The secret is out about a Connecticut speakeasy restaurant designed to be all about the clandestine.
The speakeasy, “I Know You Know,” a bar and restaurant sometimes known by the name “Prohibition,” requires guests to enter the bar and restaurant with a code that changes weekly.
Once inside guests are met with a bookshelf that’s actually a secret door.
Guests open the door to a surprise: brick walls with metal ceilings and other details, cozy seating nooks reminiscent of the 1920s era prohibition when alcohol was illegal.
The “I Know You Know” speakeasy team was recently named Bar and Beverage Team of the Year at the Crazies Awards put on by the Connecticut Restaurant Association and judged by the public as well as a panel of experts. (Courtesy)
But it’s 2026, so there is also plenty of booze.
“When they open the door they’re surprised,” said co-owner Marlon Soriano. “People feel they’re back in the day in prohibition.”
Nearly four years after opening on Arch Street in New Britain, there’s often a wait to get in on weekends — reservations are encouraged — and tapas or small plates of food are flowing like the alcohol.
Plus, there’s no hiding because I Know you Know recently received statewide acclaim for a major award in the hospitality business.
A guest who left an online review summed it up: “Creative drink menu and the food is delicious I recommend the calamari and empanadas. we also enjoyed the mussels. Speakeasy vibe a very relaxed classy place.”
Another wrote, “We consider this our home away from home.”
The speakeasy team was recently named Bar and Beverage Team of the Year at the Crazies Awards put on by the Connecticut Restaurant Association and judged by the public as well as a panel of experts.
Scott Dolch, president and CEO of the CRA and not a voter in the contest, said the award was formerly called Bartender of the Year but they changed it since it’s really a team effort rather than a single bartender that creates the experience.
He said bars always have “great stories.’
“I was excited when I saw their name because of what their story is and the creativity of what they’re trying to do in New Britain,” said Dolch, referring to their owners’ attempt to elevate New Britain’s Arch Street area.
Dolch said when they accepted the award there were about 30 people on the stage because they are so proud and such a team.
Soriano, originally from El Salvador, said, “We’re still working hard for what we are.”
Soriano said he and the mixologists love customer service and making people happy.
He and partners also own two other businesses in New Britain: Chicha Peruvian Bistro and The Industrial Bar, which highlights Salsa dancing.
The rotating speakeasy tapas menu includes calamari, wings, muscles, empanadas, Cuban sliders, and loaded plantains.
The “I Know You Know” speakeasy team was recently named Bar and Beverage Team of the Year at the Crazies Awards put on by the Connecticut Restaurant Association and judged by the public as well as a panel of experts. (Courtesy)
Guests at the speakeasy get the weekly code on Facebook or other social media.
Soriano said that in keeping with the era theme they have lot of the types of liquor popular “back in the day,” including gin, bourbon, and cognac, as well as fresh juices for mixers. They also carry liquor popular today.
“We have a little bit of everything,” he said, noting the bartenders are schooled in the Prohibition era so they can chat about it with customers.
Soriano said of the Crazies award, ‘For us it’s a big, big win.”
“Wow that was a big surprise for our team,” he said. “We’ve been working hard since day one. Pretty much everyone is since day one.”
One customer who said he went to the speakeasy on a date night with his wife wrote that it was nice to have a “unique restaurant experience for a change.”
“It’s the type of place that everyone in the area should do at least once,” the reviewer wrote.
The need for illicit bars ended when Prohibition was lifted in 1933.
The “I Know You Know” speakeasy team was recently named Bar and Beverage Team of the Year at the Crazies Awards put on by the Connecticut Restaurant Association and judged by the public as well as a panel of experts. (Courtesy)
Soriano told the Courant when they first opened that there are hundreds of bars in the Hartford area, so he wanted to do something different.
The speakeasy is owned by Marlon and his brother, Andres Soriano. The third owner, Atileo Lopez, is their former neighbor in El Salvador who owns the building at 69 Arch St.
The “I Know You Know,” is to “let everybody know you must be in one of the best places in Connecticut, Marlon has said.
Arch Street has seen some limited revival in recent years; to foster further improvement, the city is planning a streetscape makeover similar to what it did downtown.
The brothers, fascinated with the Prohibition era, had longtime dreams of opening a speakeasy.
The authentic speakeasies were hidden or disguised, often without a name. The patrons were said to whisper or speakeasy upon entering the bar.
The Soriano brothers, who term the eatery “upscale”, thought the location was perfect because it’s in an old building with a 1930s feel, including some brick walls inside. On the exterior of the building along with the name, is the word, “Prohibition.”
The brothers started as dishwashers and worked their way through the ranks of the restaurant industry.
Their mother and grandmother ran their own markets in El Salvador, so as far he and his brother’s love of customer service, “We have a thing in our roots,” Andres Soriano has said.
