The restaurant with a hidden secret! (21 Club)

Member Name: bestbunnygirl

Product:	21 Club
Date:	30/01/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely food and atmosphere

Disadvantages: Pretty pricey, and some snooty service

The 21 Club is located in midtown Manhattan, New York City. This is quite close to the theatre district.

My hubby and I went to the 21 club to celebrate my birthday. We knew it was a posh restaurant but we were a bit worried when we first went in. It is definately a suit (or shirt and tie) for a man, and smart dress for women. Even though we were dressed up, we did feel like the Maître de looked down on us because we were younger than most of the diners in there (mid and late 20's). So I wasn't sure how the rest of the evening was going to be, but I was really surprised!

Once we were shown to our table the service seemed to totally change! Our waiter was brilliant. He was an Italian new yorker, you could just see him playing a part in the godfather! He was very friendly, and couldn't do enough to help us with food and wine suggestions and telling us about the history of the 21 club.

The room we ate in was the Bar Room. This room is amazing. There are all sorts of items hanging from the ceiling, from sports helmets to toy trains. Everywhere you look there is something different to see. The room is like an antiques fair gone crazy, it's not really what you expect when you walk in the main front door!

We were asked if we wanted to see the wine list. Yes please! The waiter bought over a yellow pages sized book! That was the wine list! Wine is something that the 21 Club do well! They have over 1000 to choose from, suffice to say I can't remember what we had, but it was good! There is a seperate waiter to help you with the wine, so don't be too worried about making the wrong choice!

We were lucky enough to be sat next to a couple who were very friendly and we started talking about the wine and how crazy the choice was. They were local so they knew a bit of history about the 21 club and started telling us about the wine cellar. They asked the waiter if they could take a look and he said yes. We were very lucky as the couple asked us if we could go too!

So whilst we were waiting for our starter we were lucky enough to visit the cellar. It was just amazing - if you go to this restaurant you must ask to see it!!

We went down through the kitchen and then we came to this huge bricked over door. Well, we thought it was bricked over but this was just a hoax, this was the entrance to the cellar/vault and it's opened with a meat skewer! The door is about 2 tons heavy, I couldn't open it! During the alcohol prohibition in the 1930's alcohol was banned but the the 21 Club used to have celebrities and politicians visit for a sneaky drink or two but if the police came looking for booze they thought that it was just a bricked up door and thought the place was alcohol free!

So through the "wall" into the cellar! Rows and rows of wine, I've never seen so much before in my life! The waiter was pointing out, that is george clooney's favourite, that's what so and so drinks, it was great, surrounded by celebrity wine!

Through the wine cellar there is also a private dining room, you need ALOT of money to be able to eat down there though, and that is mainly for parties!!

Anyway, back to the restaurant and now starters were served. We both had the beef carpaccio. It actually melted in your mouth, absolutley delicious!

For main course, I had tuna steak which was cooked to perfection. Slightly rare in the middle. The hubby had lamb (which I don't think is on there current menu). There is alot of choice on the menu and prices range from $15 - $30 for starters, $35 - $50 for main and $10.50 for desserts. The wines, as you can imagine varied from the reasonable to the ridiculous!

The food was so filling that we had to share a dessert. We had the after eight torte! Heaven on a plate just like the after dinner mints but in ice cream form!!

The meal was quite pricey about $230 for 2, but this was when the exchange rate was much better than it is in the current climate. But for a special night out this is brilliant for the combination of great food, quirky interior, and amazing history!

Summary: Great food and atmosphere, perfect place for a celebration.