"Ralph Lauren's clubby Midtown room — call ahead and dress sharp for the Polo Bar burger and one of New York's hardest tables."
The Polo Bar is Ralph Lauren's first New York restaurant, opened in 2015 beside his flagship on East 55th Street. It is exactly what you would expect from the designer: a leather-and-mahogany, equestrian-themed room downstairs that feels like a members' club, hung with saddlery and polo prints. The menu is seasonal American classics and Lauren's own favourites, and the door is guarded by a dress code and a phone-only booking line that make a table genuinely hard to get.
The food is comfort-luxe Americana done properly. The Polo Bar burger, around $35, is the order everyone makes; Ralph's corned beef sandwich, about $36, is the sleeper; and the bone-in ribeye and a caviar-and-potatoes starter cover the splurge. Steaks, chops and a few classics round out a menu that does not chase trends. With cocktails and the room factored in, a dinner sits in the $$$$ bracket. The cooking is reliable and generous rather than experimental — the point is the experience.
The downstairs dining room is the draw: dim, clubby and theatrically Ralph Lauren, with a bar upstairs for cocktails and lighter plates. The dress code is enforced — smart, elegant attire, no athleticwear, ripped jeans, hoodies or hats — and the crowd dresses for it. Service is polished and old-school. Reservations are taken by phone only, opening at 10am daily up to one month ahead by calendar date, so plan the call. Come for the setting as much as the steak.
For impressing a client, a milestone dinner or a date that wants a sense of occasion, The Polo Bar is Midtown's clubby set-piece: a Ralph Lauren room and classics done right. A natural client-impressing and anniversary table.
Not for a casual walk-in or a relaxed budget meal — The Polo Bar enforces a strict dress code, takes phone-only bookings and prices the room to match the scene.
The Polo Bar takes reservations by telephone only, on (212) 207-8562; the line opens at 10am daily and books up to one month ahead by calendar date.
The Polo Bar is at 1 East 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, beside the Ralph Lauren flagship, with the main dining room downstairs and a cocktail bar upstairs.
Smart, elegant attire is required; athleticwear, beachwear, T-shirts, hoodies, ripped jeans and hats are not permitted, and the code is enforced at the door.
Order the Polo Bar burger, around $35, or Ralph's corned beef sandwich, about $36; the bone-in ribeye and caviar with potatoes cover the splurge.
The Polo Bar is owned by designer Ralph Lauren and was his first New York restaurant, opened in 2015 next to his Fifth Avenue and 55th Street flagship.
Reservations by phone via The Polo Bar; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
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