A lot of people feel that themed restaurants can be a bit of a tourist trap. Some of them don’t live up to the hype. But there is one themed restaurant that I have revisited quite a few times, as a native New Yorker no less. It’s the Jekyll & Hyde Club.
Jekyll & Hyde isn’t just a place to visit for Halloween. It’s an incredibly fun experience all year round and very much worth seeing at least once. Sometimes there is a wait outside along the sidewalk as they do not take reservations except for parties. The wait is never more than about 20 minutes, and usually never as long as they say. What I truly love is that if you choose to visit in the winter and have the misfortune of waiting outside, they provide you with free hot chocolate to keep you warm.
You can only enter in groups of about 10 or 15 because there is an opening scene, shall we say, when you first enter, introducing you to the restaurant. I won’t give anything away, but I will say if you have small children they might be a little frightened.
When you finally get into the restaurant, it’s rather large. Four whole floors are themed differently to create a haunted mansion effect. There’s the grand salon, the library, the laboratory and the attic. I’ve had the experience of sitting in all but the attic, and the grand salon is the best place to be for the live entertainment. However no matter what floor you are on, they have televisions everywhere so you can see what’s going on if you don’t have a good view.
What’s really cool is that on each floor are interactive characters like Tobias Bloodworth, a mounted talking wolf head, or a statue of Zeus that pokes fun at customers. The best attraction though is a Fang the Gargoyle who sits on top of an elevator and likes to make grand entrances and great jokes. The staff encourages you to get up and take a look at all the floors while you wait for your food.
As all that is going on, you also have some live actors walking around playing different roles like the butler (my personal favorite) or the mad scientist. They’ll come by your table to talk for a bit and keep things lively. The actors are very good at what they do and really set the scene well. The more you interact with them, the more they will with you.
To be honest, the food isn’t the most amazing I’ve ever had. It’s true that themed restaurants tend to be more about the atmosphere and less about the cuisine. The best bet is to stick with the sandwiches or burgers (their California chicken melt is quite good) but stay away from the fish. One of my friends had the shrimp and said it seemed a bit rubbery.
They are a bit pricey but it’s to be expected considering their location in midtown and how popular they are. The one downside is that they do actually charge you an entertainment fee of about $5. I don’t really believe that is needed.
It’s definitely worth it to experience it once, if you are in town for a while or a local who hasn’t yet checked it out. Personally, I’ve found it worth going to five times now and cannot wait to make another trip.
Jekyll & Hyde is located on 6th avenue, between 57th and 58th street.
