Didn’t expect Brooklyn to echo old Long Island’s highbrow fanciness, did you? Well, a place where ridiculous chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the bartender looks like a butler must be… expensive. And it is. But Clover club can give you a not-so-common feeling of a gentleman’s club. And I don’t mean that you won’t be served if you’re a woman, but that the antique furniture, lavish and dark wood dominated décor make you want to light up a cigar (which, of course, you’re not allowed to do) and drink scotch on the rocks like a kilt-wearing Edinburgh-an. Unfortunately, you might not get the chance of indulging in the latter, since the bar does not specialize in quality (nor even less- variety) liquors, but standard, mixed drinks, which leaves you with a very expensive glass of ice (advertised as pre-Prohibition drinks) instead of dreamy, gold label whiskey, or even moonshine.
One thing is sure—the top notch, colonial-style setting will give you a blue-blooded feeling and the crowd is far from wearing shorts and flip-flops. Clover Club attracts young professionals (obviously the more artsy types); and remains drama-free.
Granted, some of us don’t even know how to get to the other side of the East River (or either way beyond the self-sufficient island of Manhattan), but its worth learning some local geography, since Clover Club offers a feel that’s nothing like your neighborhood dive.