Peek Inside The Polo Bar, Ralph Lauren's Stunning, Handsome New Restaurant
If the American heritage-wear that made Ralph Lauren famous could become a total experience beyond clothing, it would be his new restaurant, The Polo Bar, located just off of Fifth Avenue in New York. When you step through the restaurant's doors, you're transported instantly into the mind of the designer, and sucked into a completely immersive experience adorned with more horse paintings than we ever thought possible, with mahogany paneling on the ceilings, all tartan everything, and the low-lighting and deep greens that make any dining room feel like it's been there for decades. By the time we started sipping our Old-Fashioned and dipping French fries in ketchup cradled in tiny sterling buckets, we considered ourselves wooed, and started strategizing how to make all of our kitchen and dining endeavors perfect experiences that look—and feel—as good as The Polo Bar does. This is how it's done.
The Polo Bar1/12Go Heavy on the Horses
According to our waiter, a whopping 368 horses fill the place. They occupy the frames of paintings and photographs, or are represented in strategically-placed scuptures throughout the dining room. The paintings are realistic but through sepia-colored glasses, as if an artist painted a cousin out for a ride around grounds just a few hours ago. Or, more likely, a few decades ago.
The Polo Bar2/12Consistency is Key
At no point at The Polo Bar does it feel like you're anywhere except in a Ralph Lauren fantasy. But that's the idea, and it's executed to perfection, thanks to a remarkably coherent color scheme grounded in deep browns (driven home by the mahogany paneling on the ceiling) and deep greens that cover the walls. The ultimate kitchen and dining room design tip then? Pick one theme and fully commit to it. As an example, even if The Polo Bar designers dug nautical blues and whites, those colors and any accompanying anchor-shapes, would be immediately nixed for fear of looking wildly out of place in this sultry lair.
The Polo Bar3/12All Leather and Tartan Everything
You can never have too much leather at The Polo Bar, where all seats are upholstered in buttery, caramel-colors. The leather isn't an exact match to the ceiling, which prevents it from being matchy-matchy. But maintaining the browns throughout creates cohesiveness in the space, and makes you forget what time it is as you relax into the environment built around you. To go with all that brown, keep the colors dark, but never use black. Instead, opt for dark green or navy accents, such as tartan napkins and pillows to create a kick-back-on-an-armchair-with-a-scotch-by-the-fire vibe.
The Polo Bar4/12Dig Your Sporting Gear Out of Storage
To really get the full Ralph Lauren vibe, you'll want to dig any vintage-looking sporting gear out of storage. Have equestrian gear lying around? Hang it on the wall. That croquet set you bought to seem fancy at your next cookout? Hang the mallets on the wall, too. As for any horse-riding saddles, bits, and wooden racquets, they all double as artwork that add texture and dimension to the walls they decorate.
The Polo Bar5/12Let the Lights Down Low
Lighting is everything in a space made this dark by so much wood and so few windows. The key to making a subterranean space—a basement, really—not seem like a dungeon is to vary the lighting, from overhead lights to sconces and lamps, and keep it in soft yellow-white tones. Even the picture frames had their own lamps.
The Polo Bar6/12Never Too Many Pillows
A meal is only so comfortable as the place where you eat it. And The Polo Bar is upholstered in cushy leather benches and dotted with fluffy pillows throughout. To keep with the dark greens, browns, and mahogany color scheme of the subterranean restaurant, classic green-navy-red tartan printed pillows keeps the restaurant's aesthetic from veering off course.
The Polo Bar7/12Dishware to Match
The Polo Bar makes sure to use two sets of dishes for the meal: the dinner plates and the chargers. It's a table-setting that sets the tone for the meal before the food even arrives. In keeping with theme, the chargers underneath are blue-green tartan, matching the pillows and the general color scheme.
The Polo Bar8/12Eat Like a Lauren
If you're modeling your home like you're at The Polo Bar, it's pretty much a given you'll need to eat like it too. First step: Perfect your iceberg wedge. And make sure that you go for the gold with extra thick-cut bacon. Second: Make the Double RL Burger, which may be the best darn burger of your life. Third: Have a brownie à la mode the way you did when you were a kid. Try Nana's best-ever brownies.
The Polo Bar12/12Make Your Glasses and Stirrers Count
The Polo Bar knows that the devil's in the details. The Polo Bar takes this seriously, and even the ketchup to dip French fries is served in tiny sterling buckets. So, when you're served a pricey Old-Fashioned or an old-school Blood & Sand, you want the gear that holds it to look as good as the drink tastes. That's where the raised etchings of polo players on the Garrett DOF Glass Set and the simple, yet on-brand, polo mallets-combo-stirrers come in.
