Vicky Ward, the British born investigative journalistclaims that members of Robin Birley’s clubs are “handpicked”. Ward expects members to welcome Maxime’s Britishness, because anyone who joins Maxime “wants to join the Robin Birley family”, she says.

London nightlife impresario Robin Birley, second from left, opens his Maxime’s on New York’s Upper East Side.

“These clubs are largely invitation only. Robin only invites people he would like to have in his own living room in London,” she adds.

Other clubs, like Soho House, born in London in 1995 and opened in Manhattan more than twenty years ago, are oriented more towards an American experience. “(Soho House) thought very, very carefully about the American and New York audiences and they thought very carefully about how to play along those lines,” notes Ward.

So Maxime’s and The Twenty Two aren’t exactly pioneers in this London-New York pipeline, but the latest influx comes at a time when some New Yorkers are looking for an upscale community in the post-Covid city, according to the mega -real estate agent Ryan Serhant. “I think New Yorkers really want English sophistication with a European flair,” he says. “I think it also helps bridge the gap a little bit between New York and London.”

Inside The Twenty Two, one of the members based in London

But as with American adaptations of British TV shows, slight adjustments are always needed to make everything work. Serhant said changes between outposts likely include dress code and members’ tastes in dining options.

Twenty Two’s New York location incorporates design choices distinct from the city, according to Michael Chetrit, one of Twenty Two’s principals. “London’s design is actually quite British and ornate,” he said. “In New York, we kind of went in a slightly more toned-down direction… but obviously with elements of a London property.”

Dining in New York is often less formal than in London. Birley has already said that a blazer “is the anchor around which everything revolves. Personally, I think men look better with a tie, even if I don’t wear it. Meanwhile, The Twenty Two in London “does not impose a formal dress code as we celebrate individuality”, according to its rules. However, they “actively discourage the wearing of athletic, sports or beach clothing.”

Some naysayers think the British clubs will blend in with New Yorkers, but that doesn’t worry Chetrit.

“New York is a very small city, but a very big city. There is room for many places to coexist and even complement each other,” says Chetrit. “I think our product stands out enough.”

A number of newcomers continue to join the coterie of clubs, such as the club supported by Gary Vaynerchuk. Fly fishing club and the Miami-Aspen-Paris hotspot Casa Tua. Manhattan’s club-pocalypse dates back to the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, when cooped-up residents craved anything social. In 2022, London locations like The Ned and Casa Cruz arrived as Olivier award-winning West End productions taking Broadway by storm.

Chez Margaux in New York isn’t from London, but the new members’ club, which houses a Jean-Georges restaurant and a nightclub, is inspired by the city’s best private venues.

Twenty Two, which opened two years ago in London, is opening in a former 19th-century women’s hotel in Union Square. Chetrit and his partners hired Michelin-starred sisters Jennifer and Nicole Vitagliano of Raf’s Bakery and Restaurant to curate the food and drinks, paying homage to the venue’s heritage. “It gives a different, more New York take on that specific property,” he says.

The building is 80,000 square feet and includes a hotel, a members-only dining room and a nightclub. For jet-setters 30 and older, membership means shelling out $2,000 a year, while twenty-somethings pay $1,200 a year (plus a $750 timeless initiation). “Our rates are lower than most member clubs and that’s a bit intentional on our part because we don’t want money to be strictly a deterrent for someone to apply,” says Chetrit.

Uptown, Birley reportedly signed a 20-year lease on Maxime’s 12,000-square-foot location at East 69th Street and Madison Avenue. Birley is also behind the exclusive 5 Hertford Street club, where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had their first date, and the ultra-exclusive Oswald’s, where Beyoncé and Jay-Z dined.

For some, belonging to member clubs is an extra toy they can brandish for the world to see – and the London provenance adds a patina of British cool. “Membership has its perks, as they say, and you somehow feel special and part of the elite, which is an intoxicating feeling, especially for those who are insecure,” says George Hahn , a Manhattanite. “Anyone who says they wouldn’t like to live like a James Bond movie is a liar.”

As these types of operations open up with the frequency of Blank Street Coffee establishments, it’s fair to wonder whether New York has reached peak private club business. Serhant doesn’t sense a slowdown, explaining that private clubs are “making offers and trying to negotiate deals with us.” He now has the listing for 281 Park Avenue South, the 45,000-square-foot property best known as where Anna Delvey hoped to open a private club. “I always thought it would make an incredible piece of hospitality,” he says of the venue.

And for those hoping to sample the affluent lifestyle, the first floor of Twenty Two houses a restaurant and public spaces open to all New Yorkers. “I think it puts us in this unique position of being able to welcome all these new faces and new customers on a daily basis through the public aspect,” Chetrit says. “If they’re more intrigued or curious about what’s going on above them, that draws them in as well.”

Andrew Zucker works at a production company in New York. His writings appeared in New York TimesTHE Financial TimesAnd air mail, among other publications.