Look for phone booths, moving bookshelves, and a laundromat to enter the best speakeasies in Dallas.
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Some Browning automatic rifle welcome you with neon lights and an “ open ” signal . Other bars take a more subtle approach , with hidden entrances guarded by bookshelf , laundromats , or other unassuming façades . The activities happening within are n’t outlaw , but you’re able to still channel some of that Prohibition - era silence and pretend you ’re a scofflaw as you sip drinks in Dallas speakeasy bars — in a innovative fashion .
Before you may do any of that , however , you need to get indoors . To that remainder , here are 17 of the best speakeasy - style bars in DFW , plus your instructions for gain ground access . Keep your foreland on a swivel , and do n’t forget the password .
Photo courtesy of Rare Books Bar
Jettison
Tucked alongside Houndstooth Coffee in the Sylvan Thirty growing , Jettison is one of the best - search bars around , with black spark , leather saloon stools and sofas , and wood accents . It ’s also where you ’ll get hold an ever - evolving carte du jour of seasonal existence from award - come through barkeeper George Kaiho . Drinks admit an eclectic mix of spirits and ingredients , with inspiration pulled from Texas , Mexico , and Japan . If you ’re new here , try out the BLVD P.O. , which combine Nipponese whiskey with Campari , sweet vermouth , and pour - over coffee tree . amount on Tuesday , when vinyl is played all night , or on Wednesday for half - price mezcal . How to hold : Reserve viaTock .
Red Phone Booth
The massive Grandscape growth is n’t the most obvious spot for a cocktail ginmill , let alone a cocktail bar with a phone booth for an entryway . Then again , maybe it ’s the perfect place — enshroud in plain sight . Look for the red phone stall , then dial a mysterious number to gain entrance . That number can be obtained from past frequenter , a hotel concierge , or nearby businesses , so demand around and you ’ll get in . Once at heart , you could partake in classic cocktails like the Sazerac , Aviation , or a Smoked Old Fashioned . brace that last one with a cigar from the manner of walking - in humidor . How to book : Become a memberfor priority memory access , or stop by for first cum , first serve seating area .
Atlas Bishop Arts
At first coup d’oeil , Atlas is a jolly received cocktail bar . Moody vibes , good drinks , and a global nutrient menu . But on choice nights , the bookshelves in the back of the space open to bring out a 2nd , small bar dubbed the Library , wherein bartenders pour cocktails that explore rotating themes like Tiki or “ spell of Japan . ”How to record book : Stop by for first semen , first served seating .
Dirty Laundry
Step inside this unassuming launderette and , unless you postulate to moisten some clothes , head up straight to the motorcar with the “ out of lodge ” sign . Yankee-Doodle on the door , and it ’ll open up to a bar , with laundry pinned to the wall and retro lounge furniture . Rather than Prohibition - style drinks , the card leans in full into the environment and boast washables - theme cocktails like the Fluff ‘ N Fold ( an Old Fashioned with maple cotton confect ) and the Hot Iron , a Mangifera indica - habanero Margarita with a Tajin flange . How to book : Stop by for first come , first served seats .
The Branca Room
This bar is set in the back of Chimichurri restaurant and can also be accessed from the alley — look for the red door . The menu was created by local bar star James Slater to foreground the convergence of Argentine and Italian cultures . Cocktails are served in singular glasswork and let in Order of the Foresters , with Fernet - Branca , unripened chartreuse , pisco , pandan , lemon , and St. Basil , and the Rosae Crucis , with mezcal , amaro , turbinado , Citrus limon , and lavender . The bar also get its own amaro and vermouth , a meticulous appendage that results in drunkenness you ca n’t find anywhere else . How to hold : quit by for first cum , first served seating area .
Room 520
The Sova Hotel has small but well-off rooms , perfect for nights out in Downtown and Deep Ellum . Most pertinent to the matter at hand , there ’s also a underground bar . expect the front desk for keys to “ room 520 , ” which is n’t a invitee elbow room but a cocktail prevention hidden in plain visual modality . Once inside , you ’ll obtain creative drinks , like the Prototype with brandy , rummy , lemon , ginger , beloved , and black pepper , and Flight of the Navigator , with rum , calamansi , pandan , and coconut . How to book : Reserve viaYelp .
Magnum
When Hotel Vin opened in Grapevine , it brought with it a legion of new feeding and drinking options , including Bacchus eating place and the attached Harvest Hall food hall . But for a quiet drink away from the crowd , make a reservation at Magnum , an 18 - seat bar that can be accessed by set a call from the phone John Wilkes Booth outside the hidden door . set up a cocktail or glass of whiskey from the menu , or opt for the Dealer ’s Choice , and leave your fate up to the barman .
Blackbird Society
Neon Kitten is an izakaya serving cocktails and dim sum . Blackbird Society is an intimate stripe serving cocktail and snacks . And the latter can be access through a bookshelf inside the former . Blackbird Society was named for a manga series and stays on stem with its decor and drinks — think brick wall , gilded mirrors , and leather couches set in a dour and moody room . Take in your surroundings , then dictate a cocktail or splurge on a pour of tough - to - see Japanese whiskey . How to book : substitute viaTock .
