#speakeasies

#speakeasies

Well, a carefully curated bar experience has never been hotter. With their controlled entrances, niche menus and unique design themes, speakeasies allow bar owners to target a (hopefully deep-pocketed) audience. Some speakeasies now cater to the young population's desire for low-stress third spaces, too, like at 13 Orphans, a new parlor for mahjong and merriment in Oakland. People are looking for venues where they can have conversations and connect on a more intimate level,

The Library Bar inside the Copenhagen Plaza hotel, situated next to the Central Station, is more about history, jazz, and wood paneled walls than traditional CPH "cool." Think Chesterfield armchairs, gold-framed oil paintings of nobility, vaulted high ceilings, and you're there-it's more old-fashioned gentlemen's club than funky. Champagne, cognac, whiskey, and cigars are the name of the game, here, although to smoke these days you'll have to brave the weather.

The Extra Dirty Cocktail Club offers a sophisticated cocktail experience that challenges traditional conceptions of hidden bars, blending flavors reminiscent of pasta into a martini.