PDT — Please Don't Tell — is a cocktail bar hidden behind a phone booth inside Crif Dogs, a hot dog shop on St. Marks Place. You walk in, pick up the rotary phone, and if they have room, the back wall of the booth swings open into one of the best cocktail bars in New York. It's theatrical and ridiculous and the drinks are genuinely excellent.
The cocktail program has been influential since PDT opened in 2007 — these are the people who helped kick off the whole speakeasy revival. The space is intimate: dark wood, taxidermy on the walls, maybe 40 seats. Reservations are technically available but walking in and trying the phone is more fun. If you have to wait, you're waiting in a hot dog shop, which is honestly not a bad consolation prize.
What locals are saying
“Brought my parents here from Ohio. My dad picked up the phone and his face when the wall opened was priceless.”
— Sarah, Murray Hill
“The Benton's Old Fashioned is still the best cocktail on the menu. Don't sleep on it.”
— Dave, Williamsburg