How to Get Into New York’s Penny

Resy: When do reservations drop?

Sinzer: A week in advance at 9 a.m.

And how quickly are they filling up?

We only drop a limited number, as we’re primarily walk-ins and first come, first served. I would say everything besides the 10:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. slots go quite quickly.

What’s the percentage like for walk-in tables versus those that are reserved?

It changes on the day. The easiest kind of word to use for the percentage is “primarily.” It depends, every day, Monday through Friday. We change it depending on the demand.

Why did you decide to take reservations at all?

We wanted to ensure, in the beginning, a set number of guests, but not have reservations be the main driver. So, walk-ins can be the main driver of guest count, but we still wanted parties of four that wanted to be able to have a bit more advanced planning were still able to come here. Especially since it’s all bar seating, we [knew that would be important] for groups of four.

What are the prime, busiest times?

From 6:45 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., similar to most restaurants. That being said, there’s a line Monday through Friday right before 5 p.m. [when we open]. Then we try to be as democratic as possible and get everybody seated.

And do you use the Resy Notify feature?

For sure. Guests can absolutely use Resy Notify and we try our best to, again, be as accommodating as possible.

How long does that list usually get?

It’s pretty long. I would say certainly in the hundreds throughout the week, and then leaning toward more than that on Thursday and Friday.

Obviously, you have experience with a high-volume, busy, in-demand restaurant with Claud. What did you learn from that, and how are things different with Penny?

I mean, there’s no doubt that the idea of being walk-ins dominant is based on something we’re very grateful for, which is that Claud is busy. We never thought we’d be this completely booked out restaurant. We thought we’d have flexibility. We thought we’d be able to cater toward spontaneity. But it became a much more pre-planned destination, which is what the restaurant wanted, and we ran with it.

I think for Penny, it’s been very fun, because the word that we’ve used consistently is spontaneity. We wanted a place where you didn’t have to always pre-plan, so you were able to just walk in and check it out. How you manage that can be, of course, challenging. You know, if it’s a Friday at 5:30 p.m. and people have been waiting in line, if they can’t sit for a bit longer you have to show quite a bit of hospitality in that situation. And that’s what our job is, right?

Do you think Penny ever would have happened if it hadn’t been for Claud?

I guess for Joshua [Pinsky] and myself, it would be crazy to say it would have. The hope is that we learned a lot from the construction, the idea, the menu, building the wine list, everything at Claud. When a real estate opportunity came up, we handled it in a way that showed growth, and I think, positive reactionary forces toward what we were able to do at Claud. The space itself being above [Claud also] just shows the physicality of that.

Once people do get a seat, what’s the must-order?

I think you have to get an Ice Box, whether that’s the Ice Box or the Ice Box Plus — that’s a little bit of a larger, grander version. You’ve got to get stuffed squid and tuna carpaccio. Then, on the entrée side of things, I think the lobster that we do speaks really clearly to the narrative that we want, which is buying stuff and not messing it up. It’s grabbed live. It’s cooked for you in front of you, and just served with herbed brown butter. I think it’s spectacular.

And what about wine?

Something that we learned downstairs that I really think has helped us quite a bit up here [at Penny] is that when people want a spontaneous thing, they might pop in and have one quick, affordable glass of wine, versus a more pre-planned thing. You could come upstairs and have one beer or one $13 glass of wine and have a dozen oysters and leave. At Claud, you’re having a full meal, always.

We invested in the Suntory draft beer machine and tried to find things that were a little less daunting in terms of wine, that were easy. Especially in the time of 95-degree weather with 95% humidity, that was a big focus of the narrative. For me, the big change is that for the first time in 10 years, I’m not the guiding force of either list. Julia Schwartz runs the program downstairs [at Claud] and puts her spin on it, and Ellis Srubas-Giammanco does the list up here. Hopefully, I help them do a better job, but who knows if I’m ever doing that.

How many seats do you have at the counter?

31 seats.

Is there a favorite of yours?

There’s a skylight right above the pass that makes the two seats right there really special. It’s cool to sit in the middle of the bar; you’re able to really see the guys and all the glory of them doing millions of things in front of you.

I’d love it if you could set the scene for us. What’s it like during those prime-time moments?

I would like Penny to feel like a professionally coordinated party. There are people standing at the drink rail behind the first three seats, and we have a couple other rails where two to four guests stand and drink, so there are usually people behind you.

I’m also extremely OCD about music. It kind of comes from my days at [Momofuku] Ko. By that mid-time, you should have music playing at the highest it will play, that has the most pulse and drive to it. The hope is that the energy is high.

What’s the best piece of advice you could give to someone hoping to get a table?

A few reservations do go up at 9 a.m. a week out, so feel free to scoop those. If you’re interested in eating on the slightly earlier or later side, that is very much welcome. If you want to go the walk-in route, the easiest thing to do is to pop over here around 4:40 p.m. or 4:35 p.m., get in line, and we’ll always do our best to accommodate.

Anything else you want to add?

I’ve been super, super happy with the turnout, and how nice everyone’s been about this place — that they continue to want to come here. I’m very grateful.

Penny is open from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Resy, too.