Speakeasy Bars in NYC You Need To Find
Hidden behind phone booths, bookshops, and unmarked doors — NYC speakeasies keep the Prohibition spirit alive. Here are the best secret bars worth hunting down.
1. PDT (Please Dont Tell) – East Village
Enter through the phone booth inside Crif Dogs hot dog shop at 113 St. Marks Place. Pick up the phone, the wall slides open. Craft cocktails in a dimly lit den. Reservations required — call at 3 PM day-of.
2. The Back Room – Lower East Side
102 Norfolk Street. Real 1920s speakeasy where Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky actually drank. Enter through an unmarked door in an alley, down metal stairs. Cocktails served in teacups, beer in paper bags. No cover.
3. Bathtub Gin – Chelsea
132 9th Avenue. Hidden behind a fake coffee shop facade (Stone Street Coffee). Push through the unmarked door to find a copper bathtub centerpiece and Prohibition-era cocktails. $16-20 drinks.
4. Employees Only – West Village
510 Hudson Street. Look for the psychic sign and green awning. No obvious bar signage. Award-winning cocktails, late-night kitchen (bone marrow at 2 AM), and bartenders in white coats. One of the best bars in the world.
5. Angel Share – East Village
8 Stuyvesant Street, 2nd floor. Enter through a Japanese restaurant, find the unmarked door in the back. Intimate, quiet (no standing, no groups over 4), and Japanese-influenced cocktails. $18-22.
6. Raines Law Room – Flatiron
48 West 17th Street. Ring the doorbell on an unmarked brownstone. Velvet curtains, private booths, and cocktails made with house-made ingredients. Reservations recommended. $18-24.
7. The Garret – West Village
Above a Five Guys burger joint on Bleecker Street. Walk past the counter, up the stairs in the back. Cheap-ish drinks ($14-16), good music, and a crowd that doesnt take itself too seriously.
Speakeasy Etiquette
- Keep your voice down — these are intimate spaces
- No large groups (most cap at 4-6 people)
- Dress smart casual minimum
- Dont post the exact entrance on social media (respect the secret)
- Tip well — the bartenders are craftspeople
We found the entrances to all of these on camera — watch on NewYorkNoNavro YouTube.