Little Owl is a new, small (about 28 places), restaurant in the West Village. In order to get in we had to go at 5:00! I'm not sure whether it was a late lunch or an early dinner.

The room is small, but cozy with an open kitchen and approximately 8 tables and a small bar. The menu is Mediterranean/New American. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I started with a single Crab cake on a bed of jullianed greens and Chris had Gnocchi topped with an interesting pork bolognese sauce. Both were excellent. My grilled pork chop with parmesan butter and perfectly done butter beans which was very tastey. Chris had monkfish surrounded with tiny clams and zucchini also with a light butter sauce--great! We shared an order of grilled seasonal greens and washed it all down with a lovely Chablis.

Overall, we thought the restaurant was cute, but didn't live up to its hype. We also thought it was expensive for an informal West Village restaurant.

The Little Owl, 90 Bedford St (at Grove St), 212-741-4695