Major Wood at 1Oak

1Oak adds a dose of swank and civility to the New York lounge scene.

1Oak -- we won’t make you guess -- stands for “one of a kind.” The owners of the new exclusive Manhattan nightspot sensed change in the air. Jeffrey Jah, Scott Sartiano, Richie Akiva and Ronnie Madra have set out to add a little refinement to the New York lounge scene. Akiva, who conceived 1Oak’s tastefully burnished space, explains, “I wanted to create what I felt had been missing in New York,” insisting the city needed “more warm, classy high-end lounges.”

A counterpoint to all the glitter and glam, 1Oak’s interior, where Akiva’s vision was carried out by creative director and artist Roy Nachum, exudes an old world charm. Nachum’s mysterious, hand-painted murals are complemented by neo-Louis XIV furniture, a curved wood ceiling and, Akiva’s favorite, a “bar that looks like a grand piano from afar.” Best of all, the VIP area boasts a crackling fireplace that just begs brandies and cigars. It’s a rare hotspot that’s more about reposing than posing. And as the late Yves Saint Laurent put it, “Isn’t elegance forgetting what one is wearing?”