I do try to avoid Speakeasy on weekends typically because it tends to end up being a Meat Market- BUT it's also one of the best places to dance and "see and be seen". They always have some sort of live music going on (go on a Wednesday night for Johnny & Kelly! and say hi to me, cause I will for sure be there!) or a decent DJ. the bartenders are awesome and most of the bouncers are too. it can get extremely hot and crowded there Thursday through Sunday. BEWARE: make sure you have a valid ID. they are sticklers there. and there will probably be a line to get in. and there is a $10 minimum for credit cards. read more

So, I'm sitting at this bar and Diego is just killin' it. He's literally one of my favorite bartenders of all time. ALL TIME. And I hate everyone so... that's saying a lot. Shout out to Diego. Funny, prompt, excellent cocktails. What a guy. read more

I was pleasantly surprised with this place. Me and two of my friends needed a random girls night on A Sunday. Everyone there was chill. No drama, We had a great time. We all loved the staff. Our bartender was awesome, really friendly, attentive and had fun with everyone. Even the security guard was cool, checking on and talking to everyone, and even walked us to our car at the end of the night. Bars with staff like this are pretty hard to find in Modesto. read more

Speakeasy Lounge - Our bartender - Lounges Near Me - Modesto, California

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This is probably my favorite or second favorite bar in Modesto ca. Small room yes, sometimes over crowded yes. But I've been going for years now, it's fun environment and usually calm no fights going on or anything. Bands or music playing usually. It's a go to place for fun y'all read more

Well there are pluses and minuses...let me elaborate. I like: The ambiance The live music The Kereoke The Martini glass shaped tables I don't like: How crowded it can get on a weekend When a female bartender pours my Guinness 1/4 of the way full for my car bomb and then expects me to not ask her to fill it to the middle since I'm paying $8 for it and everyone knows the pint is supposed to be half full for car bombs! Hello! You have to make somewhat of a splash with your shot! (What is it with Modesto bartenders not knowing how to make Irish car bombs? See my Tresseti's review) Other than that, I like Speakeasy enough to make it on my list of places to go if I'm bar hopping down town. read more

I really like the Speakeasy, probably one of my top 3 choices for going out in Modesto. It is very laid-back and casual. Eclectic, chill, and hip crowd. Drinks aren't overly prices like some (*cough* Aqua-shi *couugh*) places are, plus they have some snacks available. The space is on the smaller side, but that is part of Speakeasy's charm! Another reviewer deemed it negative for the cover band/guy, but I love him! I always have fun listening/jammin' to the beats he brings. Every time I have been he'll play well-known songs, usually from the "chill" category IE Dave Matthews, John Mayer, etc. They also have a back door, which is good if you ever need to escape from a date, guy, etc (I actually know someone who has done this, go M.C.!). read more

I came down to the area just to visit and friend. So they take me out around town and we stop by this place. I have to say that it is a good place for a small town that have no place to go. Nice local people and visiter hanging out and good stuff service, price for drink is good. So you just have to remind yourself that you are in Modesto and make the best of it, after all it fun place to hangout. read more

The Speakeasy is rad.. It;s always a party.. Bartenders make good stiff drinks.. They have good security to keep the douche bags out.. Nice eye candy behind the bar.. Now to address the haters... wow. you reviewed your self-absorbed asses for the most part.. Review the bar.. not your ego.. And complaining on how crowded it is.. come on..... This is a bar.. expect it to be busy if it's good. If you want a dive this isn't place. read more

So my friend and I werebalking in and she accidentally got tripped by another person in the bar... The person who tripped said I'm sorry but the security guard was incredibly rude and mean. There was two security guards and one other man who wore's shirt that said staff, he start to call her names andbetray spewing hateful things oriented towards the fact that she was transgender.....it's a squandering that this time and age we can talk grow and on top of it my friend got pushed to the point that her hand got pretty beat up. Is no-one safe from being hurt for being who they are? Please handle this, we also called when we got home and we talked to Drew who works there and she said what had happened. And I just really hope someone handles the situation and gets rid of this hateful person who was really mean and my hateful and transphobic towards my friend... Sad. read more

