Little Alley

We were in the area and looking for a place to eat. I was able to make reservations 30 minutes prior to our meal granted it was Sunday evening. We got there 15 minutes early but we were not able to sit until our meal time, which is fine. The waiting area is not that big so you're better off getting there 5 minutes before your reservation time. The menu has a good range of yummy options. It was hard to choose. I REALLY enjoyed the chili noodles with dried shrimp for the appetizer and the Don PO Pork buns for the entree. That pork is TENDER! My friends enjoyed their food as well. Overall great experience. I really like the decor and ambiance. There were many other items on the menu that I wanted to try so I'll definitely be back to try them.

Really delicious food. We had the jellyfish, the eggplant, the dong po pork with buns, and the fish blossom. The jellyfish has a very strange texture and came with a tasty sauce. A good experience, but jellyfish just is not particularly delicious. The rest of the dishes were wonderful. Plated beautifully and prepared perfectly, they were tasty and well cooked with all the right flavors and textures. Go with a group so you can order and try many things! The beers they had were also very unique and quite tasty!

I was initially drawn to this restaurant because I had never seen sticky rice lotus root outside of China. As a Shanghainese, I'm always looking for food from that region. My take: Solid mid end Chinese food. Good vibes in restaurant, and the food is decent too. The black pepper steak and sticky rice lotus root were good. Soup dumplings and pan fried pork bao were not authentic, but passable. I'd come back to try more dishes.

I discovered this place through TikTok, and it is severely overrated. The service was mediocre. The dumplings were not bad but tasted like they were frozen or from Trader Joe’s. The fried rice was good but on the salty side. The biggest issue for me, aside from the food, was the overall aesthetic. I cannot put my finger on it, but it was slightly dreary, and I would not recommend this place for a date or family outing.

Delicious. The pan fried pork bun was so flavorful, both the filling and the dough. Perfectly savory, soup dumplings very pleasing on such a cold day. Shu mei nice depth of flavor, bbq pork flavor really comes through. As to service/ impeccable. Staff was kind enough to let us in before hours. Also enjoyed an excellent pot of jasmine tea. Will be back. Thank you.

Ordered braised lionshead which is a huge meatball with salted egg yolk in the center. Note that this is Shanghai cuisine and everything tends to be sweet. Unlike northeastern Chinese cuisine which also has braised meatball, the meatball at this restaurant is sauteed with soy sauce AND sugar - you may find it taste weird if it's your first time ordering food in Shanghai cuisine. Also recommend chopped chili fish head - it's spicy and not traditional Shanghai cuisine. The portion is good.

very good dim sum in a cute setting… not your typical dim sum place so i was skeptical but it was actually delicious. we got the eggplant, spicy shrimp, crab pork xiaolongbao, and the fried rice. the eggplant was incredible, but the spicy shrimp dish was the standout. also get the kaofu for appetizer. i would skip the xiaolongbao and the fried rice… the dessert of lotus sticky rice was also really good.

I love this place and even with so many options for good Chinese food in NYC, I would definitely come back. I was craving Xiao Long Bao and this place was close by to where I got my COVID booster. What a hidden gem. The salted egg fish fillet was the definitely the dark knight. I would have never thought to order it but it was truly the star of our meal. I would highly recommend it. The xiao long bao was good, I wouldn’t say the best I’ve had but good and it the spot. The pork belly stir fry was also good. Staff was really friendly and attentive.

Quite tasty Chinese food and fast service! Came here on a Monday morning with no wait and got seated immediately. We got the Yelp check in offer so we got the free pumpkin pancakes and they were great. Good: The dimsum options were so tasty omg! I loved the soup dumplings and the crab ones were quite unique. The pumpkin pancakes were super crispy and tasty so would highly recommend. The servers were nice too and the place was clean. Bad: The thick noodles were a bit bland compared to the rest but still was tasty. Overall would come again!

Little Alley is seriously good authentic chinese food. Was craving the fish blossom, which is usually called squirrel fish or pine nut fish on other shanghainese restaurants, and decided to “splurge” for New Year’s Eve. Was at first skeptical and worried it wouldn’t be good as take out, since personally I’ve only had it as dine-in everywhere in the world I’ve eaten it… but little alley delivered!!!! The key really is the container and careful packaging. I was worried it’d soften up in the short walk home from the restaurant so I preheated my oven in anticipation so that I can just pop it in for ten minutes to crisp it up. It was delicious- like Shanghai/hangzhou level delicious. Ordered the cumin lamb because I was feeling nostalgic for the time I spent living in Beijing, and while the dish was stunningly ugly at first glance- I definitely paused for a moment and wondered if I had made a bad decision paying $26 for this, but it smells amazing and tastes just the way I wanted it to- cumin is flavorful but not overpowering- they threw in lots of peppers, but it wasn’t too spicy- I’d say it was a medium spicy - so it doesn’t completely numb you and you can actually taste the lamb. this place is not cheap. At $32 for the fish blossom and $26 for the cumin lamb they both come w a small pint of rice either white or brown w no additional cost, it’s approximately $8-10 more than what Shanghainese restaurants in Chinatown are charging for the same dishes. You get what you pay for tho, the higher price also corresponds to higher quality food. Can’t wait til this omicron wave blows over so I can go dine on-site with friends and family.