Secrets NYC: hidden spots that only locals know

"Underground Overground Comedy" has taken place in a gym, a rooftop, a music studio and a barbershop in a train station among other unique locales. For its creators, it's all about using the great spaces NYC already has to offer a unique way to enjoy a bit of comedy. To add a bit of mystery and New York magic, they don't exactly advertise their shows. They use Instagram to alert followers and take down names via direct messages for their ongoing guest list. Shows have featured Josh Gondelman, Kerry Coddett, Jordan Jensen and Napolean Emil among others.

There's technically a sign outside, but it's tough to find. Instead, look for the red "on air" sign to point you in the right direction of Sake Bar Decibel. Once you see the sign, head down the stairs and see if there's a table open. 

A wait is almost guaranteed for a seat at this small Japanese bar with a super sake selection, but it's absolutely worth your time. You'll be ushered into dark surrounds where you'll sit practically shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow sake sippers for an underground yet deliciously over-the-top East Village escape.

To get into these MUNDO parties, you have to know exactly when and where to look. If you haven't heard of this bodega rave, you will soon. A lot of it has to do with who created the party: The legendary Bronx DJ duo Dos Flakos and their friend DJ Guari, who started throwing raves this year under a collective called MUNDO. 

Their mission? To put the Bronx back on the nightlife map. Want to go next time? Follow MUNDO on Instagram and fill out this form to get admitted onto their Singal channel. They'll give you all the details there. 

After opening the subterranean bar Nothing Really Matters, hospitality professional Adrien Gallo continues building his subway station empire, opening See No Evil Pizza on the concourse level of the downtown-bound 1 train station at 50th Street and Broadway—a space that once housed a Dunkin’. It joins his Tiny Dancer Coffee on the same concourse.

Gallo fit an entire restaurant, replete with 40 seats, a bar and open kitchen, into the 1,100 square-foot slot. 

“I basically transformed a subway station that was super neglected to a destination spot in the middle of Times Square,” Gallo tells Time Out New York.  

A plant store by day, Cactus Shop in Williamsburg turns into a Mexican speakeasy cantina by night, complete with a lovely outdoor courtyard perfect for the spring-ish nights that have graced New York in the past week. It's clearly not a speakeasy in the most authentic sense of the word, but it certainly boasts that same sort of vibe. Inside, patrons will revel in heartwarming yet vibrant decor that is actually sourced directly from Mexico alongside the just-as-authentic drinkware (think black clay and hand-blown glasses). Pay particular attention to the skeletons and sugar skulls that are placed just so all over the destination and call out to Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations.

One of NYC’s oldest restaurants and bars, Fraunces Tavern has a Piano Bar Upstairs. The intimate room above The Independence Bar is soaked in a shade of cerulean across its paneled walls, with pops of color on tufted red banquettes and gilded picture frames. Beer, wine, all manner of cocktails and a dedicated list of gin and tonics are all available, in addition to broad-appeal snacks, apps and entrées. Live piano music, of course, is also on the menu.

Japan Village, which is both a food hall and supermarket full of Japanese groceries, has expanded upward with a 20,000-square-foot second floor it calls The Loft. Here, visitors can basically step into a representation of Japan with cool shops with items straight from the country as well as fun experiences like tea ceremonies and cultural classes. It's not necessarily secret, but this spot above Japan Village shouldn't be missed.

Chez Zou, a cozy alcove bar seats just six lucky patrons. Armchairs, ottomans and curved banquettes are mapped across a geometric black and white floor poised a few stories above the restaurant Zou Zou's. 

Chez Zou is on the fourth floor of Manhattan West Plaza at 385 Ninth Avenue. To enter, you'll pass through Zou Zou's and take the elevator beyond the host stand, which opens into the lounge. Chez Zou is open for walk-ins only.

Nothing Really Matters is the latest from Adrien Gallo, whose previous endeavors included Double Happiness and Grand Banks. It’s located between the entrance and the turnstile in the downtown-bound 1 train station at 50th Street and Broadway. 

The facade is adorned in signs for the newsstand and barbershop that previously operated in the station’s small retail areas. An illustrated haircut legend is still on display. Trash is strewn about. It looks like a subway station from 1984’s Ghostbusters. 

Dom (styled as DOM), a 50-seat subterranean cocktail lounge in Gramercy, is a "retro-future" space, replete with high ceilings and fancy furnishings intended to evoke “the image of a modern age La Dolce Vita lifestyle.”

Many drinks incorporate liqueurs like walnut elderberry from owner Albert Trummer’s own eponymous line. The cognac-flavored cigar leaves in the barrel-aged negroni (a Pain Killer), and unspecified herbs from the South of France in the large-format house absinthe (a Euphoric Enhancer) are among other noteworthy ingredients. Trummer’s previous ventures include the ultimately headline making Apothéke. Dom is located at 287 Park Avenue South. The entrance is on 22nd Street.

