Little Goat Diner — Attraction in Lake View Township

I found Little Goat Diner from the Google search and put it on our must visit list when I was planning for the trip to Chicago. My husband and I arrived on a Sunday around 7:30am, not knowing that we entered the restaurant through the side door. There was one employee behind the bar, and a barista at the coffee station. We received no eye contact, and no greeting. We stood there for a while. A short-hair waitress walked from the dining room to the bar and checked on her cell phone. Then she chit chatted with the barista and went back to the dining room without acknowledging our presence. We stood there in amazement. I finally said to the barista, “Two for breakfast, please”. She said that we needed to go to the hostess station. We walked to the hostess station. The same waitress was there, and another lady who kept her head down at all times looking at her tablet. Again, there was no greeting. The waitress walked away, we followed her and thought that she was going to seat us. When she discovered that we were behind her, she said, “Don’t follow me! I am not your hostess!” So we went back to the hostess station. The hostess finally pulled two menus and seated us next to a couple with a thin divider between our tables. I asked the waitress if we could have a quiet table. It was 7:30am, and there were plenty of other tables available. Unenthusiastically, she moved us to the two-people booth right behind the same couple and then left. There was no smile, as if we owed her a million dollars.

The support staff (bus person) brought a ray of sunshine to our table. He was pleasant and genuinely welcomed us. He quickly got us the beverages of our choices and continuously made sure that we got everything we needed. I would hire him in an instance if I owned a business. Our waiter provided adequate service. He asked if it was our first visit and explained that everything on the menu is a la cart.

The menu selections were interesting. We liked the pricing structure that we only need to pay for the items we order. For example, you can have one egg with hash without paying for a big platter of extra food that you don’t eat. I had an oatmeal. The portion was plentiful, with a hint of goat milk. It was quite good.

I have a suggestion for the restaurant management: Hire or train your employees with interpersonal skills. Find individuals with bubbly personality to be your host or hostess. There is no second chance to make the first impression. I had a good vantage point at the front entrance of the restaurant during our visit. At all times, the hostess put her elbows on the hostess stand and kept looking down at her tablet. Whenever guests arrive, she did not stand up straight to give them eye contact. She continued to look at her tablet and seated people with no interest what so ever. The dining room is not that big and it is not that complicated to seat people. I rarely see her smile. I also saw many other guests with the same expressions as ours and could not understand why we were not welcome as soon as we walked through the door. I would move the bus person to the hostess stand. At least he is pleasant and makes people feel warm and welcome.

The food was great, yet the service needs much...

The dishes were aesthetically pleasing which drew us in to sample their fusion-heavy dishes. The atmosphere was bustling and welcoming with a clear picture of a busy yet friendly ambiance. In terms of portion size, you will not be disappointed with their main entrées as they are hearty and carb heavy. We ordered two entrées and an appetizer.

The first dish was the “This Little Piggy Went to China” and the plating was well arranged with a crimson backdrop along with blueberries supporting the biscuit, sausage and eggs. As aesthetically pleasing as it was, the taste was incoherent in ways where strong flavors, which would technically be palatable individually, were conflicting. The sausage itself was well seasoned but the oil, biscuit and the richness of the egg yolk contained too many variables for your palate to decipher. It is a fusion dish where the flavors were not in unity.

The second dish was the “Okonomiyaki.” The porkbelly pancake was plated decently with all the bells and whistles like the drizzle of kewpie mayo and sweet soy sauce on top of the bonito flakes. There was a slight lack of contrast and pop compared to the first dish, but the taste was decent as the pancake was cooked perfectly with a non-dry interior. One of the complaints I have is that there was not enough protein inside the pancake. There were little nubs of bacon which left room for a more desirable substance.

The sharable for the table was the “Pork Belly Home Fries.” Overall the plating was magnificent, hearty, and enticing. We saw another table receive the dish and we did not hesitate to ask the server what the dish was. Sadly this dish encounters the same problem as the first entrée. Strong flavors such as the fish sauce aioli and the acidity of the pickled peppers would conflict and leave an unpleasant aftertaste. It would be padded by the starchy fingerling potatoes but the pork belly was fatty which makes the dish heavier on both the stomach and palate. Individually these flavors would stand out and work with more mellow ingredients but this dish had too many stand-out characters that leaves lingering incoherence and inconclusive bites. I would substitute the aioli for something lighter and less salty with a less fatty and more...

this goes between 2.5 to maybe 3 star for me

food: 3.5 service: 2.8 ambience: 3 wait time: 1

i hadn’t been to the West Loop location in a few years but remember generally enjoying it. so i was pretty psyched to try out the relocated one down the street from my home in Southport Corridor.

but much like Gigi’s Chicken and Itoko right next door, it’s heavy on design and space decor and light on the quality of logistics, service, efficiency, and the most important part of all, the food.

no idea how no reservations and an outdated form of “first come first served” democratises the restaurant experience—just leads to generally much longer wait times. and you have to show up to put your name on the list instead of new systems that let you do it remotely. 🤷🏽‍♂️

so a 1.5hr quoted wait time. we went home given the small cramped space to not disturb diners already sitting and breath down their necks. it was also cold today so waiting outside wasn’t much of an option. 45 minutes later our table was ready (so much for the quoted time).

got there and were sat at a table almost literally in front of the front door which was open ~70% of the time we were sitting by both the host, wait staff, and inconsiderate people coming in (again, it was cold out and this is Chicago after all, people should know better than to linger with an open door).

we would have rather waited the full 1.5 hrs to get a table not in the immediate vicinity of a 40° draft.

service was alright, could have used more water. food was just okay. i will say at least the portions here aren’t so massive you feel like you’re gonna die after you’re done eating, but unsure if the price aligns to the portion either. but there’s just something missing with these dishes. similar feelings to other Izard restaurants with subpar food (Cabra), too scene-y not enough food-y.

space was pretty cute, but if i recall correctly much smaller and cramped than West Loop location. i guess if you want to hype up demand with low supply, this is one way to do it. way too crowded, no direction from host on where people should or shouldn’t stand or how to try to keep the door closed during cold days. kind of a mess.

recommendation: probably unnecessary to wait for this longer...