Beauty & Essex Lounge

It might look like a dingy pawnshop on the outside, but this New York City storefront is hiding a grand secret. Hidden behind the wall covered in second-hand guitars, cases of antique jewelry, and moth eaten rugs, is one of the busiest bars on the lower east side. Beauty & Essex Lounge opened in 2011 behind the well staged 'Queen Pawn' facade. Its shabby blinking marquee and well-worn checkered floors have fooled more than one person, but it certainly hasn't stopped Beauty & Essex from becoming one of the most visited nightspots in all of the city. And if you can get past the shady-looking exterior, you'll know why. Once inside, you're surrounded by New York glamour at its best. Guests are taken through a door at the back of the pawnshop, and up an elaborate winding staircase and into a dining area lit with candles and an dramatic sky light in the center of the room. The entire restaurant has a mysterious feel, as if you've stumbled across a secret society in the middle of the city. Heck, they even have a woman in the bathroom pouring glasses of champagne for the ladies touching up their lipstick.