Lucy Britner: The World's Best Speakeasy Bars

This month World's 50 Best Bars editor Lucy Britner rounds up her top speakeasy-style bars from around the world


BARTENDERS AND DRINKS WRITERS seem to love the romance of the Prohibition era. The secret meetings, the cocktails it inspired and the all-round mysterious vibe attached to running – and drinking in – bars that were not supposed to exist.

With their unmarked doors, phone booths and rickety basement steps, speakeasy-themed bars have been carved out of basements, apartments, storerooms and neighbouring shops all over the world. 

Here’s a quick historical recap on Prohibition: in short, it was the ban on sale and production of alcohol.
Lucy BritnerIt happened all over the world at various times but the most famous – and the one referenced by many speakeasies – was in the US from 1920-1933.

The Anti-Saloon League claimed that alcohol was damaging American society and religious groups believed it went against god’s will though, ironically, some vineyards were allowed to go on producing altar wine.  

Gangsters such as Al Capone made huge amounts of money dealing in illicit alcohol and, by 1933, it was repealed because it wasn’t working.

Still, it remains an important part of alcohol’s colourful history and, for those with an interest in their profession, an important part of being a bartender. 


PDT, 113 St Mark’s Place, New York

This is the daddy of speakeasy-themed bars and it’s impossible to write about it without mentioning the entrance – through a phone box in the neighbouring Crif Dogs hotdog shop. The affable Jim Meehan started the concept in 2007 and the novel entrance – which we suspect many punters are as excited about as the drinks – came about because of licensing laws. If the bar had its own street entrance, Meehan would’ve needed a separate licence, but since Crif had one and all that separated the spaces was a wall – hey presto, knock a hole in it. So it really has all the hallmarks of a speakeasy.

Nightjar, 129 City Road, London

Nightjar

barnightjar.com

The third best bar in the world, according to the World’s 50 Best Bars 2012 poll. You have to descend the stairs to the basement. From the street, you have absolutely no idea what lies beneath – think 20s jazz bands, bee-yoo-tiful cocktails made by one Marian Beke and a plethora of handsome folk to boot. There are plenty of quiet corners for clandestine get-togethers, but if you want to get up and dance to live music, let the rhythm guide you.

Happiness Forgets8-9 Hoxton Square, London

Happiness Forgets

happinessforgets.com

This is a no-frills hangout with bare brick walls – or ‘high end-cocktails in a low-rent basement’, as the bar describes itself. There’s no standing room but it’s not really the kind of place you’d want to stand around in. For me, this is a place to come and sit at the bar. The backbar is absolutely heaving with bottles and the ’tenders sport old-school aprons, waistcoats and some, of course, go for bow ties. 

It doesn’t like the ‘speakeasy’ tag but it’s almost invisible in an otherwise vibrant square.

Opium, 15-16 Gerrard Street, London

opiumchinatown.com

London’s Gerrard Street – or China town – is awash with tourists snapping pictures of the rows of crispy ducks hanging in the windows of the numerous Chinese restaurants. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night you’re there, it’s always bustling. But there’s a mysterious green door – they call it a Jade door on the website – at 15-16 Gerrard Street and most tourists will walk straight past it. Next to the door, there’s a small plaque that reads Opium. Up you go into an old townhouse for dim sum and cocktails. There’s also an academy and Opium-style den at the top. Try a Flying Firecracker – Bombay Sapphire, Maraschino, Absinthe, grapefruit juice, gunpowder tea, liquorice bitters and juniper syrup with a pinch of salt. You also get a handful of those little firecrackers to throw around the place. 


Little Red Door, 60 Rue Charlot, Paris

lrdparis.com

This place counts Jill Saunders among its staff and, if you have met her, expect the bar to be as friendly and fabulous as she is. The cocktail menu boasts some seriously boozy libations and the descriptions are amusing. Try a Do Not Violette: Illegal Mezcal reposado, tequila Ocho Blanco, Amaro Mandragola, Cocchie Americano vermouth, violet liqueur, Peychaud bitters. The bar describes it as: “When violet meets a smoky plant. Boom!”


Eau de Vie, 229 Darlinghurst Road, Sydney, Australia

eaudevie.com.au

We’re well within speakeasy territory here. For a start, it’s tucked away at the back of the Kirketon hotel. Secondly, it describes itself as an “intimate, dimly-lit, jazz-infused speakeasy created for the discerning bon vivant.” It continues: “Let our amicable host and expert team of bartenders transport you back to a much forgotten era when great service, cocktails, Tommy Guns and good times were king.”


Dry Martini, Carrer Aribau 162-166, Barcelona

javierdelasmuelas.com

OK, so the bar itself is no speakeasy – it’s huge and clearly visible from the street – but hidden behind the kitchens is Speakeasy (below), the restaurant concept where you can get a different Martini with every course. The place has still got that speakeasy vibe of yesteryear – you’re effectively sitting in the liquor storeroom. The tasting menu is a particular treat and if you have a few hours to while away and room for four or five different Martinis (including wasabi when I was there), this is the joint for you. Dry Martini boss Javier de las Muelas is a pioneer of the drinks industry and Speakeasy is just one feather in his cap. 


The Varnish, 18 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, US

The Varnish

Thevarnishbar.com

New York tends to get the attention when it comes to clandestine hangouts but the West Coast has got its fair share. The Varnish is tucked behind a back door at Cole’s and bar legend Sasha Petraske played a part in its set-up. In 2012, the bar was named 14th best in the world and also scooped the Tales of the Cocktail award for Best American Bar. 

Mutis, 438 Avenida Diagonal, Barcelona

Hidden away in a residential apartment building, like all good speakeasies, the initial challenge is to find the place and earn yourself entry – it feels exclusive. Once inside you can admire the velvet drapes and lose yourself in the sound of ivories being tickled by the pianist. The bar was hailed the 16th best in the world in the 2012 poll and writer Tom Sandham says of it: “It’s a speakeasy in essence, but one with a European flavour and, while it might be unfamiliar to some readers, this position in the top 20 of our list is sure to catapult it to a new queue of potential flatmates.”

Frank’s, Arévalo 1445, Buenos Aires, Agentina

Frank's

Franks-bar.com

Although the website doesn’t give much away, it links directly to a busy Facebook page with 44.5k of ‘likes’. The page is alive with cocktail recipes and links to music videos as well as lots of old-fashioned images. The bar’s interior is a dark haven of softly twinkling chandeliers and... you enter through a phone booth.