As the New York Times recently observed, speakeasy bars have been popping up all over NYC. With discreet signs, secret passwords and trick doorways, these bars are serving their drinks with a dose of prohibition-era drama. Those drinks, thank goodness, have improved significantly since the 1920s, when illegal and barely-drinkable hooch was the norm. Today's clandestine bars tend to pour only top-shelf liquor, with premium prices to match. For those who want $12 cocktail with nostalgia chaser, here are a few of the swellest speakeasies in New York.
Please Don't Tell (PDT)
Photo: Meg Zimbeck/Flickr
Judging by the amount of ink that's been spilled, very few people have taken the name of this bar very seriously. Please Don't Tell, or PDT, has been mentioned in so many guides that it's already officially "over." Even so, it's still incredibly hard to get in and a lot of fun if you do. Call ahead to make a reservation, because you won't get in without one. A French phone accent (even a fake one) also helps. Show up at your appointed time (my last booking was for 12:45am) and walk into Crif Dogs, the East Village hot dog joint. Enter the phone booth on your left and pick up the receiver. Tell the voice that you've made a reservation and try your best to sound cool/pretty/French.
Photo: Meg Zimbeck/Flickr
If all goes well, a trick door will open, allowing you to pass through the phone booth to the bar on the other side. The room is dark and decorated in taxidermy chic. A stuffed weasel might be looking over your shoulder while you review the drinks menu. Go for something classic or something bizarre, like the Bacon-Infused Old-Fashioned (click the link to see a video of the bar). Cocktails are pricey, about $13 each, but they're also strong and the staff won't mind if you nurse yours for an hour. Late night snackers (or those who want to make a dinner of it) can order from a menu of deep-fried hot dogs that are named after NYC chefs like Wylie Dufresne and David Chang.
PLEASE DON'T TELL; 113 St. Marks Place (inside Crif Dogs), East Village, (212) 614-0386
Angel's Share
Photo: Meg Zimbeck/Flickr
Easier to get into than PDT, a night at Angel's Share nonetheless comes with its own set of rules. You can't get in with more than four people at a time, and there has to be room for everyone to sit. The no-standing, small-group policy contributes to a very civilized vibe, and the tousled Japanese bartenders add an element of cool. As with PDT, you have to enter through a restaurant - here, it's the Village Yokocho. A Zagat's sign on the back wall will alert you to the door for Angel's Share. Once inside,try to grab one of the window seats that look out over St. Mark's Place. Order something from the long list of cocktails then sit back to ponder whether the mural (depicting Japanese demon/cherub babies) is beautiful or terrifying.
ANGEL'S SHARE; 8 Stuyvesant St (inside Village Yokocho restaurant), East Village
Rye
A new speakeasy on the scene, Rye is more like a hard-to-find restaurant that also happens to have inspired cocktails. Within a prohibition-era setting (polished wood bar and bare light bulbs) you can start off with an Old Fashioned or Havemeyer Cocktail, then soak up the booze witha pork belly slider. The menu also features treats like steak tartare, sea scallops and halibut.
RYE; 247 South 1st Street (between Roebling St & Havemeyer St), Williamsburg.
Go Further:
New York City ......Shh
