The Cambridge Restaurant Rush continues. I spent last weekend with some new friends and wasn’t able to get good info (future post coming… 😉 ).

I’d been eying Little Donkey since week 1. It did not disappoint in the least.

Little Donkey

Little Donkey is a global tapas restaurant in the heart of Central Square. It’s the brainchild of Jamie Bissonnette and Ken Oringer, two James Beard award winning chefs with passions for global cuisine. Both have extensive experience running award winning restaurants under their JK restaurant group. My tastebuds were in good hands for sure

Food

Little Donkey specializes in small plate dining. Their menu offers diners innovative dishes from every continent.

In traditional fashion, I started the meal out with oysters: Holbrook, Island Creek, Mookie Blue

They were disappointing. Although plump, the flavour was on the weak side, even slightly watery. I did appreciate the vinegar jelly 

Moving onto the raw bar, I wanted to try…. Everything. My budget constraint disagreed. The waiter recommended the hamachi crudo with umebushi bribe and pickled beech mushrooms. 

Absolutely phenomenal. The hamachi was fresh and perfectly sliced. It really picked up the slightly fruity salinity from the umebushi. The beech mushrooms were sweet and crisp. This provided a great flavour and textural contrast to complete the dish.

Keeping with the marine theme, last course was tamarind spiced banana leaf grilled bronzino for a taste of south east Asia.

Another overall very impressive dish. The bronzino was perfectly juicy and tender. I got hints of a pleasant herbal flavour from the banana leaf that paired well with the slight bitterness from the charred skin. The tamarind marinade was good- slightly tangy and pungent, but the flavour did not really penetrate the interior.  The dish definitely needed the spiced vinegar on the side. 

Note: The small plates are SMALL. Little Donkey is much friendlier on the waistline than on the wallet 😉

Service and Atmosphere 

Little Donkey has a great open, laid back atmosphere that balances out the elegance of the dishes it serves. The tavern like decour creates a “hidden gem” feel. The wait staff chatted with each other and patrons. Speaking of the waitstaff, service was phenomenal. They seemed genuinely happy and went above and beyond. One of the bar tenders actually made a custom cocktail for the couple sitting next to me: gin, lemon juice, ginger syrup. I’m stealing that. 

Overall impression

Overall, I really enjoyed Little Donkey. Although expensive, It’s the perfect spot for a date night, happy hour or even just going solo for a taste of the globe. 

I will definitely be trying out their sister restaurant, Toro.

That’s it for this week. I’ll be back soon!

• Dining