Actor Michael Imperioli and wife Victoria Imperioli, an interior designer, transformed an underground Upper West Side spot into a sophisticated art deco bar with light bites.

The Scarlet Lounge experience starts before you even set foot in the door. As soon as your footwear touches the steps to its sunken entrance on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 83rd Street on Manhattan&rsquo;s Upper West Side, an employee&mdash;dressed fittingly in a sheeny black paisley <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/blazers-fashion-shopping">blazer</a>, a (scarlet) <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/how-to-style-red-this-fall-winter-parisian-french-style">red</a> shirt, and a black hat straight out of the 1920s&mdash;greets you excitedly. Is this a time machine?

Scarlet Lounge, owned by actor Michael Imperioli, his wife Victoria Imperioli, an interior designer, and restaurateur/manager Jeremy Wladis, is certainly going for an experience comparable to entering a time machine&mdash;one that comfortably transports you to peak Art Deco, with gentle reminders of the modern world. Plush velvet and graphic <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/shopping/solid-yellow-gold-jewelry-to-wear-everyday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gold</a> accents combined with a black and white print of the New York City skyline on the ceiling make you feel like the Empire State Building is being built 49 blocks south as you eat your cheese plate. Amidst it all is the Imperoli touch: a white Buddha sculpture in the back of the space (the Imperolis are practicing Buddhists). Bartenders and waitstaff embody the epitome of downtown cool in all black, further emphasized by a playlist featuring <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/jazz-bars-nyc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jazz</a> covers of 1980s hits including &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t You Forget About Me&rdquo; and &ldquo;Everybody Wants to Rule the World.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The Hell's Kitchen cocktail, all photos courtesy of Scarlet Lounge.

While Imperoli&mdash;who won an <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/2024-emmys-red-carpet-best-looks">Emmy</a> for his performance as the volatile but lovable Christopher Moltisanti on HBO&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/dakota-johnson-psychics-the-sopranos-popsicles-in-the-bath">The Sopranos</a>&mdash;allows his fame to be a part of the lounge, it's anecdotal, not central. <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/hot-christmas-cocktails-eggnog-irish-coffee-tom-and-jerry">Cocktails</a> get their names from a variety of sources. Strawberry Fields is a nod to the lounge&rsquo;s proximity to the Central Park landmark honoring John Lennon. The <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/the-white-lotus-season-3-details-hbo-cast-trailer-premiere-date">White Lotus</a> cocktail has an obvious source: Imperoli starred in season two of the HBO series of the same name. Every so often, a fog appears from behind the Scarlet Lounge bar that fills the cozy space with a comforting scent. A bartender explains that it&rsquo;s the cherrywood smoke in the Smoked Boulevardier cocktail, one of the lounge&rsquo;s most popular drinks. The menu features small plates, including a mushroom and goat cheese tart: mushrooms cooked al dente, with goat cheese that swims in and around it. Another highlight are the truffle fries. It&rsquo;s fair to say that, regardless of quality, truffle fries are always good, but these pack a pleasant punch and are presented in the ideal french fry form: slim, tall, and crisp.

The Scarlet Letter cocktail, all photos courtesy of Scarlet Lounge.

The true visionary behind the lounge is Victoria.

For 40 years, the space that the Scarlet Lounge now occupies was a check cashing place. &ldquo;The true visionary behind the lounge is Victoria,&rdquo; Wladis tells L&rsquo;OFFICIEL. &ldquo;She built it, decorated it with her own hands, and even built the furniture. I tell Michael all the time, she's the real talent in the family. And he says, I know." Despite starring in An Enemy of the People on <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/art/must-see-broadway-shows-of-2024">Broadway</a> opposite <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/celebrities-on-broadway-right-now">Jeremy Strong </a>and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/victoria-pedretti-broadway-debut-enemy-of-the-people-interview-2024">Victoria Pedretti</a>, Imperioli still makes time for Scarlet, where he&rsquo;ll talk to &ldquo;any human,&rdquo; according to Wladis. &ldquo;He'll come in and start busing tables.&rdquo;
"Victoria and I are thrilled to be bringing to the Upper West Side the distinctive vibe and mood&nbsp; that made our previous lounge Ciel Rouge [a French Old World cocktail lounge in Chelsea the couple owned in the early 2000s] so beloved by the denizens of downtown New York. Scarlet offers an elegant and transportive atmosphere&hellip; and a certain magic that only Victoria can create,&rdquo; Imperioli tells L&rsquo;OFFICIEL.&nbsp;

Michael Imperioli behind the bar, all photos courtesy of Scarlet Lounge.

Scarlet offers an elegant and transportive atmosphere&hellip; and a certain magic that only Victoria can create.

In a time when snagging a reservation in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/suri-cruise-now-outfits-style-inspiration-vintage-joey-potter-dawsons-creek-katie-holmes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> is as arduous as buying a pop star&rsquo;s stadium concert ticket, Scarlet Lounge vitally takes no reservations, hoping to draw in a sophisticated crowd eager for an intimate, plugged-out experience.

Scarlet Lounge Transports You to the 20th Century

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