Our weekend in Paris brought us the most delightful encounter with this intriguing concept - and it feels too charming not to share.

It was Friday evening. The mood - light, almost carefree. We decided to end the day with a cocktail. The first bar we found was completely empty, not a soul in sight. Then, through an open door, we noticed some people and followed them. It turned out to be a restaurant.

Do you know what a Speakeasy is?

Half-joking, I asked the waiter:
— Oh, this isn’t a bar?
He smiled, nodded toward the kitchen, and said:
— The bar is through there!

We exchanged a glance. Well… if it’s the kitchen, then it’s the kitchen.

Steam and heat filled the air, pans clattered, pots bubbled, chefs hurried back and forth. I leaned toward Tom and whispered:
— I think he didn’t quite understand us…

And then - right in the middle of all this bustling chaos - I spotted a metal door. Out of simple curiosity, I pulled the handle…

The door opened, and suddenly, we stepped into a completely different world.

Of course, curiosity got the better of us. We asked the staff, and they smiled mysteriously:
— There’s another bar behind it. But only for those who know the code…

You can imagine how that intrigued me. Nothing sparks my imagination quite like a hidden door.

And that’s exactly the magic behind the modern Speakeasy - hidden bars with no signs, open only to the “initiated.” The whole idea plays on that irresistible feeling of FOMO - Fear of Missing Out.

The story of Speakeasies began back in the 1920s, during the Prohibition era in the United States, when underground bars emerged to escape police raids. Today, the concept lives on - charming us with its sense of mystery and quiet exclusivity.

A bar! Cozy, atmospheric, in a warm Peruvian style - just like a movie scene where the noise of the big city fades away, replaced by soft jazz and the fresh scent of lime.

We settled in and ordered cocktails. And then Tom, with that familiar mischievous smile, nodded toward an old wardrobe:
— Look, isn’t that a funny place for a restroom?

I turned to look and sure enough, there was a blinking keypad on the wardrobe door. First red, then green. Every now and then, people would walk up, enter a code and simply disappear behind the door.

One of the most legendary Speakeasies is in New York. To enter, you step into an old phone booth inside a diner, dial a secret code - and if luck is on your side, the door will swing open into a hidden bar, considered one of the best in the world.

I wonder how many hidden doors we walk past every day…