Little Moss

Absolutely nothing but positive things to say. True gem in Padanaram Village. No need to travel to Boston or Providence for a true gastronomic experience. From cocktails to dessert, you will not be disappointed.

Nice to have a Farm to Table restaurant in town. Unfortunately, we were all disappointed with our meals — the fish was tough & over cooked & the «salad» was boring and bland. Even accounting for the fact that it’s in Padanaram, the prices are too high for what you get.

If only every beach had at least one restaurant as good as Little Moss.
All Rhode Islanders know that great restaurants near the ocean are a truly rare gem. I can think of only one as I write this review; Matunuck Oyster Bar. Little Moss deserves a spot atop my list.
First off. Dartmouth, who knew? Wow! This place could fit in amongst the top restaurants on the West side of Providence. Duke it out with Broadway Bistro and challenge our Loie Fullers to a cook off.
Perfect spot for a romantic diner which was in fact what our search for a nice bite turned into.
The menu was creative and the dishes were perfectly sized. We were fortunate enough to get a seat outside under the softly lit trees. The meal turned into a high point of our summer dining and we can not wait to get back there.
Allow plenty of time to enjoy the dinner for the full experience.
Eat Well Providence, venture forth!

Never, in Dartmouth, have I been able to order an actual charcuterie board. Usually I have to head as far as Providence for the pleasure. I read about Little Moss in an Afar Magazine article, and chose to stay local on date night.
The location is great, steps from the bridge in Padanaram. Located just behind Black Bass and across the street from Dartmouth’s best summer ice cream spot (ok, I’m being partial… it’s still up for negotiation). The inside is tight, maybe 12 – 15 tables… and elbow room is a commodity. The atmosphere was typical Dartmouth locals on a blustery fall day: loud conversation with lots of drinks in hand. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations after first seating, so the wait was out the door when we arrived. They said 20 – 30 and we were seated comfortably within that time.
We started with drinks: I had the Mermaid Song… a sweet take on a gin martini (and not bad, coming from a gin drinker). My DH was pleased, if not overwhelmed, by the craft-​ish beer selection.
We chose the land board: mortadella, chicken liver terrine, and duck ham. When compared to the terrine and ham, the mortadella was underwhelming. The offerings in total were, however, wonderful. The only thing we noted is that when served charcuterie, your meats are frequently paired with chutneys/​jams/​relishes to really compliment the flavors. A sharp tomato jam, or roasted onion relish would have been fantastic instead of the sad pile of spicy mustard (which went untouched).
Unfortunately, the grilled halibut was sold out. :(
We ordered the chicken and the short ribs (I’m not much for pasta, and I just don’t love mackerel).
The chicken was served with creamy mashed potatoes and local carrots. The chicken was tender, with a crisp skin. Not over or undercooked. The pan gravy was good, rich and savory. The carrots were fresh, slightly crisp and sweet. I swapped out my drink for house Cabernet, though I was a little disappointed in the very limited wine selection.
The short ribs were also cooked to perfection, served with wilted chard and a chunky polenta. Again, a savory pan sauce tied it all together. We did wish the greens were a little spicy, or garlicky.
For dessert, we shared a pot de crème with caramel and sea salt. The dessert was so rich, we simply couldn’t finish. DH’s espresso was spot on and smelled simply amazing.
Overall, we were surprised to find such a gem in our backyard. We’ll be sure to return (calling ahead to be placed on the list next time).
In the future though, we hope that they become willing to take more risks with flavors. The most creative dish on the menu sold out early… please take a lesson from that.

Little Moss is pricey, but worth it. If I’m going to spend a fair amount on dinner and drinks, I want it to be a culinary experience, and it was. I had the swordfish and little neck bucatini and loved the combination of smoked, buttery, sweet, and salty. My date had the rigatoni and meatballs. We shared. The chewiness of the pasta reminded me of Italy. If I were to make one suggestion, it would be to have a little more generous pour. If you spend $ 60 in cocktails, you should feel it ;).

