This place has inspired my first ever Yelp review. I've lived in Cambridge for years and been to all the good spots - and there are many - but Little Donkey nailed it enough to draw a proper review. They have an unbelievably creative menu that comes together so well, covering an eclectic range of dishes. We ordered: - lamb bacon lettuce wraps that were unreal - grilled avocado which was masterful - fried chicken sandwich with avocado ranch sauce and papaya slaw that was a complete flavor bomb - and even more dishes that each impressed more than the last. Oh and did I mention they have an awesome raw bar? We also ate at the bar so also got to experience some of the best drinks and service I've experienced anywhere, Boston or otherwise. Finally a special hat tip to Emma and Dan who served us impeccably and were absolutely top notch! read more

I had a fabulous dining experience with my fiance celebrating our 4 year anniversary. The server (Jacquelyn) was amazing and made sure we had a great experience! The food was delicious and there are really creative items on the menu. The parker house rolls and meat ravioli were our favorites. I highly recommend checking this restaurant out! read more

An all around great dining experience. The staff was friendly and helpful with the menu. They recommend 4 items per person but I felt like that was overkill and was right. We got 6 things total (including dessert) and it was perfect. Highly recommend the Octopus and the Fried Rice (farro) dish that they have. Also the avocado was awesome. The only thing I would say to avoid is the Donkey Punch drink. It is wayyy too sweet and syrupy. The two beverages we had before that however were awesome so it was definitely an outlier. read more

Been a couple of times and tried almost half the menu, even the things that don't work for me personally (Monkfish Biriyani) are worth trying. Great food! Vietnamese Bologna, Clam Garlic Bread and Burger are highly recommended! read more

Food is good, some great flavor combos, but nothing we tried was extraordinary. The signature drink, Donkey Punch, is poorly thought out, served inside a half citrus fruit peel that leaks, with a big block of ice that prevents you from getting the straw in to drink most of the liquid. But the main problem is the service. Took me accosting a waiter after 5+ minutes just to get water. Service remained slow through all our ordering. But as soon as we had a few bites, they were right on top of us to clear plates that were still half full. Any place that is noticeably more efficient to clear than to serve has a problem. read more

Very good - but not worth well over $100 for two-good. LOVED the foie gras, as well as the fluke crudo. Fried chicken sandwich was very good, Short ribs and corn side were good. Drink in the grapefruit was not worth the price. Ambiance was casual - we were served very quickly. Did not feel like the experience that a meal at that price point should be.. service was excellent, however, just the vibe and quality was too casual for the $$$. Prefer Coppa and Toro. read more

BEST tuna poke I have ever had. Duck nachos - delicious. Cocktails were perfectly balanced. Chocolate cookie dough served on the beater - just like Mom used to make. Great service. Can't wait to come back and try more. read more

Loved little donkey! The menu is playful, different, and delicious; atmosphere is hip; service was awesome. My fiancé has a gluten allergy, and I loved how they responded. Rather than giving him a completely different menu, they provided him with the same menu, just with the "unsafe" ingredients crossed out in black marker, and proposed substitutions written in. This way, we could still share everything, and we didn't feel like we were missing out on the "real" menu. Also, the wine our server suggested was on point!!!! read more

I had high hopes, but sadly thy weren't totally met. Interior is really nice and the staff was friendly. Annie, our waitress was very attentive. The food just wasn't great for the price point and for the big name chefs. My expectation were set by Toro, which I really enjoyed. Everyone got sandwiches/ burgers (we went at lunch) and two people noted they were kind of small for the price and no side and there weren't really any singular sides that made sense. I couldn't find the foie gras on my burger and there was only one chip and two little pickles on it. Desserts were better. The cookie dough was cute, but I may have broken a tooth on the coco nibs (spelling?). The banana sundae was the star. The salted caramel and toppings were lovely. I wanted it to be great and it was just pretty good. For the price you can definitely get better, but I will say the atmosphere was good, so I can see why people dig it. read more

Last night I went to little donkey to grab drinks with a friend. I showed up at 6 PM and he was running slightly late (arrived at 6:10 PM). I placed a purse on a seat next to mine to save a spot for him. While I was waiting, the bartender told me very aggressively that it was first come first serve and that I should text my friend to hurry up or else I'd lose the seat. Another guy shows up 5 min after me and sits down next to the seat where I had my purse. He was also waiting for a friend. The bartender told him if his friend showed up before mine he could have the seat I was saving for my friend. The other guy's friend showed up at 6:10 PM and my friend literally came in 5 sec later, and the bartender not only forced me to give up my seat, but allowed a complete stranger to grab my purse and remove it from the seat. At the very least, he should have asked me to remove my purse and not allow a random person to touch my belongings. I have been a frequent customer here in the past and have held corporate events here, but this makes me never want to come back or hold company events here again. I have never been treated so rudely and disrespectfully before. read more

