21 Secret Cincinnati Bars and How to Find Them All

The Video Archive

965 E. McMillan, Walnut Hills
Named in honor of the video rental store where director Quentin Tarantino once worked, The Video Archive is a video store that doubles as a speakeasy, like a Blockbuster with a back-alley bar. Upon entering, you’d think you’ve arrived at an indie flick shop, until you discover the secret door — opened by selecting a specific VHS movie from the shelves — that leads you to the booze room with Tarantino-themed drinks, movies projected behind the bartenders, shattered mirrors and framed photos of Mia Wallace impersonators. It all creates something that, while not serious, is delightfully magical.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Comfort Station

793 E. McMillan Ave., Walnut Hills
From the team behind OTR’s Sundry and Vice comes Comfort Station. Opened in late June, this cocktail bar is located in a century-old Walnut Hills rest area. Without much signage outside, guests enter via the original women's room door — now painted a beautiful bright blue — into an industrial and airy space with skylights, inventive cocktails and a living plant wall. A back patio and lounge creates an indoor/outdoor feel.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Mecca OTR

1429 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine
This hip OTR hideaway is a welcoming hangout for those interested in no-frills drinking, L.A. vibes, vinyl tunes and free popcorn. Find the main courtyard entrance tucked away down 15th Street, and cross the big-ass gravel patio, past colorful street-art murals, a panoply of rainbow lighting and a plethora of communal seating to enter a world of hanging plants (in summer the patio is decked out in greenery) and the most creatively decorated — dare we say selfie-ready — bar bathrooms in the city. Get yourself a Chunker, an airplane-sized bottle of liquor inverted into a can of sparkling San Pellegrino flavored water.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Yonder

621 Main St., Covington
Inspired by owners Chris and Tess Burns' love of Kentucky State Parks, this new concept by the folks behind Covington's Commonwealth Bistro features a chic treehouse-esque rooftop bar with a small rotating menu and craft cocktails, as well as inventive mocktails. Head down the alleyway to the left of Commonwealth’s entrance to find a set of stairs that will take you to the second floor space (open Wednesday through Sunday).
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Night Drop

1535 Madison Road, East Walnut Hills
Folks from Northside’s Littlefield Restaurant Group rehabbed the historic 1920s-era Central Trust Bank building in East Walnut Hills, opening the aptly named restaurant Branch and its adjacent downstairs speakeasy Night Drop in December. Cocktails take their sobriquets from financial terms, like the Reverse Mortgage, Cosigner and Accelerated Depreciation, the latter of which contains bourbon, light cherry notes and is finished in smoke. Find the door to Night Drop around the back of the building.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The Blind Lemon

936 Hatch St., Mount Adams
Mount Adams’ favorite backyard bar since 1963. Walk down a set of stairs to find a secret, little hideaway. Outside, the relaxed garden patio is like a boho blend of Bourbon Street and Paris café life. With live music every night, it’s one of the most romantic drinking destinations in the city.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Wiseguy Lounge

1211 Main St., Over-the-Rhine
While inspired by the prohibition and speakeasies, this lounge nestled above OTR’s Goodfellas Pizzeria doesn’t require a secret password. Instead, just walk up the stairs and order one of the more than 250 bourbons, hand-crafted cocktails or wide variety of beers from your knowledgeable bartender.
Photo: Facebook.com/GoodfellasOTR

Aster on Fourth

8 E. Fourth St., Downtown
This social sippery is a casual cocktail space located above the downtown location of Sleepy Bee Cafe. The beverage director and Bee chefs worked together to create a menu that brought "the farm to the cocktail world." Tapping into the latest trend in mixology, there's also a smattering of non-alcoholic and low ABV cocktails that go beyond soda and virgin mixed drinks to accommodate everyone in your party. Socials — carafes of drinks for sharing with friends old and new — are perfect when imbibed on the rooftop patio. The bar also offers shareable bites. Enter through a hallway and take the elevator up to the third floor.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

21c Museum Hotel's Cocktail Terrace

609 Walnut St., Downtown
Slink your way down Gano Alley and take a secret, escorted elevator ride up 11 floors to the seasonal 21c Museum Hotel rooftop terrace and watch the sunset over downtown with a 'pop-tail' in hand. The uniquely flavored popsicles are made from scratch and then added to chilled spirits to be sipped, stirred or licked. The terrace also offers adult slushies, masterful mixology, a streamlined snack menu and more from its aerial 75-seater vantage point.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Social OTR

1819 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Social OTR features an ambitious New American menu and two spaces: a front dining room and a cozy back bar with an entrance from the alley. The menu includes about eight “Snacks,” 10 to 11 “Small Plates” and just two “Large Plates,” with a drink list that’s almost longer than the food offerings. Whether you prefer tequila, rye, gin or any other spirit, the house cocktails have you covered. The nonprofit restaurant also aims to fill a multitude of societal and business needs in the community through its workforce development program.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

