Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy took the bones of Milk & Honey — the bar that started it all — and stripped away the last pretence of a menu. There is no cocktail list at Attaboy. You sit at the bar, tell the bartender what spirits you like, what flavours you lean toward, how strong, how sweet, how bitter, and they build something from scratch that exists only for you in that moment. The room holds perhaps thirty people, the lighting is low enough to make everyone look better, and the bartenders work with the focused calm of people who have done this thousands of times and will get it right again tonight. The most important cocktail bar in New York does not have a single drink to recommend, and that is precisely the point.
Location
Lower East Side, New York
Map
Insider Intel
There is no menu — this is the entire concept. Tell the bartender your spirit preference, your mood, your tolerance for bitterness or sweetness, and let them build. Be specific: 'gin, citrus-forward, not too sweet, with some herbal complexity' will produce something extraordinary. If you like whiskey sours, say so. If you hate tequila, say that too. The more honest you are about your palate, the better the drink.
Arrive by 7pm on weeknights for a seat without waiting — the twenty-odd stools fill quickly and there is no standing room. Weekends require patience: the line forms early and moves slowly because the room is small and nobody rushes. The intimacy is best on a quiet Tuesday when the bartender has time to talk through your preferences.
134 Eldridge Street, Lower East Side. Delancey-Essex Street station (F/M/J/Z). No reservations, no menu, no standing room — first come, first served at the bar. Cocktails $18-22. Cash and cards accepted. The unmarked door is easy to miss; look for the small awning. Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy opened this as the successor to Milk & Honey in 2012.