Leonardo DiCaprio gets cozy with NYC's power crowd while dining at city's most exclusive restaurant

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted breaking bread with political insiders and entertainment moguls in New York on Thursday.
The actor, 50, dined at Rao's the legendary, ten-table East Harlem Italian joint where landing a seat is tougher than scoring an Oscar.
According to Page Six, the A-lister sat down with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, who hosted the gathering.
DiCaprio's Wolf of Wall Street co-star Bo Dietl, ABC Radio's Sid Rosenberg, host of Sid and Friends in the Morning on 77WABC, New York's top-rated morning news talk show the actor's father George DiCaprio and his stepmother rounded out the party.
'Leo was extremely friendly and took a dozen photos with fans, and at least five video chats on FaceTime' with enthusiastic diners' friends and family members,' an Insider told Page Six.
While the Titanic star drew plenty of attention, it was Blakeman who showed up with the muscle.
'A lot of security was there, but not for Leo. There were five security detail people for Blakeman,' the source added.
During the hush-hush meal, guests reportedly overheard Blakeman pitching his vision to transform Nassau County into Hollywood East, citing the $533 million in economic impact generated by Grumman and Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, where scenes from Wolf of Wall Street were filmed.
Blakeman previously served as commissioner for the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, as well as a Nassau County legislator and Hempstead town councilman.
Leo kept it casual for the occasion and sported a black shirt, beige jacket and a baseball cap accessorized with a gold chain.
While the dinner was arranged through Murstein, even celebrities struggle to get through the door at Rao's.
The 125-year-old Harlem hotspot doesn't accept walk-ins or reservations, and there's virtually no way to contact the restaurant unless you have an 'in'.
The exclusivity is so extreme, one seat at Rao's recently hit $20,000 on the bidding site CharityBuzz.
Menu prices at the famed eatery start around $16, with their signature beef lasagna coming in at $36 and their top-tier steak reaching $70, not including the sauces or sides.
Other famous celebrities seen dining at Rao's include Al Pacino, Woody Allen, Frank Sinatra, Robert De Niro, Donald Trump, Pete Davidson, Kevin Costner, and Bethenny Frankel, among others.
The exclusivity is so extreme, one seat at Rao's recently hit $20,000 on the bidding site CharityBuzz (Pictured: Pete Davidson attending Rao's Restaurant pop-up in February 2025 in New Orleans)
While normally the preserve of the rich and famous, one man has managed to crack the code.
Nicky DiMaggio, is a professional reservationist who charges $500 to $1,000 to get clients into New York's most exclusive restaurants - including Rao's.
He first got into the restaurant at 17-years-old with help from a cousin and never looked back.
'I realized, if I walked through these doors, I could walk through any door,' he previouly told Daily Mail.
Demand grew so much that DiMaggio launched his own business based on insider connections and impossible bookings.
'The whole reservation thing is a science,' he said. 'People want what they can't have. [Restaurants] want you to want it more and be frustrated that you can't secure a reservation.'