Speakeasies

PDTEast Village

The doorStep into the vintage phone booth inside Crif Dogs on St. Mark's Place and pick up.

You walk into a hot dog shop, climb into a phone booth and wait for someone to answer. It sounds like a gimmick. It is not. The drinks are serious, the room is small. Order the hot dog anyway.

Known for Cocktails behind a phone booth in a hot dog joint. hauteliving.com

AttaboyLower East Side

The doorAn unmarked door on Eldridge Street. No sign, no menu, walk-ins from 5 p.m.

No sign, no menu, no lecture. You say gin, maybe something bitter, and a person who has made ten thousand drinks makes you exactly one. It is the most honest transaction on the Lower East Side.

Known for No menu. Tell the bartender what you like and trust them. hauteliving.com

Employees OnlyWest Village

The doorLook for the psychic's sign in the window on Hudson Street, then go in.

The psychic out front could tell you how this ends, but you already know. A packed room, bartenders who move like they mean it, and one more round that nobody regrets in the morning. Mostly.

Known for A fortune teller's sign out front, hard-working bartenders and late nights behind it. hauteliving.com

The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.Rittenhouse

The doorBehind an unmarked door into a low-lit, 1920s-style room.

The name sounds like a bank. It is not a bank. Low light, careful drinks, bartenders who know their history and wear it lightly. Sit down, order something brown, and stay put for a while.

Known for Moody Prohibition-era cocktails in a room built for lingering. thefranklinbar.com

Ranstead RoomCenter City

The doorAn unmarked black door partway down an alley. Walk-ins only.

You will walk past the door at least once. Everyone does. Inside it is dark, moody and quiet enough to hear the ice. No reservations, so you wait like everyone else, which feels about right.

Known for Stephen Starr's dark, 1930s-style room with no reservations. phillyprgirl.com

Behind the Red Door at VitaRittenhouse Square

The doorThrough the bright red refrigerator door inside the gelato shop. Reservations required.

Order a scoop or don't. The real business is past the red fridge door, where an Italian dining room waits. Dessert first, dinner second. Nobody here is going to judge you for the order of things.

Known for An Italian dining room hiding behind a gelato counter. phillyprgirl.com

The Violet HourWicker Park

The doorA single discreet door set into an ever-changing mural on Damen Avenue.

The outside is a painted wall that changes every so often. The inside is dim and grown up, run by people who treat a cocktail like a craft, because it is. Come early, keep your voice down, drink well.

Known for Pre-Prohibition style cocktails on a seasonally rotating list. theviolethour.com

The DrifterRiver North

The doorIn the basement of Green Door Tavern, turn the hidden knob on a tchotchke.

Upstairs is an old tavern full of stuff on the walls. Downstairs, if you find the right knob, is a cramped little room with good drinks. It feels like a secret the city kept just for you.

Known for A tiny cellar bar under Green Door Tavern. theinfatuation.com

Nine BarChinatown

The doorThrough the kitchen door at the back of Moon Palace Express.

You walk through a Chinatown restaurant like you work there and come out somewhere much better lit for drinking. No velvet rope, no fuss. Just good cocktails behind a kitchen door, which is how it should be.

Known for Cocktails behind a Chinatown restaurant, on North America's 50 Best for 2026. theinfatuation.com

Bourbon & BanterDowntown

The doorThrough a phone booth tucked into an old shoe shine spot.

A shoe shine stand, a phone booth, then a room built around whiskey. It is Texas, so the bourbon gets top billing. Talk to the bartender. The banter is right there in the name, so use it.

Known for Bourbon, and a short list of craft cocktails built around it. papercitymag.com

La Viuda NegraEast Dallas

The doorWalk into what looks like a bridal boutique and keep going.

The window says wedding dresses. The back room says mezcal. Somebody had a sense of humor about commitment, and you get to enjoy it. Order agave, order it smoky, and let the night run.

Known for Mezcal and tequila cocktails behind a wedding dress shop front. papercitymag.com

AtlasBishop Arts

The doorPush the bookshelf. It is a door.

The bookshelf trick never gets old, and nobody here pretends it should. Behind it, a small room and a list of specials that keeps changing, which gives you a reason to come back to Bishop Arts.

