Loosie Rouge

OUR ARTICLE

Despite only being around for half a decade, Loosie Rouge feels like a neighborhood joint that has always and will always be there.

That’s the magic of Loosie’s: her juxtapositions. She’s cozy but stylish. Local but chic. Electric but relaxed.

Loosie Rouge is located right under the rattling, graffiti accented Williamsburg Bridge. But when you open her discrete door on South 6th Street, you’re transported into a cozy den. It feels like your best friend’s living room. If your best friend’s living room had the occasional celebrity sighting.

The friendly but famous staple is perfectly named after a fabled vagabond babe who roamed the streets of Paris, NYC, and Nola in the ’80s and is rumored to have dated Christopher Wallace and Liza Minnelli at the same time. Loosie’s spirit lives on in the part restaurant (neighboring Loosie Kitchen), part bar, and part occasional live music hall. And it is 100% the right spot out for local Williamsburgers or Manhattanites able to brave the 1.3-mile journey across East River.

The space perfectly captures the charm and allure of Loosie herself – a single room with painted white brick walls, casual wood piles (because why not), pink and gold accents, and a low ceiling that creates an immediate feeling of collective intimacy. Conversation flows freely, sex appeal drips out of the bricks, and actually saying a neighborly hello to your neighbor at the bar is all the more welcome here.

In fact, Loosie Rouge has always prided herself on setting the mood.

On weeknights, you’re likely to catch a lot of good-at-Hinge people who all appear to be going on first dates that are going odd-defyingly well. After all, in a cocktail lounge set to the glow of candlelight, it’s impossible to not melt your guard down.

On weekends the joint fills up around sunset with a trendy, beautiful and bright-eyed late 20s, early 30s crowd (did we say beautiful?). And as the moon rises, so does the energy, mingling, and number exchanging.

The drink menu feels both novel and familiar, just like the space itself. At Loosie’s, expect getting served the best cocktails on the planet by artists that can shake a generous mix of mezcal, habanero tincture, ginger, lime and Angostura with confidence and care. Known for its spirit-forward sippers, you can’t leave the place without trying a Oaxacan Mule and Sage What. The cocktails also reside at a reasonable—for New York— 14 dollar price point and are complemented by a fun and non-intimidating wine list.

But despite all of that, the best reason to visit Loosie’s is getting sucked into a crowd that feels like they’re all in on the same secret. What is it? Come on in, and just maybe you’ll find out.