Little Giant

04/28/09

I wanted to like it, really I did

by metropolitanmama

I wanted to like Little Giant. Really, I did. Every time my husband and I walked by, it was packed to the rafters. So when date night rolled around I suggested we go. Boy, was I sorry. First they tried to put us at a table a deux where the front door bumped one of the seats in the back every time the door opened. After we said we'd wait for another table, we went to the bar. The bartender was rude. First he told us "Hang on." After asking us if we wanted a drink we asked for the drinks menu which we could see the other bar patrons had. He tossed it on the bar, and was very sullen about the whole affair. We were finally seated at a chilly table under the air conditioner and next to the bartender's pounding of the espresso machine equipment. My husband wasn't wild about it, but with the babysitter meter running we couldn't wait for a third table. We ordered 2 apps, 2 mains and a side. Mussels and dandelion salad to start. Mussels arrived, no sign of the salad and we had to ask for it. It arrived a couple of minutes later, with no sign of the preserved lemon or pine nuts as promised on the menu. Next came the mains--my scallops and the pollock. Too bad my husband had ordered the pork, not the pollock. Wait person apologized for the "misunderstanding" and the pork was to be delivered. Meanwhile, everything about the scallops was cold. While cooked and prepared in an attractive fashion, it was all ice cold. There are no heat lamps and the lag time between the apps and the mains was considerable. While I'm sure the scallops were probably delicious when first prepared, I had to wait to so long for them they were not good when they arrived. I was 75% finished with my meal by the time the pork arrived. While the pork was hot, the grains and olives underneath were cold. Check, please. No offer of dessert or drinks taken off the bill. Terrible service, and while the food was nice in theory and ingredients it was ill prepared and delivered too late. For $120+ we could have gone somewhere like Union Square Cafe and had a great meal. I got the sense that the kitchen was playing at being a restaurant and the waitstaff couldn't care less. A visit both first time and last. Don't waste your money here.

• Pros: hipster location
• Cons: everything else

03/09/09

A new casual favorite place!

by smclark525

Great food. We were early for our dinner so the very friendly hostess offered us a table right away. It was tiny and it would be hard for 3 people to fit so she asked me to check first and if I didn't like it we could wait for another table. That was great! So many places try to shove you into whatever is available just to get you seated. We were 3 people. Had the mousse which was delicious as was the beet salad. For diner we had the swine of the week, the short ribs and the scallops. All 3 were perfect. Ordered a side of mac & cheese. YUM. As for the biscuit- I don't think it was a $5 biscuit . I had very high expectations for a roll. The desserts were great. We had the sticky toffee pudding and the milk & cookies. Get the pudding! It's great. I would go back again and again. I might hope for a different waitress as ours seemed a bit tearse. She was efficient just not super enjoyable company. She could have been nicer.

01/06/09

not a big fan

by foodie3462

I was here in October ,maybe, so hopefully the menu has changed since then. The restaurant itself is beautiful to look, that's probably the only redeeming quality. The chicken liver mousse was bland and boring, I had the duck confit...asked the server about it and was sorry to hear that they don't have a real kitchen..leading me to think that they must buy a whole lot of their menu pre-cooked. I didn't really get the 'world famous biscuit', and was wondering how they marketed that. It's too bad that neighborhood restaurants these days are surviving on just that, being accessible. It's like take out chinese, but without the fortune cookie.

• Pros: nice bathroom, great music
• Cons: food

05/21/08

Horrible Service

by shadylady6

Held a client dinner on a Monday night and experienced the worst service ever!

The bartender and waiter were very snotty when serving us; we were literally ignored for the first 30 minutes of our stay. This may have been because we were a few minutes late but the restaurant was empty and we apologized profusely.

Our clients flew in from Phoenix and could not believe the attitude given to our friendly bunch.

Also, the venue needs to improve on the ventilation...we left smelling like food.

This place had to be really bad because my boss has NEVER asked me to write negative review.

Thumbs Down

• Pros: food
• Cons: service

02/09/08

short rib was delcious as well as the scallops, waitress was the stupidest person i have ever met

by chcor70

food was pretty good. spinach dip tasted like it came out of the microwave. short rib was really good, brussel sprouts were good. i dont understand, if you cover something in maple syrup how could it not be good? potato side and biscuit were good.

notice nothing was outstanding.

waitress was either retarded or it was her first day. there was one other couple in the restaurant and she handed us one menu and said please share thats all i have. i asked her what she was going to do when more people walked in, her response, "oh wow i hadn't thought about that." Forget asking for recommendations as far as wine paring's go. i got the "the reds are good" response. overall i don't think it lived up to the hype at all.

notice how all the amazing reviews below are posted multiple times by a person who has only reviewed little giant..sounds fishy to me.

wouldn't go there again, but not bad enough to be blasted.