Known for A bookcase entrance and a rotating list of specials. papercitymag.com

Good Times at Davey Wayne'sHollywood

The doorThrough a vintage refrigerator door that opens onto a 1970s living room.

You step through a fridge and land in somebody's parents' house, sometime in the seventies. Wood paneling, old records, cold drinks. It is silly and it knows it, which is exactly why it works on a Hollywood Saturday.

Known for Full seventies nostalgia, from the wood paneling to the music. punchdrink.com

Break Room 86Koreatown

The doorTucked away inside The Line Hotel in Koreatown. Book a slot, open late.

Synths on the speakers, strangers belting power ballads like their rent depends on it. Nobody is cool here and that is the relief. Grab the mic. By morning, nobody will remember. Probably.

Known for An eighties karaoke bar with the volume turned all the way up. breakroom86.com

Bourbon & BranchTenderloin

The doorUnmarked door at 501 Jones Street. Give the password; reservations through OpenTable.

This place sold illegal booze the first time around and it still acts like the cops might show up. Keep your voice down, put the phone away, and let somebody who cares make you a proper drink.

Known for A real Prohibition-era speakeasy with strict house rules: no phones, no photos. bourbonandbranch.com

Wilson & WilsonTenderloin

The doorEnter via Bourbon & Branch at 501 Jones with the password. Reservation only.

A secret inside a secret, done up like a detective's office. It is small, it is booked and it is open only at the end of the week. You will feel a little smug getting in. Fair enough.

Known for A bar inside a bar, with its own experimental cocktail menu. thewilsonbar.com

Cry Baby GalleryLittle Portugal

The doorWalk through a white art gallery and push past the heavy black curtain.

First you pretend to look at the art. Then you find the curtain, and the gallery gives way to a dark room where the real work happens. Nobody asks what you thought of the paintings.

Known for An art gallery front hiding a dark, industrial bar. On North America's 50 Best. destinationtoronto.com

Prequel & Co. ApothecaryWest Queen West

The doorBehind the front of an 1890s Parisian-style apothecary.

It looks like a pharmacy from a century nobody here lived through. Herbs hang over your head, the bottles look like props, and the drinks do what the old tonics only promised. No prescription required.

Known for Dried herbs hanging from the ceiling and shelves of old vials. destinationtoronto.com

Handshake SpeakeasyJuárez

The doorA discreet speakeasy door in Juárez. Book ahead or face a long wait outside.

Ranked near the top of the world, and the room still fits in a living room. It is cramped, a little fussy and worth it. Every drink has a story. Listen to it, then just drink the thing.

Known for Prohibition-inspired drinks, each with a backstory. No. 2 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2025. the50.com

Hanky PankyUndisclosed

The doorNo address on its own website, just 'somewhere in Mexico City.' Reserve first.

Open since 2016, back when hiding a bar in this city was a new idea. The menu travels, from Greek islands to the Grand Bazaar, and you never leave your stool. Good trick. Better drinks.

Known for One of the city's first speakeasies, with drinks named for places like Greece and Turkey. hankypanky.mx

Florería AtlánticoRetiro

The doorThrough a hidden door inside a working flower shop on Calle Arroyo.

You buy flowers or pretend to, then slip through the hidden door. On the other side, a bar that drinks its way around the world and feeds you on the trip. Sit down, take your time, eat late.

Known for A travel-themed gastrobar behind a florist. World's 50 Best Bars, 51 to 100, 2025. floreriaatlantico.com.ar

SubAstorVila Madalena

The doorDownstairs, below its older sibling Astor. They call it the bar below the bar.

Upstairs, a neighborhood bar that has been pouring since 2001. Downstairs, the lights drop and the drinks get serious. Same family, different mood. Book ahead, because the line is real.

Known for A cocktail bar under Astor, its older sibling since 2001. subastor.com.br

NightjarShoreditch

The doorAn unmarked door on City Road near Old Street, then down into a basement.

A plain door on a loud road, then a basement that decided long ago it was 1925. A band plays, the drinks arrive looking like small sculptures, and nobody here is in a hurry to leave.

Known for Live jazz and swing every night, cocktails sorted by era. luxurylondon.co.uk

CahootsSoho

The doorDown the stairs in Kingly Court into a disused tube station dressed for the Blitz.

