Fodor's Expert Review The Auction House

The Victorian-style lounge brings a touch of downtown chic to the sometimes suburban-feeling UES with candlelit tables, high tin ceilings, and velvet couches. Rap and hip-hop fans should look elsewhere (and no baseball caps or real fur are allowed), as the only tunes coming out of this joint are usually alternative and rock. If you find yourself downtown on the Lower East Side, check out its sister bar, a speakeasy called The Back Room, once frequented by gangsters like Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky.