In the summer of 2021 (yes I know I am a bit behind…), we did get to go around and try out some great spots! One of them is the Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy. This place has been on my radar, especially for their speakeasy. I LOVE speakeasy… I try to find one everywhere I go… The last time I got to go really cool speakeasy spots was before the pandemic started, when we traveled to England. The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town where you go through a SMEG refrigerator, The Vault where the secret bookcase becomes a hidden door, and Cahoots Underground where you get to enjoy cocktails in vintage train card in their underground station…my goodness, what a fun! Back to the reality now. This time, we actually went to Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy for a brunch. It was not hard to find, with their beautifully decorated exterior. The name Loulou comes from the owner’s adorable rescue dog, and they serve French classics.
In the last few years, so many restaurants have transformed themselves in to visually stunning design and décor, bring in new patrons who want social media photos and food. At Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy, the interior was kept a bit simpler from just a glimpse, love the exposed brick wall and the wood, with greeneries.
Since we didn’t have a reservation, we had to wait a bit for a seat, and we got the outdoor seat. It was a hot day, but they had fans everywhere, made it bearable with lots of breeze. I was a bit worried about dining in the hot temperature, but it was actually really nice with the fans.
We started off with some cocktails, and just like others seeking social-media-worthy item, I was drawn to these drinks, especially the super adorable bird one! It is Mexican Stiletto ($20), made with Don Julio Blanco, Grapefruit, Agave, and Bitters. This bird might look cute, but it certainly was strong! Very flavorful with grapefruit, sweet, and yes, it can make you a bit tipsy if you are not careful… I liked how they had metal straws too.
The round drink is called The World Is Yours ($20), and is made with Empress Gin, Heaven Sake Junmai, and Crème de Pêche. Beautiful color, and the edible flower made it extra fancy. This one was more syrupy than the Mexican Stiletto, but not in a bad way. Strong and high quality you can taste. The only thing was that the metal straw goes into the glass slot into the orb, and therefore, you can’t move around the straw. That made it difficult (more like impossible) to get the last bit of liquid out of there.
For food, we ordered Steak & Eggs ($24) and Loulou Burger ($24). We substituted regular fries with truffle fries for additional $2.
The Steak & Egg ($24) comes with Skirt Steak, Sunny Side Up, Fingerling Hash, and Béarnaise. Steak was tender and juicy, cooked just right! Egg gave me perfect egg porn… Potatoes were pretty good too. They might not look like much, but they had nice crispy exterior with the soft and potato-y interior that I really like. The Béarnaise was almost whipped, nice and fluffy, and added extra flavor. Classic brunch dish done right!
Loulou Burger ($24) is made with Clothbound Cheddar, Caramelized Onion, Brioche, and a side of Pommes. Again, we subbed the regular fries with truffle fries ($2), which made this dish total of $26. Truffle fries had the great truffle flavor. The delicious scent of truffle was enticing us to eat them up, and so we did…
The burger was super juicy!!! The bottom bun starts to get disintegrated with the super juicy-ness. Cheese was lovingly cuddling the thick patty, and the patty was cooked to perfection. Packed with flavor! It had lots of nice crunchy pickles. The tomato and lettuce was fresh and crisp. My goodness it was a great burger!
Since everything was so good, we decided to end it with some coffee and dessert. We ordered Flat White ($6.25). Although the cup design was interesting (made me think of Japanese teacups), it was really nice. It had a great coffee flavor, high quality cup of joe!
For dessert, we ordered Croissant Pudding ($12) to share. The size was not really for sharing, but since we were getting full, it was the perfect size. It is made with Chocolate Croissant, Almond Croissant, Bourbon Caramel, with a side of Vanilla Ice Cream. The pudding was really great! Doughy in a good way, and had a great buttery flavor. It was genius how they mixed the chocolate croissant AND almond croissant. You get the melty chocolate and crunchy, nutty almond all in one! Caramel sauce was really nice, and ice cream had the real vanilla beans in them, which was great!
All the staffs were really nice, and our server, Andre took a good care of us. With their enticing menu, I would love to go back for more! And once we get back to more of a normal life again, then I would definitely want to check out the “speakeasy” size of the Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy!
Loulou Petit Bistro & Speakeasy – 176 8th Ave, New York, NY 10011