ATTABOY

134 Eldridge St

The original modern-day speakeasy.

Attaboy feels like a speakeasy. There is no phone, no website, and no reservations. You enter as if you would be entering an apartment.

Attaboy occupies the space of Milk & Honey, the original modern-day speakeasy opened in 1999 by the legendary bartender Sasha Petraske. According to him, the main characteristics of a quality cocktail establishment are an artfully made cocktail, a mixologist who can improvise a concoction suited to one’s current mood, a quiet, understated atmosphere, and a minimalist entrance.

When Milk & Honey moved, two of its former bartenders, Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy, opened Attaboy.

Like its predecessor, Attaboy has no menu. You suggest a mood or a flavor, and the bartenders improvise. The place is dimly lit, cozy, but almost uncomfortably narrow (quite typical for the Lower East Side).

Sasha Petraske specifically wanted to keep his bars classy, not trendy. Alas, since it’s hard to keep a secret in New York, most ‘secret’ places do become rather trendy.