A decade ago, Williamsburg was in an in-between era — on the verge of reaching peak Smorgasburg but not yet succumbing to the modern conveniences of Whole Foods. The area definitely wasn’t as replete with natural wine bars as it is today. But the fabric of the neighborhood was irreversibly altered in June of 2015, when the Four Horsemen made its debut on Grand Street.
The founders — or four horsemen, if you will — included LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, his wife Christina Topsøe, entrepreneur Randy Moon, and wine director Justin Chearno. The partners had no previous restaurant experience, but were sharply tapped into other aspects of culture — music, fashion, art, nightlife — and were a particularly well-traveled bunch with a thirst for small production, low-intervention wine. The original vision was inspired by the wine bars of Europe and Tokyo that showcased natural wines alongside simple and precise food in a casual setting. To execute this, the team tapped chef Nick Curtola, previously of Brooklyn’s beloved (now-shuttered) Franny’s, and brought in Amanda McMillan as the general manager shortly after.
Over its 10-year lifespan, the restaurant has seen many iterations, though its core values have remained the same, changing more in perception than anything else. The Four Horsemen first made its name as the celebrity-backed wine bar, with locals, wine industry colleagues, and LCD Soundsystem fans driving the first wave of customers. But as the food menu evolved, dropping the charcuterie and cheese in favor of increasingly complex dishes, it transformed into a Michelin-starred dining destination. (It also went through a phase of offering a three-course lunch for $30, an unimaginable deal that devotees sorely miss today.)
Over time, the Four Horsemen universe has slowly expanded, first in 2019 with the opening of Nightmoves, the exclusive, late-night bar and dance club with a sound system designed for audiophiles. And now in 2025, the team opened its second full-fledged restaurant, the Italian-inspired I Cavallini — which translates to “little horses” — across the street.
Though the restaurant is celebrating its successes, the past year has also been marked by challenging times. In August 2024, the team lost one of its founding members, Justin Chearno, who led the restaurant’s wine program with a generous spirit. Chearno’s embrace of natural wine helped push the category forward and changed the wine industry in NYC and beyond. His approach continues to drive the wine program, and restaurant, today.
Whether it’s a wine-forward restaurant or a food-focused wine bar is a topic still up for debate, but the Four Horsemen has undeniably become an international icon in the natural wine scene. So pour a glass of Jura Savagnin, serve a bowl of brothy butter beans, and read on as Nick Curtola, Amanda McMillan, former and current employees, industry pros, and devoted bar regulars spill their favorite stories and reminisce on 10 years of the Four Horsemen.
Early Days
The Four Horsemen immediately caught local attention when it opened in hipster-heavy Williamsburg in 2015, though the bar looked quite different than it does today. Instead of lines of tourists wrapping around the corner for a seat, industry regulars and neighborhood personalities huddled around the counter to taste new and interesting wines — bottles that would soon set a standard for the category.
Billy Smith (former assistant wine director, the Four Horsemen; wine director, Rolf & Daughters): One of my earliest memories was the day we were doing friends and family. I walked in to find Randy and Justin furiously trying to oil down the teak on the bar top. The evening before they had tried to do it but all of the oil came out of the bar and they spent all afternoon oiling down this bar so people could eat on it. It was so stressful, but became a bit of a tradition of theirs where once a year Randy and Justin would come in after service to oil down the bar top.
Amanda McMillan (general manager, the Four Horsemen): We took reservations, which was radical for Brooklyn neighborhood restaurants back then. And I was aggressive about how tightly we booked reservations. We would tell people I had a table available for only an hour, we would accommodate people standing, we really tried to make it feel like more of a party.
George Padilla (chef, Rule of Thirds): I first heard about this restaurant when I was working at Okonomi in 2014. We had a bunch of regulars for our Japanese breakfast including Randy Moon, who mentioned that he was working on a place nearby. I first started going there when they were doing a yakitori after-hours menu, which became one of my favorite meals.
