Submercer On Our Radar

We’ve been using the word “bowels” lately to describe various cavernous venues. It’s not pleasant. That said, it’s an entirely appropriate way to describe Submercer, the new Mercer Hotel underbelly. One could get lost finding it: Enter unmarked doors at the side of the building, take a freight down a flight, open and close two sets of doors before venturing through a chilled wine cellar hallway, open another door, and there you are. And, last night, so were Mark Ronson and his designer sister Charlotte, Marisa Tomei, supermodel Hana Soukupova (she loves patterned wallpaper—more on that later), photographer Sante D’Orazio, designer Alex Wang, and “Gossip Girl” guy Ed Westwick.

On leather banquettes, under the comfort of dim lights and attentive cocktail waitresses, A-listers (ugh, but true) screamed at one another while Albert Hammond, Jr. tinkered on his laptop. We were there to celebrate the launch of Radar Entertainment’s new luxury fashion division, and—full disclosure—to peep Karl Lagerfeld dining next to Calvin Klein upstairs. And with its hideaway feel and celebrity appeal, this place might actually become the new Beatrice Inn.