• Pros: short rib, gelato
• Cons: service, ikea interior,

12/18/07

tacky

by sergebecks

We were really disappointed by Little Giant. My fish was cold and Becky's pork was a) over cooked and b) tasteless. Not appetizing and I am not at all exaggerating when I say that my hand started cramping when I tried to help cut it.

At first sight, the corner location had some charm, but I was unimpressed by the drafty space and the poor food. The dessert was quite possibly the worst we've had in the city.

As for the service --it was "tacky." When your menu's entrees are $36+, you shouldn't come around to the table every 5 minutes while people are still actively eating. The waitress had a "Huh?" look on her face when we asked for an opinion on things like wine pairing.

I am a bit surprised the positive reviews. The crowd was college-age and I suppose it's kind of a "training wheels nice restaurant" for NYU students?

11/26/07

Mean owners, mediocre service, horrible food

by shorstnyc

The two female owners of this place are always there, not to make sure service is up to parr, but rather to roll their eyes when diners make comments. Serivce was ok, certainly not outstanding. Food was oversalted, menu is trying too hard to be unique when the sausage/mustard is really just sausage and mustard with some sugar and spices. Bathroom is DISGUSTING...they say you should never eat at a restaurant with a dirty bathroom. Drinks are ridiculous...too many ingredients that don't mix well together. Kitchen is visible from the dining area and if you choose to eat here, you'll be entertained by watching the "professional chefs" sample your food with their bare hands. Also, I live in this neighborhood and the poor cleaning staff schleps linens from the restaurant to the local laundramat where they wash your napkins with other people's underwear. EWWW!

• Pros: Lots of glass to people watch
• Cons: Everything else

09/25/07

Finally got to try it

by lynndaw

I've lived in New York for eight years and FINALLY went to the Tenement Museum across the street from Little Giant. I had an hour before my tour, so I thought I would finally pop my head in to eat here. The windows were open, which was great as it was a beautiful day to people-watch. The server (who seemed to be in the place by herself) was pleasant and attentive. My only complaint was that my entree fork was dirty. I'd put it toward the other side of the table for removal (hoping she would see the caked on-something) but it was never removed.

I ordered the shrimp and grits. I hadn't expected such a generous portion, and the ratio of grits to shrimp seemed off. Three medium sized shrimp (not prawns) and an over abundance of grits. The dish was tasty, with the grits having more texture than I'm used to with grits, but it was a good thing. I observed a few women having salads, which seemed to be a more appropriate serving for lunch.

I would give it another try if in the neighborhood.

• Pros: quickly seated during lunch, friendly service
• Cons: dirty entree fork

07/01/07

Resist.

by sarahdoubleu

Love the neighborhood but find this place unbearably fussy given the bland and expensive entrees. The meat is kind of sinewy (very "ewy'!) . The wine by the glass was poured short and they charge for coffee refills --very tacky. Overall cheap vibe with some sort of IKEA-at-night decor. My boyfriend lived near Little Giant so we went a few times, hoping it might redeem itself. However, it was consitantly sub-par. Its overpriced and tasteless. There's also a ventilation issue w the bathroom. Ok, that's enough of a reason to not go.

• Pros: ,,,,
• Cons: vent issue

06/28/07

Great chicken liver pate

by spicy_tuna

Went here for my boyfriend's birthday, somewhat nervous after reading a few of the reviews here, and had a great time. The atmosphere was just what we were looking for: lively, cozy. It's on a lower east side corner with big glass windows. We had the "chokes and dip" and chicken liver pate for starters. Both excellent and came out of the kitchen pretty quickly. We did have a 7:30 reservation which probably helped because the restaurant wasn't packed when we came in, but the by the time we left it was totally full. I had the scallops with a spring pea puree for my entree, and my boyfriend had the seafood melange, a big bowl of shrimp and mollusks.

It seemed like it might've been our waitress's first night because she had trouble answering a lot of my questions about the wine list and even about one of the entrees. But she was eager to help and brought me lots of little wine samples to help me make my selection.

It's standard Manhattan prices. Our whole tab, for two starters, two entrees, AND a bottle of wine came to $100 (not including tip). I highly recommend it and will probably go back. Love the location, the food, and the atmosphere.