Little Donkey in Cambridge was our lunch outing for the day. This is a place that makes you wonder what the buzz is about. The menu aims to give you a selection of world fusion tastes, but too many of the dishes seemed robbed of any appropriate flavor, whether overpowered with spice or saturated with salt. For example, the Spicy Thai Noodles were so spicy as to be unpleasant -- said from the perspective of one who enjoys really spicy food -- and a missing bit of sugar might have returned this dish to something more of its Asian roots and flavor. The Lamb Tips were short on the tips and the residual was a heavily salted concoction obviously designed to sell beverages more than a return visit for food. The Burger was fine, but small and not more outsized in flavor. The Impossible Burger was, well, impossible--not so much for the burger itself as the soggy little pieces of bun it was sandwiched between. The Flautas had a nice crispy texture that was surprising, but failed to flout any fundamental flavor notes. Honestly, they seemed just like a mouthful of crispy stuff without any distinct flavor--was there ANY chorizo inside? Overall, big disappointment. read more

Very friendly staff. I had high hopes for this place as my friend raves about Little Donkey (cute name); I read articles about it; and I used to ride the 1 bus almost daily past it. Well, I finally got to taste 4 dishes here: the lentils, farro, chicken sandwich and matzo ball ramen. I'm sad to not be able to give more stars and praise because I want it to do well and I hope the staff don't take it too personally because they are so nice and seem to care about the food and experience. The chicken sandwich was overdone and probably had too much batter on it. The flavor of the condiments didn't cover the overcooked flavor and texture of the chicken or blend harmoniously with it. It is dark and I was trying to taste the papaya and avocado. I couldn't taste the avocado. I did feel the papaya texture. I did taste the pepper. The staff offered to redo the chicken sandwich, but we said no and I ate the whole thing because I don't like to waste food. My companion ordered the farro dish and the lentil dish. The farro was reminiscent of Thai and Chinese food (food I grew up with) Both are wonderful cuisines that stand up well on their own, but this wasn't exquisite. From the 1- 2 bites I sampled, it seemed too salty. My companion thought some bites of the lentils were good and other bites were not. I thought the rice was clumpy. There was some bitterness to the dish and I thought the texture was off for lentils. My companion did not finish either dish and I didn't want to either. (I'm tiny, but I love to eat and if food tastes good there's a high chance I'll ask for more or dip my spoon in a few times). The bowl of ramen was flavors I personally don't like such as whatever mushrooms were in there and the rye croutons. I think, but don't know for sure that the noodles were common premade noodles from a factory. The bowl just wasn't my cup of tea. I get the concept of Little Donkey being a motley of delicious ventures and I like the attitude of learning and improving. My overall thought about Little Donkey is that sometimes, it is best to master the traditional flavors you are inspired by before you experiment. (I have a lot of respect for traditional food for many reasons. A well done bowl of noodles or rice can still blow me away). My belly is definitely full and would've been full from one plate, but it isn't full of things I like or a memory of a yummy meal. read more

Very inventive and clever dishes. Some are absolutely great others less so. Excellent quality ingredients. Service is solid but can be slow. But very loud music is annoying and unnecessary. Altogether a mixed bag with potential. read more

Currently sitting at a table here and could not wait to give my review. The oysters were fantastic. The lobster Rangoon was (excuse my language) un-fucking-believable!! And my girlfriend loves her Moscow mule. Our server is fantastic! Highly recommended. read more

This is a new favorite restaurant. Bartender Dan set the tone- informative about the menu- great recommendations. We had the striped bass crudo which was delicious. The octopus was probably the best I have ever had- blt lettuce wraps with lamb bacon to die for and dessert was cookie dough- sooo good . Will definitely be back read more

