Double Chicken Please

Plinko With a Drink

3.5 of 5

Two rooms, one door, and an argument about what a cocktail bar is for. Double Chicken Please on Allen Street splits itself in two. Free Range is the front, where the menu works like a plinko board and encourages you to wander through flavors instead of reading a list. The Coop is the back, mostly walk-in, with a hundred people trying to get one of the seats.

The front room keeps its menu interactive and its shareable dishes diverse, which is a gentle way of saying the kitchen is willing to play. The Coop takes limited reservations through Resy for groups up to six, bookable six days ahead with a small booking fee, but more than seventy percent of the space runs on first come, first served. Bring a photo ID. Minors are welcome until ten.

Get there early, join the waitlist, and let the text come to you. Hours run late into the night, and the kitchen closes an hour before the doors. This is a place that rewards curiosity and punishes impatience. Order something you cannot pronounce. Come with friends who like a puzzle, because the menu is part game. The room gets loud, the plates keep coming, and the kitchen is happy to feed a hungry table.

Order this: A drink from the Free Range plinko menu, Something from The Coop's list, A shareable dish from the kitchen
The damage: $$$
Go: A weeknight, early, walk-in at The Coop
Find it: 115 Allen St, New York, NY 10002