While I’ve been a longtime of Crif Dogs — read all about that here — there is one place that I’ve only recently had the pleasure of venturing into. And that would be Please Don’t Tell, the mysterious speakeasy you enter through a vintage telephone booth.
Say what?

This is one of the East Village’s best speakeasies, and it’s one that I’ve simply never been able to get into. Until one night when I was enjoying a bacon wrapped hot dog at Crif, when the woman next to my friend and me leaned over and asked if we had a reservation for Please Don’t Tell. Unfortunately we did not, I said.

“Well, if you want to be Leslie you can take my reservation and head in right now, they just called me but we finished our food and are ready to go.”

Well call me Leslie and let me in.

The space looks a bit like a chic rabbit hole, with dark lighting and leather booths lining the room. The bar itself lights up, which throws light on the wood plank ceiling, the brick walls, and illuminates some of the various taxidermy adorning the space. The cocktail menu is delightful and varied, and you can order from the menu at Crif Dogs.

So what’s the 411 on the whole process of getting in without impersonating Leslie? Well, first off you need the telephone number to make a reservation. One you get to Crif Dogs, you go into the phone booth and pick up the phone. You’ll talk to the server who is on the other side of the secret door, and she’ll only open the secret door if you have a reservation. And how do you get the telephone number?

Well, I’ll leave that up to you.