Bars in NYC are almost as varied as the crowds that stroll the busy streets. Rooftop bars with pricey cocktails, homey Irish pubs, and crowded neighborhood favorites are just a few “bar flavors” in the city. A handful of them actually survived the Prohibition Era while others are a throwback to this interesting period in our nation’s history. Here are some of the best hidden NYC bars to get a feel for the forbidden libation hideaways of yesteryear.

Featherweight
Enter through a hidden door or an alluring street entrance for superior cocktails at Featherweight. This low-lit speakeasy is located inside Sweet Science, a neighborhood eatery serving classic comfort foods. Find Featherweight at 135 Graham Avenue in Brooklyn.

Please Don’t Tell
Behind a phone booth inside Crif Dogs, Please Don’t Tell’s name tells it all. The owner’s fascination with speakeasies is apparent here. Sophisticated cocktails, concoctions laced with port, and fancy hot dogs characterize Please Don’t Tell. This “hidden bar” is located at 113 St. Mark’s Place, NYC.

Angel’s Share
A romantic room with a view awaits at the top of the stairs inside Village Yokocho that lead to Angel’s Share, a speakeasy-type bar reminiscent of Tokyo cocktail temples serving exotic cocktails like Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a bourbon-based concotion laced with burning cloves and cinnamon. Drop in at 8 Stuyvesant St., NYC for luxe Japanese whiskey and international fare. Since this bar stays packed, the owners opened another secret bar. The “other Angle’s Share” is an annex upstairs from Sharaku at 14 Stuyvesvant St.

Sunshine Laundromat
The Sunshine Laundromat plays upon the reality that real speakeasies didn’t serve up fancy Manhattans and martinis. Get a feel for simpler times at this bar behind a faux-washer door that slings cold bottled beer among patrons enthralled with the many pinball machines. Sunshine Laundromat is located at 860 Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn.

Fig. 19
Follow the secret pathway and join the swank Lower East Side crowd to this trendy bar at 131 Chrystie St., NYC. Fig. 19 is located above Home Sweet Home, a dance-happy bar with chandeliers and classy cocktails. Look for the door in the back of the upstairs art gallery to get to this bar with its soothing soft jazz.

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