Speakeasy Lounge - Lounges Near Me - Modesto, California

Speak gets five stars for being the only consistent spot downtown. When the night is slow everywhere else you can always turn to old faithful. It's small so don't blow up the spot with a bad attitude or horrible game because you will be remembered! This is NOT a dirty dive. The artwork is bad ass and the bartenders are cool. I haven't seen Mrs. Rossi in awhile the past few times I've been here, so the place could definitely use a girl behind the bar to balance the nightly sword fight. read more

Uhhhh yawwwwwnnnnn on the Speakeasy Lounge. Well.. if you DO like be trampled by people and smelling armpits in your face all night. Not being able to move an inch, and almost never reaching the bar.. then this place is for you. It's more of a "see and be seen place" *puke* It's be subdued on the weekdays.... couple sports guys hanging out checkin out the tail behind the bar. Bartenders are nice... let's us pick songs off the iTunes (no jukebox) .. cover band guy is funny.. but much more of an annoyance after a couple of drinks.. Anyhow.. I pass on Speakeasy.. but you may like it read more

Stopped in for a nightcap on the way back to the Doubletree, and the place seemed OK for a dive bar, but was totally empty. I looked it up on yelp so I knew it was a bar, but walking in the door my buddy and I swore it was going to be a strip club. I could definitely understand other reviews saying that this place is sketchy with a thugged out clientele. For those who may get intimidated, we were there after happy hour, paid full price on a weeknight, and had the place to ourselves. The lady bartender was friendly and seemed surprised to see us. Likewise, m'lady. read more

I came here for a 21st birthday and I kept it lowkey as I didnt want to draw much attention. I had a really great time with family and friends and i thoroughly enjoyed my straight shots of Jack's Daniel's whiskey. Decent prices fro a decent bar, I surely will come again read more

This place is perfect during a weekday. The place has dim red lighting, good seating and often has live music! The prices are not to outrageous and the drinks are usually pretty dang good. Now during the weekends, I would not recommend it because it's small and gets cramped really quick. The outside alley is nice for a smoke and a breath of fresh air. This is why I knock one star off my rating! Maybe they should try and limit the number of people that can get it. Keep the customers happy and coming back for more! If you get there early enough, you may be able to score a nice comfy booth! I would much rather hit this place than the Aquas Lounge!!! read more

WORST experience I've ever had at a bar. Went there last night for karaoke for a friends birthday and towards the end of the night I went to go close my tab and they told me i had already closed it. I reassured them that I absolutely did not close my tab. They were really rude about the entire situation. I guess they knew who had my card and called her to come bring it back and that I didn't need to cancel my card cause it was safe. The girl who had my card was apparently wasted at another bar. They didn't offer to refund me for the mistake and they just kept telling me to calm down. The guy who made the mistake was the absolute ugliest about it. Kept saying "I apologized what else do you want me to do, mistakes happen" that is absolute horrible customer service. Eventually they give me a phone number to call and pick up my card tomorrow and cash me out for my drinks but it took me almost 40 minutes to achieve that. Don't go here unless you want someone to lose your card!!! Super rude employees!!! read more

Bad music, stuck up females, and over sensitive / aggressive security. I'm done with this place, Bad experience every time I go.

Had a great time at this place, Diego is easily one of the best bartenders in Modesto I will definitely be coming back

Love the music on Saturday nights but seriously this place needs to hire some better bouncers and bartenders!! Very rude and unprofessional. Once a bartender got mad because i asked if she could make my drink a little stronger and another time the man threw my change back at me. The security trys to fight everyone. I once tryed to ask the bald short guy for the address to the bar so i can get a lyft and his response was " It's on the f****** wall right behind you" he was mad because i was apparently c*** blocked him while he was talking to a group of women. Do your f****** job man and just answer a simply question. read more

Two caveats: First, I frequent this bar pretty often, going at least once a week. Second, I enjoy a quality cocktail. First of all: yes, this is the place to go for an afternoon drink or during the weeknights. Good service during those times. And, contrary to what it says on the yelp page, there is a happy hour (2-7 M-F; 5-7 Sat) Second, No, this is not the place for the weekends. Why? Because it turns into a meat market, with poor service, a long ass line to get in, and frankly, the drinks are only ok. Why did I rate this so highly, then? Because I know the bartender and get reliably good service. Be warned: their drinks are stiff, but pretty average otherwise. By this I mean that the prices are okay and that you shouldn't expect anything specialty to be made. Overall, a decent place with a good atmosphere. But, like everyone else said, don't come here on the weekends unless you want to wait in line, deal with a bunch of meatheads, and poor service. Still, this is one of Modesto's better bars. read more

