Little Donkey is an absolute gem. We were there for first seating at 10:30 am on a Sunday. Glad we had a reservation since they were very busy and tables we blocked off by 11:20. Our dishes were delicious and came out pretty quickly. Someone at our table had a nut allergy and every dish was brought out with a clearance of the allergy so that incase she wanted to try other dishes, she knew what was safe. The salmon and Tuna Tartar is delicious, but unbelievably small and honestly not worth the $19. We ordered it to hold us over while waiting for friends who were running behind. It is bare 4 actual bites. We learned from our waiter that most of the items we initially wanted were tiny. This is a really cute spot with an open kitchen which is cool to look into, and the bar tender is great at creating new drink concoctions.
Christian G.
While their Resy profile says "Walk-ins welcome", don't kid yourself. We showed up at 6 pm (not really peak dinner hour) and it took 2 hours and 15 minutes for a table to come available. Not particularly walk-in friendly. It's fine to book solid, but remove "walk-ins welcome" from your promo pages if you really don't support walk-ins.
Nishant Kamat
Terrible food.Ordered 5 dishes. Every component of each dish was either burnt, too salty, bland, or overcooked. There are some cookbooks near the bar for decor, I hope they refer to them soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Siawosh Eskandari
High-end gastro pub esque vibes with super loud music and dim lighting (maybe I'm getting old) and honestly overpriced food that probably tastes a whole lot better with alcoholic beverages (salty, greasy). If you don't drink anymore though, for the price point, the food just didn't hit the spot, nothing really wowed our party of 2, and the flavour combinations and preparations weren't wowing. The foie gras was stringy/sinewy and tasted mostly of strawberry, the bacon wraps were mostly grease (great with a bit of a buzz I imagine, but otherwise not the best), the fried cauliflower was doused in sauce and not as crunchy as it could have been, and the burger tasted like a whole lot of fish sauce, umami.The servers and staff were absolutely great though, the kitchen thought along in terms of allergies, and the wait time for the dishes was pretty decent despite how busy it was. All in all, no rave review unfortunately. Would advise a ton of other places to go to in the Boston metro, especially at this price point.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
a
It was a cute spot, but the food was nothing out of the ordinary and a bit overpriced for what it is. For instance, the cacao e pepe was comparable to instant ramen. I’d strongly argue that a $1 pack of ramen would’ve been better, and I’m sure other dishes are better in general. Our server was lovely and attentive, that I wish I caught her name. I’d come back for the ambiance and good service, but otherwise, a bit lackluster.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Megan Y.
Came here for a work dinner and made a reservation a week in advance (super kind folks on the phone!). Ordered a bunch of dishes to try, but wasn't particularly wowed by anything and left feeling pretty sluggish. We tried the Parker house rolls, ricotta toast, empanada, tandoori beets, Kowloon cauliflower, Bangkok street noodles, mushroom fried rice, cacio e Pepe, and the profiteroles and brownie for dessert. The main issue with most of the dishes was the SALT. Almost everything was so salty we were wondering if it was something wrong with us. The beets and Parker house rolls were fine, but everything else was very sodium heavy. The cacio e pepe had good flavor, but the noodles were literally instant noodles, definitely not justifying the price. The dessert was great--I really enjoyed both the profiteroles and brownie, but that was about it. I wanted to like Little donkey so badly, but unfortunately they missed the mark for me.
Jaime J.
I stumbled upon this place because it's right across the street from a bar I frequent. The name intrigued me. Well, I'm lucky I gave it a shot. The service was fantastic from the host to the bartenders, bar back staff and the kitchen/server staff: great atmosphere and vibe: and the food. I will absolutely go back to try the many items I still want to taste! Make a reservation...it was packed!
Laura Ray
I was looking for a restaurant in Cambridge that has some vegan offerings. I had a look at the menu and saw they sell foie gras. I don’t understand why? It’s 2024. How can your restaurant condone the cruel practice of gavage in order to obtain a topping on a burger? This is the cruel practice of force feeding ducks and geese by putting a metal tube down their throats! Many times the tube punctures their esophagus! I also understand there has been some recent uproars outside your restaurant about this. Pardon me but I have to agree with them. Find another topping for your burgers. Stop supporting this cruelty. I’m taking my business somewhere else. And my friends will as well.
