Imagine knowing exactly which unmarked door to push, the password, the booth to ask for, the drink to order. No wrong turns, no tourist traps. Just step inside.
Every one runs start to finish, the spots, the timing, the order to do them in, plus reservations, maps, budgets, and a backup for each.
Walk into an unassuming craft-beer pub, find the bright white door near the front, and slip through into a lantern-lit apothecary bar, one of North America's 50 Best.
The menu is written as a list of ailments and their cures, and it is not a gimmick, the drinks lean herbal, tea-driven and genuinely medicinal-adjacent, with Chinese ingredients you won't see elsewhere in town.
Reservations are required and seating is a strict two-hour window. It's a 15-minute drive from downtown, so make it the anchor of the night rather than a stop along the way.
When one bar isn't enough, there's one more waiting across the bridge, a jewel-box champagne-and-oyster den hidden behind a lobby sculpture.
Planning a night out like this yourself can take hours. Here, it's already done, yours to download in seconds.
Finding these is half the fun and half the problem, some don't have signs, and a couple actively pretend they don't exist.
We've knocked on the wrong doors so you don't have to: which shelf to pull, what to say at the confessional, when to book and when to just walk in.
These are the five we take people to when we want to watch their face the moment the wall opens.
Now go find the door,
The Five On ItPick one, make the reservation, and go - the hard part is already done.
Unlock all five speakeasiesInstant access to your web guide, printable PDF, and map.
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