One hundred years after Prohibition and just three years after a global pandemic threatened to undo the bar industry, speakeasies are going strong. They’re also diversifying. While there are still many dark, mysterious, broody locales, there are other speakeasies with lighter, brighter designs that offer a more modern feel.
“There is still a thrill knowing very few people know about the speakeasy, and it makes guests feel special,” says Arlene Spiegel, a restaurant consultant in New York City. “There is also the bonding aspect with the person or group that included you. Knowing the knock-knock secret password to enter is satisfying.”
Spiegel notes that many of today’s speakeasies are entered via retail storefronts or restaurants. “The stark difference in lighting, decor, music and vibe is a 180-degree contrast that transports the guest to an immersive experience.”
To maintain their mystique, however, speakeasies need to stay within the boundaries of tradition, Spiegel points out. They need a “surprising location, limited occupancy, immersive, sensual and tactile environment, and of course the secret, coded password.”
Here’s a look at three trendsetting speakeasies.
Z Lounge
Albuquerque, N.M.
Hotels are a popular spot for speakeasies.
And Z Lounge in Hotel Zazz in Albuquerque, N.M., celebrates the decades since the hotel opened in the 1950s.
Designed by Sharmin Dharas, who grew up in the hotel and is now the general manager, Z Lounge has a fun, immersive and quirky aesthetic, that continues the feel of the hotel overall, which has a hot pink exterior.
Guests enter Z Lounge through a hidden door in the lobby. They tap a golden banana on the wall three times and the wall opens to reveal the speakeasy. “The biggest thing you notice as you walk in is the light,” Dharas says. “It’s very bright in the lobby, then as soon as you enter Z Lounge it’s warm and low key.”
The first thing customers see is a wall filled with haphazardly hung mirrors, with one featuring the image of a mysterious man with a mustache. Guests then walk to the right and into the lounge area, which is adorned with velvet couches and chairs, as well as velvet drapes to keep out the glare and to maintain the speakeasy feel. The bar area creates a little cocoon, Dharas says, and only seats six. Behind it is a floor-to-ceiling mirror. The backsplash of the bar is black, and mirrors the front of the bar.
At the end of the bar, a beaded curtain in a doorway leads to a separate room with a different color tone — pinks and purples “because it’s a different vibe on its own,” Dharas says.
An original McIntosh record player spins real vinyl and creates the backbone of the space, where customers can play the records that are on display or can bring their own. Dharas sourced vinyl from social media followers, local antique and thrift shops and friends, using the covers as wall art. The vinyl is intended to be inclusive of genres and decades to be welcoming to all hotel guests. It also connects with the speakeasy’s nostalgic theme, Dharas notes.
Dharas’ goal was for the speakeasy to feel like a New Mexico living room in the 1970s, so she added touches like a poncho and horns on the wall above the sound system.
Throughout both rooms there’s a lot of wood and velvet for warmth and to contrast with the lobby, which features a lot of marble. “We wanted to merge the two spaces but also keep them separate,” Dharas says. But she continued the marble with bar tables, which also accentuates the warmth of the velvet.
It was important to Dharas to incorporate color therapy aspects into the design. She installed color-changing lights in the ceiling, bar pendants and mid-century modern standing floor lamps — so staff are free to help create the appropriate vibe. “We usually start with red, for a more mellow cocktail lounge feel, then continue to change it through the night,” she points out.
MM
Winter Park, Fla.
Members-only speakeasies discreetly nestled within restaurants that are open to the public is another hot speakeasy trend.
Visitors to AVA MediterrAegean, a restaurant in Winter Park, Fla., can slip through a velvet curtain into a cocktail bar with global influences at MM speakeasy.
Designer Olya Volkova, head of OV & Co. in Los Angeles, wanted the space to reflect the Mediterranean and influences from Japan. “The inspiration was the speakeasy bar, but how do you translate that for the client that’s well traveled,” she says.
MM, which opened last November, allows members and guests to enter via a hidden staircase, behind the restaurant’s bar. Elements that influence the main restaurant give way to design cues taken from France’s Belle Epoque and the art deco movement in the speakeasy.
