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The Chelsea Italian Tre Dici has a secret it wants you to know: Enter through the unassuming tenement adjacent to the restaurant, take the rickety elevator to the second floor, open the unmarked door at the end of the hallway, and you’ll find yourself in a clandestine bordello-themed steakhouse. Bathed in a dim red glow with red-fringed hanging lamps, velvet wallpaper, and cushy black leather chairs, Tre Dici Steak offers ample slabs of meat, and, as a nod to its parent downstairs, Italian specialties. Giant rounds of Kobe ravioli, stuffed with shredded beef and parmesan in a brown butter and black truffle sauce, meld the two genres. The bar in the back attracts the sort of Scotch-on-the-rocks types who opt for cuts of filet, hangar, or an impressive New York strip with a solid charred and grassy flavor. The juicy rack of lamb is even better. Meat arrives naked on the plate, so consider sides like the mashed potatoes over the watery mascarpone creamed spinach. For dessert, the famous Tre Dici crepe cake brought up from downstairs—complete with 20 cream-laced layers and caramelized bananas—survives the trip nicely. — Kathleen Squires

Rack of lamb, $31; New York strip steak, $33