Laguna’s only speakeasy

Editor’s note: Well, I guess the saying is true: “But at the laste, as every thing hath ende, She took hir leve, and nedes wolde wende.“In other words, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, the Seahorse closed. Not because it was unsuccessful, but for more bureaucratic reasons. It’s a long story and kind of irrelevant at this point. Let’s hope the band gets back together.

There are many reasons to call the Seahorse a speakeasy.

The ruby red velvet couch, vintage movie stars, naked women, languid singers, pink flamingos and a funny Pee-wee Herman doll.

If it weren’t so accessible, the Seahorse, which sits behind the Pearl Street General Store, would be a legit underground bar serving illegal liquor. Fortunately, while not absinthe, the above-average beer and wine flow freely, along with decent food.  

It’s not just one thing that makes this bar perhaps the coolest in Laguna Beach. It’s the sum of its many eclectic parts. We don’t know how the pink flamingo theme started, for example, but they’re everywhere, including the wallpaper. But because there is so much going on throughout the small rooms, you don’t notice everything all at once.

So you stare. You stare at the oddly erotic painting of an Asian woman cupping her breast. Or is she just putting on her dress? We don’t know. But we feel guilty for staring too long.

The black-and-white pictures of old Hollywood movie stars seem to add an aura of sophistication, but when you look closely, the stars are caught in awkward, seemingly compromising acts, as if they just left their own real-life speakeasy half lit.

The Seahorse is not just an affectation, as so many retro bars are nowadays. It has historical chops. According to its website, the first Seahorse opened in 1946, and was unofficially known as Laguna’s first gay bar. Allegedly, the back of the bar has a hidden drawer that once held the wedding rings of its patrons.

Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter because in the spirit of a true speakeasy, reality takes a back seat to escape. And in the Seahorse, it’s easy to escape.