Little Giant

The food was very good. A bit pricey. Service was friendly.
Nice atmosphere. Pretty quiet for the lower east side. Was a bit too warm. Even with the windows open there wasn’t much cross breeze.
We ordered pork belly (yum), watermelon salad (yum), trout (ok), figgy piggy (yum).
I didn’t think the toffee dessert was very good.

We live in the neighborhood and have been eating at LG since they opened. Over the years it has come to be our favorite restaurant, not just because the food — and drinks! — are across-​the-​board delicious, brilliant, inventive, and because the room is homey and cheerful and perfect, but because the staff is so unbelievably warm, kind, wonderful, and hilarious. Every time we eat there, someone — the bartender, a waiter, or the amazing owner/​chef, Tasha — remembers us and comes to say hello, or sends over some deviled eggs on the house, and generally makes us feel happy, relaxed, welcome. We have two little kids and we bring them to LG all the time (they love it), and the staff is so sweet to them (not always the case in Manhattan).
In short, a wonderful place for every occasion: family brunch in your pajamas, romantic dinner, late-​night post-​movie snack and drink, early evening cocktails with friends.
Every single thing on the menu is amazing, but I especially love: the truffles egg salad, the grits (at brunch), biscuits, bacon, French toast (best in the world), various seasonal pasta dishes, pork chops, short ribs, and deviled eggs.
Go!

**CUTE BRUNCH & LUNCH PLACE IN LES**
Cute ambiance.
Somewhat friendly service.
You just have to smile and be nice.
ORDERED:
*DEVILED EGGS ($ 6) — Perfect.
*BUTTERMILK BISCUIT WITH HONEY BUTTER ($ 5) — A $ 5 biscuit? Was it worth it? The honey butter was. Not so much the biscuit.
*MAC AND CHEESE ($ 7) — Cavatelli pasta, grafton aged cheddar & grana padano were delicious. Tasty, creamy, and well-​balanced in flavors.
*GRILLED CHEESE ($ 14) — Truffled grilled cheese on sullivan street filone, tallegio & gruyère cheese and black truffle oil was AWESOME. Enjoyed the bread and gourmet cheese combo.
I also ordered home made yogurt with bananas and granola which tasted fresh, but nothing spectacular.
We sat at the window with comfortable seats and pillows.
Great place to dine with a small group of friends.
RECOMMEND.

We were trying to get seats at Barrio Chino across the street but it was jammed packed with a wait of 20 – 30 minutes. While waiting we decided to grab drinks at Little Giant and after going through their menu we decided to stay and forgo dinner at Barrio Chino altogether.
The girl tending the bar was friendly. C ordered a beer on tap and I opted for a glass of wine before our food was brought over. We decided to order and share a few of their small plates since we weren’t too hungry. None of their dishes were mind-​blowing but we made do and thought it was worth checking out. It was warm and somewhat muggy that evening so I loved the large opened windows at the front of the restaurant. It seemed everyone was out and about roaming the neighborhood which made for great people watching.

Was supposed to come for brunch but came late so it became lunch :(Wanted to get the baked french toast but they were out so I went w/​my alternative — the trucker’s breakfast. The texas toast was delicious — soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside. If you mess up eggs, that’s a sad fail. The mushrooms & sausage were delicious. I’m not sure if I had bacon in my breakfast though…
My friend ordered the pork belly benedict. I had a bite of hers & wow, was I blown away. I’m not always crazy about fat, fat, fat but damn, I’d eat that fatty pork belly any day!
The peach nectar bellini was delicious — not overly sweet or crazily filled w/​alcohol.
The décor of the place is nice. Good for groups & good for loungy lazy Sundays :)

There’s something about really friendly and attentive service that makes me enjoy my food even more. Our waitress was so nice, and the other waiter dude kept pouring water for us. Maybe it’s because we had brunch at 2:30pm so it wasn’t crowded.
To start, we had the little mac n cheese. I don’t even like m&c and I liked this. We were offered bacon on top, which was a good call. The hash browns weren’t what we expected, I wish it was more… hashy.
My Pork Belly Benedict was right on. Juicy fat fat fat fat fat melting in my mouth. Obviously, I’m going to the gym after this.
You can really taste the freshness of their produce.

