That Little Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

That Little Restaurant 1749 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne, FL 32935

4.5- Stars

"BEST BISCUIT IN BREVARD"

I had to smile when I read the name blinking at me from my random name generator. There are not many good reasons to go OTB from an island boy's perspective. One of the best is the biscuits served at That Little Restaurant in the bristling urban metropolis known as Melbourne, FL. This little slice of paradise within paradise was opened in 1992 by Noreen Goldsmith. Since then, this little chow house has been THE gold standard for your basic fair-priced breakfast in South Brevard County going on 31 years now. Going out on a limb here, Noreen is onto something and is definitely doing a lot of things right. I have consumed ensilage here more than 50 times and have yet to walk away dissatisfied in the least.

As luck would have it, my waitress was Rosa today. Rosa has been here for 17 years and her smile is just as big and welcoming as it was over a decade ago. I've really had a big 3Q on waitstaff. Excellence all around with a few exclusions. If you haven't been to That Little Restaurant before, you should be made aware of a few quirks. Firstly, when there is no line, it's seat yourself, unless it's not. The person making this decision is the lady or gentleman strategically located in the center of the room between the two dining rooms. The other quirky thing about this excellent estaminet is the cashier. As with the lovely Rosa, she has also been here forever and a day. If you are expecting warmth, congeniality, or any human emotion, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a, "I hope everything was to your enjoyment, please come again" it just ain't happening. This is why, after encountering this robot of an individual the first few times, I leave cash on the table. That said, everything else here, and I do mean everything, is Dy-no-mite! Everyone is happy and cheerful and makes you feel welcomed like everyone belongs (cue...Kum ba yah).

Today, I asked Rosa for an order of the Taylor Ham & Eggs (after minutes of antagonizing anxiety over which of the many varieties of eggs to go with), hash browns, the aforementioned gold standard biscuit and a griddle cake.

Relaxing in the friendly atmosphere, I had to smile as a local; knowing this, this place was what The Space Coast was all about. There is nothing like feeling you are home when not home. Pulling me from my homespun ruminations, Rosa set my order down, asked if I needed anything else, flashed her award-winning smile, and skedaddled off to attend to her other tables. The journey has been a bit circumferanous, but we are finally at the crux of this review...the food.

Just direct your eyeballs to those pictures and look, I said look at that plate and Sweet Southern Nanny that biscuit! The ham was abundant, perfectly cooked and delicious, the eggs a perfect over-medium and the hash browns crunchy as directed by the line cooks of old. One bite of the biscuit and I knew they had done it again. This has to be the best biscuit ever to grace my gullet. By a mile. The pancake was made to order, grilled to a sublime perfection and a great accompaniment to the other grub in my order. Now, is this place going to win any James Beard awards? Most likely not. That being said, for fast, quality food at the fairest price in town:

Big Boy says, "If this joint were within a mile of my place, I would eat here three times a day and...

Definite shame that this restaurant is inconvenienced by a family looking to eat at/support a small, local business. I came into the restaurant today with my mother and twin one year olds (in a stroller). The waitress let out a loud, exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes when I politely requested two high chairs. She then proceeded to lecture me about fire safety regulations and why we should be at a booth but a table would also be fine if we chose? and staff would have to park the stroller elsewhere. I mentioned that was fine, I’d be happy to put the stroller wherever they’d like but she interrupted and proceeded to go on and on about fire regulations and how the stroller would be a problem to be in the walkway. I again asked where it would be easiest for us to sit and be out of the way. Might be worthwhile to add that there were maybe 3 occupied tables in the restaurant at that time and we’ve been to TLR with 6+ family members including the twins and were seated with zero issue in the past.

The waitress continued to talk in circles about booth vs table and being clear of walkways for safety reasons while we stood … in the middle of a walkway (seems like a safety hazard, if you ask me). We backed up and quietly walked out the restaurant. Meanwhile, multiple staff members must of caught wind of us leaving because they all filed outside, stood on the patio and stared at us loading my children into the car and leaving.

I’m going to go ahead and assume this waitress isn’t a mother and has never experienced how difficult it can be to take two small children to a restaurant to begin with.

If you’re looking for a family-friendly restaurant with polite wait staff -...

If I could give zero stars I would. I was hoping to relax and have a cup of coffee while waiting for my wife to finish up with her dentist across the street. I did not appreciate my 1-year-old daughter being addressed as "the baby can't go there" as if she is an object that is an inconvenience; I simply had her next to my table like any parent and allocated enough room for people to walk by. The coffee was given to me in a cup that had decorations peeling off of it and stuff floating above that didn't look like coffee grounds. I felt I was being stared at constantly because the place was filled with an older crowd, and I was being judged because of my piercings and tattoos. I felt looked down upon even though I had just completed my MS in Physics and was passing time studying physical chemistry. My wife came and was in pain from the dentist, so we decided not to eat there and I asked for the check, which was only a couple dollars. The waitress appeared unhappy about this and a different one had to ring up my bill. She came over and asked very loudly, "How much would you like to tip her? The bill is $2.47." I replied by saying "One dollar." She announced, "One dollar.. okay," and an older couple behind me reiterated "One dollar." while shaking their head in disappointment. After all that I told the ease-dropping couple to have a wonderful day and God Bless. But I surely will never eat at this place ever again. And I highly would not recommend it to others after the lack of professionalism and discretion this establishment...