Art deco references are shown in the opulent velvet curtains and chairs; the Mediterranean is glimpsed through the blue seats and flashes of blue in the rugs, and hints of gold throughout, Volkova notes. The browns have a gold hue in certain lights. The wallpaper has undertones of gold. The back bar is painted with gold leaf and patinated. There are gold leaf flecks in the ceiling, which glow and bounce the light around. The wallpaper features Asian motifs of dried grass with gold in the background.
Volkova deliberately used a lot of mirrors in the space to create a sense of infinity, like the Mediterranean Sea, and they seem to enlarge the 1,400-square-foot space, which has 41 seats.
Volkova brought in Asian influences in one corner with a curved mural inspired by Japanese lacquer painting. She had a local artist create the mural. It was painted off-site then applied to the wall on boards.
MM’s floors are covered with vintage rugs. “We thought back to the salon and luxury apartments,” Volkova says. She sourced vintage rugs from Turkey. The different colors, from browns to reds and blues, help create sections. “It gives a sense of your living room,” she says.
Lighting was important in MM, and Volkova included lots of hidden LEDs that would highlight the gold leaf and sconces around the room that bounce the reflections off the mirrors. The mural is lit from above and below with LED lights and has some pearlescent paint so the fish “have a little glow,” Volkova says.
The centerpiece is a column in the middle of the space. “Frequently, art deco design reflects grandeur by employing large dimensions, striking contrasts, and daring embellishments,” says Volkova. “We hide a large column behind a geometric patterned bronze mirror. And the top element slants upwards from the top of the mirrored column to mimic the appearance of stage lights, a palm tree, a peacock tail. It resembles sunburst. Integrated lighting causes the design to exude a radiant and captivating aura. This column became a star of the show.”
Singlish
New York City
Singlish opened two years ago, tucked away above a bar in New York City’s Union Square.
The idea was to reflect Singaporean culture, which itself has been influenced by a lot of other countries, including China, India and Portugal.
The tiny space is just 540 square feet and has 14 seats. “We wanted it to be a small space since Singapore is such a small country,” says Salil Mehta, owner and designer.
Guests enter Singlish by going up a staircase, out of a cocktail bar on the first floor. There’s no sign outside, but guests tend to find it because they see candles flickering in the windows upstairs.
One focal piece is the solid concrete bar. “Singapore is a concrete jungle so the bar had to be made of concrete,” says Mehta. The second, and primary, focal point of the speakeasy is a display of seven chandeliers and about 45 Indian brass bells to the side of the bar, which hangs over the staircase. “There should always be that one focal point and everything else should complement that,” he says.
Mehta incorporated design features from countries that have influenced Singapore. This includes wood carvings from China (on the downstairs door that leads directly to the staircase to Singlish, and on the back bar); the brass bells from India; and the Portuguese chandeliers.
The space is long and narrow with lots of dark wood, but balanced by a full wall of mirrors, facing the windows, bringing in natural light during the daytime. “We try to get very intimate at night,” Mehta says. “There’s candles everywhere.” The mirrors also help create some depth in this narrow space.
For the lighting, Mehta opted for simple lighting over the bar “because I wanted everyone’s eyes to be on the chandelier installation.” The booths have wall sconces, which are very dimly lit with 20-watt bulbs.
Mehta worked with a local antique shop to source his mirrors and chandeliers, all of which are authentic, from the early 1900s. “I make a weekly visit so every time I see something interesting, I buy it and put it in storage,” he says.
There are five leather seats at the bar, bringing a touch of luxury and the three booths feature emerald velvet seats for a “dark, moody feel,” he says.
This floor of the building originally housed a printing press, so Mehta wanted to retain the wooden ceiling, beams and floor “to remind people of the history of the place.” He sanded and refinished both and the booths were custom made from oak. A wrought iron railing surrounds the staircase and adds to the mixture of mediums, Mehta says. These, he explains, “are reminiscent of different artisans that have had an influence in Singaporean architecture.” +