Sichuan Small Plates Make Ren Feel Like A Party

Jayne He was born and raised in China’s Fujian province, and today lives in Middle Village, Queens. But as she told Brooklyn Magazine this week, “I love Williamsburg—I’ve worked here, and I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends here—and I love Sichuan food. So one day I’m like, you know what, maybe I should combine these two things I love together.” 

So about a month ago, after a year of planning and an ambitious build-out, He and her partners—Henry Bao, a dim sum specialist who manages the kitchen, and Kingsley Ye, in charge of operations—opened Ren, a lively, contemporary, Sichuan-leaning restaurant on the prime East Williamsburg corner of Grand and Leonard Streets.

The Ren menu is filled with both obvious crowd-pleasers and more unusual options. And, somewhat ingeniously, most everything is served as small (but not dainty!) shareable plates, so even parties of two can try a bunch of different things. My companion and I feasted on a half dozen dishes, and there wasn’t a clunker in the bunch.

The spicy squid legs weren’t nearly as fiery as their “three chili pepper” warning promised, but they were plenty flavorful and had lots of nice crispy bits. Also very good was the “crunchy golden tofu,” bricks of luxuriously creamy bean curd battered and fried and served with a peppy orange mayo dip. And the hand-shredded chicken—which arrives soaking in an impressive pool of chili oil—landed a solid punch as well. Other small plates include pepper-spiced okra, crispy rice with duck confit, and braised beef with cilantro. 

The dim sum section is equally varied and appealing, featuring the likes of dan dan noodles, soup dumplings, wontons in chili sauce, and sweet pumpkin cakes. Both of our dumplings on the night hit the spot: the steamed crystal shrimp ones were plump, bright, and snappy; and the numbing chicken potstickers sported a well-charred chewy bottom and an intense peppercorn sauce.        

There are a few larger, more entree-sized options at Ren: Sichuan standards like kung pao chicken and mapo tofu, as well as a solid version of that Xinjiang classic, spicy cumin lamb. 

We kind of spaced on getting dessert for some reason, and I regret not trying Ren’s rose crystal jelly, or the purple eight-jewel rice. He and company are still waiting for their liquor license to come through, but in the meantime, there’s a bunch of hot and cold tea drinks on hand to keep you refreshed. 

The space itself is long and narrow, seating about 50 in two mostly minimalist rooms, as well as a bar area up front. The most striking design feature is the illuminated (fake) straw undulating across the ceiling and above the bar, an homage of sorts, He told us, to her childhood spent on her grandmother’s farm in Fujian. The Chinese character “Ren,” by the way, translates as harvest. 

In addition to all her restaurant duties, He also just had a baby. “Ren opened on February 6 and my daughter arrived on the 11th,” she said. “So I had two children at the same time! It’s a lot, physically and mentally, but the neighborhood has been exactly what I was hoping for. It’s such a warm and welcoming community.”    

Ren is located at 623 Grand Street, at the corner of Leonard Street, and is currently open on Monday through Wednesday for lunch from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m., and for dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Thursday and Friday for lunch and dinner until 10:30, and on Saturday and Sunday the place is open all day.  

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