Chennai’s speakeasies offer unique dining experiences, blending secrecy with exclusivity. Bars like Madco and restaurants like Tokyo Diner require guests to follow specific steps to gain entry, enhancing their allure. These hidden venues, inspired by Prohibition-era speakeasies, focus on atmosphere and quality, frequently updating their menus to maintain interest.

CHENNAI: At this pub and restaurant in Chennai, what you see is not what you get. What you see, for instance, is a tiny café tucked into a narrow little lane, or a bakery at one of Chennai’s most popular hangouts. But what you get once inside is a whole new world. A secret sliding wall in the café leads to a starry-lit pub, with a hint of jazz in the air, while a fully stocked refrigerator in the bakery opens its doors to a taste of Japan.
Welcome to Chennai’s speakeasies, among the city’s newest and most virally secret restaurant trends.
But first, what are speakeasies? The word was coined in the US during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. To avoid police raids, patrons had to speak quietly (or “speak easy”) about these hidden bars, which were tucked behind doors and walls. Remember the 2013 film The Great Gatsby, set in 1922 America where Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) into a speakeasy disguised as a barbershop?
Today, speakeasies have become a stylish game of hide-and-seek exclusivity and around the world, are found behind sliding bookcases, phone booths and grocery store facades.
Madco, Chennai’s first speakeasy pub, opened on Dec 5. Managing partner Santhosh Zachariah Abraham says he chose the date to mark the end of Prohibition in the US, 91 years ago. At Madco, guests must first send a direct message to the pub’s Instagram account. “We filter the crowd at that stage,” says Santhosh. Madco caters to the over-35 crowd and their team connects with guests before the reser-vation is confirmed to avoid issues at the pub.
Sandesh Reddy, the man behind Tokyo Diner, Chennai’s first speakeasy restaurant, says the concept was born more out of necessity. “We couldn’t find the right location in Nungambakkam for our Japanese-themed restaurant,” says Sandesh.
“We had some space behind our bakery, but it had no windows and no room for signage. That’s when we decided to lean into the idea of a speakeasy, where a refrigerator door — fully stocked by the way —in the bakery opens into an 18-seater restaurant.”
Guests must pre-book and pay in advance to receive a password, usually a Japanese word, which grants them access through the ‘refrigerator’. Madco guests receive a passcode a few hours before their reservation, which they must share with the barista at the café to gain entry.
Hotels too are trying to get a foot in this door. Last weekend, PCO (Pass Code Only), the speakeasy bar in Delhi, which is tucked away behind a vintage phone booth in Vasant Vihar, brought its cocktails to Chennai and hosted a two-night takeover at The Flying Elephant in Park Hyatt. The popup featured ‘The forbidden’, PCO’s latest cocktail menu, supposedly inspired by taboo ingredients and rebellious pairings. But the novelty of a speakeasy can wear off after the first visit.
“That’s why we change the menu every six weeks,” says Sandesh. “Everyone wants to check out a new spot. It blows up fast, thanks to Instagram,” says Santhosh. “But finally, it is all about the product, the cocktails and the vibe.”
But until the novelty fades, guests are encouraged to hush tag, not hashtag.