Anyone Know of any "Hidden" Restaurants/Bars?

[JamesG]

What I mean by "hidden" is that you wouldn't know at first glance that the place is a restaurant or bar. It could have a nondescript entrance or be an exclusive "members only" or reservation-only type of place.

Here are the two that I know of:





Criff Dogs / Please Don't Tell in St Marks Place, NYC


Criff Dogs is a small hot dog restaurant down a small set of stairs in St. Mark's Place. What some may not realize is that the restaurant serves as a "secret entrance" to a small pub, Please Don't Tell. It is open to the public, however reservations must be made.

Inside Criff Dogs is a telephone booth where guests go through to the bar. Inside the booth is an intercom where guests tell the hostess the name on the reservation and then another door opens allowing the guests to enter.

Guests of the pub can also order from the Criff Dogs' menu.
























Okatshe in Tropicana Resort - Atlantic City, NJ


Okatshe is a small imported Japanese snack shop in the Tropicana resort, but it is also the entrance to a sushi restaurant. It is open to the public as guests just have to tell the cashier that they want to go inside.

The cashier then opens a door hidden within the shelves to a modernized sushi establishment.

[Torgo]

Circa 33 - Portland, OR. Is a prohibition themed bar, there's a second hidden bar (which is also their location for live music) that is hidden behind o book case.

[robyrob]

there is a neat bar/restaurant I've been to a couple times in Oxford OH (college town) where the main entrance is off the back alley down a stairway that is impossible to see until you are right up on it - no sign or anything, no idea what the place is called but good food.

a friend and I once stopped at some little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant for what was supposed to be a casual late lunch, but the food was so awesome and the pitchers of margaritas were only $6 so it turned into a several hour party (back in college days) - this was just off an arterial road in an area that I thought I was kind of familiar with, but we had to park on a residential side road and walk about a block to get to it. Anyways, I looked for that restaurant for years but could never find it again - it had a really generic sounding name that I probably remembered wrong anyways, and anyone that I described it to would always confuse it with some other place. I honestly think it was in the Twilight Zone.

[Bonniegirl]

In West Hollywood. Laurel Hardware. It was a regular hardware store back in the day. Now it is a bar/restaurant and they kept the name and exterior the exact same !!!




Hip farm-to-table restaurant in former hardware store serving New American fare & fancy cocktails.
Address: 7984 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

In West Hollywood. Laurel Hardware. It was a regular hardware store back in the day. Now it is a bar/restaurant and they kept the name and exterior the exact same !!!




Hip farm-to-table restaurant in former hardware store serving New American fare & fancy cocktails.
Address: 7984 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046

That reminded me of Paymaster Lounge, which kept the original Paymaster sign.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by Torgo

That reminded me of Paymaster Lounge, which kept the original Paymaster sign.

Yeah this Laurel Hardware you would NEVER even know it is a bar! I've seen it many times and of course just assumed it was a hardware store till one day my friend was in the car with me and she pointed it out and said 'Did you know that is a bar"! I was like "What? Really"? I wonder how many people aren't aware of that, and need hardware supplies and go in ! Only clue is that it's around lots of other bars/restaurants and an old fashioned hardware store does seem kind of out of place there.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Yeah this Laurel Hardware you would NEVER even know it is a bar! I've seen it many times and of course just assumed it was a hardware store till one day my friend was in the car with me and she pointed it out and said 'Did you know that is a bar"! I was like "What? Really"? I wonder how many people aren't aware of that, and need hardware supplies and go in ! Only clue is that it's around lots of other bars/restaurants and an old fashioned hardware store does seem kind of out of place there.

Go in for a hammer, come out hammered.

[JamesG]

Hidden VIP Lounge in Forest Hills Stadium - Queens, NY


There is a secret VIP lounge in Forest Hills Stadium where guests enter through a porta potty. The VIP guests are given directions to the exact location and a 9-volt battery to open the door.

Inside the lounge is a self-serve bar of free booze, sofas and chairs, and a prime view of the stage.

[JamesG]

NYC's The Back Room, located at 102 Norfolk St, is one of the few Prohibition era speakeasys still in operation.




You would find a small gate leading down to an alley that says "Lower East Side Toy Co". Patrons would then go through a maze of dark alleys w/ signs and lights leading the way to the entrance that's up a small set of stairs.














Guests will then enter a Roaring Twenties style bar/lounge where drinks are served in tea and coffee mugs and beer in paper bags.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by Torgo

Go in for a hammer, come out hammered.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by JamesG

NYC's The Back Room, located at 102 Norfolk St, is one of the few Prohibition era speakeasys still in operation.




You would find a small gate leading down to an alley that says "Lower East Side Toy Co". Patrons would then go through a maze of dark alleys w/ signs and lights leading the way to the entrance that's up a small set of stairs.














Guests will then enter a Roaring Twenties style bar/lounge where drinks are served in tea and coffee mugs and beer in paper bags.

That is neat! Looks really fun!

[JamesG]

NYC's Fig. 19 (Figure 19) is located at 131 Chrystie St.

There is no sign outside and guests enter through an ordinary looking building up the stairs to the 2nd Floor. They will arrive at what looks like an art gallery, but there is a plain white door off to the left that lets you into the bar.

There apparently is a long wait list to get inside and a strict dress code is enforced.

[JamesG]

The Blind Barber has locations in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Philly and looks like a regular barbershop on the outside. (the only giveaway is that they have the Health Code ratings for Food Vendors posted outside)

There is a door at the back of the barbershop that takes guests to the bar/lounge. It does function as an actual barbershop and seating is very limited since, depending on the location, they only have betw. 1-4 chairs available. The barber usually works by appt. only during the daytime.

[JamesG]

I guess this one counts since the Alamo Drafthouse is a dine-in movie theater. This location opened a few years ago inside a plain looking office building on 28 Liberty Street in NYC. There are no signs or anything outside to show that there is a movie theater there.

When you enter the building's main lobby you can find an escalator that goes down into the theater's lobby. There's just a small sign above displaying the name.

[RetroGuy2000]

I guess Disney's Club 33 would fall into this category? Originally only at Disneyland, the concept has been introduced into many other Disney parks.