Secret hidden speakeasy bars are the hottest bar trend in Dallas

It’s probably the biggest trend in Dallas bars right now: the Speakeasy bar, a collective term that operators use to describe – well, it evolves into a whole range of things.

The official / historical definition of a whisper bar is an illegal liquor store or nightclub that originated during the prohibition era when the sale of liquor was illegal. Fortunately for us, prohibition was lifted in 1933 and the term was dormant for several decades.

Then came the craft cocktail movement, with bartenders rummaging in the archives mixing classic Prohibition-era drinks such as sidecars and old-fashioned drinks – which almost inevitably led to speakeasy bars that were best served for prohibition-style drinks.

The speakeasy trend hit Dallas in 2014 with the opening of Midnight Rambler, the underground bar at the Joule Hotel in downtown Dallas; and the opening of Truth & Alibi, the Deep Ellum Bar with a candy store facade.

Both pioneers had some of the key hallmarks of the new-era whisper bar, including:

  • Hidden location

  • Intimate environment

  • Entrance that is either a false facade or otherwise invisible / difficult to see

  • Exclusive vibe, a place for insiders or connoisseurs

  • Secret password or other special information required for access

  • A “bar within a bar” profile with a different and / or special menu

  • Lack of publicity, which contributes to the seal of approval of knowledge

Dallas can’t resist the allure of the exclusive, and speakeasy has become an increasingly prevalent bar angle – especially after a pandemic as operators look for creative ways to do business and keep diners on-site. If your location has an extra room, you can call it a speakeasy and give your customers two experiences in one.

As the trend grows in popularity, some elements fall by the wayside, especially the PR aspect – even if promoting your concept as a whisper pub is against the definition, whatever that nebulous definition may be. “Speakeasy” has become the cool word for “extra bar space” and has even spawned a new category called “singeasy”.

Here are all the speakeasy bars that have been secretly built around Dallas-Fort Worth, listed alphabetically:

Akai

The intimate Whispering Pub in Dallas’ Arts District is located in Musume, the upscale Asian restaurant owned by Josh Babb and partner Sean Clavir of Rock Libations. Akai is especially fun because you have to walk through the kitchen in the Musume to gain entry – very Insider-Y. It’s a Japanese-inspired lounge with cocktails Friday through Saturday and a special Musume menu.

Amber room

Known as Fort Worth’s best kept secret, this speakeasy style cocktail bar is located in Wishbone & Flynt. Guests can enter two ways – through a large gold door with multiple doorknobs and handles hidden near the restaurant bar, or through a wooden door that is unmarked on Bryan Avenue.

Atwater Alley

Dallas Whisper Pub Henry’s Majestic bar was one of the first when it opened in 2015. Co-founder Andrew Popp says they were inspired by whisper bars they’d seen in New York, and it naturally came out of space. In true speakeasy form, they named it after the actual alley in which the entrance is located. “We had this little back area and it just evolved as a tribute to that era,” he says. “We didn’t advertise at first, it was just something the locals knew about.”

Blackbird Society

The brand new Speakeasy opening on October 15th is at Neon Kitten Izakaya, the dim sum restaurant in Deep Ellum, whose expanded floor space allowed them to incorporate a separate concept in the back.

Bourbon & skirmishes

The bar at the Statler Dallas Hotel embodies the speakeasy model with gusto, not only with its subterranean location, but also with the fun hurdles you have to jump to get into the old school shoe shine station and phone booth. Go to the phone booth and dial the old fashioned phone and this is how you get in. The bar also has a library of bourbon and whiskey ready to be whipped into the cocktail of your choice.

Casanova

This Casablanca bar, Exxir Hospitality’s new Bishop Arts Bar and Restaurant, will be known as the Whisper Pub that took it to another level. “Speakeasy” wasn’t good enough: you called it “Singeasy”. It’s basically a ’70s-inspired karaoke lounge, with private spaces lined with wild wall treatments and jewel-colored banquets that they hope will become a destination for a fun and intimate evening.

High & tight

The barbershop-speakeasy combo at Deep Ellum was an early entry when it opened in 2015, introducing a trend previously only seen in Los Angeles and New York. Co-founder Corey Good described it as a 1920s-style barbershop with a whisper bar in the background. “The idea was to have a barbershop in front of it, with some sort of secret entrance down the hall to get into the bar,” said Good. The official entrance is through the barbershop, but for those who like intrigue you can also enter through a powder room.

La Mina

Calling this on-site Mexican restaurant at The Drey, the Village’s boutique hotel, really does him a favor. But with its location in the back garden of the hotel, there is some sort of hidden thing as well as a collection of agave spirits. Look, they said in the press release that it was a whisper bar, and that’s how they want it to appear on this list.

Midnight Rambler

The Craft Cocktail Palace at The Joule was one of the speakeasy pioneers in Dallas and fits in (at least) three ways: underground location, only accessible via the hotel lobby and without any signage, IYKYK (which “if you know” you know “is annoying) Catchphrase that sums up the whole insider atmosphere of a whisper bar). Intimate surroundings with sexy, dim lighting. The cocktails, as skilful as in town, especially nowadays with the award-winning bartender Gabe Sanchez in the house.

Bottled in Bond’s salon

The speakeasy-style cocktail lounge in Frisco is next to the Bottled in Bond bar-restaurant, a sibling. It has a scaled-down version of the Bottled in Bond menu with cocktails and dishes in a different, cocktail-y atmosphere.

Office 772

Calling this a whisper bar is a challenge, but by the strict definition it is a bar in a different room and is definitely “exclusive”. It’s a members-only bar at the Common Desk – Trammell Crow Center and is an extension of the company’s penchant for having community-oriented happy hours on its premises. It also features a menu put together by Omar Yeefoon, owner of Shoals Sound & Service in Deep Ellum.

Ruby room

It’s not open yet, but it will be part of Green Light Social, the all-encompassing bar and nightclub opening near the Deep Ellum DART station with three environments under one roof – “so you can have your own pub crawl in a bar”, says co-owner Ian Fletcher – including this speakeasy 25+ version named after the infamous Jack Ruby of Dallas.

Thompson’s Bookstore Fort Worth

Educated guests of this downtown cocktail lounge know there are two entrances: one behind a bookcase and the other via an outside staircase on a back street that leads to the underground RX bar, which has a quirky, pharmacy-inspired atmosphere – very much Prohibition-esque. To gain access you will need a password which you can find on the Thompsons Facebook page.

Truth & Alibi

The Deep Ellum Bar is a wonderful example of a whisper bar with all sorts of amusing motifs, starting with the trick facade, an elaborately designed, glazed, fake candy shop with rows of chewing gum balls and a small mushroom table. A door on the right leads to the main bar. You need a password (in theory) to get in, which they diligently post on their Facebook page, and once inside you’ll be treated to the types of craft cocktails that inspired this whole trend from the start.

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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