Review: Brave New Restaurant

16 March 2024

You’d thought after my stressful and unpleasant work trip (and a bad eat) to Orlando I’d be camping out at home for awhile, but of course that’s not the case. We had a company day off for Monday, so I decided to head south – again – and next thing you know I’m flying into Memphis for the long weekend.

Didn’t stay long, as I headed to Arkansas, the main part of my trip. I had a busy day exploring the north-east part of the state and drifted into Little Rock, where I’ve not been since 2019. Not had many eating success stories since One Eleven at the Capital (which is closed for renovation), but I’m hoping that changes with dinner tonight at Brave New Restaurant.

It was located in a bank building near the water, so I’m not sure what to think. This would be very normal in Japan, but in Little Rock? They sat me at a hi-top near the bar and I relaxed with a nice cocktail. The bartender would be coming out to serve me, which is great, but I had offered to sit at the bar. Oh well, this works well.

The menu looked nice, and as I sipped my cocktail I ordered. The bread and butter was quite nice, but my starter arrived relatively quickly.

Some nice shrimp here. Although not as big as in Orlando last week, these were delicious as well. And importantly, they were peeled correctly – unlike in Orlando, where you got pieces of shell and legs everywhere. A good start! And like many placed in Little Rock, they had offered salad or soup with a main course, and I picked the soup.

A straighforward little mushroom soup that got me ready for the main event. I switched to wine and I smiled, knowing I made the right choice for my main course.

Now you may ask why in the world I would do scallops in Arkansas, but here’s a good justification. These were delicious, broiled in butter, and so good. It was a hard choice with so many good things on the menu, but for some reason these scallops just yelled out from the page. Plus, my excellent bartender also suggested it. And it was an inspired choice. Loved it!

Well, this dinner has been a very pleasant surprise. I ended up having some ice cream because I was stuffed.

Lovely chocolate and white russian scoops here. With a nice tipple, I was happy.

However, I ended up having a second drink and chatting with the fabulous staff as there was quite a wait for a rideshare, about 20 minutes. But this was a good crew, and they did a fantastic job tonight, front and back of the house.

Highly recommended if you are ever in Little Rock!

Brave New Restaurant
2300 Cottondale Lane #105
Little Rock, Arkansas