Talk about one-stop shopping!
Brooklynites can satiate more than just a hunger for a bowl of spaghetti at Jaguars 3 — the multi-level, jungle-themed, Italian restaurant-slash-Vegas-style nightclub-slash-bikini bar that finally emerged in a cloud of dance-floor smoke on 47th Street near Second Avenue in Sunset Park.
It’s been a full year since we first reported on Vincent Faraci’s leopard-printed extravaganza — so were more than a little excited to finally receive an invite to the grand opening party. Appletinis! Aerialists! Dancing ladies! Meatballs! Life-sized stuffed zebras! Does it get any better?
Well welcome to the jungle, baby — trumpeting elephants and growling lions herald your passage as you ascend from the thatched and bambooed foyer to the massive, illuminated lounge and bar. Just try not to get cute when you order your drink (no bathtub gin cocktails or small-batch elderflower infusions here); the bartendress met our request for a signature tipple with a befuddled stare, then offered us a Cosmo or Sex on the Beach. And what about white wines?
“We have Pinot Grigio. Also, Pinot Grigio.”
Fair enough.
If you want to create a base for your booze, dinner is served until 3 am on a raised platform overlooking the dance floor. Although wildly expensive (appetizers range from $11-15, pastas from $18.50-$45, and entrees $21-$65) most of it is probably better than it needs to be. Accomplished chef Rocco Di Lullo (formerly of Hotel Cipriani in Venice), displays a particularly deft hand with fish — our table raved over the perfectly cooked calamari (both fried and braised with eggplant), baked clams, and sea bass in tomato sauce.
Of course, anything tastes better when the Soprano’s Paulie Walnuts and Big Ang from Mob Wives are at the next table.
“It’s like being an extra in a ’70s mafia movie, but in the best way possible,” observed a dinner companion. “I’ve never felt more like I lived in Brooklyn until now.”
Once you’ve danced and dined, gather your dollar bills and a dirty martini and head to the cabaret (ie: thong-clad babes getting athletic on poles). Feeling a little frisky yourself? The well-appointed bathrooms contain much of what you’ll need to continue the party at home —from blow pops to perfumes to mesh halter body stockings. You know, just in case you need a spare.
So perhaps Jaguars 3 isn’t destined to become your regular watering hole — or maybe it is, big baller — but whenever your pleasure runs to old-school Italian meals and no frills cocktails, or if your ready to rock a fresh blow-out and knee-high boots and hit the dance floor with the girls, or maybe just angling to get a half-nekkid look at them, well, you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere better in Brooklyn.
Jaguars 3 [225 47th St. between Second and Third avenues in Sunset Park, (347) 457-6544
