Palermo Bars & Nightlife

A speakeasy, designed to resemble a Victorian-era factory (hence the name), the ambiance is dark and cozy with circular leather booths, low lighting, and truly excellent cocktails. Settle in for a few aperitifs and small plates to tide you over until dinner, which given Buenos Aires’s dining schedule typically gets going around 10 p.m.

Conveniently next door to BA hot spot Casa Cruz, Isabel is equally as glamorous as her neighbor. An upscale bar, the decor has that seductive, seventies vibe going on—gilded doors, a roaring fireplace, plush velvet booths, and mood-setting dim lighting. If you can get past the tight door, the martinis are the thing to order.

A pretty novel concept, this bar is a complete reconstruction of the NYC subway, as if it’s in transit from the Bronx to Uptown—yet, unlike the subway, this bar also manages to feel illicit, swanky, and clean. From the guys behind the Harrison Speakeasy, no stone was left unturned here—they’ve thought of every detail from the subway tiles that cover nearly every surface and the turnstile you need to pass through, to the actual subway car that holds the bar. This, however is no ordinary subway car, inside is a chic space with leather booths, towering ceilings, and a bar manned by booze experts mixing up themed cocktails to a soundtrack of rap and R&B.

A riff on the fish market speakeasy operated by the notorious Harrison family in New York during the Prohibition, this iteration (authentically located underneath a sushi restaurant) recreates all of the illicit drama of the period. The real Nicky Harrison—a jailbird who later fled New York—wound up finding life and love in Buenos Aires and every detail in this bar is an ode to his story. (Even the menus feature newspaper clippings detailing Harrison’s 1930 incarceration.) The well-stocked bar is manned by guys who know what they're doing, too.