It’s been more than 90 years since the end of Prohibition, but Minneapolis is home to many beloved back bars, lower-level lounges, and secluded spaces that feel like speakeasies in spirit.
While the upper Midwest is known for a longstanding legacy of beer brewing, craft cocktail culture runs just as deep in the Twin Cities. Our coupe glass runneth over with high-concept cocktail bars serving high-class classics alongside inventive concoctions swizzled by bartender extraordinaires. What sets a speakeasy apart most is its atmosphere—and in these cocktail bars, atmosphere abounds.
Here are eight of the swankiest cocktail bars and not-so-secret speakeasies in the Twin Cities.
Flora Room
Round the corner from the North Loop’s favorite steakhouse, Porzana, and make your way down a small staircase behind the building; there you’ll find one of Minneapolis’ beloved basement bars, Flora Room. Beneath the street-level sightlines lies this lively lounge where esoteric drinks are served amid dimly lit digs, plenty of plants, and intimate seating.
Flora Room is a must for cheeky, tiki-adjacent cocktails made from botanical ingredients—like the Evita, featuring Patagonian spirits, chamomile, and honey.
Tucked away from the city above, the warm lighting, tight-knit vibe, and textural fabrics and foliage make entering the bar like discovering a secret garden. Descending into the din of conversation makes Flora Room feel like a hush-hush social space separate from the rest of the world.
Whether you’re settling in for a date night or burning the midnight oil with friends, this atmospheric hideaway is more than a bar; it’s a destination. At peak hours, seating is snug. Expect elevated dining and craft cocktail prices. Open ‘til midnight.
Billy After Dark
Billy After Dark (or B.A.D. for short) is the fun-loving basement bar and best-kept non-secret belonging to hip North Loop sushi eatery Billy Sushi. Start with the best-named sushi rolls in town—for instance, the Uncultured Swan, filled with shrimp tempura and cream cheese—then ask your bartender for access to Billy After Dark.
Upon entry, lounge-goers find themselves in a wonderland of “natural” surroundings: walls lined with illuminated (artificial) trees under a backdrop of (imitation) starry skies. Equal parts fashionable and ironic, Billy After Dark has a sense of humor—laughter encouraged.
B.A.D. doesn’t take itself too seriously, while still serving up serious food and drinks. Hunker down here for date night or trail into a celebration-worthy evening out. This carefree attitude is why the entire Billy establishment is an immensely popular weekend haunt—reservations highly recommended.
Volstead’s Emporium
Down an alleyway off the intersection of Lyndale and Lake, Uptown’s Volstead’s Emporium takes the speakeasy concept to the nth degree. Find the red light behind the bondage shop (not kidding) and step into the elaborate bar, where you can sip bootleg-inspired cocktails steeped in 1920s ambiance.
At Volstead’s, sip your drink surrounded by Art Nouveau decor, patterned wallpaper, and dreamy murals, in a booth that recalls a Victorian train car while live jazz tunes fill the room. You can even book a private hidden room for your party, where waitstaff emerge from the walls to bring you drinks, like the Evening Tide made from rum, elderflower liqueur, cucumber, and lime.
Head for Volstead’s Emporium for a time-traveling vibe, twinged with theatrical flair. Fun guaranteed.
Public Domain
While Public Domain offers street-level access from the North Loop, something else secretive is happening there. They have no cocktail menu—rather, take your seat in a booth or along a lengthy stretch of the bar, and discuss your drink preferences with your bartender. They’ll return with a bespoke cocktail just for you.
Lavish yet minimal, Public Domain feels elegant and upscale. Its arched ceilings give the space a stylish architectural aesthetic, almost like a library, where Public Domain’s staff are the subject matter experts.
Visiting Public Domain isn’t just about going out for drinks—it’s about having an experience, and this cocktail bar embraces that wholeheartedly. Open-mindedness will be rewarded, and those seeking novelty will find much to appreciate about Public Domain.
Gori Gori Peku
A moody Japanese whisky bar named Gori Gori Peku sits in the heart of the North Loop. Navigate to the second floor of a brick building, housing several culinary escapades from 2026 James Beard finalist Shigeyuki Furukawa, to find the darkened bar across from fine dining powerhouse Kado no Mise.
Inside, sleek contemporary architecture emphasizes illuminated display nooks for individual bottles. Alongside its stunning selection of rare and unusual whiskies, Gori Gori Peku also serves sexy, seasonal cocktails with a Japanese twist.
Sipping drinks at Gori Gori Peku is nothing short of luxe, and the posh establishment takes craft seriously. A night at Gori Gori Peku is for the daring, the understated, and is sure to be a movie.
Stargazer
Northeast Minneapolis’s outer space-themed cocktail bar Stargazer is a tiny black-hole-in-the-wall. Enveloped in pitch darkness, the interior’s alluring neon lighting evokes sci-fi energy in this newish concept from the founder of well-loved Meteor bar. (We’re sensing a motif!)
Out-of-this-world cocktails are served in this adventurous bar, like the Open Sesame, made with black sesame and miso-infused gin and toasted almond. But it’s not solely about the exceptional drinks in this celestial joint. Stargazer is also a pasta bar, serving up an array of Italian-inspired small plates.
Drinking and dining at Stargazer is unlike anything else in this city, singular in a metro that swears by its food and beverage scene. Patrons delight in the “speakeasy vibes” and friendly service. Come with a (small) crew or chart a course to Stargazer for two.
Parlour Bar
This cozy lounge, famed for its burger (the popularity of which spurred Parlour Bar into chain-dom), sits at garden level, just off Washington Avenue in the North Loop. “COCKTAILS” beams a neon sign visible from the sidewalk, indicating your arrival.
With wraparound seating, low-slung lamps, Persian rugs, and plenty of leather sofas, Parlour has the sultry vibes of a supper club and a sophisticated spectrum of cocktails on the menu. Its wooden, built-in bar and rustic furnishings are giving saloon, but make it classy.
Approachable excellence is Parlour’s essence, branded as the area’s “neighborhood cocktail den.” Come for the well-regarded cocktails and lower-level aura, stay for the elevated bar fare.
Prohibition Bar
Some speakeasies are below ground, but in true downtown Minneapolis fashion, Prohibition Bar is 27 stories up—at the top of the iconic Foshay Tower. Ascend to the “speakeasy in the sky,” and post up anywhere on the expansive floor, where charismatic art deco-inspired interior design plays up the original features of the opulent 1929 skyscraper.
Complete with panoramic views of the Minneapolis skyline, Prohibition Bar provides a dramatic vantage point for a before-dinner drink. Dressing up is encouraged at this hotel bar, so lean into the dress code, make an occasion out of it, and bring your night to new heights.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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