Mister H Club / Lounge

SoHo, New York –

Although a neon sign by the bar clearly states that “this is not a brothel – there are no prostitutes at this address,” first-time visitors to Mister H could be forgiven for thinking this opium-den-meets-swanky-lounge might still offer a little ill repute.

The venue’s location in the luxurious Mondrian Soho doesn’t give hotel guests any extra privileges, so come 11pm they join the Hoboken hipsters, trendy Euro girls, artists, and indie fashion types lined up at the glass alcove entrance before the doors open.

The sultry red space has been styled to resemble a Shanghai speakeasy, complete with taxidermy birds, dangling birdcages, beaded curtains, Persian rugs, Chinese newspapers, and a hodgepodge of other items the owner reportedly collected after Googling “things you’d find in a brothel.”

Guests typically spend the first half of the evening sipping themed specialty drinks like the gin and agave Jasmine Pearl as they relax on sumptuous red velvet couches and beds, while fashionistas clack across the teal and white tiles in impossibly high stilettos and somehow manage to not spill a drop.

After 1:30am, a DJ really gets the crowd going, often aided by a tattooed house dancer who makes impressive use of a stripper pole to entice everyone to their feet.

Though it doesn’t match the über-elite status of the top New York clubs, Mister H still attracts a cool clientele too relaxed on those comfy couches to care.