How NYC restaurant Loosie Rouge became an A List favorite

When Loosie Rouge opened in Williamsburg in 2015, it immediately became the go-to for celebrities and local cool kids. The stylish eatery even had a television cameo as the backdrop for scenes in Younger (a Sex and the City-style show about young Williamsburg residents), while Alexander Wang, Bono, Robert Pattinson, and Emily Ratajkowski have all dropped in for dinner.

Hidden away, speakeasy-style, behind a front bar area and laid out like a cosy living room, this in-the-know restaurant is as discreet as it is stylish.

And now the eatery has a brand new chef, Henry Lu, who joined from nearby Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn.

Chef Henry grew up in the Bronx, where his family owned Chinese restaurants, and he learned from watching them cook. “Watching my parents work day and night and then making me work with no pay or glory made me a very humble person, willing to do anything it takes to get the job done,” Chef Henry told Insider. “Their drive and passion were to make our lives better, and now my passion is driven by the work and love for the food.”

Lu's recipes are inspired by food he ate growing up. “Chinese fast food fried chicken was probably one of my all-time favorite bites of food, and to this day, chicken wings reign supreme.”

Though the restaurant previously had a New Orleans-themed cuisine, the new focus is on Asian-inspired seasonal specialities like squash with pumpkin seeds or tempura long beans.

“We toyed with the idea of home cooking and what that meant to me,” Chef Henry explained about the concept, which has led to new takes on brisket and fried chicken. “The idea of home cooking allowed me to naturally pull from my past and tell my story through food.”

Loosie's is the brainchild of Four Happy Men (friends Damien del Rio, Vincent Marino, Max Peskowitz, and Garry Knopov) who wanted to create a neighborhood hot spot with inventive cocktails and loft vibes. They succeeded with the Loosie Rouge bar, then quickly expanded, creating an Instagrammable-restaurant. The space then grew again, with an open-air cafe, serving up avocado toast, vegan donuts, and matcha lattes.

"We started to create a community way before Loosie's opened with a series of different events, including random live music sets and BBQ’s on South 6th Street. It was a way to introduce ourselves to the part of Williamsburg we weren’t familiar with and spend time creating relationships with the locals," co-owner Vincent Marino explained.

"A restaurant is exactly like a human being, we change and grow up with the people we meet in our path of life. The restaurant grows and changes with the chefs in the kitchen. So, when we decided to work with Henry, it was totally normal to let him explore his creativity organically. Henry as a native Chinese New Yorker brought his own mix of influences in our different menus," Marino added.

While the menus are different, the crowd is still the same, complete with Brooklynites looking for a fresh drink and donuts - although now, the New Orleans-inspired beignets have been swapped for sesame fried dough. We're in.