Akai
Most restaurants do n’t appreciate you direct a stroll through their kitchen , but the squad at Musume wo n’t beware . Because that ’s how you move into Akai , the dimly lit cocktail waiting area serving Japanese - inhale drink . Early in the even , the bar ’s atm is fairly relaxed , then as the night extend on , the vibration turn toward feeding bottle service and sparklers . How to book : Text 214 - 444 - 5357 for reservations .
Apothecary
A lilliputian sign on the terrace railing is all that alerts you to Apothecary ’s existence . Through the unmarked door is a dimly illumine den of velvet trappings , vintage chandeliers , and engild mirrors , with a smattering of bar seats and low - slung couches . The carte is filled with creative find , including an Oyster Rockefeller shot with hollandaise - wash vodka , lemon , parsley , and a smoke oyster garnish . Does it sound kinda cockamamie ? Yes . Is it good ? Also yes . How to book : Reserve viaTock .
Pony Tail
Trick Pony has doors right on Main Street in Deep Ellum . You ca n’t miss it , but you could absolutely miss Pony Tail , because this taproom - within - a - bar is stashed behind a characterless door in the back of Trick Pony . The tiny room features a communal table and shelves describe with amari , small - batch bourbons , and coveted whiskeys . savor your way through a few unfamiliar bottles , and you might discover a new favourite nightcap . How to book : Stop by for first come , first served seating .
Bourbon and Banter
Located one floor below the Statler Hotel pressure group , Bourbon & Banter splice ban - earned run average speakeasy vibes with the romantic aesthetic of the fifties and 1960s — when The Statler version 1.0 was a destination for chat movie stars . Housed in what was once an onsite barbershop , the bar ’s covert cred is supplied by a sound booth that opens a hidden door . Inside , the couches are invite , the ledge are trace with bourbon , and the cocktails cast from strong and straightforward ( Barrel - Aged Manhattan ) to visually striking and custody - on . Channel the quad ’s barbershop past and say the Pompadour , an Old Fashioned Riffian made with bourbon , Venezuelan rum , bitters , and vanilla tincture that ’s crowned with a creme brûlée confect top — enter the liquid state by breaking that top with a petite pounding .
Yellow Rosa
The unmarked room access next to Basic Taco does n’t attend like much , but that ’s the full point . Rather than a saturnine , moody streak , the nondescript entrance hides a friendly inclose court plucked direct from the beach of Tulum or the cantinas of San Miguel de Allende . vine snake up the Harlan F. Stone walls , Latin music arrive via a live musical number or DJ , and the carte features a variety of tacos , pocket-sized plates ( elotes , aguachiles ) , and refreshing cocktail made with agave - based spirits , including mezcal , tequila , sotol , and raicilla . How to reserve : Reserve viaOpenTable .
Rare Books Bar
It ’s another stripe using the honest-to-god phone booth jape . Approach the reddened phone in the back of J. Theodore eating house and dial the “ bibliothec ” to bespeak entrance . You will need to give a password before the threshold spread out , but do n’t occupy , you were born for this ( and the password is posted on Instagram and Facebook each week ) . The swanky way hosts hold up music , and the prevention carry its shelves with a few hundred whiskey , so you ’ll never run out of things to do . How to book : break by for first seed , first serve seating .
Bodega Speakeasy
There ’s an unwritten rule that any seat declaring itself a speakeasy is belike not a speakeasy . However , self - charge as “ Fort Worth ’s worst kept privy , ” there ’s still something secretive about enter a bar through an unmarked convenience storage refrigerator room access . Once you get inside the by chance large place , bask in the red gleaming of the atomic number 10 “ WanderLust ” preindication while partaking in signature tune cocktails , local beers , and select vino . If you need more to occupy your time beyond ride and drinking , the bar also sports dart , shovelboard , pool tables , and giving projection screen tv set broadcasting most major sporting events . How to hold : Stop by for first come , first served seating .
La Viuda Negra
Do n’t let the marriage wearing apparel in the window here fool you . Instead , follow the clues : The shiny , calamitous , faceless mannequin in the window looms like a specter , or maybe a black widow ( “ la viuda negra ” in Spanish ) . Located next threshold to sis establishment El Come Taco ( do yourself a favour and line your stomach with a twosome taco beforehand ) , this agave - centric bar play up lesser - known spirits from humble - manufacturer mezcals to sotol and bacanora . Cocktails are nicely balanced and often dish out in capricious glassware , but you may also sip those look straight if that ’s more your vibration . How to book : kibosh by for first come , first served seating .
Thompsons Bookstore
Boasting a vibe that is equal parting mystical depository library and whispered - about clandestine lair , Thompson ’s Bookstore , place in the historical Vybek Building in downtown Fort Worth , is a two - narration ode to good boozing . Upstairs you ’ll find a perfectly endearing Browning automatic rifle . Within that bar lie in a bookcase that ’s really a room access , and say doorway leads down to the underground speakeasy , complete with classical cocktails , creative originals , and a solid whiskey selection . How to book : Stop by for first come , first function seating .
