The very Victorian Raines Law Room
Its origin is in the 20's, when the Dry Law encouraged the (exaggerated) consumption of alcohol in speakeasies. None remains from that time, like the one who goes The Great Gatsby , behind a barbershop, and that Baz Luhrman has portrayed in the new version of him. But all these bars keep their essence and try to stay hidden, although New York is probably the worst city to keep a secret. In fact, some of these speakeasies they are already so little secret, that if you want a table, it will be better to reserve, especially on weekends. But we assure you that what you will find behind the invisible door or the hidden stairs will be worth it.
** The Back Room , 102 Norfolk Street (Lower East Side) :** If there isn't a gorilla-looking guy at the door, look outside a gate for a sign that says 'The Lower East Side Toy Company' , open it, go down the stairs and through the dirty alley, go up some stairs and push a black door. When you open them, you will enter another century : red velvet sofas, fireplace, wood and people (lots of them at peak times) drinking cocktails in cups , like during the dry law when these places were born, or with beer bottles put in paper bags. More affordable prices than other speakeasies (beer from $6). Look out for the waiters as you exit and enter through a library door.
**Gotham City Lounge** , 1293 Myrtle Avenue (Buscwick) : secret, secret, it is not. You can see the entrance (full of comic book heroes) perfectly if you walk under the subway lines, but you have to call at the doorbell so that they open you up and let you pass. Once inside, no nonsense, you're in the cheapest themed club in the area (beer and shot for $3), with billiards and a big screen where you might find its usual freaks getting addicted to some video game.
Bathtub Gin: wallpaper, burlesque shows and gin
** Bathtub Gin ** , 132 9th Avenue (Chelsea) : The same thing has happened a thousand times in front of you and you have never noticed. The cover of this speakeasy is a very cute coffee shop Chelsea , Stone Street Company , in which you will surely see the waiter and two people standing, not drinking coffee, if you go in and ask them about the bar, they will open it for you a door camouflaged in the wall paper , invisible. Inside, you go back to the 20s of the last century, when speakeasies mainly drank homemade gin , that's why this new speakeasy is specialized in gin cocktails (not very cheap, but highly recommended) . And in the middle of the bar, the bathtub of the name. A couple of days a week there burlesque show (yes, that's why the waitresses look like Dita Von Teese's best friends). In the service, with cologne and cream, they even dry your hands. Hidden luxury.
**Bleecker Heights Tavern** , 296 Bleecker St. (West Village): clearly in the category 'charming dive' . One day, so calm, you go in to eat one of the most BRB (good, cheap and fast) in the Five Guys, you go to the end and find some stairs, without asking, you go up and discover the typical sports bar, with a long bar, televisions, cheap beer and the worst bathroom in Scotland (if this were Scotland). Fun and overlooking bleecker . The best? You can upload your delicious greasy burger from the Five Guys.
2nd Floor on Clinton , 67 Clinton Street (Lower East Side) : a hidden bar in a bar. What a great idea! This speakeasy, completely opposite to the previous club, is entered through a secret door at the end of the Barramundi (in front of which, almost always, there is a doorman, pretending to be clueless). When you walk in, you'll feel like you're in a Downton Abbey hall. Cocktails at $14 to combine with their delicious chocolate truffles. If that's not elegance...
The beautiful Please Don't Tell bar
** Raines Law Room , 48 W 7th Avenue:** here, as in the best house meetings, the party is in the kitchen . That's right, the bar area where you can wait to be seated is a kitchen, very Victorian, but a kitchen. There is also a reception, a lounge and a garden along which people sit drinking one of the infinite cocktails from the infinite menu . The entrance also looks like that of a house, without a name, you will know what it is by the doorman who will either let you in directly (especially during the week and soon) or he will ask for your phone and he will tell you to stay away from the door, he will call you when a table is free. If they let you queue at the door, it wouldn't be so secret anymore.
** Please Don't Tell , 113 St. Marks Place (East Village) :** a hidden classic already, because no one has paid attention to its name. And neither do we. To find it, look for the giant sausage , the one that says “Eat me” (“Eat me”), you will enter Crif Dogs, a bar specializing in hot dogs. Try one and follow to the bottom. See the old phone? Pick up, dial one and wait for them to answer. Inside, an elegant bar with leather armchairs, exposed brick and stuffed animals that observe the clientele drinking some of the tasty and original cocktails , such as the bacon-infused Old Fashioned, the Momofuku cereal milk drink…
**Angel's Share, 8 Stuyvesant Street (East Village):** Look for the noisy Village Yokocho Japanese restaurant, go up to the second floor and to the left look for the wooden door. They call them for a reason secret bars . And this one is quiet, pleasant, romantic and beautifully decorated. They do not let stand, nor go in groups of more than four people , so better if you go early and avoid weekends. I'm sure you've never been to a japanese speakeasy , so for the full experience try the lychee cocktail with wasabi.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Eat, drink and play: the ABC of the bars in New York
- The Ultimate Guide to Burgers in New York
- New York Guide
- Beer tour in New York
- All articles by Irene Crespo
Angel's Share, a Japanese speakeasy