At the hardest places to get into in New York City, those who facilitate the door try to rope in the right crowd and curate a fashionable palette that consists of models, celebrities, and the very rich. If, for example, you look like a tourist, there’s no way you’ll get into these particular clubs and restaurants. And, as soon as these places become hard to get into, a mystique falls on them that makes “regular” people want to try them to see if they match the hype. With the way these places work, it’s almost impossible to get your foot in the door. We’ve narrowed down six exclusive sites that, now that you know about their existence, you’ll still probably never get into.
1. Provocateur
AKA The One with All the Super DJ’s
18 9th Avenue, New York, Gansevoort Meatpacking District (entrance between 13th Street and Gansevoort Street)
Provocateur, located in the Gansevoort Hotel and in the Gansevoort meatpacking district, is a swanky hotel nightclub that’s always happening due to popular DJs that spin during the week, and star-performer DJs that make appearances on the weekend—think Tiesto, Avicii, and Kaskade. On one side of the club is the garden lounge called the Cafe, and on the other side is a hip lounge. It’s best to go in warmer weather, because the club has a huge glass ceiling that fully retracts. The club is dimly lit, with a purple and black color scheme, which makes the place feel sexy. Provocateur has been open since 2009, but it remains a hard door, showing no signs of empty seats or lack of people in it.
Brian Gefter via Instagram2. The Gilded Lily
AKA The One with Women and Men in Gold
408 W 15th St, New York, Chelsea and Meatpacking District (between 10th Ave & 9th Ave)
Another popular spot in the Meatpacking District is the Gilded Lily. Upstairs is an American brasserie called the Monarch Room that’s located inside a 4,500 foot Chelsea warehouse that dates back to the 1930s. A street-side industrial elevator brings you down to the Gilded Lily below, a subterranean lounge that has remained popular since it opened. A true party space, the Gilded Lily is known for its golden-hued room. Everything is gold. The plush seating, floor, and ceiling is completely gold. The glass-like floors also have been created from gold glitter, and the gold-finished bar is a beautifully-executed piece. The sunken dance floor is surrounded by banquettes, and to top it off, a massive LED chandelier above the dance floor gives off sparkles of light in the room.
The Gilded Lily attracts a certain crowd—AKA, those who are dressed well and look as if they could drop a thousand dollars on one visit. The lounge is a hard door, as the Gilded Lily states that they have the right to be selective, and that women must wear heels. You won’t see Average Joe wearing an “I Love New York” t-shirt in here; instead, the Gilded Lily consists of jetsetters, hedge fund honchos, models, and anyone in New York who is fashionable or rich.
Gilded Lily NYC 3. Chef’s Table Brooklyn Fare
AKA The One with Three Michelin Stars
200 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, NY (near Hoyt Street)
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare is the only three Michelin star-rated restaurant in Brooklyn. The 18-seat space is known for its 15-plus tasting menu spread over two hours. The menu is different every night to reflect what is most fresh at the time, and that’s perhaps why a lot of the Japanese cuisine here features mostly seafood, above all shellfish.
The price of the tasting menu is $306 per person plus tax (service fee included). That may seem like a lot, and yet the restaurant is always booked. If you want to get in, the Chef’s Table books reservations six weeks in advance, and yet you still might not be able to get a table. Who’s who in the food world is usually vying to get a table. Indeed, those three Michelin stars fill the house on a regular basis.
netty111 via Instagram4. The Polo Bar
AKA The One with the Country Club-Like Exclusivity
1 E 55th Street, New York, Manhattan (between 5th and Madison Avenues)
As soon as Ralph Lauren’s restaurant, The Polo Lounge, opened up, it became impossible to get a table, especially since it was crowded by high-powered business men and celebs almost every night. There are absolutely no walk-ins. You can’t even enter the restaurant if you don’t have a reservation. Don’t even try to slip in, either, as there are two bouncers standing outside the restaurant waiting to usher away those who don’t have one.
With its clubby feel—plaid pillows, jockey and horse portraits, mahogany paneling all around and leather banquettes—the restaurant looks like a trademark Ralph Lauren ad, as well as an extension of Lauren’s adjacent flagship department store. There’s American fare, but the reason you go to The Polo Bar is not necessarily to eat but rather to say you’ve been there. You also go to feel as if you have joined a country club, with polo mallets, saddles and helmets around the restaurant. We mean, it’s a fantasy land, but so are Ralph Lauren’s stores.
William F. via Yelp5. A Rent-Stabilized Apartment
AKA The One with the Cheapest Rents in Town
Literally nowhere
Hey, it’s true. These apartments are hard to come by because thousands of people each year are also looking for the same thing, making it a pretty exclusive group that ends up getting into one. But, even those who don’t get in still might get the last laugh—plenty of rent-stabilized spots are probably going to be a dump, anyway, not that we still won’t be jealous if you get one. The best bet of getting into one of these is to look for apartments in the outer boroughs—like Queens or Brooklyn or Harlem. Hands down, a rent-stabilized apartment is a place you’ll probably never get into while living in this city, but if you’re planning to move out of one soon, can you let us know ASAP?
Quick Meme6. Rao’s
AKA The One You Have No Chance in Hell of Getting Into
455 E 114th St, New York, (at Pleasant Avenue), East Harlem
Rao’s, the 119-year old, family-owned East Harlem institution, serves Italian fare and is known for being one of New York’s hardest places to get into—perhaps even harder than a teen to getting into Amherst or Bowdoin.
There are ten tables, and another reason why it’s impossible to snag a reservation is because regular visitors “own” tables. If you are lucky enough to have a table—a theoretical table, since there’s no chance in hell you’ll get one—you have to be prepared to fill it if you dont plan to go for the evening. Yep, even if you’re not eating there, when you have your own table at Rao’s the burden falls on you to fully book it up with friends, families, and business associates.
But hey, if you can’t find someone, you’re not asking the right person. Plenty of people are dying to get into Rao’s, and those who do score tables are the very rich, the CEOs of major companies and, above all, the very famous. Alternately, you can try to contact owner Frank Pellegrino well in advance about your table, but Pellegrino is hard to track down, and it’s a task that’s maybe even harder than getting a table. Customers who call Rao’s any time for a reservation will hear a message that the place is booked for the rest of the year, so there’s not a lot of hope of getting in. Celebs such as Tom Hanks, Sting, Donald Trump and Liza Minnelli often hang out at Rao’s. Oh, and if you’re able to get into Rao’s by some crazy turn of events, be sure to bring a lot of cash because the restaurant doesn’t take credit cards. And besides, the menu is expensive—it is frequented by the rich and famous, after all.
kaisiedaisie via InstagramThe post 6 Super Exclusive Places in New York City You’ll Probably Never Get Into appeared first on UpOut Blog.