Check out what are this year's hottest speakeasy bars around Manila
Offering some of the city's best drinks with its original concoctions as well as a number of mixed to perfection classic cocktails, Manila's line of speakeasy bars made noise in the recent couple of years and were well received by critics. Besides the powerhouse menus and drink lists, these establishments give its patrons unique drinking experience with elements of play, mystery, and intrigue.
Check out how speakeasy bars started and flourished from New York to Manila
Ocean's Telephone Co.
On the second floor of Frank and Dean café is a speakeasy bar hidden behind a red British-looking telephone booth. Ocean's Telephone Company has an extensive range of premium imported spirits, whiskies, as well as classic cocktails that suit perfectly with the vintage interior.
Thirsty Barber
Take a day off, visit your usual barber at Felipe and Sons, and have a pint of beer at the speakeasy bar behind one of its doors. Thirsty Barber in San Juan offers a bar experience that is very distinctive from the others and it is also technically close to what a speakeasy bar is during the Prohibition Era in the '20s.
RM 16
At the heart of Kapitolyo's food district is a bar that is just under the very nose of its frequent visitors. A Coca-Cola vending machine is just right off the wall of Tittos Latin BBQ and Brew and few people realise that it is not really a vending machine. It is actually a door which requires a password and it opens to a dimly lit bar. Compared to the others, it has a hip, rustic, industrial design and offers a variety of original and Latinised classic concoctions
Selu's Bar
Speakeasy bars are not just about the prohibited liquors and hidden doors but also experiences. Selu's Bar is not just a typical sophisticated laidback bar but also has pool tables and even a beauty salon.
Lit Manila
There are just a few bars around the city that serves Japanese whisky and Lit Manila perhaps offers the widest variety of it. Solely dedicated for Japanese whisky and sake, Lit Manila is just beside Larry's Café and some people might not notice it because it is tucked in the corner and has a nondescript door.
Bank
Going to 7-Eleven on a bar hopping night usually happens afterwards to get some quick recovery snack. However, the Moment Group says otherwise. Inside 7its branch at the RCBC Corporate Centre in Bonifacio Global City is a door that leads not to the storage room but to a hidden bar that offers great food and drinks. Try pairing your favourite cocktail with any of its signature progressive Filipino cuisine dishes.
Finders Keepers
In La Fuerza Compound's array of warehouses, there is a doorway hidden by black curtains without any signs that lead to Finders Keepers. Enjoy imported beers and liquor spirits here while nonchalantly dancing the night away with its lineup of chart toppers.
The Curator
Tucked away behind a wine shop is The Curator which offers not only impressive coffee brews but indulgent libations as well. Unlike other speakeasy bars, The Curator is just easy to find.
Prohibition Liquor Lounge
Pass through a tunnel inside Dillingers 1903 in Greenbelt 3 and you will get to Prohibition Liquor Lounge, its stylishly modern bar that comes with an alfresco area. Regularly it invites Manila's hottest DJs so it's a great place to have a blast with your friends while enjoying its impressive drink list.
Red Rabbit
If dining at Bugsy's Bar and Bistro is still not enough to make the most of your night with your buddies, go behind the smoking area and enter Red Rabbit. This quaint art deco styled bar offers perfectly mixed cocktails and a variety of other liquors.
Bitters
Sadness needs some curing and some people ironically chug their favourite poison—gin, beer, whisky—to ease them from pain. Apparently, a new speakeasy bar in BGC offers this service for the despaired, apothecary-style. Bitters bar has a plethora of fun, originally crafted cocktails that definitely work its curing magic effectively to its patrons. This hip bar by Lee Watson is just above the reopened 2nd's restaurant in Burgos Circle.
Hotel Bar
Hotel bars are usually near the lounge or foyer but this bar in particular is not just inside a hotel but hidden behind its walls. Hotel Bar is located inside Pink's Hotdogs in Shangri-La The Fort and offers just more than a handful of old-time favourite classic cocktails. However, the bartenders are really welcoming and might make any of your customised concoctions specially for you.