PokerStars All-In Kitchen: The world’s first pay-by-poker pop-up restaurant

Like most parents of toddlers, Craig and I don’t often get the opportunity for a night out on our own. Our families have similar aged children so it would be unfair of us to add to their own rounds of nappies, teeth-brushing and dressing for bed. When, by some miracle, we do get a night off, we tend to go for a meal then onto the casino.

If like us, you like good food and a bit of a gamble, then then the newly launched All-In Kitchen might be perfect night out for you. A collaboration between PokerStars and Jones & Sons, the All-In Kitchen is the world’s first pay-by-poker pop-up restaurant.

Yep, to mark the launch of the UK & Ireland poker tour (UKIPT), the first ever fusion of gourmet food and poker in a pop-up style setting hit London back in January. It was a huge success and is now set to be rolled out nationwide across all the UKIPT stops this season.

So what is it?

This one-of-a-kind experience will see diners put their money where their mouth is, with their success at the table determining how much they pay for a poker-inspired meal. The menu has been exclusively put together by Jones & Sons and features such dishes as ‘Royal Flush of King Crab Thermidor’, ‘Queen Scallops’ accompanied by Salt Baked Swede and Bacon Marmalade and ’4 Of A Kind of Lamb Chops, Rump, Kidney and Shoulder With A Rosemary Jus’. The set meal should set you back £50 (with a cheeky cocktail included) - yet you could be paying a whole lot less than that…

The poker element is deliberately uncomplicated to appeal to both rookies and high-rollers alike. You play three hands of poker starting with 10,000 chips (£10.00), then, what you pay for your meal is based on how many chips you have at the end - so either £10.00, £5.00 or… nothing at all.

Did you spot the obvious benefit? Well, according to those rules the maximum you’ll pay for a meal is a tenner. So even if you make a terrible call in the first hand and bust out, you’re getting £40 off dinner!

The idea is to introduce new people to poker through the medium of food. As the two are both sociable experiences in their own right, it’s hoped that food and poker combined make the ultimate night out. Poker at this event is therefore optional and no money is wagered during the poker element of the experience. So, if it’s the lure of great food that appeals more, you can simply rock up and soak up the atmosphere and pay full price for your meal.