My friends and I were a bit peeved by the fact that they opened almost an hour late for Saturday breakfast/​brunch (apparently someone they couldn’t get by without slept in and forgot to come to work), constantly wondering whether the wait would be worth it or if we should just cross the street to patronize an establishment that actually opened when they said they would.
But once the doors opened, we were quickly seated with an apology and a smile, and served one of the more hearty and satisfying brunches I’ve had in a while. To say that the pieces of pork belly you get are generous is definitely an understatement, as they were a perfect way to satisfy my burning desire to eat something fatty and decadent before noon. The shrimp and grits were also pleasantly savoury and well done, and the trucker’s breakfast looked like a marvelous way for anyone to be sent into a food coma.
I thought the «famous» buttermilk-​chive biscuits were delicious, but still fell short of the fantastically soft and melting tenderness of my still-​favourite biscuits at La Laiterie in Providence.
All in all, a really good brunch with satisfying dishes. But if next time we go and you make us wait again, I’m just headed across the street to 88 Orchard.

Little place, great food. Everything is very fresh. I’d like to go back again.

I had dinner at Little Giant on a Friday night with a few friends… we arrived early and due to the tiny space we were placed at the bar, which was fine while waiting for our friends to get there. I ordered a dirty martini and it was quite good… of course, I asked for EXTRA olives :). We sat down in the corner of the restaurant (there was 4 of us). We got to ordering and apparently didn’t stop.
We ordered:
— the deviled eggs
— summer salad
— pork belly
— biscuit w chives & honey butter
— bread with chive butter (different than the biscuit)
These were all appetizers. The deviled eggs we definitely could have done without. They were definitely good, but by no means excellent. My friend LOVED the pork belly, but since I am not a huge fan of pork, I didn’t really take to it that much. It was tender and juicy though.
The bread with the chive butter was awesome– again… I am sucker for carbs and the buiscuit, was well, its famous right? The biscuit was a massively large piece of deliciousness…
The summer salad was definitely not worth the $$ and was unforgettable.
I ordered the trout. It was very good. A little on the salty side, but very tasty and good. It was topped off with a little olive oil, potatoes, capers and some other vegetable that I cannot place.
My friends ordered the spaghetinni, the pollock and the special of the day. Everything was good– again a little salty… but yummy.
I guess I would go back– maybe next time for brunch?

Came here for brunch after being recommended by numerous sources. It’s a good-​looking, inviting brunch place on the outskirts of the Lower East Side. We came in around 3 pm on a Sunday and there was no wait.
I had a Bloody Mary, a Mimosa, and Biscuits and Gravy. The Biscuits and Gravy were ok. The Bloody Mary was delicious, thanks to the horseradish, but got worse near the bottom of the drink. The mimosa was amazing. My girlfriend had French Toast, which was absolutely incredible. It had banana and walnut that made it spectacular.

Cute little restaurant with only a few tables. It had a nice bar and good drinks (I had the gem royale). I started with the razor clams, which were different — and a little too chewy, and the pollock, which was very good. My friends had the asparagus salad, the deviled eggs, and the organic chicken. My friends loved their meals. I enjoyed mine but was a little less enthralled than my friends. It definitely has potential though so I would go back again.

I read the fantastic reviews before going to Little Giant and also took a peek at the menu. I was so psyched
Until we set down and saw a menu that was very different from the one I looked at a week ago.
So turns out, the chef at Little Giant has changed. Wow, what a difference. I hate to disagree with all the stellar comments on Unilocal but honestly, this place was just so-​so. There was nothing that appealing or exciting about the menu…

I have loved this restaurant in the past. The food is light and delicious, and the setting cozy and charming. However, on 2 recent visits, the wonderful food and ambience have been ruined by rude treatment from the staff.
Last night, I arrived around 6 with friends. The restaurant was empty. We asked for a table for a quick drink. We were told in a cold and unwelcoming manner by the hostess that the restaurant was booked solid and it would be impossible to seat us, even for 30 minutes. The bar was our only option.
We sat at the bar for an hour. The drinks and food were excellent as always. But by the time we left, the restaurant was still half empty. The hostess who had rudely refused to seat us never got over her attitude. My daughter, about the same age as the hostess, was furious and said that she would never return.
This evening came on the heels of another evening during which our waitress was relentless flip and saracastic.
Little Giant, you have a treasure of a restaurant. Get it together and hire some friendly, welcoming, professional staff.

