Do you like spicy food? I mean food so spicy that it smacks the sh*t out of you and your eyes are watering in 5 minutes? Do you like Northern Thai style food (so no pad thai or papaya salad here)? Do you also like to wait in line for over an hour in the cold, just so you can put your name down and eat 2 hours later? If you answered yes to all of those things, then Little Serow is for you. I had been reading about it for months as THE place to go in DC, so I finally decided to forgo my usual MD/DC places to check this place out the day after Thanksgiving. It's totally got this NYC vibe in that it's got this tucked away, basement level location and you have to get there by 4:15pm if you even want a chance to eat at the first seating of 5:30pm. I got there at 4:30pm and the group in front of us literally got the last 2 seats in the whole place (it only seats 28 people). So I would say that if you want to guarantee yourself a seat at 5:30, get in line by 4:15 at the latest. If you don't make the 1st cut, they take your number and text you when your table is ready. There isn't much else around it within a 5 block radius (great business idea would be to build a bar next door), so I just waited it out with a coffee at McDonald's down the street. Luckily, they texted us at 6:35pm that our table was ready! You need to respond within 10 minutes or they give your seat away.
The inside is like this dark cave with no windows, but they do try to brighten it up with aquamarine blue walls. The menu here is entirely prix fixe - 7 courses for $45, which in my book is a steal. They do not accommodate with any substitutions, so if you have allergies or are a vegetarian, stay away from this place. The first dish of the night was a duck liver/shrimp paste/garlic dip. It's served with crispy pork chips (similar to the shrimp chips you sometimes get in Asian restaurants) and they also give you a nice big basket of delicious sticky rice and a variety of very fresh greens ranging from lettuce to radish to basil to cabbage to cucumber. The paste looked very unassuming but as soon as I tasted it my mouth had a 5 alarm fire. It was so spicy that honestly it was all that I could taste for a while. The liver gave it an earthy taste to it but really the spice was very intense (at least it was for me). I had to cut it with some rice and cucumber. Next we had a mushroom "salad" and a dried squid soup. The mushroom salad was served with salted duck egg and rice powder and a few sprinkles of cilantro as the greens. This dish was way too salty. I mean, I could barely taste anything else in it, so it wasn't a huge hit for me. As for the soup, the lemongrass flavor really hits you in the face. It's also got chili slivers in it for heat and fresh squid and dried fried squid in it to add some fishy taste to it. It wasn't bad but I'm not a huge fan of a lemongrass based soup. I was concerned at this point that I wouldn't get full because these 3 dishes were pretty small but luckily the next 4 dishes really stepped it up. The 4th dish was described as snakehead fish with lemongrass and spices. Honestly, if it didn't know there was fish in it I would have thought it was pork. It had a very similar taste and texture to a laarb dish. We were advised to eat it with the cabbage leaves which was good advice as it gave it some crunch and was a good soothing ingredient for my mouth that was still on fire. There was a lot of flavor jammed into this dish which I liked. Next were the fried rice cake cubes with salted prawns and peanuts. At first I thought these were fried tofu cubes but they were indeed made out of rice which made eating 5 of them super filling. The small shrimp were served with fish sauce, red onion and peanuts which kind of reminded me of a papaya salad - only this did not have any spice to it. Phew. The next dish consisted of some sauteed greens similar to a bok choy with more salted fish and a fried egg on top. The egg was over cooked and didn't have a nice runny yoke to it, which I think would have really helped the dish. Again - lots of flavor and lots of salt to this dish. I wish there were more greens to it since there only probably 4 bites of actual greens in it. The last dish was pork ribs served with whiskey and dill. The ribs were fantastically cooked and fell right off the bone cleanly. I was really surprised by the dill flavoring because that's not something you normally see in Thai dishes, but it worked for me here. The meat was tender and there was a nice layer of fat right underneath the skin. I was so full at this point that I had to leave a small piece behind, which was upsetting. I'm not sure if putting the heaviest dish at the end of a 7 course meal is the right order for it, but it was a nice note to end on. They do also give you a small dessert of sticky coconut rice - it was a nice palate cleanser to the meal.
The decor was super cute and minimalist and very unexpected for the DC area. They don't do a great job of maximizing the space as there is almost half a wall that is totally empty - they could fit almost 6 more seats there if they wanted. The staff was super friendly and very nice which always makes a 3 hour wait more bearable. The entire meal will probably take you about 1 1/2 hours, which isn't so bad for 7 courses. I totally love and appreciate what they are trying to do here and it was indeed a unique experience that I didn't expect from a restaurant in DC. It's most definitely not your standard Thai restaurant but it's not such a stuffy experience that you would feel out of place in jeans and a t-shirt. While I usually reserve 4 forks for food that I'm in love with, I felt like I had to give it something higher than 3.5 because of the concept and overall uniqueness of this in this area. I'm not 100% sure I would go through the whole experience again, but I'm sure glad I tried it at least once. Total bill: $135 for 2 with tax, tip and a glass of wine.
Photo Credit: Yelp
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