The Best Speakeasy Bars in Turin
Piedmont’s best kept evening secret.
Turin is the birthplace of vermouth. Carpano, Cinzano, and Martini were all born here. The aperitivo ritual — that golden hour of drinks and small bites before dinner — was invented in this city. If you think you already know Italian cocktail culture, Turin is about to respectfully, deliciously prove you wrong.
You know Rome. You know Florence. You might even know Milan. But Turin — elegant, architecturally breathtaking, a little mysterious, deeply proud — is the Italian city that serious travelers keep quietly to themselves.
It was Italy's first capital. Its porticoed streets stretch for over 18 kilometers, one of the longest continuous arcaded walkways in the world. Its culinary scene is extraordinary. And its cocktail culture? World-class, deeply rooted in history, and still very much alive in bars that range from sky-high lounges to speakeasies you need a password to enter.
These are Turin's finest evenings. All that's required is a sense of adventure and a willingness to say yes to one more round.
01 — Bar Cavour at Del Cambio
The Legendary Classic · Piazza Carignano · Est. 1757
If you only have one drink in Turin, let it be here. Bar Cavour sits within the legendary Del Cambio restaurant — opened in 1757, frequented by Cavour himself, the man who unified Italy — and it might be one of the most elegant cocktail bars in the country.
The interior is magnificent: dark paneling, teal walls, velvet sofas, leather armchairs, and the quiet authority of a room that knows exactly what it is. The vibe sits somewhere between a historic European salon and an old-world cocktail lounge, and the drinks are made by the kind of bartenders who treat the craft with the reverence it deserves.
Order the Manhattan. It arrives perfect — not a caricature of the drink, but the genuine article, balanced and beautiful. Or go for the house signature: the Gran Torino, made with bourbon, Turin vermouth, sage, and gianduiotto liqueur — a cocktail that couldn't exist anywhere else in the world. The cheese plate is reasonably priced, and features the finest cheeses of Piedmont. Arrive hungry. Leave grateful.
The Speakeasy Tip: Located in Piazza Carignano, steps from the Palazzo Reale. The bar is attached to but separate from the Michelin-starred restaurant — check online to see if reservations are required. Prices are higher than most Turin bars but worth every euro for the atmosphere alone.
02 — Piano 35
The Sky Lounge · Intesa San Paolo Tower · 35th Floor
Take the elevator to the 35th floor of the Intesa San Paolo skyscraper and step into a bar that feels like a different atmosphere entirely — because it essentially is. Piano 35 offers panoramic views of Turin and the Alps beyond: the Mole Antonelliana, the Po River, the snow-capped peaks that remind you exactly where you are in the world.
But the views are not even the main event. The main event is the bartender: Mirko Turconi, highly regarded in the Italian cocktail community, known for cocktails of rare depth and complexity. He works with vermouth, barolo chinato, Pedro Ximénez, Scotch whisky, and coffee in combinations that are rich, considered, and extraordinary. His drinks are meditations on Piedmont in a glass.
This is the bar for the evening when you want to feel like you're standing at the very top of something — literally and figuratively. Go at sunset. Order whatever the bar suggests.
The Speakeasy Tip: Located inside the striking Renzo Piano-designed Intesa San Paolo headquarters. The bar is open to the public — not just hotel guests. Reservations strongly advised for weekend evenings. The sunset views of the Alps are genuinely once-in-a-lifetime.
Did You Know? Turin is the birthplace of vermouth. Carpano invented the first commercial vermouth here in 1786. Casa Martini, in Pessione, a 20-minute train ride from the city center, offers extraordinary tours of the Martini distillery and museum. If you're serious about cocktail culture, it's a non-negotiable day trip.