Little Giant is a charming resto that has the workings of the perfect neighborhood restaurant: intimate, comfortable space, seasonal menu and compact but thoughtful beverage list. It also helps that its located on cute Orchard st. which has an eclectic mix of stores from coffeehouses, boutiques and specialty gift stores.
Our server greeteded us warmly at the door and was attentive throughout the meal. She was honest about the small servings, so I made sure to order a side with my entrée. I easily picked out the TRUFFLE mushroom and asparagus salad from the menu while the bf had the organic burger. As expected, my salad was divine! roasted oyster mushrooms and fresh asparagus and arugula, torn pieces of pan fried bread, a nicely poached egg and truffle oil. Simply elegant.
I should’ve taken a picture of the cross-​section of the burger, it was a juicy lucy! The potato bun was thin but didn’t fall apart when the bf was wolfing down the burger. I wish they served this with regular fries instead of chips though.
Our server recommended the Mac n Cheese. Boy, she wasn’t kidding when she said it was delicious! Pasta tubes done al dente, with creamy cheese coating everything. I liked the texture contrast from the toasted bread crumbs on top and some chopped herbs to lighten up the dish. This was so comforting, it reminded me of a shearling slipper — warm, fuzzy and most likely to be chewed by your dog. ;-)
It’s a good thing we decided to skip dessert, because the Roasting Plant coffee company is a short walk away and they serve the BEST chocolate chip cookie on this side of town.
Little Giant serves up good comfort food in the lower East side so make sure to stop by for some belly filling eats.

After three visits, Little Giant is just a frustrating restaurant.
The dining room in intimate and cozy.
The menu sounds great.
And some of the menu items are actually quite good.
But the service is always scattered and uninterested. The people who work here just do not care and it is apparent throughout a meal.
And sometimes you get a piece of pork belly for brunch that appears to have been left over from last night’s dinner service. And when you ask about it, they say it is from a different part of the belly. Oh yeah? Which part, the dry and hard second belly?
And they have the selfish, unfriendly and random policy of accepting credit cards at some meals, but not others. You go to a restaurant to spend time with your dining companions, not sit at your table alone while the other has to go track down an ATM. For a restaurant of this «caliber» (read: price point), that’s not acceptable, to me at least.
Little Giant occupies a corner on one of my favorite blocks and they possess a great space. I just wish something more deserving called this space home.
(Ooh, I love it! For the Unilocal survey question: «Accepts Credit Cards?» I can answer, «Not sure» since ownership doesn’t appear sure either.)

A group of us went to Little Giant today for brunch. A friend of ours was visiting from Boston, so we thought we’d venture out into the LES for some nosh.
Now, I have the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I know. Whenever I go to brunch, I usually order the sweetest and most decadent item on the menu. As I opened up our menus, my eyes automatically focused in on the baked french toast. Decision made. Done.
Or was it? A few seconds later, our waitress came over and asked us what we wanted to drink and also dropped the bomb… there was no french toast. It’s 11:45 on a Sunday — and out of the 12 items they had on their menu… they ran out of 1. Really? How do you run out of french toast?
Already feeling defeated, i decided to go with the duck confit BLaT (bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato). Mr. Sarina H had the infamous biscuit & gravy. Our friend ordered the pig in a poke which consisted of grits, poached eggs and andouille sausage (which she substituted with beans).
All entrees were good, but nothing very special. Hubby and I both noticed the super dry biscuit that couldn’t be salvaged with any amount of gravy. The eggs were overdone. My duck confit sandwich was tasty but difficult to eat. The bun was too hard to be able to keep inside the duck, bacon, lettuce and tomato — so each bite would cause everything to spill out. Store bought chips served on the side didn’t help the cause. Our friend liked the pig in a poke, but mainly for the grits.
Service, well… was a little lackluster. We didn’t see our waitress really after we placed our order and after she dropped off a check at our table meant for another table while we were waiting for our meal. a refill of water could have also been nice. It seemed like they were really rushing to turn the tables.
Overall — not worth the fare. We won’t be back.

