The category
A speakeasy is now a category more than a secret. Most of the world's best examples have working websites and accept reservations. What still distinguishes them is restraint: no signage, no shouted music, no flash. This page lists the anchor speakeasy in each major city, with a link to the deeper city guide.
Entered through a phone booth in a Crif Dogs hot dog shop on St. Mark's Place. Open since 2007, still the modern American speakeasy template. Reservations open at 3pm sharp for that evening only. East Village · Anchor pick
A James Beard Award winner that hides behind an unmarked door on Damen Avenue. The cocktail programme is one of the most-recommended in the country. See the full list on the best speakeasies in Chicago pillar. Wicker Park · Anchor pick
Behind an unmarked door at the back of Cole's French Dip on East 6th Street. The Eric Alperin-Sasha Petraske-aligned cocktail bar that brought the speakeasy template to Los Angeles in 2009. See our Varnish profile. Downtown · Anchor pick
A password-required bar in a building that was actually a Prohibition-era speakeasy. The Russell Room and the Library are the inner rooms worth requesting. Reservations strongly recommended, walk-ins limited. Tenderloin · Anchor pick
No menu, no signage. Tell the bartender what spirit and what mood, the drink follows. A Barbara Lynch-built room that has trained more of America's cocktail talent than any other Boston bar. Fort Point · Anchor pick
A working dry-goods store front that opens onto a serious cocktail bar at the back. The cocktail programme leans classic with a Caribbean tilt and the room is loud only on weekends. Walk in early. Downtown · Anchor pick
Pretend to be a client with a case to solve. The Time Out London review remains its best summary: a speakeasy that takes the bit seriously without losing the cocktail focus. Reservations essential for the inner room. Earl's Court · Anchor pick
The cocktail menu is built around a fixed set of contemporary classics, and the room is one of the city's most-recommended for a second-drink date. The World's 50 Best Bars list has ranked it most years since 2017. Le Marais · Anchor pick
A 14-seat counter that operates on strict reservation rules. No phones, no photos, one cocktail menu. The drink to ask for is the namesake Buck and Breck, a champagne-and-cognac combination that the bar has served since 2010. Mitte · Anchor pick
Not technically hidden but operating on the speakeasy ethos: a tight room, a fixed menu, a serious bartender team led by Diego Cabrera. Consistently placed on the World's 50 Best Bars list throughout the 2020s. Huertas · Anchor pick
Enter through a working pastrami sandwich shop. Inside, one of the world's most-awarded cocktail bars. Named World's Best Bar at the 50 Best ceremony in 2022 and 2023. Reservations essential, walk-ins available early. El Born · Anchor pick
A small, unmarked cocktail room behind a numbered door. The bar runs a strict reservation-only policy and a tightly edited menu. The 1920s aesthetic is held without falling into pastiche. Reguliersdwarsstraat · Anchor pick
Hisashi Kishi's basement counter remains Tokyo's most-recommended classic cocktail room. Twelve seats, white-jacketed bartenders, and a discipline of pour that justifies the cover charge. Ginza · Anchor pick
Named after Hemingway, hidden up a stairway with a small sign. Ranked World's Best Bar in 2019 by the 50 Best list. The cocktail menu changes regularly and the team has produced more than its share of Hong Kong's bartender alumni. Soho · Anchor pick
Not hidden but speakeasy-spirited in its programming: a tower of 1,300 gins behind the bar and a Negroni service that has placed it on the World's 50 Best list every year since 2018. Reserve for the upper-floor seating. Bugis · Anchor pick
A modern Australian take on the speakeasy: bright, fun, with serious bar talent. Ranked in the 50 Best list every year since 2020. Reserve for weekends, walk in for weekday evenings. The Rocks · Anchor pick
This is the index page. Each entry below names the anchor speakeasy in a major city, with a one-line orientation, and a link to the dedicated city directory. For city-deep editorial picks, follow the link inside each card.
Entered through a phone booth in a Crif Dogs hot dog shop on St. Mark's Place. Open since 2007, still the modern American speakeasy template. Reservations open at 3pm sharp for that evening only.
A James Beard Award winner that hides behind an unmarked door on Damen Avenue. The cocktail programme is one of the most-recommended in the country. See the full list on the best speakeasies in Chicago pillar.