This place need to have better RESPECTFUL security. Very rude to females. There's this one security guard in particular. I don't know his name but I will find out and post his name. Not sure who raised this guy to talk to females rudely. Was rude the minute we showed up til we left, where he was telling group of us to NEVER come back there again. Even his fellow co workers said he was being rude. We were there to have a good time and have a few drinks but it was RUINED! Not sure if I would ever recommend this place to anyone. read more

T was extremely rude. Didn't let us in after waiting in line for an hour but let in people waiting in line behind of us. Please hire new bouncers. I highly do not recommend this please. read more

Good music, good bartenders. I don't like Friday's cause it's live music but maybe you will.. Saturday's are super fun. But crowded. Good mixed crowd, no drama. Small so get there by 10 if you want to sit at bar. Drinks are well made. Will be back for sure. read more

My sister and I stoped by this place for some drinks. A Tab was open with her debt card. We had one beer each and were ready to leave. My sister ask to close tab and bartender girl told her, you need a $10 balance to close and since you don't, I'll have to charge you $2.00 Mmm I believe bartender should of told her that when she took her card. Never going back there again, and I was hoping this place would be our to go spot. Unless your going to spend 10 don't open tab. read more

Was here a few years ago with family. Great small bar, good staff, great environment, very busy and drinks were made well. Will gladly visit again soon with some family or friends. One of the my favorite small bars in Modesto read more

Small dance floor right at the front door. This is a problem if you wish to groove in place undisturbed by passers-by. Start lamenting; they will always forge a path and divide up you and your homies, and THEN stand between you and the girl you've been trying to saunter up to. If you're a guy, why do you care if the drinks are cheap or not? The girls aren't particularly unfriendly here. You get that small town, already-gots-a-kid-at-22, recklessness and the whole situation pulls itself off in quite a nice way. The music is usually good if you like to dance, and like breaking up drunk and overjoyed pairs of chicks spinning each other around arhythmically through the night-time. You might even meet the Brazilian girl I met a year ago who was so aggressive that she put her drivers license in my pocket to force me to encounter her when I was leaving (without her). Returning to the bar to return her identification, I found her making out with a local cowpoke, so I thereby gave the license to the Speakeasy Lost & Found lords. If you're a girl, well, now that you have that babysitter all lined up at home, you're probably feasting your eyes on the owners of the ridiculously raised trucks in the parking lot next door and wondering "oooh, who's that big boss BOI standing completely still, unaffected by the music looking too good for these corn fields?". Other than that, you kind of have your choice of Linkin Park-ish fans, who dress in that sort of unbuttoned overshirt/t-shirt underneath thing. Or maybe just dudes dressed so badly that they don't even have names. NOTE: It seems to be against Central Valleyian culture for males to dance, and you won't find men risking their street cred by even tapping their toes (my buddy said this town voted in favor of prop 8 80%...you've been warned). All in all, nobody will bother you, unless you're from out of town, in which case you'll get plenty of look-overs because you'd be at the wrong high school reunion dance, apparently. Ok, really this place seems to be of or pertaining to a meat market, but frankly it looked like nobody was buying the night I was there. I was informed that nearly every woman in Modesto is taken, but they still will try to make their current baby daddy/boytoy jealous and use you as their decoy. So it's typical of any club experience, but who will have bragging rights to claim they've partied in the car theft capital of America (until 2010, when Laredo, Texas came to power)? It's a great time for really no money, and so put on your Ed Hardy or Tapout gear and hit up the Speakeasy for some brainless fun. read more

It's loud but I've been in love with the live music on Fridays since I was 21. It's a pretty laid back atmosphere which is also nice, usually the only place I go when in town read more

Ehh used to like this place a lot. The last time we went there they had different bar tenders than the usual ones who were there before. I ordered a beer and wanted some salt, which i asked one of the girl bartenders for probably like 7 times. She just looked at me with a blank stare on her face and proceeded to flirt with her co-worker and dance for him like a big ol' skank. Yeah so this was the last time I was here. I'll visit again but hopefully she's gone by now, I'm sure the owner doesn't want useless people "working" for him. read more

