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What\u2019s the enduring appeal of drinking in a hidden bar? During Prohibition, concealing your establishment made sense \u2014 if you wanted to stay in business and out of jail. But since then, the legal imperative that gave rise to speakeasies has all but vanished. So why are so many people still seeking out what lies behind those inconspicuous doors?<\/p>\n
Part of it is the thrill of the chase: finding something where you thought there was nothing but a wall. But the allure of the back room goes beyond that, evoking a bygone era of socializing, of being part of the club.<\/p>\n
Prohibition may be long gone, but the intrigue of the speakeasy is going strong. Here are 10 hidden bars with vibes and cocktails that are worth the pursuit.<\/p>\n
London<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The old-school electronics on display at the MacSmiths, a computer repair shop on an unremarkable road in the East London borough of Hackney<\/a>, stand in sharp contrast to the analog world one level down. If you don\u2019t see any staff upstairs, ring the doorbell at the top of the steps, then descend into a sprawling parlorlike space packed with Victorian-style furniture, paintings, clocks and curiosities. The foliage that grows and hangs throughout the room signals the fresh-ingredient-centric cocktail list. Cocktails can be made with fennel, chamomile and other plants that the bartender-owner Josh Powell forages from as close by as Walthamstow Wetlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n Open Tuesday through Sunday, reservations recommended on weekends; drinks from 12 pounds, or about $16.<\/p>\n Hong Kong<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When you spot the trendy cocktail bar Penicillin<\/a>, in Hong Kong\u2019s<\/a> Central district, by the line that often forms outside, you\u2019ll know its sister bar Lockdown by its nearby storefront that displays a single toilet and a ladder, and no line at all. A discreet door on the storefront\u2019s side reveals a room where lightbulbs hang in a grid and reflect in the mirrors like a deconstructed chandelier. People perched on banquettes set atop lush terrariums sip cocktails prepared with rare vintage spirits or futuristic reimaginings of classics like brandy crustas, grasshoppers and rusty nails, made with ingredients that have been sous-vided, clarified or run through a centrifuge.<\/p>\n Open daily, walk-ins only; drinks from 120 Hong Kong dollars, or $15.<\/p>\n Paris<\/p>\n The walls of Candelaria, a sliver of a taquer\u00eda in the Marais<\/a> district of Paris, are white and bare. Nonetheless, it\u2019s easy to miss the mere outline of a door in the back, past the diners at the long counter. The covert bar on the other side feels like a natural extension of the rustic taco shop. The sepia-toned space has stone walls, a sign of the building\u2019s 18-century architecture, as well as low ceilings and one of the biggest selections of agave spirits in France. Sample mezcal<\/a> from a menu organized by flavors like earthy, funky, and sweet, or opt for a creative cocktail<\/a> like the Chicane \u2014 smoky mezcal dolled up in house beetroot cordial, sweet vermouth, Cynar and pear eau de vie.<\/p>\n Open daily, walk-ins only; drinks from 14 euros, or about $16.<\/p>\n Berlin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kauz & Kiebitz<\/a> looks like a typical German gastro pub, from the wood bar and furniture to the extensive beer-tap system to what looks like a standard-issue fire alarm on the wall. But if you press a button on that alarm (despite everything you\u2019ve ever been taught), a host will appear from behind a nearby mirrored door, guide you through a hallway and pull back the slate gray velvet curtain to reveal a room with a marble horseshoe bar, velvet upholstery and a cocktail menu that reads like postmodern flavor catalog. Each drink is described through a colorful, simple pie chart of the ingredients. The head bartender, Jannick Stillger<\/a>, a former chef, devises avant-garde compositions like the Sync, which uses his aromatic fond, a clarified vegetable extract, as a savory base for a lemon vodka and vermouth mix.<\/p>\n Open Wednesday through Saturday, walk-ins only; drinks \u20ac14.<\/p>\n Vancouver, British Columbia<\/p>\n All bets are off when you walk into the Happy Valley Turf Club, a horse-betting shop on a main street of Vancouver\u2019s<\/a> Chinatown. A broad chalkboard lists horses\u2019 names and odds, but just tell the person at the desk you\u2019re wagering \u201c$100 on King Louie\u201d and you\u2019re granted access to Bagheera. (Pro tip: Place your bet on King Louie on the Happy Valley Turf Club\u2019s website to access Bagheera\u2019s page.) Named for the black panther in Rudyard Kipling\u2019s \u201cThe Jungle Book,\u201d the bar evokes a sumptuous train carriage straight out of Raj-era India. Whimsical jungle-themed murals, carved teak, tassel-garlanded furniture and an arched ceiling bedazzled with Indian coins, bangles and other shiny objects form the backdrop for drinks that highlight South Asian-inspired ingredients, like coriander and various teas.