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Like all of Keith McNally's creations (Lucky Strike, Odeon, Balthazar), Pravda was once the trendiest spot in town. But now, the hipper-than-thou have moved on to McNally's too-hot Schiller's Liquor Bar, while the 9-to-5ers descend upon his considerably cooled Pastis—leaving Pravda just right. The subterranean space is part French bistro, with red banquettes and supple club chairs, and part Russian bathhouse, with curved cement ceilings. Lamps designed to resemble Russian streetlights add to the Iron Curtain chic; but it's a trip to the bathroom, with its stainless-steel toilets and chicken wire separating the stalls, that really makes you feel like you're back in the U.S.S.R. — T Sahara Meer