My few moments of sobriety at Capitale were spent staring slack-jawed at the beautiful architecture of this old bank. The craftsmanship put into the ornate vaulted ceiling alone makes your modern-day Chase or Citibank feel like somewhere you’d never want to put your money. It’s nice to see that somebody actually kept this structure around and didn’t tear it down to put up another Korean fish market or a Blimpie. I’m honestly not sure how the owners of this place are using the space, but I went there for a private party. The first cool thing is that the coat check is in what used to be the vault. The main space is multi-leveled, with several bars spread around the large room. The place is really cool looking–so much so it inspired me to dance like the stupid white-boy that I am. The music was pumpin’, the crowd was jumpin’, and the booze was flowin’. Basically, if you have a chance to go here (especially if it’s for a party where the booze is free), I’d go just for the spectacle of it all. [MF]
130 Bowery (bet. Grand & Broome St.)
212/334-5500 capitaleny.com