It is no secret that New York City is home to some pretty iconic bars, the speakeasy for one coming a long way from the times of prohibition and bathtub gins. In the past year alone, NYC has become a home to the enticing and sultry underground world of speakeasies. Shake up (or stir, if you please) our round-up featuring some of the new kids on the block, if you can find the hidden entrance that is.
Updated 4/24/23
Nothing Really Matters
Midtown (50th St – 1 Station)
Completely underground and “hidden” in a subway station, this bar’s Instagram has its coordinates out for all to see. It can be a bit hard to find, with only some light hints of music to guide you, but once inside, you will see they’re known for their incredibly cool cocktails, including signature espresso martinis and discotheque decor. Even their bathroom is bedazzled! Maybe nothing really matters, but isn’t that all the more reason to sip creative cocktails until dawn?
The Cactus Shop
Williamsburg
You will have to walk through, you guessed it, a catus shop before making it to this Mexican speakeasy. After checking in with a hostess you can look forward to a varied menu of tacos, margs, and a chill vibe; this place has all the makings of a great taqueria.
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➡️ Made with Gran Centenario Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice, Grapefruit Soda, and Hibiscus Salt. One per person through June 30th, 2023 (excluding weekends). No additional purchase required. Valued at $16. Please don’t forget to tip your bartenders!
The Woo Woo
Times Square
Neon lights, graffiti, flaming cocktails, and great eats—is there any better mix? This newbie to Times Square has certainly not kept a low profile, but rather came crashing in with a bang. Topping the list of many new hotspot lists when it first arrived on the scene, The Woo Woo, which is hidden below the restaurant, The Mean Fiddler is clearly a frontrunner for your next night out.
99 Franklin
Greenpoint
Pegged “espresso bar by day, speakeasy by night,” this new bar is about to become a hot winter locale. Beyond the front facades which houses a functioning coffee spot, lies an old-school speakeasy that oozes with prohibition-era charm. They even have an outdoor area stacked with heat lamps, on top of some pretty bomb espresso martinis and flaming shots.
Adelaide’s Salon
Chelsea
Hidden below Loulou’s and behind a Coca-Cola vending machine door, experience the magic of Adelaids’s Prohibition-era Speakeasy, perfumery, and apothecary, a place that attracts the open-minded and the curious. Their menu features unique experiential cocktails & light bites curated with ingredients that focus on achieving one’s health and wellness.
Keys & Heels
Upper East Side
Located conveniently behind locksmith and shoe repair shop, Key & Heels. The speakeasy beneath the surface houses what can only be described as a coffee shop meets disco, featuring brick walls and vining plants surrounding a featured disco ball. Cue the creative cocktail names!
Discolo
Chelsea
Discolo truly knows how to keep a low profile. The new backdoor bar only boasts classy yet comical figurines on its page. But a look at their patron’s nights out, you get a clear sense of their appeal. The light show on the ceiling is reason enough for at least one visit, not to mention their clean and sleek cocktails.
Coby Club
Chelsea
Have you ever wanted to visit an old-school-style jazz club? There are many jazz spots in the city, but none that capture that charm you see in movies quite the same as Coby Club. The smooth behind-the-curtain locale can be found beneath the popular eatery Elmo. And, oh yeah, their carefully curated cocktails and light bites don’t hurt.
& Son Steakeasy
Hidden behind a secret door, and up a hidden red staircase on the second floor, start your speakeasy experience in Father’s Study, a century-old speakeasy (and original) speakeasy dating back to the 1920’s. Reopened 100 years later, this craft cocktail bar serves both classic and contemporary cocktails.
Don’t forget to also make your way to their steakeasy for a fantastic steak dinner at & Son before or after a few sips in Father’s Study.
Sincerely Ophelia
Upper East Side
Sincerely Ophelia is not a sign-off, but the start of a true love letter to NYC. Clearly marked beneath Chicken and the Egg, there is no pretense or real hiding here, but within its walls, Sincerely Ophelia’s nightlife scene is incomparable. Music, glow lights, and cocktails you won’t blow your entire salary on making this place just right.
Not a Speakeasy
Upper East Side
Not a Speakeasy is, in fact, a speakeasy, and a pretty damn good one at that. The Upper East Side just got even cooler than its recent glow-up suggests. This spot has fun, IG-worthy cocktails (one comes in a rubber duck), cool decor and photo ops, and the makings of a very unique and fun night out.
Do Not Disturb
Greenwich Village
Do Not Disturb aims to capture the “notorious 1920’s prohibition New York era” and it sure delivers. The bar comes complete with booths lining the walls and a vibe that simultaneously feels lax and makes you want to get a bit dressed up, aligning perfectly with the aesthetic of their cocktails.
PS
Greenwich Village
If you’ve been to the Pine & Polk storefront since it opened, you know that their shelves house fancy chocolates and snacks abound from women and minority-owned businesses, but behind the facade lays an even fancier concept—a speakeasy. Stepping into PS may feel like you’re in a modern-day kitchen, but their slightly bare decor makes the exciting and innovative cocktails they serve stand out even more.
Bar Francis
Clinton Hill
The cocktails found at Bar Francis scratch the surface of the genius. Hidden inside Hungry Ghost Coffee shop, their upscale vibes will make you feel fancy AF paired with down-to-earth cocktails and elevated bar snacks and oysters. It is an enigma of a roller coaster you’ll be happy to keep riding.
Apotheke Nomad
Nomad
Apotheke, in English, roughly translates to various forms of the word pharmacy. The latest addition to the Apotheke bars (the other you may know of in Chinatown) offers medicinal elements in the form of a stiff cocktail or two, and its food is downright magical in its comfort qualities.
Ye’s Apothecary
LES
No, not that Ye. Another form of medicinal cocktails, Ye’s Apothecary actually boasts the use of Chinese herbal-infused cocktails along with some Szechuan-style tapas. The mixed intimate ambiance and chattery conversation will be enough to make you want to keep ordering more.
The Ivory Peacock
Chelsea/NoMad
New on many radars, this newbie won’t stay a secret for long—if it ever even was one. This Chelsea spot boasts amazing food and cocktails in its upstairs restaurant, but if you’re lucky, after 8pm, you can follow the peacock feather down to their speakeasy, Ploume offering a whole new level of luxe vibes and menu items of the cocktail and food variety. Certainly sounds like an experience that can’t be missed.
11 Tigers
East Village
11 Tigers came to the East Village, not with a roar, but with a whisper. Although we have a feeling people will be singing its praise soon enough. The amount of flame-throwing action alone is enough to call attention to this under-the-radar spot. From the tempting Thai fare to the tremendous cocktails, you’ll probably want to add this spot to your list of nightlife stops.
Madame George
Midtown
Times Square is quickly becoming a hotbed for hot bars. And just like the Broadway shows above with entertain the mind, this subterranean found beneath bar & restaurant Valerie spots superb cocktails that are sure to entertain your tastebuds. The menu celebrates quintessential elements that made New York what it is, building on the past with new and exciting flavor profiles.
Paper Planes
Lower East Side
It is certainly not surprising to find something special in the LES, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. The namesake Paper Planes will lead you down the path to its entrance where you will find a large and meticulously crafted space of scattered tables beneath a glass ceiling serving up some serious cocktails like the “Paper Plane” cocktail, garnished with—you guessed it—a paper plane. Their other sips sound just as whimsical and tasty.