Sandbags, old adverts, a tube carriage, staff fully committed to 1946. It should be unbearable. It isn't. The bartenders play the bit with real warmth, and the drinks are better than the joke needs them to be.

Known for Wartime theme, drinks in tins, hip flasks and milk bottles. cahoots.co.uk

Discount Suit CompanySpitalfields

The doorPast a doorman and down a steep, narrow staircase off Wentworth Street. Mind your head.

Low ceilings, red leather, a room the size of a decent kitchen. The bartenders know their trade and price it like they want you back next week. Order off menu. They can handle it.

Known for A former tailor's stockroom with fair prices and serious bartending. luxurylondon.co.uk

Panda & SonsNew Town

The doorThrough a fake vintage barbershop front on Queen Street, then down the stairs.

The barbershop out front cuts nothing but your evening loose. Downstairs, a family-run bar that keeps landing on world lists and still treats a stranger like a regular. Sit at the counter. Ask questions.

Known for Sub-zero freezing techniques and a menu built in chapters. scotsman.com

Bramble Bar & LoungeNew Town

The doorDown easy-to-miss stairs to a basement at 16a Queen Street. Walk-ins only.

A cellar on Queen Street with no fuss and no booking system. Show up, squeeze in, drink well. It made the UK's top 50 in 2025 and still feels like your local.

Known for Walk-in only cocktail cellar, open until 1am every night. bramblebar.co.uk

Vintage Cocktail ClubTemple Bar

The doorA discreet unmarked doorway in Temple Bar. Ring the bell and wait.

Outside, Temple Bar does its stag-party worst. Ring the bell, step inside, and it all goes quiet: velvet, candles, a properly built Sidecar. Somebody up here still respects a drink.

Known for Art deco rooms, absinthe and old-school classics like the Martinez. universitytimes.ie

The Blind PigSuffolk Street

The doorA hidden doorway off Suffolk Street. Reservation only, so book first.

Running since 2011, which in speakeasy years makes it a grandparent. Low booths, live jazz, an Old Fashioned made without theatre. You booked, you found the door, now let the night be easy.

Known for Ireland's longest-running speakeasy, live jazz, prohibition classics. universitytimes.ie

CandelariaLe Marais

The doorThrough the tiny taqueria and the unmarked door at the back.

Order a taco, eat it standing, then walk through the door everyone pretends not to notice. The back room is dark, loud and full of people having a better night than they planned. Tequila does that.

Known for Tacos up front, sharp agave cocktails in the back room. timeout.com

Moonshiner11th arrondissement

The doorWalk through pizzeria Da Vito to the cold-room door at the back.

You come in smelling pizza and leave smelling whisky, which is a fine way to spend a Tuesday. Waiters in pressed shirts, a room straight out of Prohibition, no lectures about the menu.

Known for 1920s New York styling and an Art Deco smoking room. timeout.com

Danico2nd arrondissement

The doorCross the marble dining room of the Daroco pizzeria to the small bar behind.

The front is a grand, noisy Italian restaurant. Keep walking. At the back, a small room where serious people make serious drinks without taking themselves too seriously. That balance is rarer than it should be.

Known for Nico de Soto's precise, inventive cocktails. timeout.com

Door 74Centrum

The doorA discreet door at Reguliersdwarsstraat 74. Reserve ahead or you stay on the pavement.

No sign, no neon, no mercy for walk-ins on a Saturday. Get the booking, though, and you get leather booths, low light and bartenders who treat a classic like it matters. It does.

Known for Prohibition-era cocktails, leather booths and a tin ceiling. iamsterdam.com

The ButcherDe Pijp

The doorBehind the burger joint. Buzz the intercom, give the name and password, wait for the wall.

Eat the burger first. Then the intercom, the password, a wall that slides aside like a bad spy film. Inside, black velvet and good drinks. Silly entrance, honest room.

Known for A secret cocktail room behind a busy burger counter. europe.stripes.com

Buck and BreckMitte

The doorRing the small buzzer marked 'bar' at an unmarked door near Rosenthaler Platz.

Fourteen stools, one counter, no posing. Ring the bell and hope for a seat. If you get one, let the bartender decide. The house drink is cognac, absinthe and champagne, which is a plan, not a beverage.

Known for Fourteen seats around one counter and its namesake champagne cocktail. buckandbreck.com

Green DoorSchöneberg

The doorRing the bell at the green door on Winterfeldtstraße 50.

