One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new place is to try as much new food and drink as I can. Moving to Little Rock has given me a whole new level of excuse to go out and try as many new places as possible! I usually drag Aubrey with me, and so far we have found some great spots! Whether you live in the area or are planning a visit, make sure to put these places on your to-try list!
Pizza
Little Rock does pizza the same way East Tennessee does barbeque, it’s everywhere! Similarly, each place seems to have their own unique spin on their pies. We have tried a ton of different pizza places, and still have a list to get to! But, from the many places we have been to I would say easily that U.S. Pizza is our favorite! They are a local chain to the area, and have multiple locations. Our menu favorites are the Buffalo Chicken Pizza and the Spicy Sticks for an appetizer. YUM!
Coffee
I haven’t been to as many local coffee shops as I would like because I have my coffee dialed in at home almost perfectly! However, there are a handful of super cute and fun coffee shops around the Little Rock area. A few examples are Fidel & Co, Mugs Coffee Co, and Mylo Coffee Co. But, I would say that my favorite has become Koffee with a Kause. They have 2 locations close to the house, and they give back proceeds from each coffee sold to charities and missions within the community. My favorite coffee from their menu is the Cloud9 with coconut milk!
A Nice Dinner
I think that Little Rock has a great sit down restaurant scene! The downtown area is a little more spread out, but down the main drag there are a handful of excellent restaurants to try. One of our absolute favorites is called Allsopp & Chapple on Main Street. We happened across this restaurant from reviews on Open Table first, and have loved it ever since. It’s become a local favorite too, and Aubrey’s work dinner was even there this year!
Some honorable mentions on Main Street are Samantha’s Taproom and Bruno’s, both of which normally have a long wait on the weekends because of how well-loved they are!
Ice Cream
If you have ever met me, you know that ice cream is hands down my favorite food. I’ve confessed on the blog before how I have an enormous sweet tooth, and this is my all time favorite treat! I can thank Aubrey for bringing up a local ice cream shop they have in downtown Benton for this favorite. It’s a shop called Just Ice Cream, that exclusively serves Loblolly ice cream. Turns out, Loblolly has it’s own shop in downtown Little Rock and has recently purchased Just Ice Cream from the previous owners! I cannot overstate how absolutely amazing this ice cream is! Every single cheat day we have, I’m eating Loblolly ice cream.
This is also a tough choice for me because I have an emotional attachment to another great ice cream place called Shake’s. I first found out about Shake’s when visiting my best friend Heather in Destin, and would dream about how good it is! Come to find out, Shake’s actually first started in Little Rock before opening franchises in Florida and beyond. So, naturally, this is one of my favorite places. You can see that it’s a drive-thru, but they also have a walk-up window (think Sonic style). Shake’s is more custard than ice cream, so if you’re not a huge custard fan maybe skip this one.
Margarita
Again, a treat that is close to my heart! I’m one of the weird, awesome people that LOVE tequila, especially in a margarita! Truthfully, I have not tried every single margarita there is to have in Little Rock. However, I have already stumbled across one of the best margaritas I’ve ever had (outside of Aubrey’s Million Dollar Margarita he makes at home)!
There’s a great food truck turned restaurant called Baja Grill in downtown Benton where we live. It was suggested to me by a coworker after I told him how much I love Mexican food and margaritas. Let me tell you, this place does not disappoint! Not only is their food incredible, the Marietta margarita is out of this world. What makes it so good is that it’s a 50/50 mix of a premium frozen and on the rocks margarita all in one! Trust me, if you’re ever even remotely in the area you MUST try this drink!
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoy reading about my favorite spots so far around Little Rock! I hope to keep exploring and adding to the list as time goes on. If you have any suggestions or favorites of your own please leave them down below in the comments! I would love to try any recommendations 🙂