Dinners
Long tables
Restaurants across the city, with people worth sitting next to.
Founding membership open
A room full of people you’ll actually like.
A members’ club for Düsseldorf. Tell us about yourself, and we’ll put you in the room with people you’ll get on with.
Apply for founding membership
Free membership · About three minutes
DinnersBarsClub nightsBowlingGames nightsChessLong lunchesThe odd ball
What the club is
Great people.
Better nights.
Dinners, bars, club nights, bowling and chess. We read every application to get the room right.
There is no clubhouse. The city is the club.
The nights we plan to run
Anything, as long as the company is right.
Restaurants, bars, clubs, bowling lanes, games tables. The venue will change every time. The standard of company won’t.
Bars
Bar nights
A good bar, a reserved corner. Come alone or bring people.
Bowling
Strike Night
Teams mixed by the host. Bad bowlers welcome.
Games
Games nights
Cards, board games, a little competition.
Chess
Chess and Cards
Boards out in a quiet bar. Beginners too.
Club nights
Before Everyone Flies Home
Late, loud and phone-free.
Long lunches
Sundays
Slow food, no plans for the afternoon.
If members want one
The odd ball
Black tie optional, paid to the venue at cost.
Who it’s for
For people in their twenties who’d rather be out than searching.
New here for work.
You moved for a job in consulting, advertising, fashion or tech. Colleagues are friendly, but they go home at six.
Staying on after your degree.
Your student friends are leaving the city. You want people for the next chapter, not the last one.
Back home, crowd scattered.
You grew up nearby, came back, and found your old friends married, moved away or busy.
Not sure if it’s you? Apply anyway. The founders read every answer, and would rather say no kindly than miss you.
Probably not for you if
You’re looking for a business contact or a language exchange. Or you can’t turn up when you’ve said yes.
Evenings run in English. German speakers are very welcome.
How it works
Find your table.
The founders read every application and bring the right people together, the way a good host would. No algorithm, no personality score.
One
You answer a few questions
Who you are, what you enjoy, and which evenings you’d actually come to. About three minutes.
Two
The founders read them
Every one, by hand. We’re looking for people who’d get on.
Three
You’re invited to evenings
Dinners, bars, club nights and more, with people we think you’ll like.
Four
Faces become friends
Seeing people more than once is how they become friends.
Thursday · A long dinner
Guest list
- Moved from Lisbon, works in fashion
- Six months into an agency job on the Kö
- Back in Neuss after ten years away
- Here from Osaka for two years
- Halfway through a PhD at Heinrich Heine
- Cooks far too much, wants people to feed
- Runs along the Rhine on Sundays
- And you
Why Clara’s exists
The right people, and the chance to see them again.
Nearly 1 in 4 Düsseldorf residents is not a German citizen. Plenty of us came for work or study, without a ready-made circle.
A note from the founders
We moved to Düsseldorf for work. The jobs were easy to find. Friends weren’t.
We tried the friend apps, which mostly ended in small talk. The open meetups, where you leave having met nobody. The dinners with strangers, where you meet lovely people exactly once.
Clara’s is the club we wanted and couldn’t find.
The founders
The proposed calendar
What we would like to put on this winter.
A proposal, not a promise. Nothing is booked yet. Applicants vote, and the most wanted evenings run first once the founding list reaches 150.
Clara’s
The Winter Card
Proposed evenings, November to March
November
Thu 26 Nov
The First Supper The founding night, if the founding list reaches 150 in time
A long dinner to start the club.
Evening · Smart casual
€45 to €60
December
Fri 4 Dec
Glühwein and the Old Town Christmas markets
The Altstadt markets in small groups, then somewhere warm to sit down.
Early evening · Warm layers
€20 to €35
Thu 10 Dec
Ice and Alm Kö on Ice
Skating on the Kö, then dinner somewhere nearby.
Evening · Warm, casual
€35 to €50
Sat 12 Dec
Before Everyone Flies Home Club night
A reserved corner, a drink first, then the dance floor.
Late · Going out
€30 to €55
January
Sun 10 Jan
The January Long Lunch Rhine-side
A slow Sunday lunch near the river, with no plans for the afternoon.