The door is green. That is the whole secret. Behind it, a long wood counter, a bit of David Lynch, and a crew pouring proper drinks with zero attitude about it.

Known for Kitschy David Lynch interiors and a very long cocktail list. greendoor.de

TausendMitte

The doorAn unmarked steel door under the railway arches near Friedrichstraße station.

A steel door under the S-Bahn tracks, no name, no photos, no explanations. Inside, a curved mirrored ceiling and a crowd that came to drink and talk, not to post. Berlin, minding its own business.

Known for A railway arch with a mirrored curved ceiling and a no-photo rule. tausendberlin.com

RubyIndre By

The doorA nondescript entrance in an 18th-century townhouse at Nybrogade 10, facing the canal.

It looks like somebody's well-off grandparents live here. Go in anyway. Old rooms, canal light, bartenders who trained half the city. No gimmicks, just a very good drink in a very old house.

Known for The bar that built Copenhagen's cocktail scene, open since 2007. cocktail-society.com

LidkoebVesterbro

The doorOff Vesterbrogade, through a passage and across a courtyard at 72B.

Duck off the main drag into a courtyard and find a former pharmacy, still dispensing remedies. Fire going downstairs, whisky upstairs in the attic. Good place to lose a winter evening without regret.

Known for Three floors in an old pharmacy, whisky bar in the attic. lidkoeb.dk

ParadisoEl Born

The doorThrough a working pastrami shop and the big fridge door beside the counter.

Order pastrami, then walk into the fridge. On the other side, one of the best bars on earth, and the crew still act like you are the point. Join the queue early. It moves.

Known for Theatrical cocktails, among the world's top bars year after year. paradiso.cat

Bobby's FreeEixample

The doorGive the barbershop the monthly password from their Instagram. A mirrored panel swings open.

You will feel ridiculous saying a password to a barber. Say it anyway. The mirror swings, the room turns gangster-movie, and the staff in braces and trilbies have clearly made peace with the joke.

Known for A barbershop front and a 1930s Prohibition-style room. tablejourney.com

Red FrogPríncipe Real

The doorRing the bell under the little red frog on Rua do Salitre to be buzzed in.

Find the frog, ring the bell, wait like a suspect. Small room, smart Portuguese twists on the classics, a sea fennel gimlet worth the hill you climbed. Lisbon was never short of drink. This made it sharper.

Known for Bills itself as the Iberian Peninsula's first true speakeasy. tablejourney.com

ProcópioPríncipe Real

The doorDown a quiet, unsigned alley to a green door. Ring the bell.

Speakeasy before anyone in Lisbon used the word. Ring the bell and step into red velvet and stained glass that have heard every secret in town since 1972. No DJ. Just talk, and drinks to help it along.

Known for Red velvet, stained glass and dark wood, pouring since 1972. tablejourney.com

Jerry Thomas SpeakeasyCentro Storico

The doorAnswer the question on their website for the password, then find Vicolo Cellini 30.

Homework first: a quiz for the password. Then an unmarked door, a 1920s room, and bartenders who dug up recipes everyone else forgot. Bring cash, book ahead, sit down and let them show off.

Known for Revived forgotten recipes; a fixture on world bar lists. europe.stripes.com

The Race Club SpeakeasyColosseo

The doorThrough a street-level shopfront dressed as a mechanic's garage, then down to the basement.

The garage upstairs is the cover story. Pay your five euros, head down to the brick vaults, and the night shifts into a lower, slower gear. Late hours, small room, book on weekends.

Known for A 1930s-styled brick-vaulted basement, five-euro membership at the door. tablejourney.com

1930Cinque Vie

The doorMembership and password only, arranged through the team's sister bars. Reservations required.

No sign, no address handed out freely, no walking in off the street. Earn the invitation through the people who run it. What waits is a hushed room and drinks that justify every hoop.

Known for Milan's most secret cocktail room, on the World's 50 Best Bars list. the50.com

Backdoor 43Navigli

The doorBook an hour inside the tiny room, or order from the takeaway hatch.

Four square metres, a handful of seats, a bartender close enough to read your mind. Book your hour or grab a drink through the hatch and walk the canal. Either way, you get the joke.

