1/16/2023 0 Comments Hidden bar![]() One classic way to front a speakeasy is with a late-night eatery - be it a noodle joint, a sandwich store, a taqueria, a pizzeria or even a pastrami store. Today, it's home to no fewer than five hidden bars, including the basement speakeasy, entered via a trapdoor from the main bar, the Library, accessed either by password or by a secret bookcase, and the noir-themed Wilson & Wilson detective agency.īourbon & Branch, 501 Jones Street, San Francisco Chill out No writeup of hidden bars would be complete without San Francisco's iconic Bourbon & Branch, which first served drinks in 1867 and spent the period 1923-1935 as a cigar shop with a speakeasy in the basement. Head down the alley, look for the Coca-Cola dispenser (far from a common sight in Cambodia), and open to discover a classically styled secret bar.īattBong, Langka Laneway, Street 51, Phnom Penh The original We loved the old vending machine entrance at Shanghai's now-defunct Flask, but to see this particular hidden bar concept come all the way to Cambodia's Phnom Penh is pretty impressive. The bar, which also does film screenings, is concealed at the back, past the suggestive sign reading "Adults Only".Īdults Only, 7065 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles Anyone for soda? Remember those? Well, even in La La Land, the home of the movie, they haven't quite survived - although this retro strip mall store takes you right back to the era of tape and cathode ray tubes. Lurking behind this particular flower shop in Seoul is Alice, a wonderland version of an English manor house, where experimental drinks are served with surrealist verve that lives up to the flowers.Īlice, 47 Dosandaero 55-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Got wood?Īh, a video store. Sunshine Laundromat, 860 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn Blooming lovelyĪs entrances to hidden bars go, a flower shop is one of the most attractive, and it's a technique used from Buenos Aires to Shanghai. You enter, naturally, by way of a secret door crafted from a pair of driers: the pinball machine collection is, we're told, world class. Park, 58 Calçada do Combro, Bairro Alto, Lisbon A clean breakĬould it get more Brooklyn than a secret craft beer and pinball bar hidden behind a fully-functional laundromat (launderette)? We're not entirely sure, but Sunshine Laundromat, while far from America's only laundromat bar, certainly fits into its neighbourhood. Look for the parking lot sign, catch the lift up as high as it goes, then take the steps to the roof itself. Some might debate how secret Lisbon's Park roof terrace actually is - but this alpine wonderland, complete with plants, DJs, ski chalet style bar and some of the city's best views, is entered through the parking garage beneath it. PDT, Crif Dogs, 113 Saint Mark's Place, East Village, New York City Drink, don't drive To enter, descend into iconic hotdog joint Crif Dogs, pick up the vintage phone in the antique phone booth, and, assuming you've had the sense to reserve, you'll be buzzed through into liquid heaven. Speak Low, 579 Fuxing Middle Road, Former French Concession, Shanghai Bring, bringĪ veteran of NYC's speakeasy scene and already more than ten years old, Jim Meehan's PDT almost certainly pioneered the phone booth entrance that's now spread across the globe. There's an extra-secret bar upstairs as well. Enter through a bar supplies store and slide a bookcase to reveal the entrance. But Shingo Gokan's Speak Low doesn't just rate as China's best bar: it's got a deceptively brilliant secret entrance, too. Good Times at Davey Wayne's, 1611 North El Centro Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles Book aheadĪn entire thesis could be written on why Shanghai is so obsessed with speakeasies: they proliferate on a scale up there with LA or New York. The secret entrance blends seamlessly into the vintage world of junk: it's an old refrigerator which seems, quite convincingly, to be on sale as well. The Barber Shop, 89 York Street, CBD, Sydney Moving onįrom Los Angeles nightlife kings - and hidden bar gurus - the Houston brothers comes this kitschy, 70s retro affair, entered by way of a garage sale so 70s it's virtually wearing flares. During the day, haircuts and shaves are on the menu in the fully-functioning store: by night, it becomes an atrium for Mike Enright's multi-award-winning hidden gin bar. Sydney's The Barber Shop spawned a winning formula when it opened in 2013: an actual, real-life barber shop with a gin palace styled speakeasy out back. Here are 15 bars from around the world which take the hidden bar theme to new extremes – and five absolute classics of the genre. And from Lisbon to Seoul, from Phnom Penh to LA, operators have camouflaged their hidden bars in frankly spectacular ways. Say what you like about speakeasies, they give designers room to play. ![]()
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