Seated in the back dining room at the Loop’s stalwart pizza and ribs joint, Exchequer Restaurant & Pub, you might spot a new, if unassuming, gold-framed remake of Amedeo Modigliani’s Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne in a Large Hat that’s seemingly cracked right down the middle. Push gently—it’s a door!—and you’ll find yourself at Club X, a moody, retro-mod speakeasy pouring smoke bubble-topped whiskey sours and fresh, funky wines from Croatia, Georgia and Italy. You wonder, “Can it possibly be the same ownership?” Well, sorta.
Managing partners Emily Minella, her brother James Mannos and their cousin Christopher Mannos quietly debuted Club X on December 5, uncoincidentally the same day that Prohibition was repealed in 1933. The trio took the reins as second-generation operators of the Exchequer last winter from Minella and James’s dad Jimmy Mannos (who remains involved), Christopher’s dad Tom Mannos and their uncle George Mannos. The space Club X now occupies had been operating seasonally for years as a private party room for the pub. After taking over, the three decided to take it back to its roots a hundred years ago—when it was a bar and restaurant called Club 226 with a brothel and speakeasy operating surreptitiously upstairs.
“I realized we were sitting on a goldmine with the open space and the rich history of the restaurant,” Minella says. “The Loop has been in dire need of more contemporary and newer spots, so I wanted to tap into more modern trends, with funky cocktails, natty wine and unique liqueurs for sipping.”
Club X joins a handful of cool watering holes that have opened in a reviving downtown. The cheeky, Italianish Bar Sotto debuted in November 2024 in the basement of the almost century-old Italian Village, similarly following the arrival of the group’s youngest, fourth-generation owners. Bistro Monadnock, whose Paris-chic bar pours beautiful, zhuzhed-up classic cocktails, opened in 2022 inside the historic Monadnock Building.
I first heard about Club X in mid-December from my sister—one of an elusive species who works for the city and lives downtown so she keeps an eye on such things. When I Googled Club X that day, nothing came up, to my delight. After all, this is how people used to find out about speakeasies, back before they had websites, social media accounts and blinking signage out front announcing the “secret” bar within. (Club X has a web presence, though it’s appropriately scant on the details.)
We popped by for a round of drinks a few days before Christmas, through the unmarked front door and floor-length, red velvet curtains. Deliciously cheeky touches caught my eye as I surveyed the handsome room anchored by a mile-long, natural quartzite bar. Ruffly white curtains resembling britches obscure the front windows. A framed vintage poster of Dalí and glossy ceramic panther statue named Burt preside waggishly over the proceedings. Minella, who used to resell vintage furniture and home goods, designed the bar, which mixes vintage and modern pieces, like red-velvet banquettes and Victorian fringe lamps, black marble tables, creamy brocade chairs and a gas fireplace framed in Moroccan tile. She was inspired by trips to Spain, France and Greece and liked the idea of contrasting dramatically with the Exchequer’s old-school mob vibes, “like jumping from one era to another.”
Speaking of eras, I was never really one for the molecular mixology that peaked amid the craft cocktail renaissance of the late aughts. The hushed, self-seriousness of all that foam, blowtorching and liquid nitrogen always felt at odds with the joy of soliciting friends to go out for a round of fancy cocktails. Maybe that’s why I appreciate that Club X’s beverage director, Robertas Plynius, only dabbles in this mad art on his playful homage to the classics, like someone performing random bits of close-up magic at a party.
The Bee’s Knees cocktail, a Prohibition-era icon comprising lemon honey and gin, buzzes gently on the tongue and lips like a humming bumblebee floating among the blossoms. This is thanks to citrusy edible flowers known as buzz buttons that produce a Sichuan pepper-like tingle on the palate, which Plynius infuses into the gin and rubs on the glass’s edge. The tangy, bracing Currant Situation, a bourbon sour with black currant and rhubarb liqueurs and rosemary syrup, sports a massive rosemary-citrus-scented bubble that bursts after several quivering moments; I squealed with delight like a toddler as bright and woodsy aromas filled my nostrils.
“I try to play with peoples’ senses, engaging in specific smells, tastes, and how it makes you feel,” Plynius tells me.
I’m always wary of good ideas turned gimmicks, but loved the buttery, savory undertones of the confoundingly smooth A5 wagyu-washed Old Fashioned. The Banana Daiquiri, which was inspired by Dave Arnold’s 2015 cocktail book, Liquid Intelligence, involves centrifuging peak-ripe bananas and dark rum till clear then adding lime juice for a bright edge to this tropically rich sipper. Espresso Martini lovers may want to know that said banana-infused rum also stars in a secret cocktail. The password is “I’ll have a Banana Espresso Martini.”
But you didn’t hear it from me.