Known for Reputedly the world's smallest bar, a few square metres. tablejourney.com

A Liar ManKerameikos

The doorRing the bell at Sofroniou 2, tucked off Iera Odos near Kerameikos metro.

Ring the bell at an old neoclassical house and wander through rooms of faded frescoes into a walled garden. Cocktails until late, small Mexican plates after midnight. The name lies. The place doesn't.

Known for A neoclassical house with frescoes, a walled garden, late Mexican plates. tablejourney.com

Cantina SocialPsyrri

The doorTake the unmarked passage from Leokoriou 8 into the courtyard.

No craft menu, no mixology sermon. An unmarked passage, a courtyard, cheap drinks, cash only, and a crowd that stays until the sky goes grey. Sometimes that is exactly the bar you need.

Known for A cheap, cash-only, late-night courtyard bar. tablejourney.com

AnonymouS BarStaré Město

The doorOff Michalská street at number 12, away from the Old Town crowds.

The theme is masks, revolution and blacklight, which sounds exhausting. It is fun. The staff commit, the menu reveals itself under a UV torch, and the drinks hold up once the gimmick fades.

Known for Guy Fawkes and V for Vendetta theatrics, a UV-lit hidden menu. anonymousbar.cz

Black Angel's BarStaré Město

The doorThrough the Hotel U Prince lobby on Old Town Square and down into the cellar.

Upstairs, the tourist circus of Old Town Square. Downstairs, medieval vaults and serious classic cocktails. Book for the weekend, go early in the week, and let the stone walls do half the work.

Known for A medieval vaulted cellar under Old Town Square. tablejourney.com

MoonshineDIFC

The doorThrough a baby blue 1950s fridge door at the back of the Wise Guys sandwich shop.

You walk into a sandwich shop in the financial district and open the fridge. Somebody in a suit already did it ahead of you. Inside it's low ceilings, red light and drinks that refuse to be too sweet. Good.

Known for Balanced cocktails like the Kojikaze: vodka, pear, palo santo amazake, yuzu. cairoscene.com

Honeycomb Hi-FiBusiness Bay

The doorTucked behind a vinyl shop at the Pullman hotel in Business Bay.

A record shop out front, which tells you the priorities. Behind it, warm wood and a sound system somebody clearly lost sleep over. Order something simple, stop talking for a track or two, and listen.

Known for Sound first: warm wood, a serious listening setup and nightly DJ sets. whatson.ae

Blind TigerJumeirah Al Naseem

The doorThrough a discreet door at Turtle Lagoon in Jumeirah Al Naseem.

Dubai builds everything bigger, so a small dark room with jazz feels almost rebellious. Lanterns hang low, the wood is dark, the band does the talking. Sit near the music and let the resort outside disappear.

Known for Jazz, low-hung lanterns and deep wood tones. whatson.ae

LucyLuGemmayzeh

The doorAn unmarked blue door across the street from Le Trottoir de Paloma.

This city has been knocked down more times than anyone should count, and it still goes out at night. Find the blue door, follow the rabbit, and stay until the music starts making the decisions for you.

Known for Alice in Wonderland theatrics, a warrior rabbit mascot and late music. roadbook.com

ClubroomGemmayzeh

The doorBehind unassuming doors at the rear of a 1930s building on Pasteur Street.

A velvet corridor, mirrors on the ceiling, a rosewood desk. It's a lot, and it knows it. Fifty people fit, the street stays outside, and for a couple of hours Beirut gets to be glamorous on its own terms.

Known for Art deco mirrors, velvet curtains and black granite in a room for fifty. dezeen.com

BellboyLev HaIr

The doorOff a boutique hotel lobby on Berdyczewski Street, with a semi-secret room called Butler behind.

The drinks arrive in a bathtub, a fist, a fish. It should be unbearable. It isn't, because the people behind the bar take the liquid seriously. Over 25s only. Visit the bathroom even if you don't need to.

Known for Cocktails served in a red fist, a bubbling bathtub, a fish flask. spottedbylocals.com

The Gin BarCity Centre

The doorWalk through Honest Chocolate cafe on Wale Street to the bar behind it.

First you walk through a chocolate shop, which is the correct way to start any evening. Behind it, gin. Walk-ins are fine, nobody checks your shoes, and on a quiet winter night they may close early. So go early.