<\/p>\n Open daily, reservations recommended; drinks from 18 Canadian dollars, or $13.<\/p>\n Helsinki, Finland<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s not so hard to find the door in the peach facade of a former police station on Katariinankatu, a street in Central Helsinki<\/a>. But it may take some sleuthing to locate the bell in the vestibule that will give you access to Trillby & Chadwick, the handsome vintage-detective-agency-themed cocktail den inside. The dense menu has clever micro-stories \u2014 excerpts from the eponymous detectives\u2019 fictional diaries \u2014 that capture the inspiration for each drink, a tribute to the building\u2019s more recent tenant: a bookstore. One, the Bootleg Botanica \u2014 gin, fino sherry, a measure of mezcal, housemade pear cordial and ginger \u2014 takes its cues from Detective Trillby\u2019s diary entry recounting a meeting with a botany-loving acquaintance in a Finnish garden.<\/p>\n Open daily, reservations accepted for parties of five or more; drinks from \u20ac17.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The bars, cafes and beer gardens of Krakow\u2019s historical Jewish quarter<\/a> make for a lively street scene, but what goes on below street level can be downright enchanting. Just keep your eyes peeled for the wood-frame door with a Mad Hatter cap drawn above the buzzer. Press it, and a host will escort you to a neighboring door, down a vertiginous flight of stairs into a classy Alice in Wonderland fever dream. The cocktails run the gamut from unfussy to zany (the bourbon-based Eternal Sparkle involves beef jerky) and the whiskey is bountiful \u2014 over 400 selections from around the world. None, however, are served in a vessel labeled \u201cDrink me.\u201d<\/p>\n Open daily, reservations recommended; drinks from 40 zlotys, or $10.60.<\/p>\n Buenos Aires<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Inside Florer\u00eda Atl\u00e1ntico, a shop selling flowers and wine in Buenos Aires\u2019s<\/a> Retiro neighborhood, you\u2019ll find what looks like a refrigerator door. It\u2019s not. Open it and descend to a dim, narrow basement bar that calls to mind the lower level of a ship. The maritime vibe is a nod to the immigrants who arrived in the nearby port over the decades. Bartenders explain the high-concept cocktails, like the gar\u00faa martini, a gin drink formulated with purified rainwater, as fanciful interpretations of Argentina\u2019s land and history.<\/p>\n Open daily, reservations recommended; drinks from 11,500 pesos, or about $10.<\/p>\n New York<\/p>\n Every odyssey has its reward. The journey to the intimate, serene Odo Lounge meanders through an inconspicuous copper door in Hall<\/a>, a boisterous cocktail spot in the Flatiron district, passes the counter in the chef Hiroki Odo\u2019s hushed two-Michelin-starred kaiseki<\/a>, and meanders through some short, incense-scented hallways, a private dining room and finally, a sliding bookcase. With its weathered white-brick walls, low tables and soaring ceiling, the minimalist space has a gallery-like feel, with a compendium of Japanese whiskey bottles displayed on shelves. From the shochu and grapefruit cordial highball to the Bee\u2019s Knees, a classic gin-honey-lemon formulation, boosted here with persimmon, the cocktails are, fittingly, explorations of minimalism.<\/p>\n Open Tuesday through Saturday, reservations recommended; drinks from $18.<\/p>\n Tokyo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The gunmetal gray building on Sotobori-dori, one of the slender streets that make up the M.C. Escher-like warren of Tokyo\u2019s<\/a> Ginza district, looks like any other building in the area. But take the elevator to the seventh floor and ring the bell on the blond wood door, and you\u2019ll go from gray to an arrival-in-Oz-level salvo of colors and scents at Orchard, a casual space run by the husband-and-wife team Takuo and Sumire Miyanohara since 2007. The fruit basket on the bar is the only \u201cmenu,\u201d and the drinks are custom-created, but what steals the show are the mini disco balls, small watering pails and other objects in which the drinks are served.<\/p>\n Open Monday through Saturday, walk-ins only; drinks from 2,200 yen, or about $15, plus a \u00a51,000 cover charge.<\/p>\n Follow New York Times Travel <\/em><\/strong>on <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/a> to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our <\/em>52 Places to Go in 2025<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n