Enjoy enticing libations, prohibition-era locals, and being in on the secret at these speakeasy bars in Dallas!
Secret Dallas•
Shhhh…
There’s something special about speakeasies. The secretive, vicarious forbidden feel of transporting back to the prohibition make imbibing co*cktails all the more tantalizing. Stow away in best speakeasies Dallas has to offer – be apprised, check their socials before going as many require passwords! [Featured image: @midnightramblerbar]
1. Truth and Alibi
Tucked behind the facade of a candy shop, is one of the swankiest spots in Dallas, period. With password required entry, Truth and Alibi sets the tone when it comes to hidden gems.
Lavishly decorated in rich velvet lounge chairs and incandescent chandeliers, Truth and Alibi offers Dallasites a near-regal setting to sip on tantalizing co*cktails and catch a burlesque show.
📍2618 Elm St.
2. Atwater Alley
Discretion is the name of the game at Atwater Alley. In fact the only sign post the bar has takes the form of two ambiguous As on a door in a crusty alleyway behind Henry’s Majestic. For those that can get past the initial sketch factor, however, a warm-lit cove of tantalizing libations await.
Inside the double-A doors is a two-story dimly-lit co*cktail den. In a seamless blend of wooden fixtures, dark leather, and antique, old-timey lighting, Atwater Alley provides a hauntingly enchanting atmosphere to enjoy an elixir.
📍4900 McKinney Ave
3. Rare Books Bar
The low-lit interior of the bar is outfitted in leather furnishings, exposed brick walls, suspended chandeliers, and stacks of wooded bookshelves. In true literary tradition, the bar serves an extensive list of top-shelf spirits, with over 400 fine scotches and whiskeys.
co*cktail-wise, the bar a special assortment of whiskey-based drinks, specialty co*cktails, martinis, as well as tequila-based co*cktails – including their Don Quixote Old Fashioned, made with Socorro Reposado, orange and bourbon bitters, and simply syrup.
If your palate is more, say, Bukowski than Hemingway, Rare Books also serves a variety of beer, wine, and other liquors.
📍6959 Lebanon Rd. Suite 110
4. Scat Jazz Lounge
If you’re looking to experience the gone-but-not-forgotten underground New York jazz scene, Scat Jazz Lounge in Fort Worth is your vibe. Here, you can experience some of the best music the city has to offer in a rich laidback ambiance.
📍111 W 4th St #11
5. La Viuda Negra
Veiled as a bridal shop, La Viuda Negra is a Dallas speakeasy run by brothers, Javier and Luis Villalva. Their bar is stacked with a glowing variety of agave-based spirits, tequilas, and mezcals.
Editor’s co*cktail of choice is their Mez-call of the Wild, a sprightly concoction made with Mezcal Vago Elote, cassis liqueur, miel de ponche, and Giffard Banane Du Bresil. For noshes, the brothers also run the neighboring El Come Taco shop.
📍2513 N Fitzhugh Ave
6. Midnight Rambler
Midnight Rambler is one of the brighter speakeasies in Dallas. The bar has let it be known that it is not named after the Rolling Stone’s song, but music still plays an essential, albeit subtle, role in the speakeasy experience.
Located inside The Joule, the subterranean co*cktail lounge features art-inspired co*cktails spun by award-winning mixologists. Midnight Rambler is open from Tuesday to Saturday and features a rotating selection of up-and-coming DJs.
📍1530 Main St.
7. High and Tight
Get a fade by day, get faded by night. High and Tight is a 1920s’ themed barbershop that turns into a speakeasy at night. Enter via the barbershop on Main St. or follow the green light to the hidden door on Elm St. If you’re having trouble, just follow the music, as High and Tight is prone to stage a lively variety of live acts.
📍2701 Main St. #180/190
8. Thompson’s Bookstore
Another hidden gem in Fort Worth, Thompson’s Bookstore is a homey prohibition-style co*cktail lounge with the spirits to match.
Fit with leather lounge chairs, deep wood furnishings, velvet drapes, and antler mounts, the bar resembles that of a frontier saloon. The speakeasy also has a code of decency, with no tobacco use permitted, and a call to treat others with respect.
📍900 Houston St.
9. Paschall Bar
Hailed as Denton’s only speakeasy, Paschall is a subtle cabin-esque co*cktail lounge that serves handcrafted co*cktails in a classy atmosphere. Their drink serves classic and new world-inspired libations with options ranging from classics, juleps, citrus-based, absinthe, and dessert co*cktails.
📍122 N Locust Denton
10. Akai
Suffused in dazzling red ambient lights, Akai is a sultry, Japanese-inspired speakeasy tucked away in the back of Musume sushi restaurant.
Finding the hidden bar is reminiscent of the infamous one-shot take in Goodfellas, in which customers wind their way through the restaurant, dodge chefs in the kitchen, and pass a storage zone before arriving at pale wall where Akai awaits on the left. Visitors, if so inclined, can also take a shortcut through a door marked by a Japanese symbol off Crockett Street.
1740 Crockett St.
11. Dirty Laundry
Dirty Laundry seems like your run-in-the-mill laundromat. Equipped with all the necessary equipment to do a load of washing and drying, seek out the out-of-order machine to enter the dimly-lit Dirty Laundry speakeasy.
Here, you’ll find a load of laundry-themed co*cktails ranging from the Last Load to the Fluff ‘N Fold. Dirty Laundry is open until 2 am nightly.
📍1005 Foch St.
12. Red Phone Booth
Red Phone Booth offers a prohibition-style experience at The Colony. The speakeasy rates higher on the exclusive scale, as guests must acquire a password from someone in the know; this password visitors will have to dial in to the antique London red phone booth to get in.
The venue is also tight about its refined dress code, so be sure to get out your Sunday best when visiting. Once inside, visitors can enjoy craft co*cktails, Neopolitan pizza, and a tasteful cigar program.
📍5774 Grandscape Blvd.
See more: Doc, Theres’s A Back To The Future-Themed Bar In Dallas
Tags:beer, co*cktails, craft beer, wine
