The Philadelphia Speakeasy That Transports Guests Back To The Roaring '20s

Speakeasies, for those who don't know, were secret bars and clubs that operated during Prohibition – a time period from 1920 to 1933 when alcohol was illegal in the United States. At one unassuming door or another, patrons would provide a password that allowed them entry to an underground world of music, dance, and liquor. Of course, once Prohibition was repealed, there was no need to keep things hush-hush, but there was something enticing about that sense of secrecy which ended up getting lost in the daylight. Today, there are still some hidden bars out there which do things the old-fashioned way, like the glamorous Ranstead Room in Philadelphia.

Unlike these twelve Prohibition-era speakeasies you can still visit today, the Ranstead Room hasn't been around since the 1920s; it was opened in 2010 by restaurateur Stephen Starr to accompany his Mexican restaurant, El Rey. But when you behold its stunning interior design, it's easy to forget that. Somewhere on Ranstead Street in Philly, there is a door embossed with a double-R symbol; enter, and you'll be led inside to an opulent bar or dining room with moody lighting and classy, Art Deco-inflected decor. You may not get the frisson of danger that comes with the fear of cops raiding the place, but it's intoxicating all the same.

Maybe you've heard some variation of this sales pitch before, only to visit a speakeasy that was little more than a circuitous way to drink an overpriced cocktail. Well, there's no need to worry with the Ranstead Room: you can drink some of the usual suspects, like an Old Fashioned or a martini, or enjoy specialty cocktails like The Waitlist (with lemongrass-flavored gin, lemon, and sage) or La Intensa (with pasilla pepper tequila, harissa, and tropical fruits). You can even ask the bartender to surprise you, so long as you answer a few questions — which is exactly how a "surprise" is supposed to go, anyway.

What if you arrive a little hungry? Well, there are plenty of food options, too. If you're only a bit peckish, there are bar snacks, like popcorn or dill pickle-flavored chicharrones. If you have more of an appetite, you can try something off the menu of its sister establishment, El Rey. Would you like merguez sliders topped with a spicy harissa aioli? Short rib enchiladas with guajillo salsa? Or perhaps a plate of nachos with chorizo (Mexican, obviously, not Spanish) and Chihuahua cheese? It's like if the Roaring Twenties had some really banging Mexican cuisine.