BROWN????? Ugh.

There are many upscale restaurants that will let you in wearing jeans, however, they will seat you either by the bar, by the door, or near the kitchen. You also have a better chance at getting by in jeans if you eat really early, 5:30 or so. Or, you could opt for one of the upscale restaurants that has a less expensive 'grill' on the premises or next door. For example-Nobu has Nobu Next Door-same food, easier to get in and more casual. Tabla has a more formal dining room upstairs and a Bread Bar with a more casual atmosphere downstairs. Same thing for Gramercy Tavern. All three restaurants would be considered upscale and neat, clean jeans with a collared shirt would be fine. I'd pass on sneakers though.

Ellen, Thank you for your civil and helpful response.

For heaven's sake...I have travelled all over the world including Paris, London, Sydney, Milan, Rome, Madrid and many more major centers including New York. For heavens sake...no restaurant will turn you away. They never know WHO you might be! Wear your jeans, wear your dockers, just do it! The person wearing the jeans pays the same as the person who wears the tux and phooey on maintaining the prestige of the restaurant! Nonsense...I am sick of the politically correct police telling me what to wear!

Well, puhleeze, some places in Manhattan will NOT let you if you're dressed inappropriately. Happened to me recently -- a friend came in from Boston and we went straight out to eat and we were turned away because he wasn't wearing a collared shirt.

I think most people's point is not political correctness or prestige, but simply not looking like an out-of-place idiot. But if that's how one wants to look, so be it.

How does how I choose to dress make me an idiot? If I am more comfortable walking around a major city in a pair of dockers and running shoes and am willing to pay thru the nose for lunch AND am well behaved..well, why am I an idiot?

You go gimme girl!!! Let's march on those hoity-toity restaurants that charge you $100 for an ok meal and another $100 for a bottle of wine you can buy in the wine shop for $25 and THEN tell you you're not appropriate to sit in their establishment! I don't get it - why do we put up with that!!!??

For what it's worth, I dined at Nobu -- not Nobu Next Door--on a Saturday night in October, at 9pm, and saw several diners wearing jeans, seated at good tables. No, I don't know how much the jeans cost, and no, I didn't recognize them as famous, though they may have been. I tend to agree that places loosely defined as "hip" or "young" will let you in in jeans; formal French places won't except under extraordinary circumstances.

Gimme: You're not an idiot when you do that. You simply show you have no class.

I just realized that my post wasn't entirely accurate... a few years ago, I dined at Cafe des Artistes with a friend whose luggage had been delayed and who joined me, therefore, in jeans. While several other diners were in evening gowns, my friend and I were seated well and treated graciously. Perhaps it's having a reservation that tips the scale...

Telling someone that "they simply show that they have no class" because they express their opinion...now THAT'S class.

I think that when traveling it is important to recognize the customs of other cultures and to try your best to participate and learn about the area rather than just showing up.

Just becuase you decide to change your style of dress doesn't mean that you're not "keepin it real".

In this case, it means that when you go out to a nice restaurant you should probably try to fit in and dress as a real Manhattanite would dress. This doesn't mean that you won't get service in jeans, nor does it mean that others think that they are superior in any way.

When I go to Paris, I dress accordingly. When I go to the Mid-East, I try to dress accordlingly. In the Caribbean it is often seen as very disrespectful to walk around town with short sleeved shirts, thus I comply.

I can't believe I'm going to respond, but here goes.

"gimme," I didn't call you an idiot. Let's review together. I said: "I think most people's point is not political correctness or prestige, but simply not looking like an out-of-place idiot."

It's a free country - you can choose to dress however you want, wherever you want. Doesn't make you an idiot, but you may LOOK like an idiot to the people around you. Any the maitre'd may not let you in the door - that's his/her choice as well. So you know what, gimme? You go for it! Enjoy!

If you are talking about upscale, like Le Bernadin, Le Cirque, etc, leave the jeans at home. In fact, leave the khaki's at home. A woman might be able to get away with jeans if they are the high-end designer original types and its an early seating. For men, you'll need a jacket.

A somewhat lower tier restaurant, may seat you if you are wearing jeans. However, if it is big enough, you'll be stuck in a section that is clearly "the tourist" area. I went to Shun Lee Palace recently with a few friends. I had just come from work and had on a nice pair of khaki's. That didn't rate the main dining room. The prior week, with clients and a suit, no problem with the grown-up room.

In porder to wear jeans to an uscale NYC restaurant,,,,you will need to be very famous.

I doubt that anyone would have a problem if David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Katie Couric, etc was wearing jeans at the table next to them.

But of course if David, Jerry or Katie did that, our friend "class" would say they had none???

You could probably find people in jeans in many upscale restaurants & they are not in the least bit famous. However, they may be regulars. We frequent an upscale steakhouse with business guests at least 6 times per month. So, if my husband & I decide to drop by on a Sat. night at 9 for dinner, & happen to be wearing jeans, we have no problem being seated.

Sometimes though, it is just out of respect for the ambience that the restaurant is trying to achieve that one should try to look ones best. For many people dining at upscale restaurants, it isn't just about the food.

So let me get this straight. If you are a Katie Couric or a George Clooney, a regular at a restaurant or a "hip" chic, you can dress like a slob, be accepted (heck, even be "cool") and have loads of class. If you're Joe Schmoo and do the same, you're an idiot, have no class and belong at Red Lobster. Duh?

Exactly

gaggag,

You really think that Katie Couric in jeans would look like a slob?

You think that some guy from Kansas wearing a 5 year old plaid suit from Sears and clip on tie would be "classier" than Katie in jeans?

Gee, I wonder which person the restaurant would prefer?