Little Beast Cafe & Bistro — Restaurant in Washington

Cuteness All-Around Little Beast is one of the cutest places in the Washington DC area. They didn’t stop at the logo, and you can find cute little monsters all over the restaurant. They get 5 NOMs just for all the adorable things (without going overboard). Plus, their outdoor sitting area made for a great first Little Beast brunch experience. It almost feels like the Nomster might have some competition in town!

Breakfast Pizza (6/5 NOMs) Look at this beautiful white sauce breakfast pizza. With one bite it became one of our favorites from the Little Beast menu. Their menu has several other pizzas, but at brunch, the eggs are a must. It was a perfect combination of bechamel (the white sauce) with two kinds of cheese (ricotta and mozzarella), caramelized onions, bacon, and two sunny-side-up eggs. The runny yolk pushed this great dish to perfection. It was a pretty good price for such a good pizza too, at $16. While we ordered it as a sharing dish, I can see myself eating it all on my own. Stay away from my breakfast pizza, or I’ll bite you!

Croque Madame (5/5 NOMs) Croque Madame combines two of our favorite things; breakfast, and sandwiches. At Little Beast, they combine to create a perfect brunch dish. This is a must-order dish for cheese lovers, with a great combination of Gruyere and bechamel sauce, which is the same white sauce that goes on their pizza. Cut right through those multiple layers of ham and turkey, combined with cheesy goodness and perfectly runny yolk. That’s how you make an utterly delicious brunch dish. Not to mention the home fries, which were absolutely were on point. For brunch, the $15 price is pretty reasonable for such a tasty meal, which includes an extra $1 to make it “madame”.

Fried Chicken Sandwich (4/5 NOMs) Nothing says “perfect addition” for brunch drinkies like a Fried Chicken Sandwich at Little Beast. This one dish is packing so many nomnom things into one bite! Fried chicken thigh, bacon, a thick piece of melted cheddar, spicy slaw, all topped with a perfectly runny egg. It’s a good thing we are no strangers to eating huge items, or else we would need to unhinge our jaw for this big boy!

Bloody Marry (4/5 NOMs) There is no such thing as brunch without a little alcohol, especially your standard Bloody Maries and Mimosas. A breakfast drink like this hits the spot just right. Just like all the dishes, these drinks look great, and we couldn’t wait to get...

Let me start by saying that my wife and I have had many great experiences at Little Beast. Great service, great food.

That did not happen this past Friday night. We arrived about 5:15 or so with our 4 year old and asked to sit outside, which was about a quarter full. We were told they were all reserved. Ok, sure, then we'll eat inside. We were put at a table inside and asked if we would like a booster seat and we said yes. As we sat down, we noticed we were 1 of 3 tables sat inside, all next to each other, all in the middle of the dining room, all with young kids. So many questions. No booster seat.

After about 5 minutes, a young guy came by and dropped off waters. We said hi to him, no response. Just walked off. So we looked at the menu and sat. And watched. The restaurant was fairly empty, and servers were milling about, but not looking particularly harried. Couple of them looked at us. Then looked away. So we waited. Still no booster seat.

After 10 more minutes of sitting there watching people not help us, or even just say, "Hi," or "We'll be right with you," anything really, we got up and left. That same young man that dropped off the waters held the door open and the host and another server just watched us leave. No one said anything. It was super weird.

All in all, one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a restaurant and I've been to Farmers & Distillers. I guess I'm happy we didn't pay for anything. I'm giving 3 stars for all our previous good experiences and good food, and super hopeful this was a...

I loved this place. A friend introduced it to me and I'm glad I went to try it with him! Ordered the Red Wing Pizza and he ordered the Red Wine Braised Short Rib and both were really delicious. I have zero negative things to say about the food we ordered. Both dishes fully satiated us.

The Red Wing Pizza had a deep dish, thicker crust and a thin layer of sauce and cheese on top, with additional spices. Molto bene!

The Red Wine Braised Short Rib was great, too. My friend thought the meat was too dry for his taste, but I tried it and thought it was great: tender beef without excessive oil. The dish also included a surprisingly great side of brussels sprouts and cornmeal (looks like mashed potatoes in the included picture). Overall, great dish.

The place, when we went, was sparse (a little after dinner rush on a Monday night) and had plenty of small, open tables inside, with more outside. Wait staff was attentive enough, not overly so, but checked in throughout dinner. I also asked about the brussels sprouts and the waiter got to share their thoughts on how it's cooked and what they liked about it. Nice experience and service, overall.

We found street parking a short block away.

The Short Rib was $25 and the Red Wing Pizza was $20. Priced on the higher end, but worth it, in our opinion! I'd recommend both dishes!

5/5...