Absolutely delicious. A refreshing upgrade to the South Coast area. The vibe is very intimate and modern, with a San Francisco undertone. The menu is all local, so the it changes frequently, but why complain about that? We ordered oysters (need I really explain how delicious Cuttyhunks are?) and cocktails to start. Fresh and tasty. Next we had steak frites and swordfish pastrami on a house made pasta with little necks. Absolutely decadent. We were too full for dessert but I will surely be back a lot. Keep up the good work!!!

If you want to have a great dinner in a lovely outdoor setting this is the best! The terrace is quiet and nicely set up with sophisticated furniture and place settings. The menu offered an excellent range of interesting sea food and meat offerings and our choices were delicious. The service was superb. It is expensive and not a place to go every night but for a special treat it is perfect. We have not eaten inside but plan to go back and try that next fall.

The food is quite delicious, but, simply put, the experience is just too expensive. On the one hand, Little Moss feels like a casual Padanaram village restaurant, with that vibe. That is the level and the sophistication of the service. But the food/​drinkand the prices are «higher» end. It is just too much of a disconnect.
This may seem unfair, but the entire experience needs to work, and the entire package makes the meal at Little Moss not work.
It’s hard for me to see that this formula will work – an expensive restaurant that serves only dinner serving enough covers at dinner service when the entire town closes up at 8 PM.

Absolutely loved it. If you want your big plate of meat, potatoes and over cooked zucchini — don’t go there! You will be disappointed.
But if you really love the actual taste and texture of a good, innovate meal, definitely try Little Moss. The menu is limited for some, but there’s still plenty to choose from. To start, I had the Land Plate which was 2 different pates, an Italian meat, a heavenly toasted bread accompanied by pickles and mustard — Super tasting and filling. My husband had the usual oysters which were local and always good. But for dinner, we both choose the fresh caught Striped Bass (hey, this restaurant is right on Buzzard Bay). The portion was more than adequate and it was just right — cooked through but moist and on a bed of puréed carrots accompanied by 2 fried oysters and thinly sliced carrots. DELICIOUS!
And I can’t finish without complementing the Wait Staff– you are well trained, courteous and very attentive.

We had a fantastic dinner…
Squash florets stuffed w/​cheese and crème fraîche, fried chicken w/​honey appetizers…
Gnocchi w/​sausage…
Mint chocolate ice cream…
Great atmosphere – clean lines, cozy and not too noisy even when a full house. Excellent service.
An all-​around perfect experience.
If you are a foodie, you especially will appreciate the creativity of the menu.

It’s def a good place to go when u r craving for seafood. The decoration is very comfortable and made me think of Providence for some reason.
Food is great and very creative, quite different from what u can see in other restaurants. Def have a try.

Beautiful space, excellent service and a truly delicious meal worthy of a big city. Both the lobster Benedict and the duck hash were perfectly prepared. Ideal portion sizes for us as well. Even my latte was among the best I have ever had. We will be back often. Great job, and thank you for bringing delicious food to Padanarum!

Very impressed with the unique dinner and bar menu at this restaurant. We were looking for something other then the big chain restaurants that dominate Dartmouth. I went to Unilocal,and although there were not a ton of reviews for Little Moss, the ones I read peaked my interest. The menu is not very big but the choices are unlike any other restaurants in the area. The ingredients in the dishes they served were mostly local and all were fresh. The fresh oysters we had were delicious. They had three different types, all local, and we got two of each. We also got the stuffed squash blossoms for an appetizer. I’ve never tried these before so didn’t know what to expect, I must say they were really very good. For dinner we each got one of their pasta dishes, both outstanding. Portion size was just the right amount. It’s a small space that is super clean. Sophisticated atmosphere, but also has a nautical and casual vibe. By the way, Padanaram is a beautiful area in Massachusetts. One of the nicest as far as I’m concerned. I hope to return many times when we come back for vacation.

I met friends here a few weeks ago for dinner. Beautiful place and area. Our waiter total sweet heart. Food was great and drinks also good. The only thing negative I have about this place is the prices are a tad too high. I would probably def go more often and I totally understand food cost but it was a bit much. Then I thought maybe there trying to attract a certain «crowd»…

This is an adorable restaurant with great ambiance, creative dishes and excellent service.

