The Little Village - Downtown — Restaurant in Baton Rouge

Even a 1 Star Review is Too High! We had high hopes that we would have an exceptional experience at The Little Village Downtown. Our high hopes were quickly shattered. From the appetizer, to salads, to the entrees, we were highly dissatisfied. We got their famous bread with roasted garlic and it was ok. The bread was good but it was in so much butter that it took away from the taste instead of being a nice compliment. When we cut the bread the table was wobbly and very unstable. Shaky tables are my fiancé’s pet peeve and he had to support the table by holding the leg down with his foot. We couldn’t bring ourselves to finish their famous bread. The salad was nothing special. I barely ate half of it. When my entree came out it was cold and actually had a film coating over the top layer of my sauce with melted butter resting on top. Their Alfredo sauce tasted like creamy butter. It was apparent to me now that butter is the answer to all of their dishes. Butter is a good flavor but everything shouldn’t taste like butter. My fiancé’s medium well steak came out in a pool of grease and blood. When he cut into it more blood poured out. He politely asked the waitress to return it to be cooked a little longer. He waited about ten minutes and his “medium well” steak was return WELL done in about 3 oz of extremely hot grease. The grease was so hot the steak was still sizzling and grease was popping everywhere. The waitress was very brave for handling that highly dangerous plate of scalding grease. She warned that the plates were extremely hot and stated it will burn you if you touch the top plate. She placed the plate in front of him and grease was constantly popping on his arms. I could see the lower layer of the steak was black and the plate was scorched. He asked for her to take the steak away. I took a few bites of my fettuccine and tried to improve the taste with salt and pepper which didn’t help. By that time I couldn't stomach another bite. I wanted to let the waitress know that I was disappointed with my food and that I did not want it. Disappointed was a huge understatement. We waited another 10 minutes and the waitress never returned. She didn’t come back with an apology from the chef nor did the manager come to apologize that we had to return an entree twice. We were just sitting in an empty restaurant being neglected. We decided to leave after being ignored. We left $20 for the waitress and walked out. We sat in the car for about 20 minutes trying to figure out want was still open at 11:30 at night. Then all of sudden we were surrounded by police cars as if we were armed and dangerous. About 3-4 police came to my car to question us. They told us that The Little Village called them saying we ate our dinner and didn’t pay. We told them about our disastrous meal. The officer even admitted he ate there once and the food was terrible. They asked for my license and told us that they were going to speak with the manager to get their side of the story. I sat there shocked, upset, and most of all embarrassed. I’ve never in my whole life been in a situation where I was questioned by the police let alone surrounded by them as if I was criminal. One of the officers asked me to roll my window down and he assured me that we were not getting arrested and that they just had to find out what happened. One of the officers returned to the car to confirmed what we told them, stating we didn’t eat the food and that my plate of fettuccine was still on the table as we stated. He returned my license and told us we were free to go. I pulled off and didn’t make it two traffic lights before I was in tears. Crying about how horrible our experience was how we ended our night with the police surrounding my car.

I wish we would have just gone with one of our favorites: Stab’s, Fleming’s, or Ruth’s Chris. We would have had a totally different experience. If I could I would have given The Little Village Downtown negative stars. Please spend your time and money at a restaurant where you will enjoy delicious food and be valued...

