Minneapolis may not immediately conjure images of secret passwords and hidden entrances, yet beneath its Midwestern façade lies a thriving cocktail underground that pays homage to Prohibition-era drinking culture. These modern speakeasies blend the historical atmosphere with contemporary mixology, creating spaces where craft cocktails and intimate settings transport visitors to another time.
Unlike their truly illicit predecessors, these establishments operate legally—though finding them remains part of the adventure. Here is a list of the most fascinating underground speakeasies in Minneapolis, where exceptional drinks and atmosphere await those in the know.
Volstead’s Emporium
Hidden behind an unmarked alley door in Uptown, Volstead’s requires visitors to locate a small red light before approaching a sliding peephole for potential entry. Inside, velvet couches and dim lighting create an atmosphere of conspiratorial luxury while bartenders craft pre-Prohibition era cocktails using house-made bitters and syrups.
The bar’s rotating password policy—sometimes posted on social media, sometimes requiring knowledge of certain historical facts—adds a layer of authenticity to the experience.
The Lumber Baron
This Northeast Minneapolis gem hides behind a functioning barber shop, where a particular chair swivels to reveal a narrow staircase leading to a wood-paneled sanctuary. Whiskey dominates the menu with over 150 varieties from around the world, though the house specialties involve smoked cocktails prepared tableside with theatrical flair.
Weekends feature live jazz trios playing in the corner while patrons sink into leather armchairs beneath vintage photographs of Minneapolis during its lumber industry heyday.
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Marvel Bar
Beneath a popular North Loop restaurant sits this windowless cocktail laboratory, marked only by a purple door that many mistake for a service entrance. Inside, bartenders in suspenders and sleeve garters approach mixology with scientific precision, using eyedroppers and digital scales to create perfectly balanced drinks.
The Oliveto—an unlikely combination of olive oil, egg white, lemon, Licor 43, and gin—has become their signature creation that locals bring out-of-town visitors to experience.
The Apostle Room
This Cathedral Hill hideaway requires texting a number listed on an inconspicuous sign for same-day reservations and entry instructions. The space—once a genuine Prohibition-era speakeasy—retains original tin ceilings and a secret escape tunnel now repurposed as a wine cellar.
Bartenders specialize in absinthe service, complete with traditional fountain drips, sugar cubes, and slotted spoons imported from France. The rotating menu changes with available seasonal ingredients from local farms.
The Orifice
Disguised as a dentist’s office with a waiting room complete with outdated magazines and office plants, this downtown establishment requires pressing a hidden button under a specific chair to reveal the entrance. Cocktails arrive in unexpected vessels—from vintage medical equipment to miniature bathtubs—while the menu employs dental terminology as clever drink descriptions.
The back room features actual dental chairs from the 1920s repurposed as unique seating for small groups.
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The Library
Accessible only through a bookcase in an actual functioning bookstore, this literary-themed hideaway features shelves of first editions and cocktails named after famous authors. Ernest Hemingway combines rum with grapefruit in a nod to his Cuban years, while Virginia Woolf layers gin with lavender and Earl Grey tea.
Bartenders memorize passages from classic novels and recite them while preparing drinks at the century-old mahogany bar salvaged from a demolished downtown hotel.
The Cellar Society
Entry to this warehouse district establishment requires locating a basement-level alley door where a doorman requests both a password and a brief test of Prohibition knowledge. Inside, bartenders work behind a bar fashioned from a repurposed church altar while mixing drinks according to recipes from famous 1920s bartenders.
The ceiling features authentic bullet punctures from a gangland shooting during Minneapolis’ bootlegging era, preserved beneath protective glass panels.
The Blind Pig
Hidden within a functioning butcher shop in the Northeast, visitors must enter a walk-in cooler and pull on a specific hanging sausage to reveal a sliding door. Cocktails celebrate Minnesota’s bootlegging history with names referencing local gangsters and their territories, while ingredients include house-infused liquors prepared in small barrels visible behind the bar.
Weekend evenings feature password-only access to a second hidden room where vintage gambling tables operate for entertainment purposes.
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Hush
This South Minneapolis jewel requires visitors to enter through a working record store and locate a specific album in the jazz section. Pulling this record activates a hidden door leading to a time capsule of 1920s elegance.
Bartenders dress in period-authentic attire while mixing cocktails that pair with the nightly vinyl selection played on a restored gramophone. The ceiling’s pressed tin panels conceal speakers, delivering ambient sounds of distant police sirens and rumbling Model T engines.
The Safe House
Beneath a historic bank building downtown, visitors access this vault-themed lounge by entering the original massive steel bank vault—now functioning as the entrance. Inside, drinks are served in metal safety deposit boxes while bartenders explain the building’s connection to Depression-era bank robberies and subsequent speakeasy operations.
Private tables occupy former counting rooms where curved walls enhance acoustics for the nightly piano performances.
The Inquisition
Finding this Warehouse District gem requires locating a particular confessional booth inside a deconsecrated church. Upon entering and “confessing” the nightly password, the back panel of the booth slides open to reveal a candlelit space with stained glass windows casting colorful shadows across church pew seating.
The menu features locally distilled spirits in cocktails named after the seven deadly sins, with descriptions written in Latin alongside English translations.
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Mercury Dining Room and Rail’s Secret Cellar
While the main restaurant operates openly, few patrons realize that a hidden cellar bar exists beneath the dining room floor. Access requires knowing which specific floor tile to press, revealing a staircase leading to an intimate twelve-seat bar specializing in rare American whiskies and bourbon-based cocktails.
The space served as an actual speakeasy during Prohibition, with original graffiti from that era preserved on the brick walls.
The Last Word
This Linden Hills secret hides behind an unmarked door within a neighborhood bookstore, where whispering the weekly password to a specific employee grants access. The intimate space features bartenders who create personalized cocktails based on conversations with guests rather than offering a traditional menu.
Drinks arrive with handwritten recipe cards that patrons are encouraged to take home—a nod to how cocktail recipes survived through Prohibition via personal recipe collections.
Hennepin Steam Room
Located in the labyrinthine basement of a historic downtown building, finding the entrance requires navigating a series of maintenance corridors before encountering a door marked only with a small brass thermometer. The industrial space—once housing the building’s actual steam system—now features exposed pipes repurposed as liquor shelves and fixtures.
Bartenders specialize in vapor-infused cocktails, using modified equipment to infuse spirits with aromatic elements that enhance both flavor and presentation.
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Behind The Curtain
The final stop on our speakeasy journey requires no special password or hidden entrance—just the willingness to venture off the beaten path. This North Loop establishment proudly embraces its speakeasy aesthetic with prominent signage yet somehow remains a hidden gem known primarily to locals.
The welcoming atmosphere makes it the perfect introduction to Minneapolis’ speakeasy scene, offering carefully crafted cocktails without the sometimes intimidating exclusivity of other establishments on this list.
The Spirit of Minneapolis
These modern interpretations of Prohibition-era drinking establishments reveal Minneapolis’ often overlooked connections to American cocktail history. Whether you’re whispering passwords or sliding through hidden entrances, these speakeasies offer more than just excellent drinks—they provide immersive experiences that connect patrons with a fascinating chapter of local history.
The next time someone suggests Minneapolis lacks excitement, perhaps share this knowledge—or better yet, keep these secrets to yourself and enjoy the thrill of being truly in the know.
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