THE JOURNAL

Photograph by Mr Tim Clinch. Courtesy of Chiltern Firehouse
The most illustrious celebrity haunts in Hollywood and beyond.
If paparazzi shots are anything to go by, the only activity in which famous people ever engage is leaving gyms and restaurants. Which makes sense, because celebrities, like the rest of us, need food, and then, unlike us, have a professional requirement to transform that food into perfectly toned muscle and glowing skin. If you live in a major city, or a not-so-major city that resembles a major city on film – we’re looking at you, Toronto – a restaurant with five stars is a likely place to run into a sixth. If you’re the sort who likes to rub shoulders with the Hollywood elite, here’s where you should try and book a table.


Photograph by Ms Stephanie Eichman for MR PORTER
Waverly Inn
A decade after Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Mr Graydon Carter opened his restaurant, the cosy West Village spot, with its mural by Mr Edward Sorel and famous (sometimes off-menu, but you can still order it) truffled macaroni and cheese (a rich $85), remains a venerable go-to for the who’s who. Recently, its leather banquets have welcomed Msses Taylor Swift, Cara Delevingne, Jennifer Lawrence, Adele and Mr Liam Hemsworth. One celeb unlikely to darken the Waverly’s doors? The US president. The restaurant proudly and playfully displays the following atop its menu: “‘Waverly Inn – worst food in the city’ Donald Trump”. President Trump and Mr Carter have an amusing on-going spat which is well worth a google.

Photograph courtesy of The Polo Bar
The Polo Bar
Uptown is on the up-and-up again, thanks to this newly hallowed haunt from the elder statesman of American fashion, Mr Ralph Lauren. It’s famously difficult to score a tan leather seat at the clubby wood-panelled waspy wonderland. (Horse paintings adorn the walls, and the delightfully 1980s menu is made to be read with Locust Valley lockjaw: crab cakes, iceberg wedge, shrimp cocktail, filet mignon.) The last time MR PORTER dined there we saw Mssrs Leonardo DiCaprio, Woody Allen and Sting – all at different tables, all on the same night. You’re pretty much guaranteed at least three A-listers per booking.


Photograph by Ms Sierra Prescott. Courtesy of Bestia
Bestia
Husband-and-wife chefs Mr Ori Menashe and Ms Genevieve Gergis’ clean, airy space in the formerly industrial part of town (it now brims with the people who collect contemporary art, as opposed to those who make it) pairs perfectly with a rustic Italian menu: veal tartare crostini, stinging nettle raviolo, clam pizza with burrata. Be warned, it’s easier to get on the new Star Wars set than Bestia’s reservation list. Unless you’re famous.
**(Attempt) booking a table with the help of MR PORTER’s Style Council **

Photograph by Mr Art Gray. Courtesy of Gjelina
Gjelina
At the intersection of healthy and sumptuous, you find Gjelina, Mr Travis Lett’s cosy testament to California cuisine, nestled into a modern rectangle of wood and glass on a most chill corner in Venice Beach. Featuring wood-roasted beets and seared local squid, it’s completely understandable why Mr Lett’s Gjelina cookbook is a sensation, and why fit folks like Beyoncé, Jay Z, Ms Reese Witherspoon and Mr Tom Cruise can’t stay away from the restaurant.


Photograph by Mr Tim Clinch. Courtesy of Chiltern Firehouse
Chiltern Firehouse
A celebrity rookery. A den of fame. A habitat of who’s who. While the old money folks stick to Annabel’s and The Ivy (which is celebrating its 100th birthday this week incidentally), and the media darlings look to Soho House’s various London properties, the celebs have affixed their gaze firmly on Mr Andre Balazs’s neo-gothic boutique hotel and restaurant, set in a former fire station in Marleybone. The elegant marble bar and half-moon booths play host to a dozen different celebs every night. It feels like Ms Kate Moss practically lives there. Ditto Mr Harry Styles. The paparazzi camp out every night.
**Book your table with help from MR PORTER’s Style Council **


Photograph courtesy of Byblos
Byblos
Toronto gets celebrity-crazy each September, when the Toronto International Film Festival brings anyone who’s ever dreamed of an Oscar to town, but so much is filmed in the city that it is in fact a year-round destination for actors. Again Soho House is a hotspot, but if you’re not a member your best bet is Byblos in the historic Storys Building on King Street. Mr John Travolta has eaten the restaurant’s lamb ribs (served with a crust of dukkah and molasses), while others who’ve enjoyed the creative mood-lighting and colourful clay plates recently include Common, Mr Richard Gere, Ms Sarah Silverman and Mr Jude Law.
STAR STRUCK
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