Lunchtime · Relaxed
€35 to €50
Fri 15 Jan
Strike Night Bowling
Teams mixed by the host. Bad bowlers welcome.
Evening · Casual
€20 to €30
Thu 21 Jan
Izakaya Night Little Tokyo
Japanese small plates in Little Tokyo. Ramen to finish.
Evening · Casual
€30 to €45
Wed 27 Jan
Chess and Cards A quiet bar
Boards out in a quiet bar. Beginners too.
Evening · Casual
€15 to €25
February and March
Thu 4 Feb
Altweiber Karneval
Costumes on, the Rathaus at 11:11, then the Altstadt in groups of eight.
From late morning · Costume required
€25 to €60
Thu 11 Mar
Bring One Friend Drinks
Everyone brings one person they think would fit the circle.
Evening · Smart casual
€25 to €40
Later, if members want one
Date to vote on
A winter ball At cost
We would find a room, and you would pay the venue your share at cost. Clara’s takes nothing. Vote for it when you apply.
Later · Black tie optional
At cost
Club rules
The rules are short, and they matter.
- I
Always somewhere public.
Restaurants, bars and clubs. Never anyone’s home.
- II
A host from first minute to last.
Someone saying hello at the door, introducing you around, and stepping in if anything feels off.
- III
No pressure.
Unwanted flirting, pitching or pressure means no further invitations.
- IV
Your details stay private.
Answers are never shown to other members. You decide who you swap numbers with.
- V
No photos without asking.
Phones stay in pockets. Nobody is photographed or posted without saying yes.
- VI
Say yes, then show up.
Seats are limited. Two missed evenings without notice and your seat goes to someone on the list.
The full code of conduct is linked at the foot of every page.
Where things stand
Honestly? The club doesn’t exist yet. You decide whether it should.
This page is a test of whether Düsseldorf wants a club like this. When the founding list reaches 150, the first tables are set and the founding members are chosen. They hear about every evening first and get first pick of seats.
- Members
- None yet
- Venues
- None booked until the list reaches 150
- Clubhouse
- None, by design
- Membership
- Free. You pay venues directly
- Run by
- The founders, in Düsseldorf
- Photographs
- Licensed and illustrative
Questions
The things people ask first.
Anything else, write to hello@claras.club. The founders answer every email.
Will I know anyone?
Probably not, and neither will most people. That’s the point. The host will be the one saying hello at the door, and you’ll have been introduced around within ten minutes.
Isn’t this a bit awkward?
Less awkward than standing at a bar on your own. The host’s whole job is making the first ten minutes easy.
Is it safe to come alone?
Every evening is somewhere public, never anyone’s home, with a host there from first minute to last. If anything feels off, tell the host or write to hello@claras.club.
What does it cost?
Membership is free. On the night you pay the venue for what you eat and drink, as you would with friends. Clara’s takes nothing.
Do I need to speak German?
No. Evenings run in English, and German speakers are very welcome.
Is there an age range?
It’s built for people in their twenties, so everyone is at a similar stage of life. You need to be 18 or over, and 18 to 20 is very welcome.
Who runs it?
The founders, in Düsseldorf, who wanted this to exist. It’s a private, non-commercial club: not a company, not an app.
Can I bring someone?
Yes. Partners, friends, anyone you’d vouch for, up to the number shown on each evening (usually two). Tell us their first names when you take your seat. They follow the code of conduct too.
What happens after I apply?
You get one email to confirm your address. The founders read applications as they come in. When the founding list reaches 150, they set the first tables and invite the founding members.
What if it never reaches 150?
Then no evenings go ahead, and applications are deleted, as the privacy notice explains.
What happens to my answers?
Only the founders read them. They are never shown to other members or sold, and you can ask for them to be deleted at any time.
Founding membership
Save yourself a seat.
Membership is free. No subscription, no ticket fee: you pay the venue, as you would with friends. The founders read every application, and the first tables are set when the founding list reaches 150.
Apply for founding membershipClara’sFounding membership
You’re number .
The founders will reach out to you personally.