There are endless hidden gems to discover in New York City, you just have to know where to look.
LessFormerly known as Milk & Honey, the bar on 134 Eldridge Street has been reinvented as Attaboy since 2012. With no menu to pick a cocktail from you’ll have to tell the bartender what you’re in the mood for and trust that they’ll whip up the perfect drink for you.
A personal favorite, Angel’s Share has a cozy atmosphere behind an unmarked wooden door inside the East Village Japanese restaurant Village Yokocho. Each drink is unique, and all are worth trying; like the Flirtibird (Mizo No Mai Shochu, yuzu, shiso, agave nectar, plum salt) or the Night Train (Grey Goose Pear, galangal chai tea syrup, lime, ginger beer, bitters, thyme).
Paying homage to the tailor’s fitting room that once resided here, Bo Peep is a cocktail and piano bar with plenty of red velvet seats. The bar itself was made from the tailor’s table and they serve up fun cocktails with names like “Foxy Lady,” “Sailor Beware,” “Some Like it Hot.”
This Long Island City spot isn’t exactly hidden, but you’ll still enjoy the same speakeasy vibes you’d get at any of the other bars on this list. Write on the chalkboard bartop as you sip on one of the fun cocktails they make, like the Tiger Chilled Coffee (which is made with dark rum, Jamaican rum, cold brew coffee, allspice liqueur, cinnamon syrup, absinthe, with a float of sweet whipped cream). You’ll find this bar right under the neon light that simply says “BAR”.
In this West Village hidden behind a psychic’s reading den is the speakeasy known as Employees Only. The spot just reopened on April 1st so head to the bar for a drink (and some food, too). Their drink menu is longer than most speakeasies, so you won’t run out of things to try. Look for a neon sign that says “PSYCHIC”, a tarot card reader, and walk through the curtain doorway to enter the bar.
Of course the main appeal of speakeasies are their mystery, but have you ever considered that you might be missing one every time you ride the subway?Yes, La Noxe is hidden away at the 28th St. subway station behind an inconspicuous door. But once found, guests are quickly whisked away into a secret world that’s been right underneath their nose…and quite literally their city.
This might look like an adorable ice cream shop, but hidden behind an ice cream carton door is an incredible secretive cocktail bar! Their drinks are sure to impress, with ornate glasses, New York themed names and ice cream inspired cocktails try The Next Stop Is Hunter College made with 7 Bread Seed Cruzan Spiced Rum, Dried Chocolate Peanut Butter, Lotus Cookie Spread, Housemade Exotic Fruit Purée, SoCo Dirty Chocolate Ice Cream, Young’s Chocolate Stout and severed in a cone cup.
Patent Coffee is a neighborhood cafe by day, but once evening comes the shop transforms into a dark, candle-lit decoy. Hiding behind an unassuming door in the back is Patent Pending—a swanky speakeasy in an old cellar of the Radio Wave Building. The speakeasy takes on a radio-theme to match the history of the building it’s in, and the cocktails are categorized by: Energy, Frequency, Vibration, and Descent.
Named after a law from 1896 that attempted to ban drinking in New York, Raines Law Room is a swanky bar with dozens of cocktail options to choose from. It’s hidden behind an unassuming black door so you’ll have to pay attention to the address.
Disguised inside an actual bodega, The Little Shop has an entire cocktail bar and lounge hidden within the building. Find the sliding door in the back and enter into an eclectic space filled with vintage furniture and maximalist wallpaper.