Little Fountain Cafe

I can’t say much beyond what others have already said about this place: the food is okay, the desserts are great, the décor is polarizing, the ambiance is nice, and this is maybe a decent date spot.
Little Fountain Café is a small place in Adams Morgan that you’d miss unless you looked hard enough. It’s fairly tiny (a/​k/​a «intimate»), but the ambiance does a lot to make it feel upscale and nice. Definitely check out the pictures before going here — I like the décor, but can understand why others may not. Service is solid — not sure why others on here complain.
The food here was okay, but the desserts here were stellar. I tried a grilled chicken soup — one of their specials — which was rather good but a bit lacking in spice or anything unique. The kale soup, which I also tried, was a bit better but barely any more interesting. Thankfully, all was saved by the absolutely STELLAR desserts — the Maple Crème Brulee was excellent and the Lemon Tart was to die for.
By way of warning: the wine by-​the-​glass list here is anemic — there’s one red and one white, the rest is sold by the bottle. Not a bad thing, just kinda strange.
I can’t say that I was blown away by anything but the dessert, but the ambiance and dessert may be worth the trip.

This place is wonderful! It is warm, comfortable, and they have lovely art work. My husband and I have been twice now using coupons from city paper real deal. The woman who seats/​serves you is very friendly. The food is delicious, too. We highly recommend it!

My wife and 17 year old son went there on Father’s Day. Everyone’s meal was great. The beef tenderloin was excellent as well as the chocolate chip bread pudding.

Love this place — have been there many times over the years. The food and service are excellent — I especially like the duck entrée and the scallops entrée. There is a nice small outdoor area. Charming garden touches. Quaint neighborhood gem.

Excellent place! Kim is really down to earth and friendly. She even gave me a space heater since I decided to sit near the view. My date and I had the restaurant to ourselves and it was lovely! The ambiance is perfect and surely the place gets packed during the summer. We had the flank steak. Made to order I requested the steak with fries without mushrooms and my date requested the steak with asparagus. Excellent service and a very clean establishment. I would recommend Little Fountain Café to anyone going with a date or friends!

SUCH a cute/​romantic restaurant! Feels like you are in Europe. I went with two girlfriends and it was really fun to get the price fixe menu. The chocolate chip bread pudding was amazing.

I have been dining there for twenty years, and it remains one of my five favorite restaurants in Washington. Back when Adams Morgan was a major culinary destination, it was hard to get a table. The neighborhood is different now. Most of the good restaurants have closed. I still strongly recommend traveling to Little Fountain.

Everything about this place is an A+. The food, service, ambiance, wine, location, etc… I have zero complaints and I am looking forward to coming back!

THE best bread pudding ever! We stopped in to have coffee and dessert, so can’t comment on their regular food, but the bread pudding was simply to die for.

Picked the place out of Unilocal search results for «romantic restaurant». Anniversary dinner in my gf’s old neighborhood and all that. The reviews of other Unilocalers were extremely helpful and… long! I decided to print them so I can read them during my commute (no, I am not driving…); 20 pages worth of reviews!!! So does that place really need another? There are some things that have changed from some apparently older reviews so I thought I will offer some updates:
1. The lonely outside table that had gotten mixed feedback is still there, below sidewalk level, but there is larger patio above and next to it so that now it is extremely private and cute. And the greenery around it make it even more so. We didn’t sit there but I would definitely recommend it.
2. Some people had reported there was no fountain. Now the fountain its back. Nothing fancy though, don’t expect anything to take your breath away.
3. Wednesday’s is half price wine bottle.
4. Bread pudding was very very good!
5. Eggplant something appetizer that many Unilocalers had described favorably was OK but nothing to rave about.
6. Beef tenderloin was wonderful!!! As advertised!
7. I had the special which was Bison Ribeye and it was fantastic. Perfectly grilled and spiced.
8. Risoto was just a waste if calories but I am not a big fun anyway.
9. Ambience very nice. Not crowded. For a good hour we were the only people in the dining room.
I would definitely go again o try the seafood dishes.
Ah and like others have said: perfectly priced @$ 105

This place is a mixed bag of decent dinner but not quite good enough to entice me back.
I first heard of this place by searching for a good date place, but I gotta say, I’m glad we didn’t come here on a nice occasion because it isn’t romantic in the slightest. Not that this is necessarily a criticism. It’s not bad décor, a bit old-​fashioned maybe, just don’t expect to impress someone coming here. As for the food, we got one fish and one steak. You’re good with either. Tasty stuff.
The real treat is the dessert. I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth and will eat just about any sweets, but I’ll often feel bad about myself after. Not here. It’s so decadent and fresh and delicious you won’t care. The cinnamon donuts were incredible.