Known for A deep gin list, plus a newer bubbly bar alongside. theginbar.co.za

A10Ebisu

The doorPull open what looks like a bank of coin lockers across from Ebisu Park, then take the stairs down.

A row of coin lockers on an Ebisu street, and one of them is a door. Downstairs the records are soul and jazz, the drinks are serious, and nobody cares that you nearly walked past.

Known for Soul and jazz on vinyl, with house cocktails like the Tropic Espresso Martini. livelyhotels.com

Bar BenFiddichNishi-Shinjuku

The doorElevator to the ninth floor of an ordinary office building near Shinjuku Station. No sign to speak of.

Eight seats, jars of roots and bark, and a man grinding botanicals from his family's land. There is no menu. Tell him what you like, then be quiet and watch. Few people in Tokyo do this better.

Known for Farm-to-glass drinks with herbs from Chichibu, plus house-made absinthe. No menu. the50.com

Janai CoffeeEbisu

The doorSolve the riddle on its website to book, show the barista, then push the concealed door.

A coffee stand that makes you solve a puzzle before it will pour you a drink. Annoying, yes. Then the door gives, the room is warm, and the coffee cocktails earn every minute of the homework.

Known for Coffee cocktails in a private lounge behind a coffee stand. japanroyalservice.com

Bar NayutaAmerikamura

The doorFifth floor, no sign, just a geometric symbol and a door so low you have to stoop.

You bow to get in, which feels right. Inside it looks like a mad alchemist's home, full of bottles he made himself, and your drink comes out of a conversation. Amerikamura is loud outside. Not here.

Known for House-made infusions, bitters and liqueurs. No printed menu. timeout.com

CraftroomUmeda

The doorTwo floors underground in the Osaka Ekimae Daiichi Building, behind a facade you will walk straight past.

Two levels down in a station-side office basement, among the lunch counters. You would never guess. The cocktails are sharp and quietly ambitious, made by people who care more about your glass than your photo.

Known for Osaka's first bar on Asia's 50 Best Bars, all technique and creativity. timeout.com

Alice CheongdamCheongdam

The doorDown the basement stairs on Dosan-daero 55-gil, past a white rabbit sign.

The theme could be unbearable. It isn't. Follow the rabbit down, take your rose, and let them pour something odd and gorgeous. Years on Asia's best list, and the staff still treat you like a regular.

Known for Wonderland-themed cocktails, and a white rose for every guest. enprimeurclub.com

Le ChamberCheongdam

The doorPull the right book from the library shelf and the wall opens.

Champion bartenders built it and wanted a bookcase for a door. Fair enough. Inside it is leather, high ceilings and a piano. Plush, sure, but the drinks are made with real care. Pick the right book.

Known for Around 200 whiskies, house ginger beer and live piano under chandeliers. the50.com

Charles H.Gwanghwamun, Jongno

The doorA discreet door in the Four Seasons basement. H. Bar, inside it, hides behind a time-capsule entrance.

A hotel bar, which usually means beige. This one is underground, gilded and properly run, with a second secret room for people who like their secrets nested. Dress a little. Let the bartender steer.

Known for Polished mixology and city-themed menus, with a hidden bar inside the bar. press.fourseasons.com

FoxgloveCentral

The doorWalk into the umbrella shop out front and press down on the right umbrella. A wall slides open.

The front sells very nice umbrellas, which is a funny place to hide a bar in a city this wet. Behind it, jazz and brass. Behind that, another secret room. Hong Kong loves a double bluff.

Known for Live jazz, mid-century liner glamour, and Frank's Library hidden inside. yogawinetravel.com

The Old ManSoho, Central

The doorDown a short flight of nondescript stairs near the corner of Aberdeen and Staunton Streets.

A small basement named for a fisherman and a writer who drank too much. Small room, big ideas, a bar shaped like a capital I. The drinks are clever without being smug, and the bartenders are the reason to return.

Known for Hemingway-inspired cocktails served across an I-shaped bar. timeout.com

The DiplomatCentral

The doorFind the brass door behind the unmarked stair on Scavenging Lane, under H Code.

Down an unmarked stair, through a brass door, into a room that just wants you fed and happy. Classics done right, pub grub to soak them up, and a hello that means it. Diplomacy, basically.

