Hidden behind unassuming doors and unmarked entrances, California’s speakeasies and secret bars invite guests into an intriguing world of old charm, mystery, craft cocktails, culinary elegance, intimate settings, and immersive shows.
NORTH COAST
- Ride the historic Skunk Train seven miles through towering redwoods to reach Glen Blair Bar, a hidden forest hangout outside Fort Bragg. The bar sits under ancient trees with fire pits, live music and handcrafted cocktails that feel straight out of a fairy tale.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
- Gold Palm is a tiny upbeat Pakistani-inspired neighbourhood bar that brings energy to Oakland with coconut-washed bourbon punches, local beer, wine and cider, masala fries, and an intriguing happy hour. Ring the golden doorbell to enter Moonglow, the photo-free speakeasy named one of the East Bay’s best cocktail bars.
- The Ameswell Hotel’s Cocktails & Cosmos in Mountain offers stargazing sessions to up to ten guests, pairing a speciality drink with time on a powerful UNISTELLAR telescope. 7 Paintings turns dinner into a multi-sensory show and courses unfolding in art, projection, storytelling.
- Slip behind the velvet curtain at Still O.G. in San Jose to find Alter Ego Cocktail Club, dark, sleek, and deliberately low-key, offering moody elegance with one-off cocktails and bites.
- The Big Easy in Petaluma is an underground nightclub near Kentucky Street’s boutiques. Six nights a week, the room fills with rock, jazz, bluegrass, punk, and folk alongside local wines, craft beers, and cocktails. Order the lobster mac for dinner from Speakeasy Bistro next door.
- Inside Healdsburg’s Grape Leaf Inn, a charming Queen Anne-style home, an unmarked door leads to a cosy, Prohibition-inspired lounge. Wilson Artisan Wines headlines alongside thoughtful brandy tastings in a space that pairs vintage charm with modern polish.
- Hidden behind a bookcase, Bonita Bonita in Napa offers candlelit tastings and vintage speakeasy charm. Co-founded by Bonita Bonita Wine’s Nikki and Brie Garcia, the speakeasy-style parlour hosts intimate wine tastings with a glam, old-school twist.
- Loggia at the Hyatt Centric Santa Clara blends wood accents, modern art into a library-inspired bar with crafted cocktails, shareable plates, curated events, and game-day hangs.
GOLD COUNTRY
- Elk Grove’s nightlife hides a few gems for those who know where to look. The Velvet Martini delivers old-school speakeasy charm with its dim glow, plush seating and standout martinis paired with bites from neighbouring Sheldon Inn. Nearby, Buckos N Mares brings a Western twist behind a bowling alley and opens into a rustic saloon straight out of the Old West.
- The Copper Room in Sutter Creek sits below street level, featuring 1800s walls. Slide into booths or gather at the long historic bar for signature cocktails from around the world, regional wines, and craft beer.
CENTRAL VALLEY
- Start with scratch-made steaks, seafood, and pasta at Mäksē in downtown Vacaville, then head downstairs for the Speakeasy show. The Dueling Pianos Revival is a fully interactive, all-request musical show where guests outbid for their song choice.
CENTRAL COAST
- Silos in Morgan Hill hides under three towering grain silos with no sign and a low-key entrance beside a gym. The menu credits each drink’s creator, underscoring craft and personality. Inside, curved walls cosy up the room while trains slide by a high window; there is even a secret patio reachable only from inside.
- Solvang’s The Backroom sits behind Valley Brewers’ shop via a narrow, keg-lined hall and a classic bookshelf door. A sunny private patio hides out back, while peasants DELI conceals a separate arcade with over 15 vintage video and 90’s pinball games.
- Monterey’s Hula’s Island Grill hides Next Door, a moody tiki-inspired speakeasy pouring Mai Tai flights under retro glow. In Carmel-by-the-Sea, Bud’s Bar at La Playa Hotel revives old-school charm with spontaneous “Dime Time” happy hours and select drinks for ten cents.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
- Tucked discreetly beneath the turquoise Art Deco façade of The Georgian Hotel, The Georgian Room revives the glamour of Old Hollywood in an intimate, candlelit speakeasy once frequented by legends like Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. After a meticulous 2023 restoration, the space now opens through mermaid-handle doors leading to a luxe, 65-seat den of jazz, leather booths, crystalware and a vintage Steinway-piano-backed bar.
ORANGE COUNTY
- Irvine hides two speakeasies built for cosy nights and creative cocktails. At Cozy Pine inside Bacchus Bistro, guests step into a snowed-in cabin with lantern light, faux flurries, and a friendly Sasquatch. At the Irvine Marriott, YNK (You Never Know) keeps things unpredictable with ever-changing cocktail themes, from New York nostalgia to Gossip Girl glam.
- Inside VEA Newport Beach, reveal opens behind gleaming brass doors into moody lighting, smooth ’90s and early-2000s R&B sets, and plush seating. Cocktails lean classic (Old Fashioneds, Negronis) with elevated bites like spicy tuna crispy rice and truffle fries.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
- Raised by Wolves in La Jolla poses as a glittering bottle shop before revealing an opulent lounge behind a hidden entry. The cocktails include fruity-fresh Cosmic Dancer, tiramisu ‘tini with a hand-whipped cream float and reserve Old Fashioned with rare 1950s bourbon.
- Behind an unassuming keg wall in San Diego, Noble Experiment unfolds into a mirrored, skull-lined speakeasy where bartenders craft drinks on instinct, not from a menu. Youngblood takes it further with a 90-minute, three-course cocktail journey served in a jewel-box room lined with Parisian flair.
INLAND EMPIRE
- In Big Bear Lake, at Sessions Retreat & Hotel, The Flatlander is a modern alpine lounge with a fireplace glow, artful design, and intimate cocktails. The Andy Devine Room at Captain’s Anchorage keeps the vintage mountain mood with rumoured hauntings and classic drinks.
- Thompson & Twain hides behind Crush & Brew on Front Street in Old Town Temecula, pouring cocktails with wink-worthy names in a moody, vault-like space. The design nods to Western grit and literary rebels Hunter S. Thompson and Mark Twain. Go “Dealer’s Choice” and the bartenders craft a bespoke drink based on guest-preferred spirits and flavours.
