Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)
    • Tselog Daly City California
      Tselogs (Filipino food) Daly City California
    • Mesa by José Avillez Macau
      Mesa by José Avillez Macau
    Home » US Travel » Boston

    Little Donkey Cambridge

    Published: Aug 16, 2016 by Jennifer Che

    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-11-of-16.jpg Little Donkey Cambridge

    Little Donkey Cambridge

    Little Donkey must be one of the most anticipated openings in Central Square this year. Chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette, both James Beard Award winning chefs with several successful restaurants under their belts, have joined together to open their first restaurant in Cambridge. It's the first restaurant they have jointly opened in the Boston area in over six years.

    This time, they are not letting themselves be limited by any sort of cuisine. They want to have the freedom to be completely creative and to incorporate all sorts of global food ideas they've picked up from their travels. We stopped by a couple of weeks ago to try out this restaurant. I was able to get a last minute reservation by using the Reserve App (everything on Opentable was completely booked). Here's a first look at some of the exciting new dishes!Little-Donkey-Cambridge-1-of-16.jpg Little Donkey Cambridge
    There is a whole RAW BAR menu which includes all sorts of shellfish (oysters, clams, crabs, and even percebes!). There are also a lot of globally inspired raw fish offerings, like tuna poke, ceviche, uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon egg roe), and live scallops (!). Oysters are $3 each and clams are $2 each, while most other offerings range between $11 - $25. You can also get The Donkey Platter ($125), which includes a mix of the various items on the raw bar menu.

    We ordered the Razor Clams ($11), which came topped with jicama, cucumbers, and pepitas. They were tart, summery, and just a tad on the salty side for my taste (though Bryan thought it was fine).
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-2-of-16.jpg
    We also tried the Uni ($18), a special of the day. The uni came served over a mustard gelee with scattered mustard seeds, micro chives, and edible flowers. The uni itself was very salty, but was balanced out by the refreshing mustard gelee. We were not given a spoon at first, so we had to eat the uni with a fork. After asking for a spoon and taking another bite of uni together with a generous amount of gelee, the dish became perfect. In fact, I think it was the best dish we had all night.
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-4-of-16.jpg Little-Donkey-Cambridge-5-of-16.jpg Little Donkey Cambridge
    From the CHARCUTERIE section of the menu, we ordered the BLT Lettuce Wraps ($12). Inspired by the Korean bo ssam concept, this version included thick cut lamb bacon with pimento cheese, tomato jam, grilled peaches, and pickled red onion. There was enough to make about 4 wraps, and the sweet salty combo was refreshing and delicious. I did think that the bacon on its own was very salty. Definitely make sure to combine it with lots of other ingredients in the wrap!
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-3-of-16.jpg
    From the HORS D'OEUVRES section of the menu, we tried the Pickle Brine Fried Chicken Sandwich ($11). Don't be deceived by the size of the photo. The sandwich itself is quite bite-sized, closer to a slider than a hamburger. The fried chicken itself was awesome - satisfying crunchy and juicy inside. Inside there was green papaya slaw, jalapeno, and an avocado ranch sauce. It was excellent.
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-6-of-16.jpg
    From the VEGETABLES AND SALADS part of the menu, we ordered Heirloom Tomatoes. The dish came with a mix of juicy red late summer tomatoes and firmer green tomatoes plus garlic scapes, charred onions, and a house made XO sauce.

