Where to eat in Little Rock

26 independent restaurants, bakeries and food spots in Little Rock. Chains are left out.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Eat
Brave New Restaurant
Good luck finding this place, hidden in an office building in the Riverdale area. Once you get there, though, you'll be in one of the top handful of restaurants in town, where chef Peter Brave offers a menu of fresh ingredients in a setting overlooking the Arkansas River.
Eat
Buffalo Grill
Reliably good burgers, fries, nachos, and all-American favorites (including apple pie) can be found in this longtime Riverdale neighborhood restaurant.
Sun-Thu 11AM-9PM; Fri Sat 11AM-10PM
Eat
Butcher Shop Steak House
Casual, welcoming atmosphere for families and business meetings. USDA choice and prime steaks, hand cut on premises. Also have fish, pastas, chicken and more.
Eat
Ciao Baci
Very good appetizers and entrees, extensive wine list, and open very late. A good place for dinner or for just hanging out with appetizers and wine. A little expensive, but good prices for the quality.
Eat
Forbidden Garden
Is the second generation of the longtime Forbidden City Chinese restaurant once part of midtown's Park Plaza Mall.
Eat
Izzy's Famous Food Place
Southern hand-rolled hot tamales, brick-oven pizzas, 14 freshly made salads, hand-prepared burgers. Group menu is available, as well as separate checks for groups.
Eat
Loca Luna
Eclectic food: a mix of southern, Southwestern, with maybe a touch of Italian and Mexican. (Example: barbecue chicken pizza with cranberry tequila sauce.) Good nightly specials, or try the old faithful pot roast. Great meatloaf (!) at lunch. Reasonably priced wine. Outside seating.
Eat
Mt. Fuji
Enjoy the best cuisine from Japan in a fine setting. Also has a gift shop that sells Japanese goods.
Eat
Petit & Keet
Opened in 2017, this well-regarded newcomer to the city's dining scene offers eclectic options in steaks, seafood, cocktails and more, led by longtime local restaurateurs Louis Petit and Jim Keet.
Mon-Thu 4-10PM; Fri Sat 4-11PM
Eat
Pizza D'Action
A smoky hangout for the young and hip crowd at Stifft Station on Markham Street. (They get around the no-smoking law by declaring themselves a bar and barring the under-21s.)
Eat
Purple Cow II
Two locations offer the same menu - with choices for all family members. The restaurants are the combination of a 1950s diner, a soda fountain, and a burger joint, featuring hand-dipped shakes and malts and soda fountain treats; great burgers and a variety of sandwiches, homemade soups and chili; and a popular selection of entree salads; and a daily Purple platter special; on week-ends, brunch items. A smoke-free restaurant.
Eat
Sonny Williams' Steak Room
Boasts an excellent wine list, a piano bar, and some of the best steaks and seafood in Little Rock.
Eat
Star of India
Lots of good Indian food for the money, from a long menu of traditional Indian dishes. Good service, and owner Sami goes out of his way to please customers. Indian beer.
Eat
Sticky Rock and Roll Chicken Shack
Has a musical lineup worth checking out while you're in town.
Eat
The Faded Rose
A Riverdale mainstay since 1981, offering authentic tastes of New Orleans in a menu including poboys, seafood, fish, steaks, and desserts. Full Bar, extensive wine list, handicapped accessible.
Eat
The Oyster Bar
A longtime neighborhood favorite in Stifft Station-Hillcrest with shrimp, oysters, po-boys, and draft Bass and Guinness. A contender for best jukebox in town.
Eat
The Pantry
Fans of Czech, German, Austrian and other central European fare have made this warm west Little Rock restaurant a favorite since 2009. Owner Tomas Bohm has since branched out with a second location in the city's Hillcrest neighborhood, along with the deli and casual eatery District Fare.
Mon-Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4PM-midnight
Eat
Trio's
Fine food and fine service in an upscale mini-mall on Cantrell Road. On nearly all locals' lists of LR favorites. Outside seating.
Eat
Vino's
Billed as Little Rock's original brewpub and serves handcrafted ales, pizza, calzones, and is the place in Arkansas to find premier alternative entertainment, but it also makes for a fine restaurant. The place for LR's tattoo and piercing crowd, but also friendly to older folks.
Eat Not mapped
U.S. Pizza
There are several locations of this popular locally based chain, including Hillcrest, the Heights, and Rodney Parham Road.
Eat Not mapped
Whole Hog Cafe
Excellent Southern barbecue and winner of many awards (including some from the renowned Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest)
Mon-Sat 11AM-9PM, Sun 11AM-8PM
Eat
Corky's Ribs and Barbecue
12005 Westhaven Dr
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Delicious Temptations
11220 N Rodney Parham Rd
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Downtown
2516 Cantrell Road
Eat
Grumpy's Too Neighborhood Bar and Grill
1801 Green Mountain Dr
Eat
W. Markham St.
12111 W Markham St

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Little Rock (CC BY-SA 4.0).