The place setting of Wenwen

Last year we had a wedding to attend in the middle West. We were heading out for four days, leaving our toddler with my in-laws in New Jersey. It was the longest we were going to be away from him, and the farthest, since he had been born. They picked him up in the evening before we left since we had a 6am flight. So we did the natural thing and made later dinner reservations. We lucked out and found a last seating table for two at Wenwen.

Wenwen opened in March of 2022, part of a growing wave of Taiwanese influenced restaurants. Founder Eric Sze had previously opened 886 in the East Village, a popular but far more casual dining experience. His previous success had meant Wenwen enjoyed instant popularity. Lines and waitlists and turning people away at the door were the norm. When the restaurant added brunch, this too proved wildly popular. On a whim, one morning when we had been pushing a baby stroller around Greenpoint, we dared to ask for a table only to be turned away from even the waitless.

The restaurant was popular, but was it good? I had aimed to find out. I attempted to have dinner there with my brother and our friends, also brothers. Brothers’ dinners can be bacchanalian, particularly with shareable menus. I came close to booking a reservation for four, but it filled before I could confirm with everyone on our group chat. I had a bit more luck making a reservation for two, which is how my wife and I scored a 9:15 sitting six hours before leaving for LaGuardia.

We started with cocktails around the corner at The Esters, which opened around the same time as Wenwen serving small pizzas. We skipped the food intending to feast at Wenwen, but the bar was nice and we were happy to be out in the world sans toddler.

When we arrived, Wenwen was still in full swing. The crowds and buzz reminded me a bit of the whimsy of Mission Chinese Food, more the Brooklyn location than either in Manhattan, in the sense that it came across as though we were supposed to have fun here. It’s vibes. Many of the new Brooklyn restaurants are trying to be fussy, clean, immaculate, a kind of rejection of the industrial chic of the aughts and early teens, but in so doing had forgotten eating out should be fun. Places like Leo or Winonas, where everything is very pale, pristine, and the food is meant to be taken seriously, rather than enjoyed.

Wenwen was fun. I’m sure the pre-arrival cocktail helped make it fun. But the first dish to arrive was a translucent celtuce salad. The name just sounds fun, but the dish is like a disco ball.

The celtuce was pickled, and translucent. It was fresh and crunchy with a tang of acid. The menu warned that the Numbing Celtuce Salad had “Garlic, Garlic, Garlic” and they weren’t wrong. There was also Sichuan pepper, providing the numbing, but also garlic. I loved it.

The Three Cup chicken arrived in a dark, thick sauce that tasted divine, rich and filled with umami flavor. The meat essentially fell of the bone. There were a lot of smaller pieces of meat that remained. The spicy red peppers not only looked beautiful in contrast to the dark sauce, but added another layer of heat.

The Sacha Hot Honey Popcorn was a standout dish. It was salty and crispy with a slightly sweet sauce delicately drizzled over it. The menu noted it included Taiwan dust, which I took to mean was a magical pixie dust, but the menu described as white pepper, sugar, MSG, and salt.

We ordered the pork Fly’s Head. The dish combines chives and ground pork, all minced together, and it’s so named because the colors look a bit like the head of a fly. I first had a similar Fly’s Head at Winson over on Graham Avenue in East Williamsburg, but their version has slightly lower ratio of meat. Wenwen’s Fly’s Head felt more filling, or perhaps just too much for two people.

We finished up with the 886 noodles. This dish comes straight from Sze’s first restaurant, and it continues to evolve at both restaurants. The texture was thick in my mouth and creamy, but with little crispy crunchy bits. The meat was tender. The flavors were good, slightly sweet and salty – a solid dish but one I would skip next time. Since the noodles are something of a calling card, I’m glad to have tried them.

The next morning we headed out to Chicago where I ate a hot dog, pastries, dumplings, and Italian beef. The notes, photos, and first draft of this write-up sat waiting for me to edit and upload it. More than a year has passed, and I’m surprised I haven’t been back to Wenwen because not only was the food good, but it was a fun place to eat.

By the end of the evening, the bar had a few people left but at last the tables were empty.

---