The Algonquin Lounge

Legendary literary lair

For years the lobby lounge of the Algonquin Hotel has been the quintessential spot for a soigné midtown rendezvous. Whatever the hour, lights are low and it’s cocktail time. Despite its spaciousness, the elegant room’s tasteful placement of upholstered settees, armchairs, and softly shaded lamps encourages comfortable, even intimate, conversation. Beneath potted palms and tall mahogany columns, tuckedaway corners offer privacy for discreet tête-à-têtes.

Conversation is what the Algonquin is most famous for. In the 1920s it’s where that infamous group of about a dozen sharp-tongued, witty writers and theater people met for lunch every day for nearly a decade to trade ideas, banter, gossip, and generally outdo one another’s clever quips. They called themselves the Vicious Circle. But when a Brooklyn Eagle editorial cartoonist caricatured them clad in suits of armor and redubbed them the Round Table, it stuck. This mutual admiration society was the cream of New York’s literati: critics, columnists, playwrights, and authors, whose charter members included Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman, Alexander Woollcott, and New Yorker magazine founder Harold Ross. A colorful mural in the lobby immortalizes the group, and these celebrated ghosts remain in residence to this day.

Though major renovations and updates have been made by various owners since the hotel opened its doors in 1902, the lounge’s unique character endures. Wifi throughout encourages the bon mots of bloggers and tweeters, today’s online quipsters. The location, steps away from Broadway theaters, is a perfect place to meet a companion before a show or nurse a nightcap after. Immerse yourselves in old-world ambiance and sip the signature Algonquin Cocktail: rye whiskey, dry vermouth, and pineapple juice. Order a Dorothy Parker mini-burger from the bar menu – she surely would have had a good laugh at that.

Address 59 West 44th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas), New York 10036, +1 212.840.6800, www.algonquinhotel.com | Getting there Subway: 42 St-Bryant Pk (B, D, F, M), Grand Central-42 St (4, 5, 6, S), Times Sq-42 St (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R); bus: M 1, M 2, M 3, M 4, M 5, M 7, M 20, M 42 | Tip Nearby, same-day discount theater tickets (up to 50% off) for many shows are available at the Times Square TKTS booth.