03 — Mad Dog Social Club
The Prohibition Speakeasy · Via Maria Vittoria 35A · 1930s America in Turin
Here's where it gets genuinely exciting. Mad Dog Social Club is a gorgeous speakeasy that gives a strong nod to 1930s Prohibition-era America — dramatic vaulted brick ceilings, vintage furniture, low lighting, and a cocktail menu that draws on both the Italian mixology tradition and the great classic American canon. One of the few bars in Turin where entry still requires a password.
What makes Mad Dog Social Club special isn't just the aesthetic (though that vaulted cellar is extraordinary) — it's the philosophy. The bartenders here are alchemists in the true sense: continuously experimenting, refining, making each drink unique through customized recipes that evolve with the seasons and the bartender's current obsession. Order a Manhattan here–it’s one of the bar’s standout classics.
This is a place for the traveler who came to Turin precisely because it isn't on everyone's list yet. The neighborhood around Via Maria Vittoria is one of Turin's most lively — young, local, creative, and entirely authentic.
The Speakeasy Tip: Via Maria Vittoria 35A. The intimate, cellar-like interior is part of the experience–arrive early before the space fills. The cocktail menu shifts regularly, so ask what’s new that evening.
“Turin doesn’t perform for tourists. It exists entirely for itself — and the travelers wise enough to arrive without expectations and stay for the second act.”
04 — Barz8
The Tailor · No Menu · Bespoke Cocktails Only
There is no traditional menu at Barz8. That is entirely the point.
The bartenders describe what they do as "tailoring the cocktail" — and they mean it. You sit down, they ask you questions. What do you feel like tonight? What flavors move you? Are you feeling rich and dark, or something lighter, more herbaceous? Do you want to be surprised? And from there, they begin to build. Drawing from an extensive back bar of hundreds of spirits and a deep understanding of flavors and technique, each drink is crafted specifically for you.
Every visit feels different. Every drink feels personal. It's an experience that requires you to be present and to trust the process — and that trust is almost always rewarded.
If Bar Cavour is the grand institution and Mad Dog Social Club is the speakeasy, Barz8 is the intimate conversation. It's the bar version of an Italian suit: made specifically for you, fitting perfectly, nothing off the rack.
The Speakeasy Tip: Walk in, sit down, and simply tell the bartender what kind of evening you're having. They'll take it from there. Their extensive selection means no request is too esoteric–so don’t hold back.
05 — Locale
World Class · Historic Palazzo · On The World's 50 Best Bars List
When a bar is featured on the World's 50 Best Bars list, it earns the right to be called world class — and Locale does so on its own terms. Housed in a historic palazzo with moody green walls, antiques woven between modern touches, and a cocktail program rooted in innovation, this is Turin operating at its absolute finest.
The drinks here are brilliant and there is warmth and wit to the menu that reflects the city itself. The setting is elegant without being stiff, the kind of place where you feel both elevated and completely at ease. Walk-ins are possible, though reservations are recommended–arrive early, find a corner, and you’ll quickly understand why this bar is gaining international recognition.
Finish your Turin evening here. Order whatever the bartender is most proud of tonight. Let the historic walls hold the conversation for a while.
The Speakeasy Tip: Located in a historic palazzo in central Turin. Featured on the World's 50 Best Bars in recent years. Dress the part — not formal, but this is a bar that rewards the effort.
Turin Is the Secret Italy Kept for Itself
There is something quietly magnificent about a city that doesn't need your validation. Turin has been doing this — the elegant streets, the extraordinary food, the cocktail culture that the rest of the world is only now rediscovering — for centuries, quite contentedly, with or without the tourist spotlight.
That's precisely what makes it so extraordinary to find. These bars — the speakeasy password, the bespoke cocktail, the Manhattan in a room that has been serving drinks since 1757 — they are not performing for you. They simply are. Exactly as they should be.
Go to Turin. Order the Manhattan–or better yet, something built on local vermouth. Follow the clues. Find the door. Trust the bartender with no menu. Stay for the second act. And when you come home, keep it to yourself — or share it with exactly the people who deserve to know.
Salute — The Travel Speakeasy
