Keep it down. We’re trying to drink!
It is often said that good friends will meet you at the local dive bar for happy hour tequila shots. But great friends will squeeze inside a phone booth with you while you wait to get into a literal hole-in-the-wall joint for a fine cocktail. Or perhaps that’s just my saying. But like the high quality of these bars, you will also want high quality company to drink with at my top picks for speakeasy bars in the city.
kThe cat’s out of the bag. The beans have been spilled. You’ve heard it through the grapevine. Everyone seems to know about this amazing place that is indeed hidden behind the phone booth in Crif Dogs. How charming is that? Perhaps not as charming as the bouncer and the friendly bartenders who are clearly in love with their fancy mixology professions. They make their drinks strong and provide you with quality ingredients to sip on. Cocktails are about $15 each, and considering the quaint and not-so-hidden gem that PDT is, this is quite a deal for amazing drinks.
Death and Company
433 E 6th St.
http://www.deathandcompany.com/
As Ernest Hemingway once said, “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk and that will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” Find this inspirational quote and many more sprinkled all over the Death & Co. menu as you search for your drink of choice. Choose your drink here based on alcohol categories from whisky to brandy to champagne mixes and allow the bartenders to whisk your palette away with their creative blends. Personal favorites include the Rita Hayworth and the Green Flash. The bouncer does regulate the flow of patrons so you may have to wait outside for a bit before getting seated, but the time will fly with their extremely welcoming and personalized small talk.
8th St. Wine Cellar
28 W. 8th St.
http://8thstwinecellar.com/
Now this may not exactly be a speakeasy, but if you can make it for the 4-7 happy hour specials you can do very well for yourself on their $5 red or white house wines. But regardless, wine enthusiasts should rejoice for a bar that is specifically catered to their love of fermented grapes. Tucked away in a basement entrance, 8th St. has a varied selection of wines and great pairings of food and appetizers like meatballs in marinara sauce or yellowfin tuna sliders. The atmosphere is laid back yet classy, so you can feel right away home without the needing to dress to impress.
Angel’s Share
Village Yokocho
8 Stuyvesant St.
Small, tiny and romantically intimate. Don’t be fooled by the somewhat exclusive nature of Angel’s Share–if you’re fortunate to get a seat you’ll be sent straight to heaven and won’t soon forget it. The feeling that you are left with after exiting is mostly that of “out of this world,” as if this well-known speakeasy transported you completely out of the city streets. Their most tried and true cocktail is the Early Grey with Ginger Beer as well Stormy Weather, a refreshing, fruity drink that won’t overload you with sugar.
Diana Tsuchida U.F.P Contributor
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