30 speakeasies worth the night across Italy, editor-ranked. All Italy guides.
1930 Cocktail Bar ★ 4.9 · Milan
Cinque Vie · Via Edmondo de Amicis 22, 20123 Milano
1930 hides a members-only speakeasy in the basement of its sister bar Mag Cafe in the Cinque Vie quarter, with a password-and-membership entry, an antique vinyl room and Flavio Angiolillo's cocktail programme that has held a World's 50 Best Bars slot since 2019.
Tip: Membership and the password come via the Farmily Group sister venues; reservations are required and there is one seating per evening. No street signage at the door.
L'Antiquario ★ 4.8 · Naples
Chiaia · Via Vannella Gaetani 2, 80121 Napoli
L'Antiquario hides behind an antique-shop door on Via Vannella Gaetani in Chiaia, opened in 2015 by bartender Alex Frezza as Naples' first speakeasy.
Tip: Wednesday nights add a live jazz set; reserve a banquette in advance as queues build past 22:00 on weekends. Cocktails around fourteen euros.
The Jerry Thomas Project ★ 4.8 · Rome
centro-storico · Vicolo Cellini 30, 00186 Roma
The Jerry Thomas Project hides behind an unmarked door on Vicolo Cellini and has been Rome's canonical speakeasy since 2010, with bartender Antonio Parlapiano's classic cocktail programme placing the room on the World's 50 Best Bars list six times.
Tip: Reservation is required and the day's password comes with it, plus a five euro membership at the door. Tuesday to Saturday only, room holds maybe 30.
Drink Kong ★ 4.8 · Rome
Monti · Piazza di San Martino ai Monti 8, 00184 Roma
Drink Kong runs across 300 square metres of Monti split into a bar room, a softly lit lounge, a Jungle Room that hosts live rock and jazz and an Omakase room panelled in Japanese cherry wood, with Patrick Pistolesi's instinct-based cocktail programme as the through-line.
Tip: Tell the bartender bitter, dry or sweet and let them choose; the menu is a starting point, not a script. The Jungle Room runs live music most weekends.
Locale Firenze ★ 4.7 · Florence
centro-storico · Via delle Seggiole 12R, 50122 Firenze
Locale Firenze occupies the thirteenth-century Palazzo delle Seggiole with a cocktail programme ranked fifteenth on the 2025 Top 500 Bars list, set across multiple basement levels of vaulted stone where the bar team pairs modern mixology with a restaurant kitchen.
Tip: Open every night to 02:00, with a dinner reservation easier to land than a bar-only seat on weekends. The vaulted lower rooms with original Renaissance stonework are the seat to ask for.
Rasputin ★ 4.7 · Florence
Oltrarno · Borgo Tegolaio 21R, 50125 Firenze
Rasputin tucks Florence's first true speakeasy behind an unmarked Borgo Tegolaio door in the Oltrarno, with a 45-seat candle-lit room dressed in red velvet, an extensive whisky back bar and a cocktail list that runs Prohibition classics alongside unexpected ingredient pairings.
Tip: Ring the bell, then wait for the hatch to slide open. Reservation is required, no standing inside, and photography is banned. The location is deliberately misplaced on Google.
Backdoor 43 ★ 4.7 · Milan
navigli · Ripa di Porta Ticinese 43, 20143 Milano
Backdoor 43 packs a four-square-metre cocktail room and a takeaway slot into number 43 on the Naviglio Grande, billed as the world's smallest bar with three seats inside, a private one-hour booking system and a masked bartender for street-side orders.
Tip: Reserve the inside hour ahead via the Farmily Group site; the takeaway slot serves passers-by through a hatched window without a booking.
Nottingham Forest ★ 4.7 · Milan
porta-venezia · Viale Piave 1, 20129 Milano
Nottingham Forest has run on Viale Piave at the foot of Porta Venezia since 1980, with owner Dario Comini pioneering molecular mixology behind a tribal-art-lined bar that has held a World's 50 Best Bars slot for years and is the city's canonical fusion cocktail room.
Tip: The room is small and the line forms before 22:00 on weekends; no reservations so arrive early. The menu changes seasonally and runs to over 200 builds.
Bocum Mixology ★ 4.7 · Palermo
vucciria · Via Cassari 2-4, 90133 Palermo
Bocum Mixology on Via dei Cassari in Palermo's Vucciria is the city's speakeasy-style cocktail flagship, Gambero Rosso's Sicily benchmark, deep.
Tip: Aperitivo from 18:00; the upstairs lounge is the speakeasy seat. Frangiflutti is the house cocktail.
