Little Pearl — Restaurant in Key West

Showed up with no reso over the long weekend around 7, and got a reso for 9pm. We went to Duval for drinks while we waited.

The restaurant right now has a few outdoor dining tables and sparse indoor dining seating.

We had the pop up tasting menu. We chose the salmon creme fraiche + yuzu burrata for first course, baked oyster + king crab for the 2nd course, shrimp / grits + day boat fresh for the 3rd course, and mochi + miso banana foster for dessert.

The first course started strong. I particularly loved the yuzu burrata. Having had a ton of New American / Gastronomy in the Bay Area, this was by far one of the most unique and bold dishes I've tasted in awhile. The creme fraiche was also quite a good dish, though a bit on the small side and lighter.

For the 2nd course, we felt that the chef went really bold. The baked oysters had a lot of strong veggie toppings such as kimchi, which overpowered the oyster flavor. The same thing happened with the strong, spicy black pepper taste which overpowered the light king crab flavor.

The third course was a good finish. The shrimp and grits also had chili crisp which added a szechuan flavor, but only a light amount of peppercorns were added to add a bit of spice. This dish also extremely impressive. The only nit I have is the soft egg didn't need to be there at all. I get that it's a breakfast dish, but it was dinner time. Day boat fresh was good, they added some cantonese flavors to the dish.

Pretty good handmade mochi for dessert but nothing spectacular. The miso banana foster was another bold dish. The miso goes well with the caramel, but is still quite overpowering and overly salty, that it is almost confusing. Still, I applaud the chef for trying something so different and bold.

Overall we were very impressed and would highly recommend it to foodies. The Japanese, Szechuan, and Cantonese influence in the menu was unique. Key West is small and there aren't any other New American / Gastronomy options in the area, so definitely stop by...

Very disappointed with my experience here. I am a foodie, go to Michelin star restaurants regularly and had very high hopes for this place based on the 4.6 out of 5 star reviews on Google. I live in Key West and am a local to the area as well, not just a tourist.

We attended the 5pm time slot. The restaurant is extremely loud. We were at a corner table by the wall and the sounds and voices from the other tables bounced off the wall. They had nothing in the restaurant ceilings to help absorb the sound or distribute the sound evenly. We had to talk extremely loud, almost yell to hear each other. Halfway through the evening I had a headache from the loudness.

We ordered the baked scallops, which were $25 and only 4 in the order. They were super small (bay size instead of sea) so I was very disappointed. They had a good taste with the squid ink butter, but they were extremely overpriced.

We ordered the Picanha as one of the entrees. It was extremely tough, was not cut correctly (it should’ve been cut against the grain) and it was cut with the grain. We cook Picanha at home regularly. We expressed the meat toughness to our waitress (I think her name was Gail) and she responded “Well that’s how Picanha is.” She did offer to make us a new one or take away the Picanha and replace it with another entree. We felt a bit slighted that we expressed concern about the meal and nothing was done to try and accommodate us.

We also ordered the “Finned Fare” entree which was Grouper with a squash risotto. The risotto was cooked right and flavorful. Unfortunately, the fish was underseasoned and bland tasting. I ended up dipping it in the sauce that accompanied my potstickers.

Most of the items we ate were average tasting, not above average or outstanding. I would not spend money here again. The menu items are good ideas and I like the theme they are going for, but it’s just not executed at the level I...

I expect that this will be the nicest meal I have on the island. Amy and her crew run a tight ship at this pop-up tasting menu only restaurant. The pre-fixe starts at $70/pp with a curated list of local seafood add-ons. Sit inside or out in an intimate setting. An excellent wine list accompanies the delicious and inventive cuisine. The staff is gregarious and well trained. Amy, who runs the place is a veteran of the restaurant business and really knows her stuff. We felt so welcome and appreciated. The menu changes every month or so, giving plenty of reasons to come back.

Okay, let's talk food. First course highlights: The scallop crudo is so fresh and delicate. It's a must try. Also stand out was the lobster carpaccio with fermented beans and fried garlic. I'm usually not a fan of lobster cold, but this dish was stunning. We also had some local stone crab claws to start with a kimchi aioli that were a delight.

Second course was smoke oysters and their octo-dog (🐙) which is a asian fusion send up of a classic hot dog. Patrice LOVED her oysters which were served under a still smoking cloche and topped with caviar. The octopus was cooked perfectly, but the the experience created some cognative dissonance for me because it really started tasting like hotdog!

Our third course was spectacular, Patrice had day boat grouper with braised sake braised beans in dashi. It was a hearty and sumptuous dish. I had the pan roasted snapper in a beurre blanc sauce that was TO DIE FOR. The plating really stood out here, both dishes were gorgeously presented.

To finish Patrice had their lovely cheese course and I had a tasty passion fruit sorbet...the perfect end to a...