Mike’s Table X Hackney Herbal: Summer Solstice Supper Club
Friday 20 June 2025
Thingy Cafe, Trowbridge gardens, E9 5LD (map)
On - not quite - the longest day of the year, our 33 guests came together in the beautiful oasis that is the ‘Thingy Cafe and Garden’, a hidden gem in Hackney Wick.
About the event
The garden proved to be a very calming environment to enjoy a delicious welcome drink and start chatting to other guests. Everyone then came inside to sit at 3 long tables decorated with wild flowers and herbs from the garden, all selected by Nat of Hackney Herbal. Nat then led us all through an incredible workshop, introducing us to herbs and explaining their effects and origins in such an energetic and enlightened way. We then combined herbs of our choice to make herbal tea bags to take home and enjoy …..a good nights sleep… renewed focus ….. strengthened immunity … and lots of other fantastic benefits. Hackney Herbal is, like Mike’s Table, a social enterprise and Nat offers drop in workshops for people living or working in Hackney for free, funded by ticketed workshops which are brilliant - do book one soon or drop in!
During the workshop our team served delicious snacks and we followed with a tasty main course then epic shared trifles for pudding. The raffle gifts were generous and plentiful which delighted everyone, especially the beautiful tote bag and napkin set made and donated by Debbie.
The line we heard over and over was ‘What a wonderful evening. I’ve enjoyed amazing conversations with such interesting people!’
It was true midsummer magic made possible by meaningful collaborations - with Hackney Herbal and Thingy Cafe, with the Pub Group of JKS Restaurants, with our charity partners, and our food and drink donors. Thank you all. And of course we couldn’t continue to do this without our team of truly gifted volunteers, led with great skill and immense warmth by Meggie.
A few days earlier it would have been Mike’s birthday and it was fitting to hold such a special evening in the same week. He would be amazed to see what we do in his name.
As ever, a huge thank you to City Harvest for always providing us with an exciting variety of high-quality ingredients. The food is always within its use-by date and would otherwise be thrown away.
Written by: Louise
Beautiful photography by: Georgie Worth
Menu
Welcome Drink:
Elderflower cordial mocktail or glass of Triennes Rosé
Sharing starters:
Guacamole, leek and cheese dip with bread and celery
Lamb chops with salsa verde
Frittata with asparagus
Main:
Smokey aubergine and pepper tagine with herby potatoes
Dessert:
Summer trifle family-style
The Team
Herbal tea blending workshop: Nat
Kitchen: Andi, Daniel, Philippa, and Simon,
Front of House: Beth, Eleanor, Evelyn, Justine, Louise, Meggie, Nicola
Our Partners
As ever, we couldn’t do it without you:
Carers Network Compassionate Neighbours Hackney Herbal
New Art Studio HostNation Nova New Opportunities
Medaille Trust
Many thanks to our Food & Drink Donors:
City Harvest Uncharted Wines
Kind words from our guests
"There aren’t many restaurants where you walk in and end up hugging everyone."
“I just want to say a big thank you to all. It was a great evening. Hospitality, atmosphere, food, entertainment - absolutely amazing.”
