Love was in the air this week, as students gathered in Epicurean & Co. (Epi’s) on Feb. 11 for a free Date Night Dinner hosted by Hoya Hospitality’s Supper Club, a dining experience aimed at providing Hoyas with curated meals beyond the dining hall options.
Soft music drifted through the dining hall, mingling with the glow of candlelight and the murmur of conversation, transforming the familiar space into an intimate dining experience. Red tablecloths were draped over tables, set with pink menus and namecards, while Hoyas settled in for two hours of a near fine dining experience.
The three course meal leaned into the Valentine’s spirit. The night began with bright raspberry spritzers alongside a strawberry feta salad topped with candied walnuts. From there, guests were served oyster Rockefeller and a ribeye paired with prawns, baked potato, and broccolini. Dessert closed the evening with chocolate-dipped strawberries and colorful cake pops to match the celebratory mood.
Hoya Hospitality accepted reservations through Instagram direct message. Students were promised a “three course plated dinner experience guaranteed to warm hearts.” For Lydia Nawrocki (SOH ’27) and Adam Dworakowski (MSB ’27), the dinner “surpassed” their expectations.
“The food’s all been super high quality so far,” Dworakowski said. “The presentation and just the way that the event is staffed, it makes you feel like you’re really in a restaurant, and it’s really nice.”
Nawrocki echoed this statement, emphasizing the intimate setting.
“It feels very exclusive, it feels like a night out,” she said. “Both the food and the experience is what you’d expect from a high quality restaurant. So it’s really nice.”
Nawrocki and Dworakowski met and began dating in their freshman year at Georgetown, both suggesting that Georgetown has a way of connecting people.
“I feel like there’s definitely a special, special thing about this campus that brings people together. So it’s really nice to be able to celebrate here,” Dworakowski said.
Although their relationship began on campus, Dworakowski and Nawrocki said that they rarely see each other. Despite differing schedules, the Date Night Dinner provided them with a joint activity to celebrate together without leaving the Hilltop.
“It’s very nice to be able to kind of celebrate that on campus, because we don’t have a lot of crossover with classes,” Nawrocki said. “It’s a dinner that’s right on campus, so it’s very convenient.”
Taylor Moses (CAS ’27) and Sophie Kasky (CAS ’28) said that this was an unexpected, yet welcome, surprise from Hoya Hospitality, as they celebrate their first Valentine’s Day together.
“I think it is a unique experience to be in a dining hall that you go to every day, but this time, the tablecloths are red, there’s flowers in front of you, and you’re about to eat ribeye with prawns with your girlfriend,” Moses said.
Kasky expressed appreciation for the sense of belonging created by the event, noting the chance to celebrate openly within the campus community.
“There’s something that’s definitely special about even stupid moments like this, as a queer couple, to be able to sit down and have this date night in your Georgetown community with your girlfriend, and feel accepted,” Kasky said.
Moses had previously attended the Supper Club’s Thanksgiving, where the quality of the food and experience inspired her to secure a seat for this event. Kasky joked that Moses’ love for Georgetown’s dining halls “stood out as rare”, which motivated her to join Moses for this Valentine’s event.
“I think that this is such a fun experience and I was so excited to see they were doing one this semester. They should keep doing them, at least for people like me who are excited to be in the dining hall,” Moses said.
Kasky elaborated, comparing the event to an “Epi’s Prom,” and emphasizing how the event reinforced her appreciation for the dining hall.
“It’s somewhere that a lot of us go every day, but you don’t really see the beauty of it,” Kasky said.
For best friends Lori Jang (CAS ’26) and Diane Kim (CAS ’26), the dinner provided an opportunity to spend time together, go to a “cute dinner,” and satisfy their curiosity as to how Epi’s could be transformed into a fine-dining Valentine’s experience.
Beyond the food, the friends felt that the effort Hoya Hospitality put into the event made it special.
“There’s something about the care that everyone put in to make this just a little bit cuter, a little bit more dressed up,” Kim said. “It’s not about the food. It really is just about how much care everyone put in to make this such a beautiful night.”
As they gear up to graduate, Jang and Kim emphasized their “commit to the bit mantra.” This dinner gave them an opportunity to make a lasting “Galentine’s” memory in their last semester.
“I’ve been seeing my friends and I just like being more enthusiastic about things like this, so I think it’s really nice, especially as seniors to see, there are still ways to be more active on campus and create these traditions and memories that we’ll definitely be looking back at,” Jang said.
