Dinner Club Ideas

The Last of Us Dinner Club

A mushroom-and-truffle-inspired menu created to celebrate the release of Season 2.

By Justina Stehling of More Ahead   •   Dinner Club   •   Themed Dinner

When Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us was released, we knew it was the perfect excuse to build an entire dinner club around mushrooms, truffles, and a little post-apocalyptic drama.

The series gave us an obvious starting point: fungi. But rather than creating a dinner that felt overly literal or gimmicky, we used the show’s dark, earthy atmosphere as inspiration for an elevated seasonal menu.

Mushrooms appeared throughout the evening, from the appetizer to the bourbon cream sauce served with the main course. Truffle flavors connected the potato gratin, salad vinaigrette, risotto, and dessert.

The result felt moody, rustic, indulgent, and surprisingly elegant—exactly the kind of themed dinner that gives guests plenty to talk about without making the food feel secondary to the concept.

The Post-Apocalyptic Mixology Menu

Rich mushrooms, smoky spirits, truffle flavors, and a dramatic chocolate dessert tied the entire dinner together.

The Last of Us mushroom and truffle dinner club menu
Cocktails

Joel’s Old Fashioned

A classic, spirit-forward cocktail with a smoky twist to reflect Joel’s strength and resilience.

Cocktails

Ellie’s Hope

A bright gin-and-elderflower drink designed to capture Ellie’s energy, optimism, and determination.

Appetizer

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tarts

Buttery pastry filled with savory mushrooms and creamy goat cheese.

Entrée

Sous Vide Coffee-Rubbed Tri-Tip with Bourbon Mushroom Cream Sauce

Tender tri-tip cooked sous vide, finished with a deep crust, and served with a rich mushroom gravy.

Side Dishes

Truffle Potato Gratin, Green Salad, and Mushroom Risotto

Gruyère, smoked cheddar, truffle vinaigrette, creamy risotto, and plenty of earthy mushroom flavor.

Dessert

Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake

A rich chocolate cake balanced with tart raspberry flavor.

Turning the series into a dinner-club theme

The most successful themed dinners usually begin with one recognizable idea, then build outward. For this dinner, mushrooms were the obvious anchor.

From there, we added flavors that felt dark, woodsy, smoky, and comforting. Coffee, bourbon, mushrooms, truffles, aged cheese, rosemary, chocolate, and raspberry all fit naturally into the same atmosphere.

The menu design used cream, brown, black, and muted botanical details. Mushroom illustrations and the bold truffle graphic added a subtle post-apocalyptic feeling without turning the table into a movie set.

The theme created the mood, but the food still had to be something everyone genuinely wanted to eat.
Dark woodland table setting for a mushroom and truffle themed dinner club

Two cocktails inspired by Joel and Ellie

Offering two distinctly different drinks gave guests a choice while carrying the character theme into the first part of the evening.

Smoky • Strong • Classic

Joel’s Old Fashioned

A bourbon-based Old Fashioned with bitters, orange, and a subtle smoky finish. The drink was bold, familiar, and uncomplicated—an easy fit for Joel.

Serve it over one large ice cube and garnish with an orange peel or dark cherry.

Bright • Floral • Hopeful

Ellie’s Hope

Gin, elderflower, citrus, and sparkling water created a lighter, more refreshing counterpoint to the Old Fashioned.

A lemon twist, edible flower, or sprig of fresh herbs makes an easy finishing touch.

Mushroom and goat cheese tarts served as a dinner club appetizer
Appetizer

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Tarts

These small savory tarts brought the mushroom theme to the table immediately. A buttery pastry base balanced the earthy mushroom filling, while goat cheese added creaminess and a gentle tang.

They also worked well for dinner club because they could be mostly prepared before guests arrived and served warm or at room temperature.

  • Use a mix of cremini, shiitake, or wild mushrooms.
  • Cook the mushrooms until their moisture has evaporated.
  • Add thyme, shallot, and a small splash of wine if desired.
  • Finish with goat cheese and fresh herbs.
Sliced coffee-rubbed tri-tip served with bourbon mushroom cream sauce
Main Course

Sous Vide Coffee-Rubbed Tri-Tip

The tri-tip was cooked sous vide, which allowed the meat to become evenly tender while taking pressure off the host during dinner.

After the sous vide cooking time was complete, the meat was dried thoroughly, coated with a coffee-forward seasoning blend, and quickly seared to create a flavorful exterior.

We served it sliced with a bourbon mushroom cream sauce. The sauce was rich and savory, with enough bourbon to deepen the flavor without overpowering the mushrooms.

Sous vide cooking made the entrée feel special while giving us far more control over the timing of the meal.

The truffle-inspired side dishes

Each side used truffle differently, which kept the theme consistent without making every dish taste identical.

Truffle potato gratin with Gruyere and smoked cheddar
Side Dish

Truffle Potato Gratin

Thinly sliced potatoes layered with cream, Gruyère, smoked cheddar, and a restrained amount of truffle flavor.

Green salad served with truffle white wine vinaigrette
Side Dish

Green Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette

A crisp, simple salad helped balance the rich meat, potatoes, risotto, and cream sauce.

Creamy truffle mushroom risotto
Side Dish

Truffle Mushroom Risotto

Creamy rice, sautéed mushrooms, Parmesan, and truffle made this the most indulgent side of the evening.

Raspberry chocolate truffle cake served for dessert
Dessert

Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake

A rich chocolate truffle cake felt like the right ending for such an earthy, indulgent menu.

Raspberry added color, acidity, and freshness, keeping the dessert from feeling too heavy after the cream sauce, gratin, and risotto.

The dark chocolate also fit the visual tone of the evening beautifully.

Moody mushroom and woodland dinner club table setting

Creating a dark woodland table

We kept the setting earthy and understated rather than decorating with obvious television references.

Natural textures, warm candlelight, forest colors, mushrooms, dark glassware, and simple botanical details created enough atmosphere on their own.

  • Cream, brown, black, moss green, and muted gold
  • Wood serving boards and neutral linens
  • Small mushrooms or woodland greenery
  • Amber or smoky glassware
  • Taper candles and low lighting
  • Printed menus at each place setting

A simple preparation timeline

Several rich dishes can become stressful if they all need attention at once. Planning the order of preparation made the evening far easier.

Two Days Before

Shop and begin the make-ahead work

Purchase ingredients, prepare the dessert, make the cocktail components, and organize serving dishes.

The Day Before

Prepare the meat and appetizer

Season and seal the tri-tip, prepare the tart filling, assemble the potato gratin, and set the table.

Dinner Morning

Begin the sous vide cooking

Start the tri-tip based on the chosen temperature and timing. Prepare the salad dressing and mushroom components.

Before Guests Arrive

Bake, warm, and finish

Bake the gratin and tarts, prepare the risotto, finish the sauce, chill drinks, and light candles.

Before the Entrée

Sear and slice the tri-tip

Remove the meat from the bag, dry it thoroughly, season if needed, sear it quickly, let it rest briefly, and slice against the grain.

A themed dinner worth surviving for

This dinner worked because the theme gave us a creative direction without taking over the entire evening. The mushrooms, truffles, dark colors, character-inspired cocktails, and sous vide entrée all felt connected—but the real focus remained exactly where it should be: good food and the people gathered around the table.

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