The Little Owl

Saturday night I finally got to have dinner at The Little Owl and it was WELL WORTH THE WAIT (it's tough getting a reservation since there are so few tables and the place has been getting a lot of buzz.

We arrived for our reservation at 9pm but had to wait about 15 minutes for our table. Sadly, the bar was full (it only has 4 seats) so we had to wait outside. I had seen people waiting outside before, always sitting on the bench enjoying a glass of wine. The owners must have been reprimanded about this since we were told they couldn't serve wine outside any longer. Boo!

When we were seated it turned out we were put next to a hen party. And then more women arrived and squeezed in. This I WAS NOT HAVING. I spoke to the manager and he immediatedly apologized, telling us there were not supposed to be that many people at the table, and that he would move us as soon as another table opened (which he promptly did!)

After all of this drama ended and the food started coming, we knew we were in for a real treat! First up, the grilled scallop appetizer. Since we had said we were splitting the apps, the chef took the liberty of splitting the plate for us in the kitchen (a touch that I really like). Each of us had one large scallop (that was I think about THE BEST scallop I've ever had!) grilled to perfection and sitting on top of a little summer salad - some frizee, grapefruit etc.). Next up, one of the house signature dishes - the gravy meatball sliders. Each slider in the the order of 3 was a beef, pork & veal meatball sitting inside of a delicate pecorino encrusted miniature roll. These were HEAVEN! Finally, to make up for the problem with the table, the manager unexpectedly sent us over his favorite appetizer - the ricotta cavatelli. This one turned out to be our favorite of the 3 - it was small ricotta filled pasta in a spicy tomato sauce with fava beans and chucks of thick cut bacon. Simply AMAZING!

Moving on to the main courses, I had the roasted halibut which was served on a bed of mashed with lemon creme fraiche. This was a gorgeous piece of fish prepared to perfection. The Lady has her usual steak, which had grilled raddicio and pancetta on top in a thick balsamic sauce. The steak was very big and the Lady said she really liked it (in fact, she made the effort to take the 1/2 she couldn't finish home!). I only tried the sauce but that alone was savory.

Sadly, we were so full we couldn't manage to order desert. All I can say though is on my next visit I will DEFINITELY will be saving room. The table next to us ordered the raspberry filled beignets that had a puddle of warm chocolate on the side to dip them in. They looked just sinful!

I would say RUN, don't walk to the Little Owl! The food is prepared with care and the space is a warm Village alernative to all of the monstrosities that are popping up everywhere. It's going to be a great space in the Fall with it's big windows overlooking one of the cutest corners in the West Village (Bedford & Grove - in the first floors of the Friend's building). Thanks to Gabe and all of his staff for making this a truly special dining experience!