Hidden doors, secret passwords, and the bars behind them.
Hours, passwords, fees and smoking rules change. Check the venue’s website or social before you go. 21+ only. Info verified October 2026.
We step into a hot dog joint (Crif Dogs), squeeze into a vintage phone booth, pick up the receiver, and the wall swings open. Nearly 20 years on, it's still the speakeasy every other speakeasy copies.
Below the cannoli crowds on Hanover Street hides a real 1920s speakeasy turned cigar parlor. We light up underground with a pour, then pop back up into the North End for dessert.
We duck off Whiskey Alley into a subterranean lounge with a two-story library and a crystal chandelier, right under Louisville's historic Whiskey Row. Bourbon country's speakeasy, done right.
We step into a vintage London phone booth, dial the secret code, and a hidden door opens onto a 1920s lounge with a cigar vault. Equal parts theater and terrific Old Fashioneds.
The bar that kicked off Nashville's cocktail scene in 2009, now perched on a fifth floor. The entrance is around back on Paseo Place, so it still feels like a secret. A grown-up break from Broadway honky-tonks.
Down an alley and down the stairs into a basement bar with a newspaper-style menu (the 'Alley Cat Rag'). A perfect nightcap after a Savannah ghost tour.
Head downstairs in historic Green Door Tavern and find the hidden door on the right. It opens onto a tiny Prohibition-style room. Cozy and a bit theatrical.
Follow the octopus mural down to an alley door and look for the green lantern: green means there's room, so knock. Inside it's spirits and cocktails only, with no beer, wine or food.
We head underground beneath the Ambassador Hotel into a Prohibition-style lounge that pays homage to the old Dockum Drugstore once on this spot. The 'pharmacists' build craft cocktails with house-made bitters and syrups, and local musicians play several nights a week. We were there in July 2026.
Tucked away off Kellogg and Dugan, this hidden-door speakeasy pours classic cocktails in a dim, intimate bar from 7 to 10 PM, then turns into a late-night lounge until 2. There's a private patio, too.
Heads up: Cigars are on the menu, but the bar doesn't say whether you can smoke inside or only on the patio; call ahead.
A 100-plus-year-old building with three moods: a main bar, a speakeasy hidden behind a bookshelf, and a third-floor cigar lounge with leather chairs. Cowtown cool.
Beneath one of San Antonio's classic saloons sits a moody River Walk-level lounge with a serious whiskey list. A perfect escape from the margarita crowds.
We walk into El Rey Liquors, whisper the password, and follow staff through a walk-in-freezer door down to a hidden bar. It's pure Breaking Bad-town fun.
We walk into what looks like an old bookstore, and a bookcase swings open into one of America's most decorated bars (once named Best American Cocktail Bar). It has 500+ bottles and 60+ classic cocktails.
Order at Bodega, a street-level tavern, then slip down to The Rest, a moody basement with 1920s decor, vinyl and a deep whiskey list. It's a fun twist in Utah.
A true Prohibition-era speakeasy address where we ring a buzzer and give a password to get in. There are several hidden bars inside, including the secret Wilson & Wilson.