Known for Reimagined classic cocktails and pub grub from John Nugent. tablejourney.com

Speak LowFormer French Concession

The doorPush the right shelf in the OCHO bar-tools shop, then climb a narrow brick tunnel.

The shop out front sells shakers and jiggers to bartenders, which is a nice wink. Slide the shelf and go up. Each floor gets calmer and more serious. Start at the bottom and see how high they let you climb.

Known for Shingo Gokan's multi-level bar, quieter and fancier with every floor. esquireindia.co.in

BarulesJing'an

The doorAn unmarked door on Tongren Lu painted with 'Bartender is always right' and Dick Bradsell's portrait.

Pick a strength, a fizz level, a sweetness, and roughly 150 ingredients sit waiting. It closed in 2020 and came back in 2024 because people missed it. The motto on the door is a joke that is also true.

Known for Freestyle cocktails built from about 150 ingredients and your mood. esquireindia.co.in

FlaskFormer French Concession

The doorThrough a concealed door at the back of Tiger Bites, a bao joint on Xiangyang Bei Lu.

Eat a bao first. It will help. Then go through the hidden door and let the night run its course. Early on it is polite. Later it is a party, and nobody pretends otherwise.

Known for Theatrical cocktails, and a lounge that turns into a party as the night goes. esquireindia.co.in

AlchemyXinyi

The doorInside the old MQ club: go upstairs, down a hallway of Prohibition photos, through a bookshelf door.

The club around it closed and the speakeasy kept going, which tells you who the loyal ones were. A bookshelf swings, a band plays, and someone makes you a classic with Taiwanese tea in it. Simple pleasures, done properly.

Known for Live jazz and Prohibition classics with oolong and chrysanthemum twists. taiwanobsessed.com

Ounce TaipeiDa'an

The doorA secret entrance at its new Da'an home. It moved, so check recent directions first.

No menu, no fuss. You describe what you are in the mood for, the bartender talks it through with you, and the drink usually beats what you would have ordered anyway. Conversation is the whole point.

Known for No menu. Tell the bartender what you like and trust them. taiwanobsessed.com

28 HongKong StreetCentral

The doorA nondescript shophouse door at number 28. No sign, no hint.

The bar that taught Singapore to drink properly, and it still does not bother with a sign. Big pours, real food, bartenders who remember you. Find the door, go in, sit at the bar.

Known for Strong classics like the Hanky Panky and Cognac Milk Punch. thehoneycombers.com

Taylor AdamRaffles Place

The doorWalk into what looks like a tailor's shop at One Raffles Place and keep going.

In the middle of the banking district, a tailor that does not sell suits. The fitting room is a bar. Bankers loosen their ties, the drinks follow old trade routes, and the joke lands every time.

Known for Commonwealth flavours: Vesper Martini, marmalade gin sours, arrack punches. esquireindia.co.in

Cat Bite ClubDuxton

The doorA coffee shop by day that turns speakeasy at night. Look for the red neon Cheshire cat.

Coffee in the morning, mezcal and soju at night, and a grinning neon cat to tell you which shift you walked into. Small, loud, and full of people who know their agave. Order the margarita first.

Known for Over 200 agave and Asian rice spirits, and the Cat Bite Margarita. esquireindia.co.in

Find The Locker RoomThonglor

The doorTake the narrow path beside Iron Fairies, then open the right steel locker.

A wall of gym lockers, and one of them is the way in. Corny, sure, and it works anyway. The menu runs from old classics to future experiments. Pick an era and let them surprise you.

Known for Cocktails split into past, present and future. says.com

Find The Photo BoothBantadthong

The doorStep into a working vintage photo booth and find the hidden button.

Squeeze into the booth, smile for the camera, work out the trick. The reward is a lush little room with deep house on the speakers and drinks that mix Manhattan habits with Thai ingredients. Keep the photos.

Known for New York cocktails with Thai accents, plush train-carriage seating, deep house. says.com

Rabbit HoleThonglor

The doorNo sign outside on Thonglor. Look for a plain wooden door and walk in.

No sign, a wooden door, one of Bangkok's busiest drinking streets. Three floors of dark rooms and whisky. Tell them what you like and let the bourbon do the talking.

Known for Bourbon-led custom drinks across three floors. says.com

PS150Chinatown

The doorWalk through a vintage toy shop below the Merchant's Lane cafe into a hidden corridor.

