…and it’s not recommended in the Wine Room at Philip Marie (glass door), however the Pinot Noir is pretty orgasmic. The “Wine Room” is a private tiny wine cellar with dinning for two tucked away downstairs at this West Village landmark. The cellar was first discovered as a coat-check room but behind a wall revealed a secret space with a trap door leading to a series of subterranean tunnels used as a Speakeasy in the 1920’s! This puts Benihana, and their flying shrimp to shame.
Gothamist visited Philip Marie this weekend to get an up-close peek of this unique dinning experience and hopefully get some good gossip on what does down in the “Wine Room”. As we walked down the narrow staircase that leads to the “Wine Room” our anticipation grew…although we made a mental note to limit our wine intake to only a couple of glasses because getting up this staircase sloshed would be impossible. The room is quite small and intimate with bottles of wine surrounding you on all sides. Behind an iron gate are bottles of champagne and the secret trap door. Unfortunately, they don’t allow guests to go down through the subterranean tunnels, not even if you ask really nicely.
Aside from the mysterious and romantic space, what truly makes this dining experience special is the five-course meal with wine pairings. The Chef, John P. Greco III, will offer suggestions to create a customized meal to suit your exact tastes. Two specialties of the house are the Grilled Whole Branzino stuffed with fresh herbs that could be paired with the Pinot Noir from Oregon and the Filet Mignon of Wild Boar wrapped in Pancetta paired with a Shiraz/Cabernet blend from Australia. (Yes, we had to wipe the drool from the keyboard too).
The total cost for this private dining experience for two is $225.75, which includes tax and tip. If you want to splurge from their reserve wine list you can add some top-notch wines to your meal like the Tignaniello Super Tuscan by Antinori, Grange Shiraz by Penfolds or a bottle or two of Chateaeu Latour.
Now, The New York Times has covered the story about the secret trap door and that might not be new news for some, however the inside scoop that we got is that The Man, The Myth, The Legend – Prince, has dined in the “Wine Room” at Philip Marie. As the saying that we use around here at Gothamist goes, “If it’s good enough for Prince, it’s good enough for us.”
Philip Marie
569 Hudson Street (at W 11th St.)
New York, NY, 10014
Tel: (212) 242-6200