Tyler Devine
I was mistakenly recommended to look into having my family reunion get together here.All I needed to see is that they support force feeding geese and ducks with steel tubes stuffed down their throats for something so stupid as foie gras. It’s horrible and banned in lots of places for good reason.Get with the times, little donkey. The current pressure campaign will not be good for your business
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Suha L.
One of my new favorite places in Cambridge! This is a tapas-style restaurant so get ready to get a mix of dishes. Food: Bangkok street noodles noodles had so much flavor and it was a great mix of textures with the noodles and crunchy nuts. I loved the citrus addition from the lime 8/10. The wagyu beef cheek literally fell apart in my mouth. It was warm and welcoming but did get a little heavy toward the end because of the fatty parts 8.5/10. The tuna and salmon belly tartare was almost perfect. The actual fish was incredible and fresh but the crispy rice was stale to the point where it got stuck in my teeth. It could've been amazing but the rice is half of the dish 7.5/10. Crab cakes were recommended by our server very strongly but wasn't the best. the Crab cake flavors were off-putting bc of the creamy, tartare-like sauce and it tasted like they put giardinera in the actual crab cake 7/10. The scallops were delicious but the sauce was also a little too creamy for me. I wish there was more citrus to cut through the flavors 7.5/10. We ended with brownie ice cream which was solid but nothing crazy 7/10. Ambiance: Great vibes. It can be classy or casual depending on what you want. Our waiter was so kind and accidentally gave us free ice cream 8/10. Price: It was about $15-$25 per dish and it's a tapas place so you can very easily end up spending a lot. We spent about $115 for 5 dishes (not including tip/tax) and I was not that full. However, everything was very solid and good quality 7.5/10. Overall I would go again to try the different dishes! Everything was high quality and excited to try more.
Little Donkey is an absolute gem. We were there for first seating at 10:30 am on a Sunday. Glad we had a reservation since they were very busy and tables we blocked off by 11:20. Our dishes were delicious and came out pretty quickly. Someone at our table had a nut allergy and every dish was brought out with a clearance of the allergy so that incase she wanted to try other dishes, she knew what was safe. The salmon and Tuna Tartar is delicious, but unbelievably small and honestly not worth the $19. We ordered it to hold us over while waiting for friends who were running behind. It is bare 4 actual bites. We learned from our waiter that most of the items we initially wanted were tiny. This is a really cute spot with an open kitchen which is cool to look into, and the bar tender is great at creating new drink concoctions.
While their Resy profile says "Walk-ins welcome", don't kid yourself. We showed up at 6 pm (not really peak dinner hour) and it took 2 hours and 15 minutes for a table to come available. Not particularly walk-in friendly. It's fine to book solid, but remove "walk-ins welcome" from your promo pages if you really don't support walk-ins.
Terrible food.Ordered 5 dishes. Every component of each dish was either burnt, too salty, bland, or overcooked. There are some cookbooks near the bar for decor, I hope they refer to them soon.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
High-end gastro pub esque vibes with super loud music and dim lighting (maybe I'm getting old) and honestly overpriced food that probably tastes a whole lot better with alcoholic beverages (salty, greasy). If you don't drink anymore though, for the price point, the food just didn't hit the spot, nothing really wowed our party of 2, and the flavour combinations and preparations weren't wowing. The foie gras was stringy/sinewy and tasted mostly of strawberry, the bacon wraps were mostly grease (great with a bit of a buzz I imagine, but otherwise not the best), the fried cauliflower was doused in sauce and not as crunchy as it could have been, and the burger tasted like a whole lot of fish sauce, umami.The servers and staff were absolutely great though, the kitchen thought along in terms of allergies, and the wait time for the dishes was pretty decent despite how busy it was. All in all, no rave review unfortunately. Would advise a ton of other places to go to in the Boston metro, especially at this price point.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
It was a cute spot, but the food was nothing out of the ordinary and a bit overpriced for what it is. For instance, the cacao e pepe was comparable to instant ramen. I’d strongly argue that a $1 pack of ramen would’ve been better, and I’m sure other dishes are better in general. Our server was lovely and attentive, that I wish I caught her name. I’d come back for the ambiance and good service, but otherwise, a bit lackluster.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Came here for a work dinner and made a reservation a week in advance (super kind folks on the phone!). Ordered a bunch of dishes to try, but wasn't particularly wowed by anything and left feeling pretty sluggish. We tried the Parker house rolls, ricotta toast, empanada, tandoori beets, Kowloon cauliflower, Bangkok street noodles, mushroom fried rice, cacio e Pepe, and the profiteroles and brownie for dessert. The main issue with most of the dishes was the SALT. Almost everything was so salty we were wondering if it was something wrong with us. The beets and Parker house rolls were fine, but everything else was very sodium heavy. The cacio e pepe had good flavor, but the noodles were literally instant noodles, definitely not justifying the price. The dessert was great--I really enjoyed both the profiteroles and brownie, but that was about it. I wanted to like Little donkey so badly, but unfortunately they missed the mark for me.
