Eating Out in Little Rock: Top 10 Must-Try Restaurants

The motto of The Root café is ?Building Community through Local Food’, making it a socially conscious eatery that seeks to educate and enhance the local community in Little Rock. The Root hosts classes such as the Food Preservation Workshop in seeking to develop a better food education, and provides a venue for exhibitions, talks and live music. The Root’s ethos is noteworthy, yet it is its delightful cooking that pulls in the crowd. Using locally sourced ingredients, The Root offers superb burgers, bratwursts, sandwiches and award-winning vegetarian dishes. This independently owned local business is a refreshing addition to Little Rock’s culinary scene ? showing everyone that food can still be delicious even when it is cooked and sourced in a more sustainable way.

Although they’re not orange just big the burgers do come in a huge variety of flavours and combinations at Big Orange, stacked with delectable accompaniments and ingredients, and served with the utmost attention to detail. With its ethos of ethical sourcing and sustainable development, the venue?s two branches are among the local favourites. Indeed, the ordering process here is also to the point: guests choose a type of burger, then pick a side and style of fries. The options are both eclectic and classic, with some of the most impressive burgers being the white truffle pecorino burger, or the curried falafel and lentil burger sandwich, truffle-garlic herb fries or sweet potato fries served with mango-curry ketchup.

Since opening in 2012, Local Lime has firmly cemented its reputation as a trendy Mexican eatery. It is an exciting place to eat, as the chefs are constantly looking for different ways to innovate within Mexican cuisine; for example, they recently announced a new creation: pork chop and grilled peach tacos served with tomatillo sauce, fresh cheese and lime. Other highlights are the fajitas with guacamole and the sizzling hot Pescado Veracruz served on an iron skillet with corn tortillas. The bar at Local Lime also impresses, offering a craft beer of the month, award-winning house margaritas and most importantly, the famous Mexican spirits, tequila and mezcal.

More than just an original restaurant and dining space, South on Main is also a culinary experience headed by innovative chef Matthew Bell, whose cooking is the perfect accompaniment to the recitals, concerts and events that take place at the restaurant. With an unpretentious, home-cooked selection of dishes, South on Main retains its laid-back cool while serving up fantastic, rustic food: a highlight of the dinner menu is the grilled rib-eye with marinated zucchini and potato pave. Fresh ingredients, expert cooking and cultural content guarantee a fabulous experience at this recently opened Little Rock institution.

Located in the The Burgundy Hotel, this stylish venue is presided over by Head Chef Scott Rains, who accompanied the launch of the space on 28 August 2013. To celebrate its first anniversary, Table 28 celebrated by inviting customers to enjoy happy hour all day. Its New American menu is the perfect blend of creativity and simplicity, and brings modern favourites to the fore, from the biscuits and gravy to fusion-style surprises such as squid strips served in a basket. The eponymous Table 28 is reserved for special occasions, and presents a fantastic six-course tasting menu. With prices on the menu set according to an ethically calculated percentage of profit margins for producers and farmers, Table 28 also makes public donations to a local children?s hospital.