Sip + Smoke at Boston’s Stanza dei Sigari

Boston’s North End is a place of lines. Mike’s, Modern, Monica’s — locals and tourists alike saddle up to the storefronts, dodging tour groups, waiting to get their hands on something delicious. 

As promising as the taste of a cannoli is, sometimes you need a respite from the sun and the heat. On that hot June day, we cut through the blocks-long line to Mike’s, treating the cigar-shaped sign over an otherwise non-descript stairwell like a beacon guiding us into port. 

Today, Stanza dei Sigari is an underground cigar lounge. With multiple rooms, they can accommodate crowds of all sizes. On that summer Saturday afternoon before Father’s Day, only the main room of the lounge was open, with groups of fathers and sons taking up booths and tables around the space. Other than myself and the waitstaff, there were even other women enjoying the space that day, something that’s rare for cigar bars in my experience.

Hints of what Stanza dei Sigari’s past lives linger in everything from the decorations to the overall energy of the space — if you’re in tune with that kind of thing.

Boston Speakeasy With a Dark Past 

Built in 1896, 292 Hanover Street’s first life was an orphanage of sorts. The term used is “baby farm,” and the house was used to home unwanted children people exchanged for money. The SyFy television series Haunted Collectors dug into the building’s history when filming an episode about Boston’s North End. 

“We were freaked out it was a baby farm,” David Ricco Sr., whose family has owned the building since 1927, told The Boston Herald. Ricco., Sr, grew up on stories from his father and grandfather about the patrons that would come down the staircase. 

When the Ricco family bought the building, the business changed to a gentleman’s club and speakeasy, keeping Boston’s men smoking and drinking through Prohibition.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the building became the cigar lounge it is today. 

Memories and photographs aren’t the only reminders of the past at Stanzi dei Sigari. According to the Ricco family and some employees, paranormal encounters here aren’t uncommon. The younger David Ricco told The Hearld, “One night, I was counting the money and the lights cut out. It freaked me out.” Plus, there are reports of a black mass that will float away if you make eye contact. 

Perfect Spot For a Nightcap or Aperitif in Boston

Whether or not there are ghosts in this underground cigar bar, Stanza dei Sigari is a great place for a nightcap or to waste the hottest hours on a Saturday. With TVs, it’s easy to watch every game happening at any given time — as long as the bar can access that channel. 

Leather chairs and booths fill the main lounge, meaning there’s no bad or uncomfortable spot in the joint. On the walls, you’ll find Prohibition Era memorabilia that, if it’s not genuine, looks the part. Keen eyes will spot the antique humidors and ancient cigar labels on display, as well as a centuries-old “guillotine style” cigar cutter. After a few sips of a drink, it’s easy to forget when and where in time you actually are. 

Since neither of us is a big cigar smoker, we were content splitting whatever our waitress recommended at the time, a My Father Robust. I can be particular about cocktails, however, and Stanza dei Sigari does pour a great drink.

On a hot summer’s day,  sipping an Amalfi, a cocktail mixing Malfy Gin, lemon, cucumber, and prosecco, with the scent of cigar smoke floating around me, was the perfect way to cool off. 

Besides cocktails, Stanza dei Sigari also has a modest (and delicious) wine list that pairs perfectly with the cigars it offers.

If you’re looking for a cigar bar that blasts old tunes, though, keep moving down Hanover Street. Maybe they’re pandering to the aging millennial crowd or our music tastes just had that much overlap, but Stanza dei Sigari was playing all of my favorite bands, including Florence + the Machine.

Stanza dei Sigari is located at 292 Hanover St in Boston, Massachusetts, 02108. It is open Monday through Sunday, with doors opening at 5 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 12 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Doors close at 1 a.m., making it one of few late-night bars in Boston.