Great find in NY! Our friends who live in the neighborhood and used to own a restaurant, recommended Little Giant.
We’re big fans. Excellent, friendly-​but-​professional service. No wait. Easy seating (we made reservations but didn’t need them at 7:00p) on a Weds.
Only two slight mis-​steps. One was that the plate carrying our entrée of the most amazing pork chop I’ve ever tasted, was on the cool side. Unfortunately the cool plate managed to cool the polenta down to room temperature by the time it was served to us. Not a big deal, but something that made it ever so slightly less than perfect. Also it was a long wait for desert. However, our server noticed it and brought each us an unsolicited glass of port with her apology for the delay.
The pickles are actually pickled veggies that are just slightly sweet and still have a gentle crispness to them. They are served in a mini– canning jar like one’s grandmother might have used. Really feels homemade.
The pâté was out of this world! My husband is from Russia, loves pâté, and said, this IS a quote, «This is the only pâté I’ve ever had that is better than my grandmother’s.» That’s big! It was a silky smooth texture and the full crock was sprinkled with flaky salt & tiny bits of chives. It was served with Artisinal toast points that had been grilled on a flat griddle, not toasted. It was slightly carmelized and super soft still. The pâté was accompanied by gently sweet fig chutney, toasted hazelnut halves, and lightly dressed dandelion salad. It was PERFECT. We both loved it.
Next we had a sizzling dish of mac & cheese that was delicious and a huge, crunchy on the outside, moist and somehow a little crumbly at the same time, fresh baked biscuit served with honey butter. I was in heaven. I don’t care for honey-​butter, but this concoction was perfectly balanced with both a hint of salt and a hint of sweetness.
We shared the milk-​braised pork chop for dinner. It was tender, moist, and perfectly seasoned. My husband could not resist picking up the bone and getting the last bits!
We finished with a meyer lemon ricotta fritter served with lemon curd.
We walked home with smiles on our faces and a new favorite, local neighborhood restaurant!
We recommend it!

I’m upping my rating to 5 stars. Had a spiritual meal this evening, and the service was stellar.
The chicken liver mouse was to DIE for. I had a kobe beef dish that was mouthwatering. My compatriots had the pork chop and scallop dishes, both of which were flawlessly prepared and tasty (although I didn’t taste the scallops because I’m allergic and they make me hurl — but I trust my dinner companion’s assessment).
Anything less than four stars here just means you had your tastebuds extracted.
GO HOME.

Stopped in here for their Craft Beer week dinner after hearing some good things. We sat outside, which is always pleasant and in this neighborhood excellent for people-​watching, but that’s really where anything particularly enjoyable ended.
As soon as we told the waitress we were doing the special it was as if she went into auto pilot mode, plunking down beers and dishes with great speed and not in any way telling us what we were being served when or why.
The beers were nice, I wish I could say what they were, but my memory simply isn’t photographic enough to recall from the glance I took at the menu.
Similarly, the food was… nice. The soft pretzels had a hint of orange to them, and the fish spread was good. I could see eating this for brunch, it felt breakfasty. Next, the main course was beef and came with a polenta-​y thing and kale. I wish I knew more what I had eaten, but well… it was dark, and again, no descriptions. Lastly — dessert. This was quite tasty… some sort of mocha mousse like concoction. I sure would eat it again if I knew what it was.
Really I have no complaints about any of the food, but it just wasn’t spectacular enough to make up for the prices here or the quality of the service. There are better places to eat in this city, and I intend to find them.

Unexpected:
Beet bloody marys. Smooth.
Cash only; ATM around the corner.
Good:
Cute place.
Casual fun atmosphere.
Cool servers.
Farm-​freshy comfort food dishes.
Bad:
Inconsistent portion size. Table next to us had an entrée tuna salad that was like 3 bites.
Inconsistent execution. Poached eggs w/​grits and sausage had one yolk runny n yummy; the other hard and dry.

Yes this place is little, but it is really good. The menu is a nice size, not too overwhelming and with options for almost everyone. I don’t eat red meat all that much, but I settled on some type of steak dish and it was amazing, full of flavor and seasoned perfectly. I didn’t think the tables were too close together by NYC standards and they had a nice outdoor area set up for the summer.
I read some of the «complaints» below and I see a lot of sour grapes. If you get an occasional bitchy waiter or hostess on the LES, give them a break — just think about the percentage of idiots they have to deal with especially on the weekends. I was waiting for someone and the bartender was totally cool and just served me water while I waited, the hostess was nice and the waitress was as well. No issues with the service at all, it was really good.
It is a small place, make a reservation with Open Table and don’t just expect to walk in. I had dinner, but the lunch menu looks even better. It’s also in a nice spot on the LES and with the windows to the street you can easily engage in some hipster watching (and laughing) while you are eating.