Chase Sinzer (owner, Claud and Penny): When I first went there I was the wine director at Momofuku Ko and lived in Williamsburg. In that era of the Horsemen, we would go legitimately three times a week after service. In the beginning it was really just our hangout, we would have a snack, and Randy or James or Justin would open something cool, and it was extremely casual.
McMillan: We told people we were a wine bar because we wanted to under-promise and over- deliver, but we shot ourselves in the foot a little. I remember it was probably toward the end of the first year that the entire staff at Momofuku Ko — a restaurant we so admired — would crowd the bar, share a bunch of food and bottles and started calling it “church.” The fact that they wanted to come to us in a devoted way, we felt we were doing something right.
Zev Rovine (founder, Zev Rovine Selections): In the earliest days Justin was still working at my company. I thought it was a funny and ambitious opening, because none of the founders had ever worked in a restaurant. They did an amazing job of finding a chef that they still have, and hiring a general manager that’s still there. A great thing that they did was find great people, letting them be creative and do their thing.
The Team
The Four Horsemen has a surprising number of staff members who have been there since day one. Many cite this as one of the reasons the restaurant has been so successful.
McMillan: One of the things we are most proud of is our retention rate. I’m so spoiled because I’ve worked with some of these people for 10 years. Chantal, Marco, Nick, Blaze, and Will — there are at least six people that have been there since the first year. There’s probably six more that have been there for seven or eight years. We know each other so well, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, our shorthand is great, the jokes are rich.
Dan Keeling (founder, Noble Rot): I think one of the biggest compliments you could pay to a restaurant is the people. Every time I’ve been to the Four Horsemen, the staff is all very engaged in what they are doing and make the guests feel special. I felt the passion. I don’t think you feel that passion in every restaurant.
Forrest Florsheim (former cook, the Four Horsemen; chef de cuisine, Penny): Everybody who works there is very thoughtful and interested in food in a way that feels very collaborative. Nick is an exceptionally talented chef but uses other chefs as a resource, too. Chantal, the person who trained me, has been working mornings there since it opened and at this point she can rattle off recipes by the gram just by memory. Having people who have been there the whole time is a pretty unique trait — having little turnover is the highest reflection of a restaurant.
Christian Tschida (winemaker): It’s always the same fact that makes every special restaurant on the planet a special one: the character of the people running it. Every time I have been at the Four Horsemen, I experienced their passion for what they do and what they work with — the huge interest in genesis and history for the used products. The same applies to their attitude towards wines. It always gave them a lot of joy to listen carefully to my words, the words of the producer.
Ed Wilson (chef and owner, Brawn): It’s my go-to recommendation when people ask where to eat in New York (that’s, if you can get a reservation). Every single time, without fail, the feedback is always that it was the best place they ate. To be that consistent takes a lot of effort and dedication and reflects the incredible work that Nick, Amanda, and the team, past and present, deliver every day.
Standing Out
It started as a simple wine bar — with some buzz from its celebrity backing — but recognition for the Four Horsemen’s food menu soon came rolling in. Accolades like a glowing review from The New York Times and a Michelin star catapulted the restaurant to a new level of fame. The restaurant also received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program in 2022, cementing its status as one of the hottest tables in town.
McMillan: Most places are primarily driven by one thing: food, atmosphere, or beverage. We have a 900-plus SKU list, the food that Nick puts out is crazy, the servers are so knowledgeable, the acoustics are perfect, everything is comfortable, the music is immersive and vibey — we pushed all of those levers as far as we could. We’ve been really lucky that we have people who care as much about how the room feels as how the fork feels in your hand.
Rovine: In 2015 there weren’t that many places that did only natural wine. A lot of things that we consider very standard weren’t standard at the time. It was really one of the first places that sold natural wine that was considered a fine-dining restaurant — it proved the concept that those two things can exist together.
Frank Cornelissen (winemaker): There was nothing similar to it in those days; they set a standard with this concept. It was really different from places like The Ten Bells, which was more of a bar. The Four Horsemen went over that. It was a bit more classic, acting as a bridge between the natural wine world and the classic wine world. That’s also what’s happening today in many restaurants, not religiously on one side or the other — that’s entirely Justin’s energy.
Sinzer: I think it was ahead of the game in terms of all of us looking to Europe for inspiration on being detailed and serious about food, service, and wine in a very laid-back environment. You can see it in Paris and London and tangentially in Rome. They’re well-traveled people who were very interested in food and wine and they took all the threads of trends — whether that’s the simplicity of food but linked through technique, non-interventionist winemaking, a good sound system, a nice design — and put it into one package.
William Chance Piper (wine director, the Four Horsemen): People trust us with the wines and trust that the food is going to be delicious. Even when Nick goes esoteric with the food there’s still homey elements. So even if you don’t know what’s going on from the four words on the menu description, people trust that it will be strong and meticulous.
The Food
The kitchen at the Four Horsemen has been run by chef Curtola since day one, but it has evolved significantly — shifting from wine bar staples like cheese and charcuterie to abstract dishes that draw from global flavors and techniques. The thoughtfully sourced, meticulously plated dishes rotate with impressive frequency. As the menu garnered more attention, the “wine bar” transformed into a dining destination.
Nick Curtola (executive chef, the Four Horsemen): The original inspirations for the food were rooted in the wine bar culture of London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Tokyo. The food was meant to be convivial and shared amongst the table alongside really beautiful bottles of natural wine. It was punchy with high acid and fresh and bright flavors. I also made it a point to use the same quality of ingredients you’d find at some of the best restaurants in New York. Sourcing was always a priority of mine as well as going to the farmers market to get the best local produce we could.
Philip Krajeck (chef and owner, Rolf and Daughters): The thing that never ceases to impress is what they’re able to execute in such a small kitchen. I experienced this first hand this fall as a guest chef. They don’t have every gadget and yet they are still cooking incredible dishes. They were the first to bring the neo-bistro wave to the U.S. and a lot of restaurants have taken them as an example and as a north star in what they are doing.
Curtola: I think one of my favorite dishes at the Four Horsemen was the yellowfin tuna dish that we did for years. Thinly pounded tuna wasn’t really seen around New York City at the time outside of maybe Le Bernardin, a 3-star restaurant with an army of cooks, prepping every single day. But average people weren’t able to go and eat there, so my intention from the beginning was to provide people the same level and quality of an experience in a more casual environment.
Florshheim: For some restaurants, if they have a menu item that’s beloved, there’s a reluctance to take it off, but there was never that worry. If they got bored with one dish, they would put a new one on, which is a refreshing thing to see. And it challenges you to push the menu and replace it with something just as good, if not better.
The Wine
The Four Horsemen was an early embracer of the natural wine movement, but its selection doesn’t lack range. The late wine director Justin Chearno was known for his open-minded approach, crafting a list designed to appeal to anyone who walked in the door.
Phil Sareil (salesperson, Jenny & Francois Selections): They didn’t fall for the trap of having half of the customers say the wine list is great and half saying it’s not. They have a wine for everyone.
Smith: Being at the Four Horsemen taught me that there’s always going to be somebody for whom the wine is right. To marry the wine and winemaker to the guest. And in a way, respecting what the wineries are doing by finding them the people who are going to truly love their wines.
Piper: It’s the unpretentiousness of service, but done with competence. The staff has always been very strong and approachable, and that’s the first line of defense in offering 900-plus wines.
Krajeck: As a chef, I’ve always enjoyed wine but been a little turned off by what I perceive as a bit of snobby culture. I’ve always seen the Four Horsemen as the antithesis of that. They are always working as hard to make it as approachable as possible. I think that it’s a huge influence they’ve had on the culture of wine in this country.
For Justin
Chearno’s generous, welcoming spirit impacted everyone who interacted with the Four Horsemen, and was essential to the restaurant’s ethos. Many team members and industry friends remember his encouraging words and advice to this day.
