Not me personally, no, but I’m generally not a fan of themed boat dinners.
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Thanks! Themed in particular or e.g coffee and cake too (Sunday cafe…)?
I might do a boat tour with cake & coffee (as a German I’m practically obliged to do the Sunday cake & coffee thing), but it’s not high on my list 
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Thanks a lot for sharing!! Much Appreciated!
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A specific themed dinner, no. But maybe a Sunday brunch type of boat trip would be enjoyable. I can see this being used for a girls’ day out, for instance, such as the women from a bridal party wanting to have a small family shower party. Or perhaps a young girl’s tea party birthday.
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Thank You! Awesome point. Brunch is my favourite so would be keen to add that on!
Observant Jews won’t patronize your restaurant for the reasons other posters have outlined.
Non-observant Jews and non-Jews won’t patronize your restaurant because people who don’t have to usually don’t observe Kosher law.
Also, it’s very expensive to earn and maintain your Kosher certification.
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Thank you for your insight!
RE: Kosher Certification; Indeed you’re totally right, therefore food will be in accordance to Jewish Law using Kosher Ingredients but won’t have the Kosher certification.
That angle may work. But I think it will be tricky. Particularly as this is going to have to fit in with your other offerings.
Over the years, I’ve been to “secret supper clubs” in someone’s home which are the best equivalent I can think of to your intimate boat experience. If one of those was to advertise a Shabbat meal, would I be interested in going that month? Have to say, probably not.
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I like that. Never heard of that before.
May I ask why you wouldn’t be interested if it was advertised as Shabbat Meal?
Mainly because I have no religious faith and don’t really have an interest in how those who do have faith practice it. Certainly not enough to pay good money, I’m afraid.
“Secret supper club” - a sort of pop-up restaurant thing. The one I was most familiar with was in the Manchester area. Young woman of Punjabi heritage ran it. You got to hear of it through social media but you didnt get to learn the location till a couple of hours before. All a bit borderline legality. Well, legality line actually crossed, I suppose.
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Thanks for sharing! Sounds like an exciting adventure 
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Interesting idea.
For the Jewish food traditions, are you thinking Ashkenazi or Sephardic? Because they are very different. Or perhaps some of both?
You might be interested in this concept, a Jewish learning house/restaurant/bar that just recently opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the US.
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To start it will be Ashkenazi however we plan to incorporate more in the future by demand.
Thank you very much for the link, it is awesome! I have not seen this before and very helpful:) Appreciate it!
I am a Jewish person. I don’t care for the notion that we are a mystical community that can be packaged and sold as an “experience” so no. I enjoy a Shabbat dinner, but that’s about being with friends, family, and community in a home. Indeed, how can a Shabbat dinner experience be provided in a restaurant? (Or is this a Lubavitcher strategy designed to bring us back into the fold?)
I am not orthodox and “observant” is a word that is complicated in a Jewish community that is diverse in modes of observation where laws are subject to various interpretations. (Indeed, it is entirely possible to be an atheist and a Jew.)
The only “Shabbat Dinner Experience” I approve of is the show Friday Night Dinner.
ETA: If you’re looking to specialise in Global Jewish cuisine, that could be nice (see Joan Nathan for thinking about recipes). What dishes were you already excited to provide in the restaurant as you imagined it?
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Thank you for your take.
Its not about ‘selling’ an experience, its about giving people a chance to taste a cuisine they have not tasted before. From meeting so many non-jews around the world, many seemed interested in the food we eat and were curious about its taste. I have shared my dishes with many people and the feedback was great.
For those people interested in unique cuisine’s out there, this experience will give them just that and the added of eating and sharing meals together which is an extremely old and important method of socialisation, and there’s no reason that must just be about the food itself.
Its surely not a Lubavitcher strategy and not at all about educating about Judaism, its about providing an experience to taste a unique cuisine and learn of its history.
Example unique dishes that will be served; Gefilte Fish, Chicken Soup, Tzimmes…
As https://www.lehr.haus/ so eloquently put it, " Just like you don’t have to be French to enjoy a French restaurant, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy a Jewish [meal].
I think you might then take the “shabbat dinner” part out, and just concentrate on serving some old-school Ashkenazi food. There are lots of place not far from me - Russ & Daughter’s Cafe, Sadelle, Katz’s, Einat Anthony’s restaurants - that serve some variation on Jewish food. And any meal with a group would fall under the “socialization” umbrella.
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Good point there, Thank you!
I’m sorry to disagree but it really is about selling an experience. It’s what every restaurant does, every night it’s open. No-one goes to a restaurant simply to eat. You’ve mentioned that you intend other, non Jewish, menus, so it is how to market your seven courser in amongst your other offerings. I am sure that it will be tricky. You don’t want this to be some twee “Jewish Night” where your community and your faith is “on show”. But you do want the opportunity to put the food into a context of faith, community and family for customers who may well have very limited knowledge about the dishes or Jewish dietary laws and customs. Starting with Ashkenazi food is probably the right decision - it’s the food more readily identified in the UK as “Jewish”.
It is certainly possible for a restaurant to be successful with a menu that is outside the normal offering. I have in mind a South Asian place near me that specialises in Mumbai street food. But they’ve started offering a Sunday night tasting menu a couple of times a month. Each month, the menu features a different region or community (currently the food is from the Sindhi community, to which one of the owners belongs). It’s been a pretty successful idea. But it’s something built on their original concept - a strret food menu already means that the dishes are not the usual bog standard “any protein with any sauce” dishes you find in the high street curry house. So, they’ve already got a loyal base of customers who want something different, so are open to the “even more different” of the regional food menus. I’ve been each month this year and almost every dish has been completely new to me, so quite exciting.
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