Harry's Bar ★ 4.7 · Venice
san-marco · Calle Vallaresso 1323, San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE
Harry's Bar opened on Calle Vallaresso in 1931 under Giuseppe Cipriani and remains the city's most photographed cocktail room, the birthplace of the Bellini.
Tip: Stand at the bar for the Bellini at half the table price; the dress code tightens after 19:00 and bookings are for the dining room, not the cocktail counter.
Mayday Club ★ 4.6 · Florence
Centro Storico · Via Dante Alighieri 16R, 50122 Firenze
Mayday Club hides on Via Dante Alighieri opposite Dante's house with a vintage-radio-themed room run by mixologist Marco Arduino, whose cocktail programme leans on organic Tuscan botanicals, essential oils and small-batch infusions paired with nightly live music slots.
Tip: Closed Mondays; the room is small and books up on weekends so reserve ahead. The bar runs cocktail classes for groups of one to four with Arduino on Tuesday afternoons.
Iter ★ 4.6 · Milan
Navigli · Via Mario Fusetti 1, 20143 Milano
Iter runs a travel-themed cocktail room a block back from the Naviglio Grande, where bartender Nicola Scarnera and the Farmily Group rotate a country menu every six months so the back bar, food plates and cocktail builds all shift around one cuisine at a time.
Tip: The country residency changes twice a year; the menu lists the current destination at the top. Reservations recommended for weekend evenings.
Astronomia Bar Segreto ★ 4.6 · Naples
Centro Storico · Via Ferdinando del Carretto 22, 80133 Napoli
Astronomia hides ninety square metres of art-deco speakeasy beneath the Gaaastronomia salumeria on Via Ferdinando del Carretto, with a zodiac-themed cocktail.
Tip: Reservation required through the deli upstairs; the rotating shelf is the door. Cocktails around fourteen euros. Open Tuesday to Saturday only.
La Punta Expendio de Agave ★ 4.6 · Rome
Trastevere · Via di Santa Cecilia 8, 00153 Roma
La Punta is the Trastevere agaveria from the Jerry Thomas Project team, with one of Italy's deepest tequila and mezcal back bars paired with a tight Mexican-inspired food menu, and a tucked-in feel that reads more speakeasy than bar.
Tip: Small room, no street signage, reservations advised on weekends. Ask the bartender to walk you through the agave list; the back bar is the whole point.
Experimental Cocktail Club Venice ★ 4.6 · Venice
Dorsoduro · Sestiere Dorsoduro 1411, 30123 Venezia
Experimental Cocktail Club hides behind a Cristina Celestino designed lobby door inside Il Palazzo Experimental on the Zattere, with the Paris and London.
Tip: Walk ins only, no reservations; the hotel desk can hold a table for guests. The Tuesday and Wednesday close is non negotiable and the room shuts for two weeks in January.
The Bar at Aman Venice ★ 4.6 · Venice
San Polo · Calle Tiepolo 1364, 30125 Venezia
The Bar at Aman sits in the piano nobile of Palazzo Papadopoli overlooking the hotel's Grand Canal garden, with bar manager Antonio Ferrara on a seasonal.
Tip: The garden opens for cocktails from midday in warm months; the indoor salon takes over October through April. The Venice Cocktail Week and Architecture Biennale slots fill weeks ahead.
The Donkey ★ 4.5 · Bologna
Quadrilatero · Vicolo Broglio 1f, 40125 Bologna
The Donkey hides a small cocktail room behind a medieval gate on Vicolo Broglio, pairing a no-oversized-drink rule with a compiled spirits back bar.
Tip: Reservations only via WhatsApp to 349 138 4953; the door does not take walk-ins. Cocktails sit around 14 euros, sized to the spirit-forward house style.
Bitter Bar ★ 4.5 · Florence
Sant'Ambrogio · Via di Mezzo 28R, 50121 Firenze
Bitter Bar opened in 2017 on Via di Mezzo in the Sant'Ambrogio quarter as a Roaring Twenties cocktail room run by mixologist Cristian Guitti, with a ring-the-bell entry, low jazz, and a list weighted toward Negroni variations and South American agave spirits.
Tip: Reservations are required and easier to land midweek. The room is small and dimly lit; ask Guitti for an off-list build using pisco or mezcal.
Manifattura ★ 4.5 · Florence
centro-storico · Piazza di San Pancrazio 1R, 50123 Firenze
Manifattura sits on the small Piazza di San Pancrazio off Via della Spada with a vintage-inspired dimly lit room dedicated entirely to Italian spirits and liqueurs, including a deep back bar of regional amari, vermouths, grappas and bitter aperitivi from across the country.
