Attaboy

Chiselling the bar experience back to its key elements – the vibe, the drinks, the service – and perfecting them is Attaboy. That’s the reason this place is still heaving six years on from its opening – simply great drinks and great times. Extraneous to these core values are pretention and excess, so don’t expect grandstanding décor or high-concept cocktails. Quite the opposite – within the bare-brick walls of Attaboy is an everyman space, with booths and a rudimentary bar. There’s no menu here but once you’re seated, a bartender will soon appear to get a gauge on your preferences and mood. Cocktails at Attaboy are bespoke, but tend to have classical foundations and there are some house specials to try too. Sam Ross (the co-owner along with Michael McIlroy) is the inventor of two modern classics: the Penicillin and the Paper Plane, both whisky drinks, equally exalted. They were created more than a decade ago when the duo worked at this site’s previous incumbent, Milk & Honey, the father bar to Attaboy and, without hyperbole, the worldwide cocktail renaissance.