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Former Bungalow 8 doorman Armin Amiri knows a thing or two about keeping people out, so it's no surprise that his first boîte is a bi-level throwback to Cuba's heyday. The airy upstairs lounge, where slowly spinning fans circulate the breeze entering through tall, wood-shuttered windows, reads 1940s Havana glamour even without the cigars (officially, anyway). As a nod to la patria, a Cuban band usurps the D.J. booth on Tuesdays. After 10 p.m., when a doorman serves as comandante, the grandfather clock is permanently stuck at party time as girls in pearls and satin dance near the antique bar, away from the cluster of leather couches. Unless you're amigos with investors Sting, Harvey Weinstein, and Giuseppe Cipriani, you'll be leveled a minimum tab for table service that may have you shouting "Down with capitalism!" as you munch on mini-Cuban sandwiches and other high-priced peasant food. — Daniel Maurer

If you can get into the upstairs lounge, you'll have no problem getting a table at the downstairs restaurant. Otherwise, email your reservation request to reservations@socialista.us.

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