating Clubs
Princeton University boasts a unique social landscape defined by its eleven eating clubs, each operating under a rigorous selection process known as “Bicker.” The first official club, Ivy, was established in 1879, setting a precedent for exclusive dining societies on campus.
Prospective members undergo ten one‑on‑one interviews covering a wide range of topics, after which the entire club—often exceeding a hundred members—votes on the candidate. Admission requires a unanimous vote, a demanding hurdle that underscores the clubs’ elite status.
The clubs originated when a cadre of affluent undergraduates, dissatisfied with the modest campus food options, rented rooms in Ivy Hall, hired a private cook and waitress, and even installed a billiard table for post‑meal entertainment. Today, the “Bicker” process persists, maintaining the clubs’ reputation for exclusivity and camaraderie.
3 The Divan Club
Established in 1744 by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, and Sir Francis Dashwood, the Divan Club catered to a very specific clientele: only those who had traveled to the Ottoman Empire could join. The name “Divan” derives from the Turkish term for a council of rulers, reflecting the club’s aim to provide a forum for members to recount their Eastern experiences.
After a sumptuous dinner, members raised a toast to “The Harem,” celebrating the exotic allure of their travels. However, the club’s stringent entry criteria proved its downfall; within two years, the membership pool had dwindled to the point where the society could no longer sustain itself and quietly dissolved.
The Divan Club’s brief existence illustrates how exclusivity, while alluring, can also become a fatal flaw when the pool of qualified participants is too narrow.
2 The Beefsteak Club
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several societies adopted the moniker Beefsteak Club, using the steak as a symbol of patriotism and Whig‑party liberalism. The first incarnation, founded in 1705, was officially titled The Sublime Society of Beef Steaks and quickly attracted a roster that included royalty, politicians, and cultural luminaries.
Members convened weekly, donning blue coats and buff waistcoats adorned with brass buttons emblazoned “Beef and Liberty.” The menu was simple yet indulgent: steak accompanied by baked potatoes and generous pours of port. Over time, additional Beefsteak Clubs emerged, each with its own customs, but all upheld the ideals of liberty and the reverence for a well‑cooked cut of meat.
Although the original clubs faded in the 19th century, a revival in 1966 re‑established the tradition, and the society has met continuously ever since, preserving its historic blend of culinary pleasure and political camaraderie.
1 The Hellfire Club
Mid‑18th‑century England saw the rise of the Hellfire Club—officially the Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe—founded by Sir Francis Dashwood, who also co‑created the Divan Club. Dashwood purchased a Cistercian abbey to serve as the club’s headquarters, using the imposing setting to stage mock‑religious ceremonies that ridiculed the Catholic Church.
Twice a year, members gathered in elaborate attire—a hybrid of beret and clown hat bearing the motto “Love and Friendship”—to enjoy opulent dinners while inviting lively, often scandalous, female companions described as “lawful wives” for the night. One notorious episode involved smuggling a baboon dressed as a devil into the chapel, where the animal was released during a ritual, causing chaos as it leapt onto Lord Sandwich, who then theatrically confessed his sins.
When Dashwood became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1762, he recognized that the club’s antics might not sit well with the public. He consequently disbanded the Hellfire Club, stripping the abbey of any trace of its existence. The legend, however, lives on as a vivid illustration of the era’s blend of aristocratic excess and irreverent humor.