Littler — Restaurant in Durham

We enjoyed a very nice meal at Littler last night. It's a wonderfully cozy place that doesn't have any equal in the area. It's much more the kind of small spot you'd find in a major city. If you're looking for intimate and cozy I don't think there's any place else you could do better. The meal was wonderful. A creative cocktail menu with great local ingredients and lots of seasonal touches and a well curated wine list. Very good food with delicious combinations a restrained creativity that doesn't force you to figure out what the chef had in mind when they started throwing ingredients together. Delicious and thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

And I just want to add a thought about some of the other reviews I've read here. I always like to read the one star reviews just to see what the other half thinks. It's a funny contrast down there in the low rating district. Some people complaining about the size of the restaurant. Did you happen to notice the name of the restaurant? Makes me wonder about that. Furthermore people are complaining about the cost in some cases. If you want to eat in a large volume, low price restaurant maybe this isn't the place for you -- and as one reviewer pointed out there's a burger bar across the street you might like better. They're not trying to serve everybody because they can only seat about 30 guests. Naturally with that kind of footprint it's more of a boutique experience and priced accordingly. It's not outrageous and given the quality of the food I think their prices are very reasonable. And then the most laughable contrast of bad reviews shown side by side -- one person complaining how they thought it was rude for the hostess to advise them about a 20% included gratuity while another complains how they weren't advised about it. I pity the poor hostess who has to decide between mentioning it and not. Personally, I think it's a good thing because the service industry is too unpredictable and people who work there deserve to get paid. It's funny how some of the complainers say they always tip 20% or more and don't need to be forced to do so. Bear in mind that the additional gratuity is not aimed at you...it's aimed at the people who think that paying for service is somehow a matter of charity and they're going to dole out their 15% to 18% with discretion based on their own biases and maybe punish the server who got to the table too slowly or forgot to refill their water. And once again, it's a tiny restaurant and it doesn't have much economy of scale. A server can't count on averaging out between the low and high tippers when they only have a couple of tables to begin with. In most of the world the service is rightly baked into the price. You can still tip for exceptional service at your discretion but you don't get to be Lord for a day and hold a few dollars over the server's head. Those people have to pay rent you know. Anyway if you are still reading my rant, I refer you back to the top of this page. It's a great restaurant with a tiny boutique experience that is unique in Durham and well...

My husband and I loved Littler when it first opened. However, in this past experience for New Years dinner, we were just a bit surprised not to be presented with optional choices from the prixe fixe menu as we don't eat pork. We understand this is a set menu, and we honored that - but without knowing what is on the menu prior (did not post online) I didn't know I had to explain to the staff that my husband cannot eat pork for religious reasons. In turn, since I am his wife, we pretty much share the same dietary restrictions. So after them learning of this, they presented the secondary menu without offering it to me - which I did find insulting and needed to compose myself and left the restaurant briefly. Not only this, but they also served us one course that was wrong, instead of ricotta we were given chicken liver (even though we ordered from the same pescatarian menu). After this, the food was still delicious and there were no more hiccups at all. But I have to say, this is 2023 (now) - most people wouldn't probably be bothered by having pork belly as a course, but with so many diverse people who eat here in Durham, I found it especially surprising that no alternatives were offered in the first place, and also we had to EXPLAIN why we couldn't eat pork belly. I know that we filled in what allergies are for the reservation ( I put he was allergic to lobster), but being Muslim isn't an allergy so I didn't list this. The food was still delicious ( still underwhelming giving a New Years Prix Fixe) and the atmosphere very inviting. But I will point out that my husband and I were the only ones of color in the whole restaurant (except for someone who I assumed cooked in the back kitchen). We will have second thoughts on eating here again. It is just sad, because my husband proposed (near) here and it became our celebratory place to eat - but not anymore now. I am still giving them three stars because we love this place for nostalgic purposes and the staff did their best to wait on us after the hiccups. My only advice is to stick to what was working before for Littler and to be more...

Finally, after almost three years since its opening, we made it to Littler, one of three downtown Durham eateries owned by Gray Brooks, his wife Cara Stacy and business partner Jay Owens. The other two are Pizzeria Toro and Jack Tar. A great resume. It’s a very “little” place (sorry), but we were able to squeeze in a reservation for two at the last minute by booking the 5:00 PM opening time. By the time we had finished our meals the place was full. We were greeted at the front door by Alice, seated and then our server Carrie cheerfully, thoroughly and enthusiastically answered all of our questions about items on the menu. Carrie certainly “knew the kitchen,” perhaps not surprising for this vet with time spent at both Matt Kelly’s Mateo and St. James. Both Alice and Carrie were top professionals as well as very personable. Two of us shared NC flounder crudo (lime, coconut milk, annatto, pineapple, seranno chile), griddled octopus (fregola sara, fava, feta, saracena olive vin), roasted carrots (harissa, labneh, pistachios) and New Bedford scallops (peas, spring onions, fennel, creme fraiche broth). Every dish was extraordinary. Unfortunately, there was no room for dessert. Next time. Chef Amanda Orser worked at Magnolia Grill for over a decade and then spent nearly two years at Andrea Reusing’s Lantern in Chapel Hill, both with James Beard award-winning chefs. Amanda has said that “Ben Barker taught me all that I know.” Enough said. Part of the charm of Littler is the mismatched, but very stylish china, the mix of vintage cocktail and beer glasses from eBay, and the cool but unobtrusive music playing from a classic reel-to-reel deck. A “little” touch of that Magnolia Grill magic made for a totally...