Choose your location
Sat / Jan 16
20s / 30s / After Work / Artsy / Bar
Party Earth Review Situated in the middle of historic MacDougal Street, 124 Old Rabbit Club is a veritable Shangri-la of suds that any self-respecting beer lover will want to add to the barhop list. The venue shares an address with a restaurant on street level, so patrons in the mood for brew must descend a flight of stairs and ring a buzzer ... more
124 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012
20s / Alternative Music / DJ / EDM
Party Earth Review From its secret location to its art deco décor to the camouflaged drinks, the Back Room takes the speakeasy theme seriously – and literally too. Once past a tattered sign for the fictitious LES Toy Company, guests navigate a spooky alleyway before entering a Victorian space seemingly pulled from an episode of Boardwalk ... more
102 Norfolk Street
New York, NY 10002
20s / 30s / 60s Music / 70s Music / DJ
Party Earth Review Located in the basement of the famed Chelsea Market, The Tippler is Chelsea’s answer to a swanky speakeasy minus the velvet ropes or secret phone numbers that’s so common in the nearby Meatpacking District. Unmarked save for a lonely “Open” sign, the venue’s a favorite for discerning young professionals who fill its prim ... more
425 West 15th Street
New York, NY 10011
20s / 30s / Affluent / Ambient / VIP
Party Earth Review Harkening back to the classier side of Prohibition, the 2nd Floor on Clinton is a cozy piece of boozer nostalgia worlds apart from the Barramundi bar beneath it. Relaxed upper-crust groups and in-the-know students looking to splurge make their way through Barramundi, ring a buzzer next to a door marked PRIVATE, and are ... more
67 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
70s Music / Ambient Jazz / Artsy
Party Earth Review Savvy travelers – and savvy readers of Party Earth – are already familiar with Experimental Cocktail Club, a cutting-edge haunt for intricate cocktails that opened to such success in Paris back in 2007 that it birthed a London location just a few years later. 2012 saw this popular haunt branch out again ... more
191 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Actors / Affluent Hipsters / Bar
Party Earth Review Hip patrons in need of a haircut and a drink should head to The Blind Barber, an old-school barbershop that transforms into an exclusive speakeasy by night. Although clients who opt for an afternoon straight-razor shave at the tiny whitewashed shop will be treated to a complimentary drink, the real scene happens once the ... more
339 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10009
30s / After Work / Bar Food / Wine
Party Earth Review Laid-back cocktail lovers interested in a true speakeasy experience need look no further than Please Don’t Tell, an intimate cocktail lounge oddly accessed through a hot dog joint. Just inside Crif Dogs, patrons still in their work attire step into a vintage phone booth, press the buzzer, and announce their reservation ... more
113 St. Marks Place
New York, NY 10009
20s / 30s / 40s / 60s Soul / A-list / DJ
Party Earth Review Hidden below the swanky Darby restaurant, The Darby Downstairs is a stylish speakeasy where models and mixology collide – a tenuous union seeing as models usually break when they crash into stuff. It’s not unusual to see collections of spindly twenty-somethings gathered outside the venue’s separate entrance, stomping out ... more
244 West 14th Street
New York, NY 10011
Absinthe / Cash Only / Casual / Bar
Reviewed by Jaclyn W.
"My Take: I’m sure the whole experience would have been a lot better had the American Gangster Museum been open, but unfortunately it was not. Willia ..." more
80 St. Mark's Place
New York, NY 10009
Ambient / Artists / Bar / Chic / Chill
Party Earth Review Secreted behind an art gallery and directly above sister establishment Home Sweet Home, Fig. 19 is a small speakeasy with big-time exclusivity. Patrons won’t find velvet ropes, however, or the flashing bulbs of paparazzi, or any indication of this bar’s existence at all save for a Godzilla-sized doorman parked outside ... more
131½ Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
20s / 30s / Affluent / Artsy / Bar / DJ
Party Earth Review Although its days as a hush-hush in-spot famous for its Ivy parties are gone, Chloe 81 maintains its reputation as an exclusive upscale haunt for a fashionable and moneyed clientele ready to drink and dance the night away. A strict and rather arbitrary door policy – overseen by bouncers with phantom guest lists – still ... more
81 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002
For the old soul who dreams of the deliciously clandestine days of Prohibition, New York provides plenty of the world’s best speakeasies. No longer seedy caves for seamy characters, NYC speakeasies are cushy secretive spots meant for those edgy enough to know the password or the doorman, but classy enough to afford the elaborate cocktails within.
Those looking for speakeasies in New York do best on the Lower East Side, whose many restaurants and bars provide ample fronts for the illicit lounges located deep within. PDT (”Please Don’t Tell”) is accessed through a phone booth in a hot dog joint, while The 2nd Floor on Clinton’s plush interior and soft music are reached by pressing a buzzer near the bathrooms of a Mexican restaurant. Others, like the Blind Barber and 124 Old Rabbit Club, hide in plain sight, their inconspicuous exteriors not hinting at the decadent décor, boutique drinks, and chic patronage within. And while the weekends see these spots hopping, the guests always keep their location close to their chest, lest a raid by the fuzz ruin a perfectly good night.
With everything from a fine Belgian lambic among lowlifes and lawbreakers to a carefully-crafted Old Fashioned with the glamour crowd, New York speakeasies provide all of the shadow and atmosphere that the flashy bar scene often forgets.