New York City's Iconic 21 Club

Guarded by lawn jockeys on the balcony above its entrance the 21 Club was an iconic New York social and culinary landmark.

Speakeasy for the Rich and Famous

A former Prohibition speakeasy that was once a magnet for the rich, beautiful and powerful.

One of its signatures were the 37 statues of racing jockeys, donated by restaurant regulars,  the uniforms of many painted to match the winning jockeys of horses they owned.   The first of the signature jockeys outside the restaurant had been added in the 1930s,  donated by New York families such as the Vanderbilts and Mellons.

During Prohibition the premises staff had a system of camouflage doors, invisible chutes and revolving bars to protect the club from authorities.

As soon as a raid began, a system of levers was used to tip the shelves of the bar sweeping the liquor bottles through a chute and into the city sewers.

Formerly hidden by hanging meats and canned goods,  the secret wine cellar was behind a two and a half ton brick door, which opened into the basement of the building next door.

The Wine Cellar sheltered over 2,000 cases of wine for some of the most famous people in the world: JFK, Richard Nixon, Joan Crawford, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson, Gloria Vanderbilt, Mae West, Aristotle Onassis, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr,  Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Henry Kissinger, David Nevin, John Huston, Groucho Marx, Jackie Gleason, Audrey Hepburn, Luciano Pavarotti, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Helen Hayes, John Lennon, Yul Brynner, Henry Ford II and the Duke of Windsor.

Notable Customers

In 1931 Hemingway was caught having sex in a kitchen staircase with gangster Legs Diamond’s girlfriend (luckily Legs was gunned down before he could seek his promised retribution).

In 1954 Marilyn turned heads while drinking at the bar during a press party for “The Seven Year Itch”.

If Bogart was in town, he was at 21.   He arrived before they opened at a quarter to 12:00 every day.

When “old blue eyes” came to eat, he liked his table set with cottage cheese and hot bell peppers to easily pop in his mouth,  with a Jack Daniels.

The eccentric Salvador Dali was allowed to bring in his ocelot “Babu”.

This place just had that kind of vibe,  “It was a safe haven.  When you ate there, nobody got near you or asked for autographs.”

Food and Decor

Serving Contemporary American food, steaks, pasta, famous for its hamburgers and Caesar salads.

Look up in the bar room, and every inch is filled with sporting goods, toys and memorabilia donated by patrons.

There’s a model PT 109 torpedo boat from JFK,  a signed baseball bat from Willie Mays, an Air Force One replica from President Clinton, tennis rackets from Chris Evert and John McEnroe and even a golf club from Jack Nicholas.

Stogies

The club was a cigar lover’s sanctuary and it had its own private label cigars made in Cuba.

In 1962 just as Cuban cigars were about to be deemed contraband in the U.S., they bought 750,000 Havana stogies, stashed in a warehouse humidor for their best customers.

Back in the 1960s when 21 reigned as the city’s destination for food and booze– where men were made to wear jackets, slacks on women were verboten and  unescorted ladies we’re not allowed at the bar.

21 turned up in films “Sweet Smell of Success”,  “All About Eve” and “Wall Street”, which Charlie Sheen’s hapless Bud Fox eats the restaurant’s classic steak tartar soon after Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gecko admonished “lunch is for wimps”.

Prior to its closing on December 11th 2020, the club had been active for 90 years and had hosted almost every U.S. president since FDR.