A Summer Dinner Party | Menu + Tablescape Idea

Get inspired to host a summer dinner party, featuring what to serve with a dinner party menu and a black and white tablescape.

A Summer Dinner Party | Menu + Tablescape Idea

Since first creating our outdoor living oasis in 2020, I knew it would host many dinner parties. This summer has been filled with a lot of busyness and hot weather.

The type of hot weather where you don’t want to be outside because of the humidity and the amount of sweat that drenches down your back. 

But with the end of summer looming around the corner, we knew we had to host a summer dinner party before we let go of all the best things about summer. 

The best things about summer include access to fresh, local fruit and vegetables, our garden in full bloom, and the ability to pick flowers from our garden or purchase from a local grower. 

For this summer dinner party, we wanted to keep the menu delicious, yet light.

Before our dinner party, I stopped by one of our favorite local home goods stores, Bradly’s HG, to pick up a few items for our charcuterie board (they have so many fun options for platters, boards, and everything you need to create the perfect charcuterie board!) 

A Summer Dinner Party Menu

Here’s a look at our menu, designed using Canva (I love Canva, btw!). 

I created a charcuterie board featuring my favorite cheeses, paired with strawberries, blackberries, champagne grapes, organic figs, and more.

I piled everything onto this beautiful platter I picked up from Bradly’s HG. 

A bread course with sourdough bread, herbed butter, and a drizzle of herbed olive oil and sea salt is always a good idea. 

We recently shared a summer salad filled with North Bay Produce blueberries (currently in season), mandarins, and a panzanella dressing.

It was fitting to make again for this summer dinner party. 

Years ago, through a brand partnership, we were introduced to Aussie Lamb. We typically find Aussie Lamb at Costco. If you’ve never smoked lamb chops, we highly recommend it.

Along with baked salmon drenched in rosemary butter, corn on the cob, and oven-roasted potatoes, this rounded out our main course. [more lamb recipes: Aussie Lamb Platter, Sheet Pan Dinner, Lamb Asado, Rice + Garden Vegetable Skewers]

For dessert, we opted to pick up something, and Whole Foods’ Berry Chantilly Cake was a fantastic choice. 

For our drinks, we served sparkling water and paired our dinner courses with a bottle of Pinot Noir.

We also made a non-alcoholic mocktail slushie made in our Ninja Slushi (ingredients: lemonade, blueberry syrup, and basil syrup). 

Here’s everything we put on our charcuterie board:

• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Organic figs
• Pomegranate seeds
• Champagne grapes
• Sliced Mini Cucumbers
• Cherries
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Manchego Cheese
• White Cheddar Cheese 
• Syrah Soaked Toscano Cheese
• Sliced Radishes
• Antipasto: Calabrese, pepper-coated dry salami, and Italian dry salami
• bagel chips
• Citrus, Ginger & Thyme Artisan Crisps (Rustic Bakery – found at Bradly’s HG)
• Herbs de Provence Sourdough Flatbread (Rustic Bakery)
• Fresh Basil from our garden
• Jars of Fig Spread

A Summer Dinner Party Tablescape

For this dinner party tablescape, I wanted to lean into the vibes of The W, our outdoor space.

Filled with modern black, white, and neutral colors, this tablescape came together pretty effortlessly. 

It started with the white plates lined with a black trim I picked up at HomeGoods.

Paired with glassware with a matching black trim, I picked up from the Crate & Barrel outlet store.

For the tablecloth, I wanted something with a lot of movement, so the Linen Tablecloth Bohemian Black Floral Beige works well in this table setting. 

Table Setting

• Porcelain Dinner + Salad plates with bowl, White w/Black Trim Rim
• Matte Black Flatware
• White Scalloped Cloth Napkins with a Black Trim (I tucked the menu card and a floral card inside each napkin)
• Clear Charger with a Black Trim Rim
• Glassware (one for water, one for wine, and one for the n/a slushie): Clear Glass with Black Rim, Clear glass, a vintage-inspired goblet

The Tablescape’s Centerpiece

Another item that inspired this summer tablescape is the lamps I found at HomeGoods.

And I have to give a shoutout to my girl, Eboni, for helping me to find more of these lamps at her local HomeGoods. 

With so much black and white, this tablescape desperately needed a pop of color, and I knew it would come in these gorgeous flowers.

The zinnias, dahlias, snapdragons, and lisianthus came from one of our favorite local farms, Swallowtail Farms. 

I finished filling out this floral arrangement with greenery and supporting stems from Trader Joe’s.

The alliums came from Whole Foods, and the purple carnations were picked up from Costco. 

This flower arrangement signifies all of the best things about summer flowers! 

At the center of the table, I placed these portable lamps with a marble base, and a taller one for the middle with a brass base. Additional portable lamps with a square marble base adorned each end.

The tablescape was completed with the soft illumination of candles.

As the sun set, the scene underwent a mesmerizing transformation, creating a whole new vibe! 

And that’s a wrap on how our summer dinner party came together. We intentionally wanted to keep this dinner party small and intimate. There’s something special about having a smaller dinner party where you can take the time to mingle with your guests and enjoy the dinner as well! 

Sometimes, as hosts, we spend so much time catering and serving our guests that we can forget to enjoy the party too! 

Let us know your thoughts or if you have any questions, leave a comment below! 

Until next time, – Tatanisha

Tips to keep in mind:

• How we handle mosquitoes when hosting outdoors (read this blog post)
• More about our outdoor living space, The W.