In busy and busting 3rd Street in Los Angeles; there is a place with two wooden doors. No sign whatsoever; one can easily pass by but beneath those two unassuming doors is a truly enchanting and magical place called The Little Door.

The Little Door restaurant was the winner of the “Best Romantic Restaurant of LA” by the Los Angeles Times in 2016 . It also has been consistently listed as one of the Most Romantic Restaurants in the World. It was on the list in 2017 by Architectural Digest and just this 2020 was listed by Big 7 Travel.

It’s the perfect spot for special occasions and I recently got to celebrate here with my boyfriend on his very special day; his birthday!

Walking through past the two wooden doors; we were immediately amazed by the beautiful ambiance. As we entered; we were seated in their romantic courtyard. It is a garden like setting that had real red stem roses and twinkly lights up above. Each table was illuminated with candles making for a lovely setting.

Aside from their gorgeous atmosphere; The Little Door is well known for their delightful French Moroccan cuisine. Chef T. Nicolas Peter of The Little Door makes his dishes from organic produce from local farmers. His menu is carefully crafted with the best, fresh and seasonal ingredients. We sure were in for a treat this evening.

We started off our meal here with two fabulous appetizers.

We tried “The Mezze” and The Fresh Goat Cheese and Pistachio Tart with a Trio of Roasted Beets.

Both plates were wonderfully plated. They were so colorful and beautiful! Each dish looked to be prepared with the utmost creativity and love.

“The Mezze” was an assorted Mediterranean appetizer platter with hummus, devil eggs, house made pita, flatbread, kibbeh, falafel and spanakopita. It was light, healthy and fresh. It was a great starter to kick off a special night. Favorites included the spankapoita and it’s flaky dough and rich spinach filling as well as the creamy hummus.

The Fresh Goat Cheese and Pistachio Tart with a Trio of Roasted Beets had wild honey, preserved lemon, ginger & argan oil vinaigrette. The tart was my favorite. With it’s crisp crust and creamy filling; it was wonderful. The beets added a nice sweet touch to this dish.

From the appetizers; we then were treated to two wonderful entrees.

I chose to get the Grilled Prime Ribeye Steak with Sel de Guerande, Herbs & Cracked Black Pepper.

The Grilled Prime Ribeye Steak was accompanied with Potato-Leek Gratin and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate. The ribeye itself was a big portion of juicy, tender beef. The potatoes were soft and delightfully creamy. The brussel sprouts were a wonderful surprise and one of my favorite parts of this dish. They had a slightly burnt crisp offset by sweet pomegranate. Everything came together wonderfully and made for such fulfilling, hearty entree.

My boyfriend had an equally delightful dish via The Mustard and Pine Nut Crusted Rack of Lamb with Madera Wine & Smoked Garlic Demi Glaze.

The Crusted Rack of Lamb with Madera Wine & Smoked Garlic Demi Glaze is one of the most popular dishes at The Little Door. It comes with Yukon Gold Potato Puree and Green Lentil Ragu. I loved how the outer layers of the lamb chops had bits of pine nut, The Madera wine was drizzled all over the plate. Perfect texture; perfect plate.

Last but not least we couldn’t end a sweet dinner without a sweet birthday treat! For dessert; my boyfriend chose to get the Chocolate Pot de Creme.

Their version of the French dessert custard was divine. The chocolate was rich and creamy and topped off with berries. It came with heart shaped almond biscuit was the buttery and perfectly flaky. Love!

The Little Door was definitely a place we will always remember. It made for a very romantic and wonderful evening with their enchanting garden and exquisite cuisine. It was a very special place to celebrate a very special day for someone very special.

For more smiles; please see my Yelp review on The Little Door.