Smith: There’s something Justin said that I always hear in my head: “Never stop tasting.” He was a tasting machine. I was kind of bewildered by it. I still hear him in my head when I’m exhausted at a wine fair and it keeps me going. There’s always going to be wines you fall in love with. There’s always something to be discovered.
Ava Trilling (former cellar manager at the Four Horsemen, owner of Rude Mouth): I don’t think I’d be here, opening my own wine bar, without Justin and the Four Horsemen team. He was so motivating when it came to me doing my own thing and was extremely happy for me when I told him I secured a space. It meant the world to me that he had my back. He was so encouraging and it made me feel confident enough to do this. He passed a few months before Rude Mouth opened. Now I have a drink that’s always on the menu for him, an eau de vie that he loved.
Jeffrey Alpert (founder, Jeffrey Alpert Selections): My first memory was calling the restaurant hoping to get a chance to show my wines. I got Justin on the phone and he instantaneously said, “When are you coming in?” We spent a couple of hours going through my portfolio and tasting wines. In life you meet someone and you know you have chemistry with someone, and sparks went off with Justin.
Piper: I always think about how Justin gave everyone the time of day. I take tasting appointments often and we have way more vendors than we probably should, but I’m always going to give them a shot like Justin did. When you stop being open-minded to new things that’s when you start missing out.
Tschida: Justin possessed not only an extravagant palate but, more importantly, he was an exceptional listener. He never confined himself to technical wine data sheets — details like maceration days, precise grape percentages in a cuvée, or other often misinterpreted and uninformative statistics. Instead, he innately felt the particularities of a wine, seeing beyond the technical specifics that frequently reveal little about its true character.
Trilling: One thing Justin would say that stuck with me is: “There is no such thing as a wine emergency.” That is something that has kept me from going insane many different times. Opening a bar on my own is really scary, and sometimes I just go back to that. I think about his whole ethos of generosity as well — sharing your experiences, not being gatekeep-y, and not scoffing at people who don’t know as much as you.
Lasting Impact
The Four Horsemen has undoubtedly impacted what a wine bar looks like in New York City and beyond. Many have tried to emulate its ability to deliver Michelin-level cuisine and service in a casual, cool setting, but the beloved Williamsburg restaurant continues to set the standard.
Curtola: I think The Four Horsemen became so influential because people felt like it was something that they could emulate in their own town or city. The room and decor weren’t over the top, the service wasn’t fussy, and it just felt good to be there. The quality of service and the quality of the food and the experience overall felt attainable and approachable to a lot of people. The thing is, everything we do is highly intentional and requires an incredible amount of work. We don’t announce that or anything, but we’re there every day — even 10 years in — tweaking, tasting, evolving, growing, and pushing forward. And that takes time and confidence and work. I think sometimes what I see is people taking the formula but not realizing what goes on behind the scenes to make that restaurant seem as seamless as it is. And I think that’s something we have a lot of pride in. The work ethic, the workplace culture, and the imprint we’ve had on a particular type of dining scene.
Sinzer: Because of restaurants like the Horsemen, what we saw was a willingness for people who really care about wine to start driving a conversation in certain restaurants and start saying, “I’m going to go here to drink wine.” That was not something you saw outside of the 2- or 3-star Michelin world. It is a neighborhood restaurant in scope and size that built a far-greater-than- neighborhood-restaurant wine list and got people to come in for the wine.
Trilling: There’s a whole stereotype about the “small plates natural wine bar,” but they were kind of the first ones, at least in Brooklyn, to do it like that. They have such a huge influence, it’s a no-brainer that they were the OG of what people think of now as a wine bar.
Krajeck: In the current day and age when trends move so quickly, a restaurant that has been around that long in a city that’s as difficult to operate in as New York, maintaining a great culture in front and back of house is no small feat. They aren’t a massive restaurant group with insane resources — they are doing it out of passion. I hope it lives forever.
*Quotes have been edited for clarity.
