Overview
By Nan
History
A speakeasy with references
At the Back Room, liquor comes in teacups and beer in brown bags1. Time Out's list of the city's best speakeasies names it the only actual speakeasy on the list, a two-level basement bar that sells the Prohibition fantasy harder than most because it lived it2.
Its Prohibition predecessor was Ratner's Back Room1. Ratner's, a kosher restaurant that opened in 1908 and moved to Delancey Street, was seen as a culinary complement to Katz's Deli, but its back room served illegal alcohol and the criminal underworld too1. According to the owner's former landlords, the area's gangsters held meetings back there, Meyer Lansky in particular1.
Johnny Barounis's bar opened in 2004 behind a fake front, which our old review described as a toy store façade1. It has since hosted Paul McCartney, Robert Plant and Julian Lennon1. The VIP room, a back, back room hidden behind a rotating bookcase, had four exits of its own1.
Sources
Researched October 2026.