Epitomizing Padanaram’s renaissance, Little Moss is an exceptionally high caliber restaurant in this tiny yachting village. Modern designer cocktails, exquisitely plated innovative dishes with local farm fresh specialties, and high style ambiance shoehorned into a small space, all come together in this enjoyable new bistro.
The duck was the best I’ve had outside Beijing, delightfully inventive and nostalgic with johnnycake, fresh berries and local greens. The cured swordfish bellies on noodles, tempura’d squash blossoms and sunchoke ice cream with rhubarb were also delicious.
However, the service, wait and limited menu are drawbacks. The table wobbled, the waitress offered to «help me pronounce any menu items I could not», our shared raw bar order came with 1 fork and a tiny lemon sliver, and our bill was dropped unceremoniously as we began dessert. For the price, I expected better service and maybe more choices for dessert (2 items, both ice cream).
Overall, very impressed and pleased to find such refined dining here. :)

If I could give it 6 stars I would. I am a chef and have had the hardest time finding places worth spending money at. Little Moss met every expectation I had dreamt up about it. From the décor to the drinks to the presentation, the food and flavors, and lastly the dessert everything was amazing. Our server Peter was so extremely knowledgable, polite, and charming, and truly made eating out easy like it should be. We ordered the fried chicken appetizer which was out of this world! The Cuttyhunk oysters were so incredibly fresh and the minuet was very tasty. Our entrees were the schnitzel which was so flavorful and cooked to perfection. The egg noodles were the best egg noodles I have ever tasted. We also ordered the garganelli dish which was light and full of flavor. Our last entrée was the ciopino. This dish was my only disappointment. It was way too smoky for my liking the smoke flavor was the only thing I could taste. But even that wasn’t enough to ruin the evening by any means. DESSERT !!! Omg we ordered one of each of the desserts and were blown away. The sunchoke ice cream with coffee cake crumble was light and the crumble was to die for. The strawberry dessert was the perfect balance of tart and sweet and the edible flowers added an interesting flavor twist. Basically we are so excited to have something like this to visit regularly. Really hoping this place survives it would be a crime if people around here can’t value the care and thought and work put into such an amazing restaurant.

The owners have done Padanaram a great service in the opening of their new restaurant. The quality of the building and décor is second to none. After my second visit I’m still waiting for something to happen. I have tasted 5 different main courses, 4 appetizers and not one dish has been a to die for dish. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good, but I’ll drive from Padanaram to Providence for the rest of the summer. The menu is limited, overpriced, and the portions are quite small. It seems like ownership is attempting to deliver a product that would be deserving of the high price, but they are falling short in my opinion. I’m hoping that ownership reads my post and reacts in a positive way. I want this restaurant to succeed as I’m a local who enjoys great food at any price. Let’s see what the winter brings.

the décor is chic
the menu is limited
the portions are quite small as my date had the $ 24 pasta dinner with vegetable that arrived in a soup bowl
i had $ 42 2 small lambchops with peas carrots and rice
after a brief $ 110 snack
we went to the bayview to eat

Everything the owners, John and Lisa Lofberg make is from local ingredients and made on the premises. We kicked things off with several cocktails — hard to have just one. ‘AW SNAP’ was my favorite made from Craft Boyd & Blair vodka, sugar snap juice, yellow chartreuse and demerara. Others had «MERMAID SONG’ which uses hibiscus infused Aviation gin, Germain elderflower and Crème de Yvette, ‘CELERY JAM’ (Privateer rum, celery juice, orange and sage), and the ‘LITTLE MOSS HIGHBALL’ (Greenhook Ginsmith’s Beach Plum Gin, lavender, lemon juice and fresh mint). They also have strong wine and beer offerings.
I had the Parsnip soup and if I could have licked the bowl I would have. Too lovely a restaurant for that type of behavior. My main course was Tautog with mussels and calamari in a yummy romesco broth. The fish is caught just out the door in Buzzard’s Bay. Dessert was an unusual pairing of sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) ice cream sprinkled with brown sugar ‘crisp’ like crumbles and a rhubarb sauce. Light and yummy. I was stuck by how unique the flavor combinations were with every dish. And, it all worked.
Cozy inside with a small and pretty bar. Patio seating as well. Perfect spot for a Summer evening for dinner. I understand in the future they will be serving Lunch and later in the Summer — brunch! Highly recommend you make this a stop during a visit to the area.