DON'T BOTHER- at least if you are a woman. I don't live here, I live in California but came here to meet up with my best friend from college who does live here and who is also a woman. The food was OK. The waiter, however, took it upon himself to moderate our consumption of alcohol and basically refused to serve us anything further at the end of the meal. Now, last I checked this is not within the purview of waitstaff unless the customer is belligerent or a possible threat to their own or others safety. Neither of us are pregnant, we are certainly not underage and we were not driving (we even said so to the waiter). So WTF? Would this happen to a couple of men who are laughing it up and having a good time but not disturbing anyone else or showing any signs of aggression, or compromised behavior? NO WAY-they would probably have been given a drink on the house. I have never ever encountered such sexism/discrimination. I feel sorry for all women Bostonians if this is how you are treated by self-entitled wait staff to whom I say- get a grip and get over yourself; figure out who is the customer and your role is in serving the customer- you weren't hired for your judgement, you were hired because you know how to sell food and drink, and you fucked up half of it already. Thanks read more

This place is great! My girlfriend was excited for this place to open, and we absolutely loved it. I got "the donkey punch" which is an alcoholic beverage served in an actual grapefruit. The corn dish was incredible, really good tuna poke, and great swordfish. The monkfish was just ok, and heirloom salad wasn't outstanding, but overall, it was a great meal and we will definitely go back! Little on the pricey side, but quality stuff. read more

I can not say enough good things about this place. My wife and I choose to eat here tonight based off a recommendation from someone we met earlier in the day. We had a bit of a banking problem and were extremely stressed out. (Being from Wisconsin made it even more stressful as we had very little cash on hand). But the staff was amazing and very understanding as we sorted out our issues. The hostess was absolutely delightful. Our server was so kind and understanding. Even the bartender was kind. To make the experience even better the food was absolutely out of this word. I highly highly recommend this place!!! read more

The staff are very pleasant and we enjoy the atmosphere. This was our third time at Little Donkey, and it we weren't overly impressed. My partner's chicken sandwich was pricey for what he got - a pretty good sandwich with no accompaniment. If you want a handful of chips or anything else it costs extra. Also, don't come here if you need to be gluten free as there's a half-hearted effort to provide options, and the gluten free menu is just a regular menu with a couple things circled in pen. I have celiac but can make almost any menu in decent Boston restaurants work, but struggled here. read more

Had an 11:00 reservation for two that was confirmed. We arrived at 11:00, and the door was locked. We waited 5 minutes in the sun and heat, and tried the door. It was still locked. We looked in the window, we saw staff, but no one seemed to be in a hurry to open the door. We were disappointed, but we did eat at a great Greek pita place, Saloniki, right down the street. read more

I was not impressed after all the hype. The food was very expensive for the size of the plates. We had three tiny Cheerystones at $3 per. The $24 Lobster Fra Diavoli was hard and a mash of tastes that obscured the lobster. The hummus was nice but overpriced. The roasted cauliflower was the best dish. Nice wines. Great service. It was too hot to breath and the lights were so low you couldn't see the menu. read more

Took forever to get food and portions are super small. Flavor wise, nothing special. It's also super loud in here so very hard to talk'

This was a great night out. It is a fun place with a large dining room. I am not a small plated person, but Little Donkey was worth it to me. read more

I'm not going to write a lengthy review because there's not much to say: food and service are excellent.

Had Brunch here and it was a bit pricey. Burger for brunch was paper thin; I see it is bigger now from sitting at the bar or maybe that's a different burger. read more

We went here for Sunday brunch with a large group and had a decent experience. Great ambiance, good food and plenty of vegetarian options for our vegetarian friends. We had to make reservations in advance but they were extremely patient and helpful throughout the process, there were a few last minute additions and were easily accommodated. Service was alright, they mixed up one of the dishes but they did fix the issue upon bringing it to their notice. They have some excellent brunch dishes - avocado toast was my favorite, coffee however was below average. read more

I think I need to go to the hospital for sodium overdose! We had the burger, soft shell crab, the kimchi rice, matzoh ball soup ramen, and oysters. Incredibly salty and just too much going on. On the pros, the service was great, the drinks were good, and they seemingly forgot to salt the oysters, so that was a win. I don't think l will be back again. I had high expectations, and really love Toro. read more

Good place to eat. Despite the name of the restaurant the wait staff neglected to tell me that everything was small plates. Probably shoulda ordered more food. But what I did order was really good! read more

Our server was rude and would regularly ignore our table. It is too expensive for the food it serves. Our server told us that our time was up before we could even order our food and drinks. He was unhelpful when it came to explaining what the food and cocktails had and did not help us avoid food with allergens that we had informed him our party had. It was also a very dark atmosphere making it difficult to see the menu and then the food. It is very pretentious and we will not be going again. A bad way to end a birthday. read more

Great!! Just amazing! I loved everything about this restaurant, the vibe, the service, the cocktails and of course the food! Super tasty and unique flavors! You should definitely try their little burger with foie gras inside, it's sooooo good!! read more

This place is absolutely fantastic! Cute decor and the food and drinks were all super tasty. We had the green chorizo tacos, carnitas hash, side of lamb bacon. For drinks, we had the Bloody Mary, Naked & Famous, and Ode to Pablo. The flavors of each dish and each cocktail were so unique and delicious. They also infuse their own veggie vodka and Bloody Mary mix! Kevin, the bartender, was awesome - extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. The whole experience was great! read more

I came around 8pm on a Wednesday. The food was excellent but the extremely loud music made conversation impossible without shouting and completely spoiled the experience. Very sad. read more

I have always loved what this team has brought to the table, so was very excited to try LD and it more than exceeded my expectations!! The space is amazing! Its much bigger than Toro and Coppa, so great for larger parties. My friend and I opted to sit at the bar and had a blast! The servers behind the bar did a wonderful job suggesting some pre dinner drinks based on our likes. We had the Ode to Pablo (amazing) and Webbers Porch. For starters, we had crab and BBQ oysters from the raw bar....I mean, SO GOOD! Our bartender suggested a few more dishes: cucumber salad, steak tartare, smoked short ribs and grits (my fav item of the night, hands down!!), and the donk burger. ALL. AMAZING. The service was out of this world!! The manager came over a few times to check on us, and the beverage director came over and suggested a wine- the Birichino Malvasia blend- which is my new favorite (the wine selection is pretty sick)! She also suggested a sour beer they have on tap for my friend that was insanely good. The service, food, and atmosphere made for one of the best experiences I've had out in a long time! Will be coming back 1,000 times over! read more

It's okay. Honestly coppa and toro are better in itself than this one. They have a huge variety that sounds good but the food wasn't memorable at all. We had the foie gras burger and in all honesty.... it really wasn't that much better from shake shack. the concept of the burger was too much to the point where it seemed like a drunk college student came up with it. Don't get me wrong the food is good. But it's not wow. People were very nice though, good service and very attentive. Bt the stars are mostly because of the food. read more

I have been for brunch a few times and really enjoy that menu. Chilaquiles are delicious (and by the way, it's a large dish). Fried chicken sandwich is excellent- tender chicken inside a crunchy exterior. Avocado toast is also good (but just a note, it's really easy to not pay $10 and just make this type of dish at home). I would just say that the ceviche is not my favorite- got the fluke and it was $16 for a very small quantity that, to me, tasted sort of overpoweringly lime-y. I know lime is a big part of ceviche, but it shouldn't mask the fresh fish taste. read more

This place is insanely good. Halibut Biryani is a must try. Great service, cool decor, AMAZING food.

Eclectic inventive food-forward romp! Wonderful performance by chef/cooks. Each plate/act was unique and tasty. Loved the BLT (lamb bacon), pakora, tender octopus, popovers w/ tar tar, hamcahi crudo and many other dishes. We were three people, had eight dishes plus desert and that was perfect. Shawn, our waiter & culinary Sherpa, had thoughtful and on target recommendations that rounded out an evening of delicious food with excellent hospitality. We will be back and you should go too... read more

The chocolate chip cookie dough is the dessert I dream of... but I've had some very yummy savory dishes too, including the brined fried chicken sandwich, the tuna poke bowl, the farro bowl, and avocado toast. Sometimes the portions feel a tad on the small side for the price, but the flavors & textures are spot on -- and ohhhh I'd forgive a lot just for that cookie dough on a beater... read more

Pretty cool atmosphere and the drinks were very good. I had a hats and tails here and it was delicious

This was my first visit to Little Donkey in Cambridge. It was a Sunday 6:30 PM reservation and the place was lively, with the windows open to Mass Ave allowing fresh air inside. We were promptly greeted by the hostess and seated along the wall where there is bench seating facing outward towards the bar and the rest of the restaurant. Our waiter immediately came over and instantly remembered my friend whom he had waited on previously. He recommended the Tuna Poke as an appetizer. Excellent! We ended up sharing the Burger (minus the bun), the Lamb Lettuce Wraps, this avocado dish and the cucumber salad. Every single dish was loaded with amazing flavors and the right blends of flavors. We had those 5 plates and left completely satiated. The ambiance there was fun - that evening they played a lot of 80's throwback songs and the music got a bit louder as the evening moved on and the lights turned dimmer which I liked. The room was filled with couples on "dates", groups of friends, and a bar filled with a mix. The age range and diversity varied so that I think almost anyone would feel comfortable coming here for dinner. I will be going back and bringing friends! read more