Secret Bar - The Back Room

Without a doubt, one of the most unique experiences we've had in NYC is The Back Room, a speakeasy in the Lower East Side. We had to find the sign for the "Lower East Side Toy Company", then walk through this darkly lit corridor until we finally arrived at the bar. It had such an amazing mood, it felt old and musty, but not in a bad way. The beer was served in giant teacups instead of pint glasses!

Bars hidden behind unmarked doors are the faux-grunge counterpart to bottle-service clubs. Back Room, which fronts as a closed toy shop—you creep down an alley to find the entrance—is really no more of a mystery than its rumored investors, Tim Robbins (who’s been tending bar) and Mark Messier, but its devotion to the concept is charming. Drinks are served in teacups to foil “the bulls” (as the police were known in thirties gangster movies), the front door has a peek-and-speak hole, and a sliding bookcase reveals a second bar.
- http://nymag.com/listings/bar/The-Back-Room/