Petaling Street hustles outside. Walk past the old toys and the noise falls away into red light and old timber. The drinks taste of this place and its history. Stay long enough and the shophouse starts telling stories.

Known for Cocktails built on Malaysian flavours in a 1920s-style pre-war shophouse. simplyenak.com

Three X CoBangsar

The doorThrough a pop-up barbershop inside Bangsar Shopping Centre.

A barbershop in a shopping mall, about the last place you would look. Behind it, green walls, gold, old glassware, and some of the best drinks in Asia at fair prices. Get the haircut another day.

Known for 1920s glamour, bottle-green walls, and inventive originals from Amanda Wan's team. the50.com

The Blind PigLegazpi Village, Makati

The doorThe only sign is in Braille. Find it and you have found the door.

The sign is in Braille, so most people walk right past. Their loss. Inside it is dim and easy, the cocktails are made with care, and the office noise of Makati stays outside where it belongs.

Known for Billed as Manila's first true speakeasy, still making careful cocktails. legacy.federalland.ph

Bank BarBonifacio Global City

The doorWalk into the convenience store and keep going. The bar hides behind it.

You go out for a drink and walk through a convenience store to get it. Then the ceiling opens up, the room fills, and the bartenders get to work. Skip the snack aisle.

Known for Carefully mixed cocktails under surprisingly high ceilings. legacy.federalland.ph

The Baxter InnCBD

The doorDown an alley, through a few turns, then down the basement stairs.

Find the alley, then find it again. Downstairs is a whisky wall that seems to go on forever, blues on the stereo, and bartenders who move fast and still have time to talk. Worth getting lost for.

Known for A vast whisky wall, jazz and blues in a candlelit cellar. timeout.com

Old Mate's PlaceCBD

The doorClimb 102 steps, or take the lift, in an unmarked building.

No sign, a lot of stairs, and a reward at the top. Low light and books inside, a rooftop above, and drinks that take themselves seriously while the staff do not. Take the stairs. You will feel you earned it.

Known for Serious cocktails, a library feel, and a rooftop. timeout.com

Earl's Juke JointNewtown

The doorLook for the old Betta Meats butcher shopfront and walk in.

It still wears a butcher's sign, so half the street thinks it sells sausages. Inside it is all New Orleans: dark, loud, warm. The Sazerac is the move. The staff are why you stay for three.

Known for New Orleans spirit, sharp Sazeracs and friendly staff. timeout.com

Mill Place MerchantsCBD

The doorStep into a Victorian-era dressing room and go through the wardrobe.

A wardrobe for a door, because Melbourne never met a laneway joke it would not commit to. Through it, chandeliers, old brick and a proper drink. A little theatrical, a lot of fun.

Known for Chandeliers and speakeasy glamour in a 19th-century heritage building. timeout.com

Loch and KeyCBD

The doorBehind a bookcase inside the Captain Melville, then up a rickety staircase.

The oldest pub in town has a bookcase that is not a bookcase. Up the creaky stairs is a warren of couches and corners. Cosy, a bit shambolic, and better for it.

Known for A couch-filled warren of rooms above the city's oldest pub. timeout.com

Pizza Pizza PizzaCBD

The doorWalk through the pizzeria on Meyers Place and push past the black curtain at the back.

Get a slice. Then walk to the back, push through the curtain, and find a snug little bar where the drinks are good and nobody judges the grease on your fingers. Priorities, sorted.

Known for A cosy cocktail bar hiding behind a pizza shop. timeout.com

CaretakerBritomart

The doorOff Roukai Lane, down the stairs and through a nondescript wooden door.

No menu here. You talk, they listen, and a drink appears that fits the mood you could not describe. It is dark and quiet down there, and the bartenders read people the way good barbers do.

Known for No menu. Bespoke cocktails mixed to your mood. tablejourney.com

SlyKarangahape Road

The doorA gourmet hot dog shopfront with a mannequin hostess. The bar door hides behind her.

Once an adult video store, now a hot dog shop with a mannequin out front and a candlelit cocktail room behind. K Road at its best: cheeky, unfussy, kind to strangers. Get the dog with the drink.

Known for Craft cocktails paired with gourmet hot dogs. tablejourney.com