The Back Room, NYC

The Back Room
102 Norfolk St,
New York City, NY 1002
backroomnyc.com
Open:
6pm – 1am (Sun & Mon)
6pm – 2am (Tue – Thu)
6pm – 3am (Sat & Sun)

Rating

Drinks
       
Ambience
                
Bartender(s)
       
Total

Undercover bars also known as ‘Speakeasy bars’ originally operated underground in the United States during the Prohibition era which was in force from approximately 1920-1933. During that period alcohol was banned from being manufactured, sold, and transported. Although many modern bars exist today that pay homage to these establishments with a similar look and feel, only a handful of original speakeasy bars from the prohibition era are still operating today. The Back Room is one of two originals in NYC.

How to find it

• This one is hard to find, you will see many similar black small gates like the image below. Look for one with this sign or peek over the gate for the purple lighting at the bottom of the stairs.
• Follow the stairs down, across the alleyway then up a final flight of stairs (refer last photo).

My thoughts on the cocktails

• They have a small menu on hand, and the bar was cash only on this night, however there is an ATM inside charging a $3 USD fee.
• I ordered the Penicillin cocktail made of scotch, lemon, honey and ginger. It was served in a teacup style mug (as are all their drinks), and it made the ice to drink ratio way off. I did not enjoy this overly watery drink hence the 3/5 score for drinks.

The ambience

• It was a quiet weeknight when I visited, felt like a nice big spacious venue but needing more patrons. I imagine it would be busier on the weekends.
• You really do feel like you are in a basement bunker, this feeling of being tucked away gives you the true prohibition speakeasy vibe.

Bartender

• Bartender was on his own this night and even though the bar was not busy, he seemed to have his hands full.
• I asked for recommendations off the menu, however was told to just order from the menu. There is lots of potential for this speakeasy bar, if they allowed off menu recommendations and served their drinks in taller glasses.

Overall thoughts are that I was left a little disappointed with lots of room left to the imagination. It could have just been the night that I visited, however I expected more from one of the original speakeasies. The highlight was the secrecy of the venue, and the lowlight was the cocktails and empty venue.

Until next time,
Mr. Undercover