New York has loved a secret bar ever since the prohibition. While today we can drink freely, New Yorkers always enjoy the more private bar or those that reminisce of an earlier time.

Dear Irving

Each room in this speakeasy bar is decorated to a different era. While the name of the bar comes the street and the writer, it has a friendly feel, welcoming all the guests to the speakeasy. There’s the JFK room, a Gatsby room, the F. Scott Fitzgerald, and an Abraham Lincoln room. Reservations are made for parties of 6 or lower.

Located: 55 Irving Place, NYC

The Back Room

Located down a flight of stairs under ‘Lower East Side Toy Company’, The Back Room is one of the two original speakeasies from the Prohibition period that is still in operation today. The decor, atmosphere, and even some of the glassware are practically the same as it was like in the 1920’s. Having been featured in many TV productions such as HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire, New York Speakeasy Tour" and NYC-TV‘s “Secrets of New York”, this is one of the bars to visit!

Located: 102 Norfolk St., New York

Brooklyn Social

This bar used to be a private Italian men’s social club but, recently in 2004, has now become a neighborhood bar in downtown Brooklyn. Photos of the original members hanging along the walls of the bar can date all the way back to the 1920s. Have a drink at the bar, the backyard patio, while playing pool in the backroom, or while jamming out to the jukebox.

Located: 335 Smith St, Brooklyn

PDT (Please Don’t Tell)

The way inside this speakeasy is rather cryptic and contemporary. Inside Crif Dogs, an East Village hot dog restaurant, you would enter a photo booth and dial ‘1’ once to get a wait time. When you’re inside the bar, there’s a menu to order food from in case you’ve caught the munchies and best part? The food gets passed to you from a secret wall.

Located: 113 St Marks Pl, New York

By Alix Vo