The Speakeasy Located In Nikola Tesla's Old NYC Apartment
Nikola Tesla is one of the most intriguing figures in American history. Around the age of 30, he immigrated to America and began to work under Thomas Edison, per History. However, after about a year, he struck out on his own and would become one of Edison's most prevalent rivals.
Over the course of his turbulent career as a scientist, Nikola Tesla brought countless new inventions into the world. According to the Tesla Science Center, he gave us the electrifying Tesla coil, an improved X-ray machine, the neon sign, and the very idea of hydroelectric power.
During his time in New York, Nikola Tesla experimented with radio waves while living in Manhattan's Gerlach Hotel (via Timeout). The landmark has since been renamed the Radio Wave Building, and a few years back, a speakeasy opened up within the coffee shop located in the Radio Wave Building. It serves as a tribute to Nikola Tesla.
Patent Pending, the Nikola Tesla-themed speakeasy
According to The New York Times, the brain behind the Radio Wave Building's Patent Pending speakeasy is Ryan McKenzie, who founded the Simmer Group marketing firm. During the day, the basement-level room is Patent Coffee; however, a door slides open in the evening to reveal the intimate, 34-seat speakeasy. The New York Times also explains that as of 2018, you could only access the secret space by typing a code into a security pad, which would send an alert to unlock the door. Everything about the bar, from the décor to the menu, references the late Nikola Tesla, per Atlas Obscura.
Timeout tells us about The Lab, an even smaller space housed in Patent Pending. The Lab is also a bar, but it can also be rented for private events. The bar's walls and ceiling are covered in mirrors, and its floor is constructed from the Gerlach Hotel's original tile.
The luxurious craft cocktails at Patent Pending
In an interview with the now-defunct fitness magazine Physical Culture, a 78-year-old Nikola Tesla expressed his love of alcohol and wistfully explained that he hadn't touched it since the beginning of Prohibition (via Nikola Tesla Universe). He felt that alcohol aided in mitigating the mental strain of his scientific career. Given his opposition to Prohibition, Nikola might've enjoyed Patent Pending's speakeasy style.
The official Patent Pending website lists its current drink lineup, which features craft cocktails named after the inventor's life. Referencing his work with electricity, Patent Pending offers the sweet-and-spicy gin cocktail White Lightning, the fruity rum drink Currents & Coils, and the Japanese vodka drink Budapest to Belgrade. Hit By a Taxi; a complex Japanese whisky cocktail, is an allusion to the taxi cab that struck Tesla in 1937, leaving him injured until his death in 1943, according to The Gotham Center for New York City History. You can also enjoy the strong Odd Love, which features rye whisky, brandy, absinthe, and Patent coffee.