Hidden bars & speakeasies in Minneapolis
Minneapolis hides 10 bars worth the hunt, including Anoka Hardware Store, Volstead's Emporium and Flora Room. Unmarked doors, back-of-the-laundromat phone booths, no-sign basements — speakeasies that earned the word rather than borrowing it for the decor. They spread across Anoka, MN, Uptown, Minneapolis, North Loop, Minneapolis, Loring Park and 4 more areas, so two or three can make a whole afternoon. Every entry is hand-vetted against real sources — not scraped off a top-ten list or averaged out of crowd ratings.
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Anoka Hardware Store
Disguised as a vintage hardware store with a token display of tools in the entryway, this hidden lounge is accessed through a heavy 150-pound sliding door down a red-lit alley. Guests must provide a secret password texted to them on the day of their reservation to gain entry.
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Volstead's Emporium
Tucked down a dark alley behind a nondescript door with a single red light, this classic speakeasy features a sliding peephole, secret passageways, and velvet booths. The dimly lit space hosts live jazz, comedy, and classic burlesque shows.
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Flora Room
Tucked beneath the Argentinian steakhouse Porzana, this lush basement bar is accessed via an unmarked, earthy-green door down a small staircase behind the building. The dimly lit, moody space is packed with living greenery draped around booths and behind the bar, giving it a 'forest witch' ambiance.
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Salon Rouge (Maison Margaux)
Hidden beneath the multi-level French brasserie Maison Margaux, Salon Rouge is a sultry underground bar designed to emulate the Paris catacombs. Dressed in dramatic red and black velvet, the lounge serves high-end French cocktails and a streamlined bar menu.
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Gori Gori Peku
Tucked discreetly on the second floor of Kado no Mise, this intimate Japanese whisky bar is a dark, minimalist cocoon modeled after Tokyo's tiny alleyway bars. It houses an unmatched selection of rare, premium Japanese whiskies and serves cocktails with hand-stamped ice cubes.
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300 Clifton Bed & Breakfast
This historic Queen Anne Victorian mansion is famously haunted by Gertrude, a lady's maid who tragically drowned in the basement's brick cistern during a 1911 fire while trying to save the family's valuables.
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Wabasha Street Caves
Carved into the sandstone hillsides, these historic caves served as a 1930s gangster speakeasy and casino, and they are allegedly haunted by the victims of an unsolved mob execution.
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Little Tijuana
Under a glowing neon sign on Eat Street, this legendary late-night oasis serves up playful cocktails and an eclectic, globally-inspired menu (think Laotian and South Korean street food) until midnight or 1:00 AM. It's the ultimate neighborhood intersection of nostalgia, cozy dive vibes, and late-night culinary weirdness.
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PORTAL° Thermaculture
Housed in a creatively transformed former Jiffy Lube, this social wellness club features modern Scandinavian saunas, a communal cold plunge pool, and a 'dry dive bar' vibe. It offers a unique space for alcohol-free connection centered around hot-and-cold contrast therapy.
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NE Wellness
This community-oriented wellness clinic features a 'Vibra-acoustic sensory lounge' with a sound bed, ONYX red light therapy, and float therapy tanks. It offers a highly unique blend of Traditional Chinese Medicine and futuristic, tech-forward recovery modalities.
Hidden bars & speakeasies in Minneapolis — FAQ
Which hidden bars & speakeasies in Minneapolis are the strangest?
Ranked by how strange they actually are: Anoka Hardware Store, Volstead's Emporium and Flora Room. Anoka Hardware Store — Disguised as a vintage hardware store with a token display of tools in the entryway, this hidden lounge is accessed through a heavy 150-pound sliding door down a red-lit alley.
Where in Minneapolis are they?
Across Anoka, MN, Uptown, Minneapolis, North Loop, Minneapolis, Loring Park and West Side, St. Paul and 3 more. Each listing gives the neighborhood and address so you can cluster a couple into one outing.
Is this a good weird date in Minneapolis?
That's what the list is built for. Every entry has a specific move rather than a vague recommendation — at Anoka Hardware Store, for instance: Snag a reservation for a Wednesday night to enjoy their legendary $6 Old Fashioneds, featuring rotating mid-range whiskeys and a fancy Luxardo cherry, while listening to live jazz.
How were these hidden bars & speakeasies chosen?
An agentic research system digs for the genuinely obscure — the spots even locals miss — and every one is verified against real sources before it makes the list. We deliberately skip the landmarks already on every Minneapolis guide.