One of London’s most famous and exclusive clubs is opening a New York City outpost – poised to give a glam British jolt to the Big Apple’s growing world of members-only clubs, Side Dish can reveal.
Annabel’s owner Richard Caring is soon setting up shop at Hudson and West 13th streets in the Meatpacking District, sources exclusively told Side Dish.
He’ll call on an illustrious legacy that began when Mark Birley opened the original club’s doors in swinging London of the 1960s, naming it after his then-wife, Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
Located in the city’s posh Mayfair nabe, Annabel’s quickly became known for drawing aristocrats, celebs and wealthy people keen to avoid the public and the paparazzi.
The late Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson once went there disguised as cops, a few days before Ferguson got married to then-Prince Andrew. More recently, the club is known for its impressive staircase and a neon-pink bathroom so popular with preening members of the selfie generation that Annabel’s reportedly had to remind patrons of proper club attire.
In 2007, Birley sold the establishment to Caring, who went on to grow an empire that includes Sexy Fish in London and Miami. He was also once the majority shareholder of the Soho House Group.
In 2019, Caring sold a 25% stake in his company Caprice Holdings to an ex-prime minister of Qatar for around $277 million. He is reportedly in the process of negotiating a deal to sell a majority stake in his most famous assets — including Annabel’s, George, Harry’s Bar and Ivy Asia — to an investment firm controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family. A spokesperson for Caring declined to comment on those reports.
Details about the New York Annabel’s, to be located inside the former home of Dos Caminos, are scant so far, and the opening date is yet to be announced. Martin Brudnizki, who did the interior of Annabel’s in London and The Surrey in New York, is designing the club.
Annabel’s arrives in Manhattan as members-only clubs have mushroomed across the city. It will be on the same block as star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Chez Margeaux, which has drawn customers from New York Knicks players celebrating victories to stars like Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Soho House, the first big British private club to open in New York back in 2003, is nearby, too.
The Meatpacking District is gaining a rep for having less buttoned-up private clubs than Upper East Side counterparts like Maxime’s. Members there can’t book tables of more than four people who are all of the same sex – as my own ladies-who-lunch-and-do-dinner-together set recently learned, to our dismay.
Clubgoers may start to wonder whether the city has room for another members-only establishment.
“My only hesitation is time,” said a New Yorker who already has more than six private-club memberships, including at Aman, Maxime’s, Casa Cipriani, Soho House and Fasano.
“When you join these clubs, you are financially tied to them and you feel compelled to go there,” she added. “But I know my friends will join, so I will be going with them and inviting them to my clubs.”
The spread of members-only establishments has birthed a whole new form of club-hopping, in which friends take turns bringing their crew to places where they are members but their pals might not be.
Whereas people used to spend tens of thousands of dollars a night on bottle service, now they’re coughing up the cash for memberships, nightlife veteran Richie Romero observed.
“You will see more of this trend, especially in New York,” he predicted. “Rent is so high that if you can have members, you can build [profit-and-loss statements] that make sense. The amount of money they raise is crazy. That’s the model.”
Private-club memberships are based on a scarcity model that has replaced the velvet rope.
“If 20,000 people are on the waiting list and you make it in, the membership is even more valuable,” Romero said.
As more members-only spots like Annabel’s pop up, the club scene might become survival of the fittest.
“Everybody in every international hospitality group wants to do a private club in Manhattan,” said nightlife veteran turned restaurateur Stratis Morfogen.
“My prediction is that like everything else, the demand is overstated and that in the next few years there will be a shakedown, and only a few will survive. The rest will be out of business.”
We hear… .that Eastern Mediterranean cuisine is having a moment. Fresh off the opening of Soho hotspot Or’esh — helmed by Michelin-starred chef Nadav Greenberg, from Catch Hospitality’s Eugene Remm, of The Corner Store hit, comes Miami hotspot Motek, which is launching in the West Village at 184 Bleecker St. on April 14. The outpost follows last year’s first Motek in New York, in the Flatiron District. Williamsburg and Midtown openings will follow later this year.
Dear Margo just launched at Lexington Avenue and 70th Street. It’s from restaurateur Dean Pashalis, the owner of beloved Anassa Taverna, with additional outposts in Astoria and Battery Park. Dear Margo is named after Pashalis’ grandmother, whose name also means “Pearl” in Greek. Executive Chef Efraim “Efi” Naon, the culinary force behind Motek, as well as Barbounia and Taboon, has created a menu filled with small plates and shareable dishes including his freshly baked laffa bread, prepared to order in the eatery’s pizza oven, served alongside a variety of spreads and skewers of chicken, lamb and beef kofta. Meals end with complimentary frozen yogurt, served with seasonal toppings.
We hear… that an Upper West Side classic, Hi-Life Bar & Grill at 477 Amsterdam Ave., is celebrating its 35th anniversary later this month. Founded by Earl Geer, Hi-Life — famed for its retro neon sign — was inspired by the disappearing bar-and-grill culture of the 1930s and ’40s. Known for its Art Deco charm, neon glow, and unpretentious, comfy vibe, the eatery serves steaks, chops, seafood and sushi — along with flame-grilled burgers, raw bar selections, thick cut fries and weekend brunch. Think icy martinis, highballs, tropical “umbrella” drinks and rotating beer and wine selections. To celebrate its 35th year,
Hi-Life will offer $35 food-and-drink combos from April 20 to 23. Complimentary champagne cocktails will be served on the first day of the festivities April 20. Sometimes it’s comforting to know that no matter how much change life brings, some cozy spots remain the same. That alone is something to celebrate.
