sinclair's Review

I went to the Penthouse Club at 23:15 on a Thursday night. There was a $12 cover charge assessed at Penthouse’s anteroom bar that faces Iberville Street. In addition, I had to show my photo ID and vaccination card per New Orleans COVID-19 protocols. I think you are also supposed to wear a mask, but once inside the strip club, not a single patron inside was wearing one. Entertainers were required to wear masks only when they went up on stage. A Sincweiser was $8.25. I paid with a $20 bill and was only brought back $11 in change, so I guess the waitresses automatically tip themselves up to the nearest whole dollar. Import beers were $9.25. Well drinks were $10.25. Call drinks were $11.25. A bottle of water was $5. There is no kitchen. You get a wristband when you pay the cover, so you can duck out for food and come back into the strip club without having to pay the cover again.

There are two island stages with poles in the main room. A small third stage was in the middle of the bar on the left side of the room. There is also some kind of elevated space for bachelor parties and bottle service with an additional stage at the far back of the club. This area was completely empty during my visit despite the rest of the club being packed to capacity. There is a bar on the left side of the room, a smaller bar on the right side of the room, and a beer kiosk closer to the entrance. The junior suites and executive suites have balconies that overlook the stages on the main floor. There are lighted globes that rise and drop from the ceiling at the back half of the room. I had not been to the New Orleans Penthouse Club in a decade, so the layout was partially remodeled from my days of being a semi-regular back in 2010 and 2011.

Dancers strip down to topless. Dancers would first dance on the back stage, then move to the central stage, and finally finish their rotation on the small bar stage. The Penthouse Club is what you call a 7-Up factory. Virtually, all of the dancers were 7’s or higher in looks. Hiring standards are high. Overweight dancers are not hired. Drug users are not hired. The number of black dancers per shift is limited, and it seems only lighter skinned black dancers are hired. This club used to be strict on tattoos fifteen years ago, where excessive ink or prison-quality tattoos would keep dancers from getting hired, but I think they have loosened up in that area. Some of the dancers here have attitudes because they know they are hot and are constantly being validated by men. Don’t be surprised if they demand tips or pad prices when getting private dances and suites.