Oh my. What a disaster.
I was on a date one night, and happened to pass Vendome. It was about 9pm, and we fancied a cocktail.
We entered the club (which seemed very quiet), and inquired if it was, in fact open. We were told it was, and proceeded downstairs to the bar/dancefloor.
Imagine Miami Vice meets Brighton Beach meets your worst LSD trip. The place was filled with plexiglass, rope lighting, large inflateable furniture, clear floor, I mean, it could have been buried as a time capsule, and told people in the future so much about life in the 70's.
That would have been pretty cool if there was some sense of irony thrown into the mix, but, alas, these people seem to think this is really happening today!
Despite all this, my date and I settled into a bright red banquette in this empty cruise ship disco, enjoying each other's company. A man who identified himself as "Johnny," the General Manager walked up to us 5 minutes later, and asked what we were doing there. Believing honesty to be the best policy, we replied, "Having a drink."
"Who let you in!?" he demanded.
"Someone upstairs." (You see, we had not yet read the club's bios, so we couldn't attach a name to the face who had cordially invited us in.)
"Point him out! I'll fire him!"
"Well, I don't think I'll do that. But why are you so angry, Johnny?"
"The club isn't open yet!"
"Well, we didn't sneak in here. We were invited in. When does the club open?"
"In 15 minutes."
"Ah. Small wonder, then, that you'd be so upset with an attractive couple, minding their own business, buying over-priced drinks. I guess in tough economic times like this, it's better to antagonize potentially great new patrons."
You get the drift, I think. Soon, he called his crack Security Team (a very short guy from Eastern Europe, I'd guess) to escort us out.
So, you ask, what did I think of Vendome? Well, if you must go, don't show up early. read more