The Top Philadelphia Speakeasies
It’s the Twenties again – the 2020s, that is – and, just like one hundred years ago when flappers and sheiks partied during Prohibition, speakeasy bars are all the rage. There may be no legal restriction on adults consuming alcohol these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to pretend you are doing something illicit. In a a city rampant with trendy bars featuring every sort of gimmick, from fancy craft cocktails curated by “mixologists” to accompanying haute cuisine app menus, to insane concoctions featuring molecular gastronomic techniques and boba pearls. It’s all getting a little nuts. There’s something so beautifully simple about a dimly-lit, tucked-away liquor joint where you can drink the classic your grandparents imbibed and hide from the world for a little while. To that end, enjoy this round-up of Philly’s best hidden bars, or speakeasies.
On the other side of a nondescript black door is a luxuriantly modern hidden bar with an authentic origin story. The Franklin Mortgage Company – it’s always been a bar, despite the name – was established in the late 1920s by legendary Philly gangster Max “Boo Boo” Hoff. They say that, in their heyday, Hoff’s crew ran more illegal hooch than Al Capone! Today, the Mortgage Company prides itself on straight-up takes on classic cocktails, as well as an extensive list of cutting-edge libations such as the Lords of the Night, Sagittarius Rising and Day of Atonement.
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