SLIP INTO A SPEAKEASY

“The problem with porteños is, as soon as they find out about a cool place, they all want to be there,” laments Andrés Rolando, Buenos Aires’ answer to Sydney bar tsar Justin Hemmes. “Hundreds of people turn up at the door each night and the place is no longer exclusive.” So when Rolando wanted

to open an exclusive cocktail bar, he had to do something drastic, like hide it behind a nondescript Japanese joint.

Few guests at Nicky NY Sushi (Malabia 1764; +54 11 4831 0519), an intimate U-shaped dining room in the suburb of Palermo Soho, have any idea what’s going on behind the frosted glass door at the back. But ask your waiter to take you to the other side and you’ll be escorted to a small cellar with hundreds of wines and a set of Narnia-like closet doors. Inside is The Harrison Speakeasy, a 1930s New York-style bar with dark leather booths and low-slung antique lamps. The dimly lit den is for locals only – and members at that. “But we let foreigners in,” says waiter Steve Tardy, “as long as they book a table at the restaurant, don’t wear shorts and ask us to show them the ‘wine cellar’.”

Just a short taxi ride away, in Palermo Hollywood, is Frank’s (Arévalo 1445; +54 11 4777 6541), where you’ll need a password to enter. It was “Agatha Christie” in our case but it changes regularly so ask your concierge to find out the current one. Say the password and you’ll be given a code and led to a phone booth; punch in the digits and a wall opens (feeling like James Bond yet?) to reveal a vast warehouse that’s been transformed into a sexy split-level lair with a long glowing bar and inventive cocktail menu. The Iced Hurricane highball comes with a sprig of rosemary on top, set ablaze “so the aroma stays while you drink it”, says bartender Rodrigo Pascual Tubert.