Tip: Ask the bartender to walk you through the amaro flight; the menu is a starting point. The Negroni built here references the cocktail's Florentine origin a few hundred metres away.
The Race Club Speakeasy ★ 4.5 · Rome
centro-storico · Via Labicana 52, 00184 Roma
The Race Club hides a 1930s-styled basement under a Via Labicana shopfront dressed as a mechanic's workshop, with brick vaults, armchairs and a list of ten signatures alongside the classics, including a charity drink series that funds chosen causes.
Tip: Five euro membership at the door; the basement room is small so book a banquette on weekends. The upstairs garage is the cover, the cocktails are downstairs.
Il Mercante ★ 4.5 · Venice
San Polo · Fondamenta dei Frari 2564, 30125 Venezia
Il Mercante runs an 1870s former cafe a few steps from the Frari basilica as one of Venice's serious cocktail rooms, with a Magellan inspired list themed.
Tip: Order the Captain's Death if you like bitter and dry; the bar staff also build off menu. The room sits maybe thirty so reservations on Friday and Saturday avoid the queue.
Bar Longhi ★ 4.5 · Venice
San Marco · Campo Santa Maria del Giglio 2467, San Marco, 30124 Venezia VE
Bar Longhi is the social hub of The Gritti Palace on Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, with mirrored walls of Murano crystal, eighteenth century paintings.
Tip: Cocktails are nineteen euros, bar bites from twenty two; the terrace seats a handful so book ahead for sunset. Afternoon tea is the calmer slot if the bar feels too formal.
Altro? ★ 4.5 · Verona
Vicolo Cieco San Pietro Incarnario 9, 37121 Verona
Altro?.
Tip: Unmarked door at the alley end; ring the bell. Cocktails €12 to 16; cash and card both work.
Le Stanze ★ 4.4 · Bologna
Universita · Via del Borgo San Pietro 1, 40126 Bologna
Le Stanze occupies a former chapel of the Bentivoglio family on Via del Borgo San Pietro, with rooms of 17th-century frescoes set against post-modern sofas.
Tip: Aperitivo buffet runs from 18:00 with the cocktail; the room peaks on Friday and Saturday past 22:30 when the crowd spills onto the sidewalk.
Ex Salumeria ★ 4.4 · Naples
Centro Storico · Via Candelora 1, 80134 Napoli
Ex Salumeria runs a tucked-away rum bar on Via Candelora near Universita metro, with a small terrace, a back bar built around infused rums and house.
Tip: The rum back bar is the whole point; ask the bartender for an infused pour. The terrace is the seat in the warm months. Cash works best on weekends.
Maison Bocum ★ 4.4 · Palermo
vucciria · Via dei Cassari 2-4, 90133 Palermo
Maison Bocum on Via dei Cassari in Palermo's Vucciria is the senior Bocum group bistro and bar, designed in the English private-club style, with daily food.
Tip: Book ahead at weekends. The White Room with rotating art exhibitions is the special-occasion seat.
Argot ★ 4.4 · Rome
centro-storico · Via dei Cappellari 93, 00186 Roma
Argot tucks a cavernous downstairs room into the back streets behind Campo de' Fiori, run by three Roman owners as a salotto di casa with dim lighting, kitsch furniture and a weekend live music slot alongside the cocktail programme.
Tip: Annual membership card required at the door; the live music runs weekends and pushes the room past 02:00. No kitchen so eat first.
Freni e Frizioni ★ 4.4 · Rome
Trastevere · Via del Politeama 4, 00153 Roma
Freni e Frizioni has run a Trastevere ex-garage at Via del Politeama since 2007, with a small inside room, an aperitivo buffet from 19:00 and the river-side piazza outside that fills with a young Roman crowd well past midnight.
Tip: Six euro cocktails through aperitivo include the vegetarian buffet, the cheapest way to drink in Trastevere. The piazza in front is the room past 22:00.
The Mad Dog Social Club ★ 4.4 · Turin
centro-storico · Via Maria Vittoria 35A, 10123 Torino
Mad Dog Social Club is Turin's Anglo-Saxon speakeasy on Via Maria Vittoria, vaulted ceilings, exposed brick, classic-era cocktails and jazz nights from Tuesday to Sunday.
Tip: Tuesday is jazz night; classic Manhattans are the order.
The Soda Jerk ★ 4.4 · Verona
Via XX Settembre 35, 37129 Verona
The Soda Jerk in Veronetta runs a vintage-inspired cocktail programme with classic builds and house-made syrups. A 2026 TableJourney editor pick.
Tip: Arrive by 22:00; the room seats 22 and turns once.