Justin and Jeremy are the best bartenders! Jeremy makes the best otterpops ever. The only thing that sucks is the line. Aaron is usually the bouncer outside but there was some other short chubby guy with a beard and he did not know how to run the line. He told everyone in line at 1130 that he didn't think he was going to let anyone in the rest of the night..really?! We went up front and looked inside and there was an empty table and plenty of room on the dance floor. Hmm I just hope he's not there the next time we come read more

I've came here twice & don't have too many complaints. Last time, I went with a female friend & we ended up being bothered but slightly entertained by older guys. This last time, I went with my boyfriend & had no problem. The music was good & the drinks were fine. The red kinda gets to ya, but it's still a nice place. Definitely not a ghetto bar. read more

I have never enjoyed my time at Speak Easy...ever. I only like the fact that we have a variety of bars in Modesto's downtown, but for me Speak Easy is not a place I like. The people are boring and the music is ok. I must admit though the design of the bar is great. It has that 1920's look, but the music kills that look. Go there if you just want some alcohol and can stand the noise. read more

Cozy bar to hang out an a have a lil drink, hang out an chill w/your friends. This place is close enough to some other bars and the Palladium too just in case you feel the need to relocate to a scene w/more "boom". read more

I would actually go here a lot (and used to) except for that one of their bouncers has self esteem issues. I've been there a few times now when my friends and I have had trouble with a specific bouncer. I spoke to the owner about it once, but have decided that I'll stay away until they hire someone new. read more

I just recently went here with some friends and had a great time! The drinks were great and the band was too! There was no cover charge which was nice and there were tons of people in there on a Sat night. The only thing is that there wasn't much dance room or places to sit if you came in late. Luckily that wasn't us. Also, there is only one stall per gender so there was a pretty long line to get in to do your business, which tends to happen when your drinking at a bar haha. But as long as you go with good friends you'll have a good time. I'd go again, but I don't know if I can top last sat. haha read more

Speak easy is a great place to hang out and dance. They have live music. Great band on Wed. Sunday is great if you like to sing. This is a very safe place to be. Security is the best in town! The weekends are packed, but if your looking to have a great time and meet nice people, this is the place to be. This is about as good as it gets in Modesto for sure! read more

This is a 3.5 rating actually. I really used to dig this place a lot. We always find street parking near the entrance. Drinks are good, although when it gets busy it can be a little hard to flag down a bartender, but I understand they're busy and they are usually attentive. I loves me some live music, but going here after a while, you notice they play the same music over and over.... .It's a good place to get your groove on (especially if you've had a couple drinks ;] ) and you may just catch me cuttin up a rug here even if the dance floor is empty. Cheers! read more

I walked down street disgruntled from a day of painting and general laboring, and stumbled into the right place. The establishment made my day. Not truly 50s themed, and I will stand my ground on that, but a bar that has a lot going right. Dark atmosphere it reminded me of burning man, a good juke box, genuinely great customer service, and reasonably priced drinks. For improvements, I'd like better merch; ties; fedoras; cheap coats; flap dresses; cheap but good hair pieces etc. Incorporate more of the prohibition era and sell it well... Watch the newest Gatsby, and checkout electro swing. Maybe a photo booth connected to face book that charges $2.50. All in all a very good diving trip, thank you Melissa the beautiful, patient, chill bartender :-) p.s. Why don't you sell moonshine or capitalize on thise prohibition era drinks. Have some house stationary instruments, and the crowd will never leave. Cheers Modesto thank u :-) read more

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I am 35 years old and I find it hard to go out at my age and not feel a bit older than the crowd. I found the Speak and my friends and I love it! The bands are amazing, the staff is friendly, and I feel like I fit in. There is a mixed crowd there. read more

Jeremy and Gina are good peeps and they take very good to me and my friends. This is my go to spot if nothing too much is going on. Either way please support your local business' that care about you and get you crunked!!!! read more

This is a pretty cool place to hang out. it's a bit tight squeeze in such a small place but the music is great and the bartenders are pretty quick for so many people in a small place. read more

The coldest draft in Modesto. I don't visit this place at night very much, but it's a great AFTER WORK place.