Please Don’t Tell (PDT): The Phone-Booth Speakeasy That Defined the Genre
PDT doesn’t do a happy hour. What it does is the original modern speakeasy bit: you walk into Crif Dogs hot-dog shop, step inside a wooden phone booth, pick up the receiver, and the back wall opens into a tiny, dark cocktail room.
Opened in 2007 by Jim Meehan, it’s one of the most influential bars of the speakeasy revival — it topped the World’s 50 Best list in 2011 and won the first-ever James Beard award for Outstanding Bar Program. The honest read: it’s a reservation, it’s a small room, and the gimmick is backed by real cocktails.
What to Expect
There’s no happy hour. Reservations go through Resy up to seven days out (with a $15/person late-cancel fee), and a limited number of bar seats are held first-come for parties of four or fewer. The drink list is precise, classics-forward craft cocktails, and the kitchen runs an abbreviated Crif Dogs menu — bacon-wrapped dogs, tots and fries — which is the high/low signature.
The Room
The room behind the booth is small, dim and taxidermy-accented — a handful of seats, not a place to bring a crowd. It sits on St Marks between First Avenue and Avenue A, a three-minute walk from the 1st Ave L. Expect cocktail aficionados, date-nighters, and tourists hunting the booth; book ahead or grab a walk-in bar seat early.
Who Please Don’t Tell Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| The speakeasy experience | The phone-booth entrance is the real thing, not a theme-bar imitation. |
| Classic cocktails | A James Beard-winning program built on precise, classics-forward drinks. |
| Date night | Tiny, dark and reservation-driven — intimate by design. |
| Hot dog + cocktail | The Crif Dogs menu inside is the high/low move PDT is known for. |
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Please Don’t Tell FAQ
Does PDT have a happy hour?
No — PDT is a reservation-driven speakeasy with no happy hour; come for the room and the cocktails.
How do you get into PDT?
Enter Crif Dogs at 113 St Marks Place, step into the wooden phone booth, pick up the receiver, and the wall opens.
Do you need a reservation at PDT?
It’s recommended — book on Resy up to 7 days out; limited bar seats are held first-come for parties of four or fewer.
Where is PDT?
113 St Marks Place in the East Village, near the 1st Ave L.
Happy hour times and deals last verified June 2026. Details can change — confirm with Please Don’t Tell before visiting for a specific deal.