Pull up a chair at the new Libby Supper Club
Relaxed fine dining is the new dinner party at Union Ave’s new Libby Supper Club.
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Eating at the new Libby Supper Club inside Union Gables Inn is a cross between sitting down at a dinner party with friends — and friends of friends — and a special event dinner you’ve been looking forward to eating at your favorite restaurant for a month.
“I want to keep it casual, but refined,” says chef Justin Daw, who is also one of the inn’s new owners. “I know that's a tricky line to walk. But dining out has become so routine for a lot of people, and it doesn't feel special anymore. I want this to really feel special.”
Starting Friday July 18, a six-course meal will be served on Friday and Saturday nights — with an unusual seating plan that both keeps the inn’s original layout and forges a friendly atmosphere.

“People sitting in the corners of restaurants, on their phones, not talking to anybody? That's sad,” he says. “I want to see people excited and talking to each other. So if you're a two-top, and I want you to sit with another two-top, you’ll make this four-top and have a good time. If you're a party of eight, that's great — just know that it might be a six-top at one table and two in the group sitting with other people somewhere else.”
Daw is throwing an invite-only dress rehearsal Friday, July 11 for 12 people, and reservations for opening weekend a week later are live on Tock. Right now wine and beer only, an artisan cocktail program is in the works, as well as an expansion into a 20-person party. The menu is so exquisite — think seared duck breast with cherry gastrique and blackberry/cornmeal clafoutis with honey ice cream — that reservations will cut off every Wednesday at noon so he has the days needed to prepare. Down the road, Daw also hopes to throw a Sunday brunch.
Brand-new to Saratoga, Daw and his southern charm bode well for his becoming a popular host. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama before leaving for culinary school in Atlanta. By 2010, he was cooking full-time in foodie heaven New Orleans. “My accent is a little bit of all of that,” he says. “When I get excited, especially talking about food, the southern comes out.”
From New Orleans, Daw spent two and a half years in Lake Placid before spotting an opportunity at the historic Union Gables Inn on Union Avenue. While some of his food is touched by a melting pot of southern flavors, he was classically trained and cooks in a French or Italian style with a pinch of Spanish.
Wine will be an add-on when you make your reservation, and one weekend out of the month will be a pescatarian menu and one vegetarian. He’s aiming for 95 percent of his dishes to be gluten-free.
“This is a very no-pressure kind of situation,” he says. “You could dress as nice as you want, or you can dress down. Come as you are — which is how dining out should be. Let’s just enjoy this food together, you know?”
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That sounds awesome!