NO PHOTOS, NO FIGHTING, the hot-pink neon sign commands as you descend below Doyers Street to this Chinese Tuxedo–owned cocktail bar. While nothing stirred us to brawl (half the edict is a shout-out to the street’s history of gang violence), it’s much harder to resist snapping pics of the cool-kid cavern, decked out in tiger-print Gucci wallpaper, flickering candles and flower arrangements that look like they were plucked straight from a wedding at the Plaza. Indeed, the bar is all #vibes, right down to the colorful cocktails.

What started as a simple idea—“stand-up in a walk-up”—has become a veritable comedy phenomenon. In the years since its three founders started hosting gigs in a fifth-floor East Village apartment, Live @ the Apt has transformed into a hub for next-generation talent, with performances from the likes of Phoebe Robinson, Hasan Minhaj, Hannibal Buress and John Early. Since outgrowing its original venue, the series has expanded all over the city and to L.A.

Various locations, sign up to get on the waitlist (liveapt.tv).

Finding the explorer-inspired cocktail joint Banzarbar is a bit of an expedition in itself: Stroll down a street-art–covered alley off Rivington Street to foodie mecca Freemans, where the maître d’ will lead you upstairs to the out-of-the-way 20-seat tavern.

There, you can grab a seat and choose from the five-course, low-ABV tasting menu or order à la carte offerings, such as the Kraken, a tempura-fried whole octopus that pairs well with the Andromeda, a bubbly elixir of gin, sherry, grapefruit and cardamom.

For a romantic, carb-heavy date, snag a special reservation at chef Giancarlo “Wendy” Cacciatori’s Hudson Square temple to tortellini, Nonna Beppa. For $300 a couple, you can dine in your very own room for two in the restaurant’s bottle-adorned wine cellar.

Being pampered by your own personal server, listening to classic Italian tunes and tasting a multicourse menu that’s inspired by your very own culinary preferences? Now, that’s amore.

Enter a four-digit code (it’s 4927) in front of Nomad’s landmark Radio Wave Building to access Patent Pending, a dimly lit, subterranean cocktail den whose theme was sparked by a famous former tenant, inventor Nikola Tesla. Try out the bourbon-and-rum Light Me Up, which amps up mango black tea and citrus with a jolt of amaro and Szechuan peppercorn.

Virtually every bar in New York is a must-visit destination, but it doesn't get much cooler than a secret bar within a bar. The Lab at Patent Pending, though, goes a step further. The Lab is, in fact, a hidden cavern connected through a natural arch inside of speakeasy Patent Pending, which is itself accessible only through a hidden door in Patent Coffee, a cafe (by day) on West 27th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Think of it as a concealed bar within a secret bar within a public coffee shop. Ryan McKenzie opened Patent Pending back in 2018.

Housed inside the Radio Wave Building, the speakeasy references Nikola Tesla, the famous electrical inventor who actually lived on premise when it was still the Gerlach Hotel, in many different ways. From the menu to the decor, the radio theme clearly makes itself known here. 

The Museum of Interesting Things’ Denny Daniel presents the Secret Speakeasy series, a museum benefit that takes place each month in a Soho loft. Each edition promises old-timey artifacts and 16mm films centered on fascinating subjects, along with the usual slate of jazz music, antiques, way-back-when delights and a cash bar.

Soho (secretspeakeasy.com). $10.

Situated in the back of Warhol-themed restaurant the Factory 380, Edie’s is a speakeasy inspired by the artist’s iconic muse, the star-crossed socialite Edie Sedgwick. While the food focuses on NYC faves (roasted nuts, dumplings), the libations—with cheeky names like the Camera Adds 10 Pounds—pay homage to the man who coined the idea of “15 minutes of fame.”

In keeping with the spirit of the Factory Girl herself, gear up for a glam Pop Art setting, which is accessible just past a payphone—painted in Warhol’s signature silver, natch.   

The cellar-speakeasy hidden in the Brooklyn Heights French bistro Chez Moi is a cocktail bar fit for a queen. Modeled after Marie Antoinette’s opulent private chambers, Le Boudoir has its historically accurate design down to a T, with plush red-velvet–tufted banquettes, gilded frames, wooden paneling and a ceiling reproduction of the 17th-century parquet de Versailles flooring pattern.

After ducking into the secret passage, sip appropriately named cocktails like the absinthe-based Dauphin, then lounge in a dimly lit grotto while discussing French politics…or something like that.

Tucked behind an unmarked door at the back of Fort Greene’s beloved eatery Walter’s, this Japanese izakaya has a small but buzzed-about menu (spicy sesame duck wings, to start), but what packs ’em in are the drinks: a top-notch variety of sake, shochu and Japanese whiskey.

Even though you have to enter through a backroom vault with a secret code, we promise it’s all completely legal—quite unlike the embezzling exploits of 1920s bankers Max Garfunkel and Marcus Tauster, whose former office building is the exact location of Garfunkel’s, which sits above burger joint the Burgary. (Peep newspaper clippings from the duo’s felonious heyday amid the framed vintage photos.)

The aesthetic here is old-school glam: Purple tones, velvet couches, tufted club chairs and a wall-engulfing bookcase with novels and knickknacks. Book a reservation online, and you’ll receive a code for the vault that’s located at the back of the Burgary. Walk-ins are accepted if space allows.