We noticed a few things this week.
A few theaters, some roasteries, that cute florist you didn’t know existed, and more cozy spots from the cities we live in.
- The Odd Edit
The Speakeasy That Hides Behind a Psychic's Neon Sign in the West Village
A West Village speakeasy hiding behind a neon Psychic sign since 2004, and the Art Deco cocktail program that shaped NYC's craft bar scene.
- The Odd Edit
A 19th-Century Longshoreman Bar at the End of Brooklyn
Sunny's Bar in Red Hook has been open since 1890 — built for dockworkers, saved by Hurricane Sandy fundraising, and still run by Tone Balzano Johansen. The city's best bars are always somewhere no one thinks to go.
- The Odd Edit
A Victorian Parlor Hidden Behind a Doorbell in Chelsea
Raines Law Room: a Victorian parlor in Chelsea behind a brass doorbell. Opened 2009, no standing, ~40 cocktails — an evening that starts before you walk in.
- The Odd Edit
A Cocktail Bar Sleeping Inside San Francisco's Old Newspaper Building
Local Edition occupies the former San Francisco Examiner press room beneath the Hearst Building on Market St. The marble bar top came from Hearst Castle. Opened 2012.
- The Odd Edit
A Speakeasy Hidden Behind a Hot Dog Stand on St. Mark's Place
Behind a phone booth inside Crif Dogs on St. Mark's Place, PDT has been NYC's most influential speakeasy since 2007. Still reservation-only, still worth it.
- The Odd Edit
A Cocktail Bar in the Former Printing Room of the San Francisco Examiner
A candlelit jazz bar in the basement of SF's Hearst Building — once the Examiner's print room, now home to marble from Hearst Castle, newspaper cocktail menus, and live jazz every night.
- The Odd Edit
A Hi-Fi Listening Bar Built to Sound Like the Inside of a Speaker
A hi-fi listening bar in Greenpoint built like a recording studio — birch plywood, Danley speakers, vinyl residencies, and cocktails without a menu.
- The Odd Edit
A Prohibition-Era Speakeasy That Still Requires a Password
At 501 Jones St with no sign and a password on the door, Bourbon & Branch has occupied San Francisco's most seriously run speakeasy since 2006.
- The Odd Edit
A Tesla-Themed Speakeasy Behind a NoMad Coffee Counter
Inside the 1890s NoMad building where Nikola Tesla lived and ran rooftop radio tests, a coffee counter closes at 5pm and a hidden cocktail bar opens behind it.
- The Odd Edit
A Bar Hidden Behind a Password and a Bookcase
Bourbon & Branch: a 2006 San Francisco cocktail bar hiding inside a real 1921 speakeasy. The password isn't theatre — it's the filter.
