21 Club

The 21 club is a legendary place, and this obviously influences one's perception of it. Expectations are high, but on the other hand everything has a special charm to it.

The outside of the place is a lovely anticipation of what's inside: you think you may have found the secret place that inspired Ralph Lauren when he started making men’s clothes.

The inside is warm, cozy, dark, wooden. It's very classy without looking overly posh, a powerful and effective combination of genuinity and style, of self-awareness without any arrogance.

The welcome is friendly, the staff make you immediately feel at ease, as if you were instantly part of the clan just for the fact you have a booking.

After walking in, you are immediately led to the bar, where I have to say we did experience some glitches in the service (waited for ten minutes for the menu, had to call the waitress). Alas, nothing is perfect.

The dining room is the darkest one in the whole place, the ceiling packed with hanging model planes, footballs, old tin cups, lots of stuff that would seem not to ever be fit for such a place, but which magically just look perfect where they are.

Food is excellent. I had foie gras followed by the tartare, fabulous; my girlfriend had the lobster salad followed by a bass (I hope I remember well); I didn't taste the fish not to mix flavours, but she kept saying everything was delicious. The Chilean wine was one of the best bottles of red I can remember in my life. The staff was friendly and helpful, service was spot on.

The bill came out at $340 including tip, which is expensive for the US, but amounts to about the cost of my average dinner out in London. The exchange rate really helped, and I had the pleasure of sharing a slice of myth. Will definitely be back my next time in NYC.
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Torquemada
Saturday, December 23, 2006