Frank's Bar - The Speakeasy

After our meal at Tô on Saturday night, we ask the French waiter where we should go next. He says there are lots of bars and clubs nearby on Niceto Vega, and in particular somewhere called Frank's Bar, which we've never heard of. He gives very vague directions but we take little notice and set off walking in the general direction of Niceto Vega.

Ten minutes later, we're lost on a dark street with no streetlamps and we're just about ready to head home when we spot a couple of bouncers outside an unmarked doorway on our left. We walk closer and see the tiny sign for Frank's, so we try to walk in, before the bouncer stops us.

"Password?" says the bouncer.

"Ummm..." I say. "I have no idea." (What kind of bar asks for a password?!)

"Did someone invite you here?" he asks, and I'm already thinking we're about to be turned away. Fifteen years worth of being asked for ID at bars in my hometown has taught me never to be ashamed of being refused entry!

"Um, Tô...?" I mutter. 

"Ah, hotel, sí!" he says, mishearing me, and moves out of the way to let us through. Simple as that! 

We walk into a dark room with what I can only describe as a Doctor Who-style telephone booth in front of us, which is the only way out apart from the way we came in.

We look back at the bouncers as we head towards the telephone box and he utters four numbers. These, it turns out, have to be punched into the telephone inside the booth before the door the other side of the booth opens up, letting us into the bar!

On the other side, we find ourselves in a narrow corridor and on the right-hand side we find a sex store, selling vibrators and all manner of kinky items. After a quick peruse, we carry on down the corridor before reaching a large, velvet-lined bar/nightclub set over two floors - the ground floor and mezzanine level. There's an old-fashioned wooden bar with mirrors, oodles of bottles of alcohol and crystal chandeliers. It's quite a discovery we've made!

Photo from gringoinbuenosaires.com - http://www.gringoinbuenosaires.com/secret-bars-buenos-aires-explore-hidden-underground/

The crowd is very young - quite a few kids that seem to be 18-20, but it seems they have another party to go to because, soon after we arrive, they all depart, leaving us with an older 30-something crowd. We order a few traditional cocktails in jam jars and have a dance before heading home.