I stumbled upon this place because it's right across the street from a bar I frequent. The name intrigued me. Well, I'm lucky I gave it a shot. The service was fantastic from the host to the bartenders, bar back staff and the kitchen/server staff: great atmosphere and vibe: and the food. I will absolutely go back to try the many items I still want to taste! Make a reservation...it was packed!
I was looking for a restaurant in Cambridge that has some vegan offerings. I had a look at the menu and saw they sell foie gras. I don’t understand why? It’s 2024. How can your restaurant condone the cruel practice of gavage in order to obtain a topping on a burger? This is the cruel practice of force feeding ducks and geese by putting a metal tube down their throats! Many times the tube punctures their esophagus! I also understand there has been some recent uproars outside your restaurant about this. Pardon me but I have to agree with them. Find another topping for your burgers. Stop supporting this cruelty. I’m taking my business somewhere else. And my friends will as well.
I was mistakenly recommended to look into having my family reunion get together here.All I needed to see is that they support force feeding geese and ducks with steel tubes stuffed down their throats for something so stupid as foie gras. It’s horrible and banned in lots of places for good reason.Get with the times, little donkey. The current pressure campaign will not be good for your business
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
One of my new favorite places in Cambridge! This is a tapas-style restaurant so get ready to get a mix of dishes. Food: Bangkok street noodles noodles had so much flavor and it was a great mix of textures with the noodles and crunchy nuts. I loved the citrus addition from the lime 8/10. The wagyu beef cheek literally fell apart in my mouth. It was warm and welcoming but did get a little heavy toward the end because of the fatty parts 8.5/10. The tuna and salmon belly tartare was almost perfect. The actual fish was incredible and fresh but the crispy rice was stale to the point where it got stuck in my teeth. It could've been amazing but the rice is half of the dish 7.5/10. Crab cakes were recommended by our server very strongly but wasn't the best. the Crab cake flavors were off-putting bc of the creamy, tartare-like sauce and it tasted like they put giardinera in the actual crab cake 7/10. The scallops were delicious but the sauce was also a little too creamy for me. I wish there was more citrus to cut through the flavors 7.5/10. We ended with brownie ice cream which was solid but nothing crazy 7/10. Ambiance: Great vibes. It can be classy or casual depending on what you want. Our waiter was so kind and accidentally gave us free ice cream 8/10. Price: It was about $15-$25 per dish and it's a tapas place so you can very easily end up spending a lot. We spent about $115 for 5 dishes (not including tip/tax) and I was not that full. However, everything was very solid and good quality 7.5/10. Overall I would go again to try the different dishes! Everything was high quality and excited to try more.
Restaurantji Recommends
Service was very confusing there were a lot of different people and some more helpful than most.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Portion sizes are too small for the price, I understand how high end restaurants justify their prices but in this case the food was very
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
I've only gotten pick up/take out but the food is great! Very easy to find. It is busy on the weekends so keep that in mind.
Awesome restaurant. I have dined at many top tier tapas establishments. They truly deserve this rating. Well done!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bangkok Street Noodles
Very average for the price. Def recommend other places like Bartaco in Brookline or even Felipes.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3