Meet the Speakeasy Telephone, a secret bar hidden behind a telephone booth in SP

On Rua Haddock Lobo there is a small telephone booth with neon lights and a blue velvet background. It’s the super discreet entrance to the new Speakeasy Telephone bar, a secret address recently opened in São Paulo.

Through the booth, stairs lead to a small dance floor with a twinkling sky ceiling, surrounded by tables. One of them, further away, is close to a screened curtain that can be closed by those who want to talk or do anything else in more privacy.

The decor seeks to attract night owls who lived in a pre-pandemic São Paulo.

“It is the desire to offer the city a bar that is a reference in reunions at this time” says businessman Lalo Zanini when explaining the concept of his new establishment, which still has as a partner Fernando Sommer, from the bar-club Casa 92, in Pinheiros.

In the main hall, the soundtrack draws attention. The DJ plays disco classics, with flashes of techno and pop from the 1980s. The bar also accommodates the less agitated and, on Tuesdays, there can be jazz performances.

Retro-style glasses and bowls accompany the drinks list. It is possible to go from the classic boulevardier (R$ 45) and negroni (R$ 42), all made with vermouth, to original ones such as Oh Lá Lá (R$ 43), based on Amaretto and cupuaçu, and the Tropical ( R$47), with gin, citric fruits, almonds and Red Bull —which despite being an energy drink turns out to be a very pleasant cocktail.

To balance the effects of alcohol, the bar also offers dinner options such as beef tartare (R$66) and the classic Club Sandwich (R$52).

The bar closes at 2 am, but they say they usually stay until the last customer leaves — a relief for a city that insists on closing at midnight.