    The XO sauce really reminded me of sour plum powder with an added fishy, anchovy-like umami. The plum powder taste brought back memories of childhood. My mom used to eat fresh tomatoes with a slight dusting of sour plum powder. It's been decades since I've enjoyed a tomato that way, but those memories sure are strong!
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-7-of-16.jpg Little-Donkey-Cambridge-8-of-16.jpg
    From the MEAT & FISH section we ordered Monkfish Biryani, their version of an Indian rice dish made with basmati rice, saffron, cashews, and cardamom. The dish was quite good, though we weren't sure whether monkfish was the best protein to use in this dish. Bryan concluded that he still prefers the lamb biryani he had in India, where the meat adds a more intense depth of flavor.
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-12-of-16.jpg
    From the MEAT & FISH section we also ordered the Octopus A La Plancha, which came with a charred onion vinaigrette and potato tostones. The flavor of the octopus was fantastic, though it was a bit tougher in texture than I preferred. I found the octopus itself to be too salty, but adding a splash of lemon helped.
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-9-of-16.jpg
    It was hard to decide between the various noodle and fried rice options on the PASTA & GRAINS section of the menu. We eventually chose the Wok Fried Chow Fun ($16), rice noodles cooked in a searing hot work and tossed with deep fried soft shelled crab, Chinese chives, scallions, and bean sprouts in a Calabrian chili (Italian) and fermented black bean (Chinese) sauce. The smokiness from the hot wok (known as wok hei in China), was very pronounced. Bryan actually declared "this is the best chow fun I've ever had in Boston" (referring specifically to the wok hei).
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-15-of-16.jpg Little-Donkey-Cambridge-14-of-16.jpg
    For dessert, we tried two desserts that the server recommended: a chicory soft serve and mango chili kaffir lime Ritz cracker sandwiches. Both were OK, but nothing special. The soft serve was quite soft (almost melted), which made it a bit less pleasant to eat. The crackers had a nice sweet + salty combo, but didn't really blow us away.
    DSC00871.jpg
    The restaurant tries to source rare and more unusual wines. We tried a Barbera from California from Forlorn Hope by a winemaker named Matthew Rorick. Only 225 cases were produced. It was really interesting (my first time trying a non-Italian Barbera) and quite good.
    Little-Donkey-Cambridge-16-of-16.jpg

    Initial Thoughts
    It is very, very exciting to finally have Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette come onto this side of the river to open a restaurant. I have always enjoyed their other restaurants, Toro and Coppa, but never visited them that much because they were much further away from Cambridge (and always crowded!).

    I definitely love the concept. The chefs are incorporating all sorts of global influences, and it's fun! In our one meal we most certainly tasted elements of Italy, China, India, Japan, Thailand, Spain, Korea, and lots of New England as well. Sometimes mixing cultures can be risky, but these guys are pros and they do a very good job of it. The food is creative and quite good.
    DSC00888.jpgDSC00873.jpg
    I personally did find the salt level in several dishes to be a bit too aggressive, but some may find it OK. The restaurant is still figuring out things, and I'm sure as time passes, things will become much smoother. Even now, though, it's already a great addition to Central Square. The vibe is fun, the menu items are creative, and the food is high quality. I am confident it will do very well.

    The restaurant is currently open on weeknights from 5:30PM - 11PM, though they do hope to eventually open for breakfast and lunch. You can make reservations, but they also have a lot of seats that they leave open for walk-ins. There is a lively bar area, and on the evening we went, there were over half a dozen people just standing near the bar hanging out. Definitely check it out!
    Little Donkey Cambridge
    Little Donkey Cambridge
    505 Massachusetts Ave
    Cambridge, MA 02139

    More Boston

    • Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2023 Update
    • A Month in Boston: our first post-Covid Trip
    • Jinny's Pizzeria Newton
    • Farewell Bergamot

    Recent Posts

    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California May 8, 2025
    • Cole's Chop House Napa California May 5, 2025
    • Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa May 2, 2025
    • Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed} April 30, 2025
    • Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery April 27, 2025
    • Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food) April 24, 2025

    Trackbacks

    1. Little Donkey Cambridge – Boston Metro Bugle says:
      August 16, 2016 at 1:23 am

      […] by jennifer che • August 16, 2016 • 0 Comments Read the full article […]

      Log in to Reply
    2. Sneak Preview: Tracy Chang's Pagu in Cambridge - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      October 17, 2016 at 8:25 am

      […] in the Kendall Square area; Waypoint, Tatte Bakery, and Tom’s Bao Bao in Harvard Square; and Little Donkey and PAGU in Central […]

      Log in to Reply
    3. Waypoint Cambridge -Michael Scelfo's new restaurant - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      January 24, 2017 at 12:47 am

      […] popped up, like the new and much more awesome Cafe Sushi with Chef Seizi’s creative input, Little Donkey and Pagu not too far away in Central, and right down the street, Michael Scelfo’s […]

      Log in to Reply
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
      Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
    • Antonio Macau Taipa
      Antonio Macau Taipa
    • Vienna Opera House
      Vienna Austria Trip Report
    • Steirereck Vienna Austria
      Steirereck Vienna Austria

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen