Celebrity Settings

Nello May Be in Trouble for $47,221 Bill Story

Photo: Patrick McMullan

Those recent wallet-busting lunch bills at Nello (Mikhail Prokhorov is said to have spent almost $19,000 and Jay-Z is said to have dropped $1,700) were small change compared to the $47,221 that Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich blew, according to a TMZ item that has now been removed. (“I’m not impressed. I’m happy,” Nello Balan told the Post. “The only thing that would impress me is a $1 million tab.”)

The flack for Abramovich’s London-based holding company now tells Cityfile that although Abramovich lunched at the restaurant on the day in question, he didn’t spend nearly that amount, and that the company is “in the process of investigating the origins of this inaccurate story, which we have been told was perpetuated by people connected to the restaurant.” Legal action may be taken, which just goes to show that you should be careful when you out celebs in your dining room.

For Nello’s sake, here’s hoping they weren’t the ones that tipped paparazzi off to Billy Joel’s recent lunch — video shows that the paps may have scared his date away! Anyway, below are this week’s non-Nello celebrity sightings.

Barney Greengrass: Harvey Keitel dined at the Upper West Side’s shrine to smoked salmon. [Gawker]

The Box: Jude Law made out with yet another chick. [Page Six/NYP ]

Cipriani Downtown: Big Love’s Jeanne Tripplehorn lunched at the swanky Soho Italian spot. [Gawker]

Ferrara: Al Pacino and Andrew Stein sipped espresso and ate cannoli at the Little Italy establishment. [Page Six/NYP ]

Kolache Mama: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger tried the sausage-filled pastries. [NYDN, Grub Street]

Le Relais de Venise: Nick Jonas ate a French meal with his family. [Gawker]

Rouge Tomate: Stephanie March, Judah Friedlander, Kevin Zegers, and Margaret Colin were among the guests at the Up in the Air premiere party. [Grub Street]

Sidecar: Eliot Spitzer lunched at the American restaurant above P.J. Clarke’s. [Page Six/NYP]

Southern Hospitality: World-champ baseball player Nick Swisher got some female attention at the BBQ joint. [NYDN]

Sweetiepie: Alexa Chung celebrated her 26th birthday on Wednesday with friends like Agyness Deyn and Tennessee Thomas. The birthday girl got a private room and ordered Champagne, cake, and ice cream. [Page Six/NYP]

Nello May Be in Trouble for $47,221 Bill Story