White Oak Marathon

6050 Cheviot Road, White Oak
A White Oak staple. This gas station offers one of the area’s widest craft beer and fine wine selections as well as Wine Wednesdays and Thursday Pint Nights hosted on their spacious back patio. That’s right — they have a bar with rotating beer taps updated almost weekly. Need to make a quick stop? Swing through their drive-thru. Fill up your tank, grab a drank and enjoy great company at this local one-stop shop.
Photo: Twitter.com/CheviotMarathon

Lucky Turtle

8621 Winton Road, Springfield Township
This hidden bar located behind Brentwood Spirits & Wine in Finneytown serves 23 draft options and more than 120 bourbons and liquors. Complete with a patio, the establishment also offers happy hour specials and other events.
Photo: Facebook.com/LuckyTurtleFinneytown

The Mockbee

2260 Central Parkway, Brighton
This industrial multi-use venue is located in a historic brewery space with a DIY ethos. It may look abandoned in passing, but we assure you there is typically some sort of shenanigans going on inside. The Mockbee hosts changing exhibits, live music, workshops, dance parties, open mics and more. Park across the street in Brighton and enter through the main doors off of Central Parkway.
Photo: Jesse Fox

O’ Malleys in the Alley

25 W. Ogden Place, Downtown
O’Malleys in the Alley is a straightforward imbibing experience with homemade dishes that have stood the test of time. Accessible via the shaded alleyway on Ogden Place, the bar offers daily drink specials and its proximity to Great American Ball Park make it a must before Reds games.
Photo: Facebook.com/OMalleysInTheAlley1

Lost & Found OTR

22 E. 14th St., Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine's newest cocktail bar is a funky, community-driven gathering space with an inventive drink menu and small bites inside of a creative, art-filled environment; it was once a multi-car garage. It’s located on a quieter street in Over-the-Rhine — if it weren’t for the green light perched outside the bar, you just might miss it. Co-owners Steven Clement and Camilo Otalora are the masterminds behind Lost & Found, with the goal of creating a hub where guests can feel welcome and inspired. Work from local artists fill the walls from room to room.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Please

1405 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine
Tucked away on Clay Street in Over-the-Rhine, Please serves modern and artful small plates. Chef Ryan Santos helmed Please as a gypsy pop-up from 2011 to 2016 and the design of the cozy brick and mortar is note-perfect down to the very instagrammable bathroom (search #pleasepotty for guest selfies with the abstract hand-painted wall tile). The front of house offers a first-class feel — each meal is served with fanfare and attention. Or head through the side door to visit the cozy, garden-inspired bar and enjoy hand-crafted cocktails, natural wines and European and local beers from one of the handful of bar seats.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

The View at Shires' Gardens

309 Vine St., 10th Floor, Downtown
The View at Shires’ Garden is located on the 10th floor of the City Club Apartments with views of the riverfront and the surrounding cityscape. This new rooftop spot features an indoor dining room, an outdoor patio and a private event lounge with a bar, cigar patio, baby grand piano and firelit tables. The décor mixes modern furnishings with the style of the original Shires’ Gardens from the 19th century — a historic Queen City amusement resort of sorts in this same spot at Vine and Third streets.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Longfellow’s Other Room

109 E. 13th St. and Brackett Alley, Over-the-Rhine
Over-the-Rhine’s Longfellow recently opened an attached Other Room, a separate back bar that has 107 fluctuating rums — argued to be the largest rum collection in Ohio. With the vibe of a 1950s basement bar “where Desi Arnaz would perform but was managed by David Lynch,” the rum curators and bartenders are more than happy to help you find a favorite new spirit from their global collection. The unassuming entrance is at 109 E. 13th and Brackett Alley along Longfellow’s strip of side doors and windows, but can also be accessed by walking through the bar’s bathroom hallway.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Prohibition Bourbon Bar

530 Washington Ave., Newport
This Newport bourbon bar may not be tough to find geographically, but their hours make them a hard-to-catch destination. Open only on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., the bar offers a collection of more than 1,000 bottles and counting of bourbon and rye whisky, including Scotch, Irish, Tennessee and Japanese brands, along with more than 50 wines by the glass and more than 50 craft beers. It was recently named one of the best bourbon bars in America by The Bourbon Review.
Photo: Facebook.com/NewberryBrosCoffee

Schwartz Point

1901 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
Pianist Ed Moss is a Cincinnati Jazz legend for his musical achievements, but he was also beloved for his low-key venue, which was written about as one of the area’s “Best Kept Secrets” so often, it really wasn’t a secret anymore, particularly among the city’s Jazz players. When Moss passed away in 2016, his daughter, Zarleen Watts, decided to honor her father by keeping his passion project going. The club reopened in 2017, retaining the eccentric character and regular Jazz performances (by a who’s who of the Cincinnati scene) that were part of Moss’ vision, but modernizing it a bit and adding a new drink menu.
Photo: Facebook.com/SchwartzsPoint