So if anyone wants great food with great service and supervision at a high-end restaurant, stay clear of the Little Village in downtown Baton Rouge. Every time we have gone to this restaurant since they moved from their original location, we have always had major problems. Friday there were five of us for lunch. Right off the bat we were bombarded with flies, giant horseflies! The ladies got flies in their hair we all got flies on our food and I was lucky enough to have one fly directly up inside of my nose. When we pointed this situation out to both the waitress & the hostess we were told that there was "absolutely nothing they could do about the flies! When it's overcast outside we have flies all over the restaurant", no apologies! When the food arrived let's just say for a ticket for the table well over $200 for lunch, pre-tax and tip, the food was mediocre at best. I along with another person at our table ordered the fillet, medium /rare, which, with tax was $43 each I believe. They were both EXTREMELY tough & mine was raw on the inside.(See picture)! We always order our steaks MEDIUM RARE, one of the steaks which was the same size as mine was cooked medium rare, mine was completely bloody purple red raw meat in the center, RAW! I pointed it out to our waitress & she said she could send it back to the back to be recooked & I told her no I have too many friends who are chefs & cooks & I never send food back to the kitchen for any reason. I asked the waitress if she could bring me some apple cider vinegar for my salad & she did. She sat it on the edge of the table instead of in the middle so when the fly flew up my nose I jumped & the apple cider vinegar spilled all over my trousers. I pointed it out to the hostess and she said 'I'll bring you another napkin'?!? Those were a poly/cotton blend, mostly poly napkins & therefore are not absorbent & would do nothing for my entire leg being covered in vinegar because of the fly & the the vinegar being placed on the edge of the table! When I later called the 'manager' Brian he told me that there was nothing that they could do about the flies, that it's always like that when it is overcast, BUT that no one ELSE in the restaurant was complaining about the flies, suggesting that we were either BEING UNTRUTHFUL or exaggerating, but we saw everyone shoeing flies off there food! So, common sense to the 'manager' Brian there are plenty of devices and other solutions to rid the flies in your restaurant! SO please don't use that as an excuse. Especially to say that this ALWAYS happens when it's overcast outside! Into top it off be so unconcerned about it! So if it's an ongoing issue it should be addressed and fixed. It just shows his ineptness at being a manager of a restaurant! So we all left, at least a 15 to 20% tip & after thinking about it, we should have left a penny! The flies are not the waitresses fault, but being unapologetic & rude IS! Also she rushed us through the entire meal because they close for lunch at 2:00 pm & it was nerve-wracking because she kept asking us if we need anything else, were we done with our food, when our plates were completely full of food on our plates, that we may have taken two or three bites of. (Note to waitress the professional way to handle that situation is your guest will place their eating utensils crossways on the plate to let you know that you're through with your food! She kept asking us were we ready for the check AGAIN with our plates full of food, terrible waitress, a bad hostess, and a VERY rude, uninterested manager is what we found at this restaurant! SUGGESTION IF YOU WANT A GREAT STEAK AND UNPARALLELED SERVICE AND AN AMAZING STEAK, JUST GO TO RUTH'S CHRIS FOR THEIR LUNCH SPECIAL UNTIL 3:00 YOU GET A 6 OZ FILLET, SAME SIZE AS THE ONE HERE, A SALAD AND A VEGETABLE OF YOUR CHOICE FOR $45!!

I'LL post my other experiences at another time! IT'S RIGHT UP THERE...

As long-time regulars of Little Village Downtown, it pains us to write this. This restaurant has been a go-to spot for us—reliably good food, an inviting atmosphere, and somewhere we proudly brought out-of-town guests on their first night in Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, the recent changes they’ve made are not just disappointing—they’re baffling, tone-deaf, and frankly insulting to loyal customers.

To begin, the menu has undergone a total overhaul. While change is inevitable, this one feels poorly thought out. The new layout is hard to navigate, descriptions of dishes have been completely removed (so you’re forced to guess or pepper your server with questions), and the once-elegant presentation has been replaced by low-quality menus that cheapen the dining experience. It no longer feels like an upscale restaurant—despite the fact that the prices suggest otherwise.

And speaking of prices: the increases are staggering. A full loaf of garlic bread is now $16. Want a small side of marinara sauce with that? Add another $4.50. Yes, you read that right—over $20 for bread and sauce. These are items that are not expensive to make, and this pricing feels like price gouging, plain and simple. When we expressed our concern to management, we were met with defensiveness and a dismissive explanation that it’s "market price." With all due respect, that’s nonsense. It’s bread and tomato sauce, not truffle risotto.

Even more disappointing is the removal of favorite dishes from the menu—long-time staples that many of us came specifically to enjoy. Menus evolve, yes, but this change felt like a wholesale erasure of what made Little Village special.

We approached management, hoping to offer constructive feedback, but were met with what felt like defensive energy—as if they were anticipating complaints and ready for a fight. That tells us everything we need to know about how these changes are being received by others.

Let me be clear: the food is still good, and our main server was excellent. But the soul of this restaurant—the welcoming spirit, the value, the attention to detail—seems to have been lost. We won’t be returning, and we won’t be bringing our guests here anymore.

We truly hope the owners take a hard look at what they’ve done. Downtown Baton Rouge doesn't have enough great restaurants as it is, and alienating loyal customers with overpriced side dishes and condescending management is not the way forward.

Little Village used to be something special. It breaks our hearts to say that it...