Little House Bistro
Update: The owners have moved the restaurant from Semmes to Midtown Mobile. It's now called Little House Midtown. I have gotten a chance to check out some of their food but not at the restaurant itself so I can not accurately judge the quality of the food. I have no plans on trying out Little House Midtown but that may change in the future.
Original Post: 4/15/11
A little restaurant with way too much ego. This place advertises itself as using local, farm fresh ingredients. While the food is decent, a number of other factors made for a bad experience..
I usually don't criticize drinks but I had to say something about this one. We got the usually spiel about coke products, sweet tea and then the waitress mentions pomegranate lemonade. I thought that would be a refreshing drink. Both my brother and I ordered it. When it got to our table, it looked like a regular lemonade with some grenadine poured over the top. There was NO pomegranate flavor and the lemonade was just too sour. It needed some sugar and some diluting. I wouldn't usually complain about the price either but it was $3. But what completely boggled my mind was the waitress said they charge full price for refills AFTER she automatically both our glasses one time. Who does that? However, she didn't charge us for the refill since we didn't know about that particular policy.
On to the soup of the day. The waitress described it as a tomato basil soup with tortellini. Both my brother and I ordered a cup. When it got to our table, the waitress pointed out the chef forgot the tortellini and he would be happy to make some if I still wanted it. Being not a fan of just basic tomato soup, I said if it's not too much trouble I would love some.
Apparently, "happy" was the waitress term for what the chef would be. When he was told I wanted the pasta, I could hear shouting in the kitchen over "damned" pasta. Mr. Chef, you do realize your restaurant is about only 900 square feet, there no door to the kitchen and your loud voice carries out to the dining room, right? About 5-7 minutes later, I hear from the kitchen "Viola, the best (again) damned tortellini you could get was ready." When it got to the table, I spooned some into my soup, took a bite and realize it was a little more than al dente and a little cold. It was a disappointing start to our meal.
I ordered the Hot Ham & Brie ($8.50) with a side of Deviled Egg Potato Salad as my entree. There was a good portion of ham on the croissant. However, there was also a lot of the fruit compote that goes on it. It made the entire sandwich really sweet. Also, unless they melted the Brie and slathered on the croissant itself.. it was nowhere to be seen.
As a side, I think it would have been a better choice if I went with the bag of Zapp's potato chips. The potato salad didn't really have any flavor.
My brother ordered the special of the day($12); baked red grouper with creole mayonnaise on a Kaiser roll. I have to say I had a bite and it was really good. The grouper was nice and flaky. I didn't taste any creole flavors though. However, when my brother took a second bite, he found a rather sizable bone. The discovery made him a little nervous about the rest of the sandwich. No one like choking on a fish bone.
As for the restaurant itself, the name says it all. I am standing in the farthest corner of the room and taking this picture to the left. That's about the size of the main dining room. There is another space I can see but it's not very large at at. The Little House Bistro is very quaint.
While the food was good, I thought it was way overpriced. The total for our lunch was $47 minus tip. For that amount, I could have dinner for two at a number of swanky downtown restaurants. Combine with the rude chef, this place is definitely not worth a second try. I am going to put this one in the "forgetable" stack and leave it there.
For more information the restaurant and a look at the menu, click here.
Original Post: 4/15/11
A little restaurant with way too much ego. This place advertises itself as using local, farm fresh ingredients. While the food is decent, a number of other factors made for a bad experience..
 |
| "Not so" Pomegranate Lemonade |
 |
| Tomato Basil Soup minus the Tortelli |
On to the soup of the day. The waitress described it as a tomato basil soup with tortellini. Both my brother and I ordered a cup. When it got to our table, the waitress pointed out the chef forgot the tortellini and he would be happy to make some if I still wanted it. Being not a fan of just basic tomato soup, I said if it's not too much trouble I would love some.
Apparently, "happy" was the waitress term for what the chef would be. When he was told I wanted the pasta, I could hear shouting in the kitchen over "damned" pasta. Mr. Chef, you do realize your restaurant is about only 900 square feet, there no door to the kitchen and your loud voice carries out to the dining room, right? About 5-7 minutes later, I hear from the kitchen "Viola, the best (again) damned tortellini you could get was ready." When it got to the table, I spooned some into my soup, took a bite and realize it was a little more than al dente and a little cold. It was a disappointing start to our meal.
 |
| Hot Ham & Brie |
As a side, I think it would have been a better choice if I went with the bag of Zapp's potato chips. The potato salad didn't really have any flavor.
While the food was good, I thought it was way overpriced. The total for our lunch was $47 minus tip. For that amount, I could have dinner for two at a number of swanky downtown restaurants. Combine with the rude chef, this place is definitely not worth a second try. I am going to put this one in the "forgetable" stack and leave it there.
For more information the restaurant and a look at the menu, click here.
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