The Waverly Inn, 16 Bank Street, New York

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter’s boîte is the most talked-about joint in town. It’s so exclusive that there’s no reservation number – you have to know someone who knows someone who knows him to get in. Or something. Still, it’s worth it. A recent diner reports: “On a random Thursday night, I spotted Mick Jagger, Sting, Nicole Kidman, the Olsen twins and Val Kilmer.” Needless to say, nobody’s paying attention to the food, but if you can tear yourself away from the slebs, the chic thing to order is the chicken pot pie or the Waverly burger. By far the nicest surprise will be the bill – you could probably get away with a $100 meal for two.

Morandi, 211 Waverly Place, New York

Keith McNally, the king of trendy New York grub – think zeitgeisty places such as Pastis, Schiller’s and Balthazar – is enchanting the fashion set with his new Italian. It is constantly packed, so book well ahead. The decor is super-rustic – tiny wooden tables, amazing chandeliers and walls lined with thatched bottles of Chianti. Again, the food’s not really the point, but if you must, go for the veal chop to start, the pork meatballs (chef Jody Williams’s signature dish) and then, to be as antifashion as humanly possible, the chocolate pudding.

Wakiya Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue, New York

Wakiya is a restaurant straight out of a Bret Easton Ellis novel – all straight, sexy lines, reds and blacks, a fashionable uptown crowd and, of course, the most delicious dim sum. What else might you expect from a place that’s got Nobu’s finest and Robert De Niro behind it? Start off with a watermelon cocktail in the Rose Bar – it’s a hip hang-out for models and hedge-funders – then progress to the restaurant and its peking duck. Hopefully your evening will not end as messily as Patrick Bateman’s.

E-mail your recommendations to monsieur.mangetout@sunday-times.co.uk

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