This little restaurant is such a cute little hole-​in-​the-​wall on a busy Adams Morgan street. You really could miss it, since it’s on the basement level.
The bf and I went on a Wednesday evening around 7 and had no trouble getting a table (I made a reservation, but there were only three other 2-​person tables so it probably wasn’t necessary). The restaurant itself is very quaint – it reminds me of little bistro in Europe. There was only one woman who was doing the seating and serving, so I’m not sure how things would be on a busy night (maybe they have more servers on the weekends?).
We started off with a cheese plate, which wasn’t huge but definitely a good size for an appetizer. I ordered the wild boar gnocchi and he got the grilled beef tenderloin (thanks to other Unilocalers’ tips). It took a little while for the dishes to come out, but when they did both plates came out piping hot and fresh. The gnocchi and boar were delicious – a bit heavy but quite flavorful. The boar wasn’t too gamey and actually reminded me of pot roast. The beef tenderloin was amazing! It’s the priciest item on the menu, but it was quite moist and tasty.
We’ll be back if we’re in the area!

I have been coming to Little Fountain for years, and it truly is a «hidden gem» in Adam’s Morgan. The basement space is cozy, and could use a bit of updating, but it does have a romantic vibe and is generally quiet, so that is nice. I usually do the prix fixe menu, and get the eggplant napoleon (which is delicious), the ravioli (it changes seasonally) and the bread pudding. I enjoy all three very much, and for $ 25, it’s a great deal. When I want to splurge, I’ll usually get the tenderloin that comes with a delicious peppercorn sauce. They have a nice little wine list that offers decent wines for good prices. The bread and herb butter are also tasty, the staff is friendly and the service is good.
It’s not the fanciest or hippest place in DC, but when you want to have a nice quiet dinner with your significant other or friends, I highly recommend Little Fountain.

This is the great french restaurant hiding in the basement in Adams Morgan among café and busy street. It is cozy and romantic. I have been here many times with my friends and special one. Food is great with reasonable price especially apecial diah each month. Also, they all pair well with well-​selected wine list. Service is great and familyish!

I really don’t think this place could be any more adorable. Cozy, inviting, underground café with a very simple, but good, food and drink menu. It’s celebrating it’s 20^th year in operation — it was great to meet the owner (who’s been there the whole time) and one of the servers (who’s worked there for 17 years!).
The food was simple and well executed. Solid, yet affordable wine list. Nice people. What’s not to like? Hope more Unilocalers check out this hidden neighborhood gem!

Place is definitely small and easily passed if you aren’t looking for it. Inside was small and intimate, perhaps a little too so, luckily it was empty as it would have been difficult to enjoy a date in the place was a capacity as the chairs are very close together.
The hostess/​waitress was a bit odd, the place was empty when I arrived and yet she asked if I had called ahead and said it was a good idea to do so, I’m not sure why as the place never filled while I was there. She was also a little off, she seemed friendly at times and distant during later conversations.
They have a really decent prixfixe menu, 3 courses for a little less than 25 dollars is always going be a hit in my book.
Started with the calamari and it was a bit of a miss, I didn’t particularly enjoy the breading or the texture of the calamari, the accompanying marinara sauce was also less than impressive.
For entrée I had the mushroom filled ravioli and that was more of hit, the ravioli was nicely prepared and the mushroom filling was tasty. I also really enjoyed the accompanying cheese based sauce.
Dessert was kind of in between, I shared the peach and raspberry crisp, I wouldn’t expect peach and raspberry to mix well but surprisingly the mix was nice. The crisp was cooked well
Overall decent place to try a meal, I would stick with the prixfixe but they did have other options that might be on point as well.

I’m honestly surprised to see all the good reviews of this place. Was tonight an off-​night, or do I have higher expectations than others? I don’t know what it is, but I left feeling full but totally unsatisfied. The atmosphere and the general vibe here are just bizarre and the food is mediocre at best. We arrived for our 6 pm reservation about 5 minutes early, and the gate was locked. They really do open at 6 and not a minute earlier. We and a family with two small children waited outside in the rain for the place to open. When the server (who also played hostess) came to unlock the gate, she said that the family with kids should probably try sitting in the upstairs room, where there’s a children’s menu. When they said they’d like to sit downstairs in the main dining room, she still pushed the upstairs option. It was pretty weird. Why would you try to convince someone not to dine with you?
Anyway, we sat right next to the fountain, which was kind of cute, but the rest of the décor was odd. The paintings on the walls and the strange-​looking fabrics for table cloths gave the place a weird feeling. The bread they serve is homemade and comes with herb butter, both of which were very good. But the meal went downhill from there. First the waitress told us there was a coq au vin special that night, and then came back a few minutes later saying that the restaurant’s owner had gotten confused and there actually was no coq au vin. Fine, no problem, but it did seem kind of disorganized. So for our entrees we got the trout (with orzo and snow peas) and the pork loin (with spaetzle and grilled asparagus). The trout had the skin on it, but it wasn’t crispy. It was just this slimy layer under the fish. The orzo was virtually flavorless. The best things on the plate were the snow peas. The pork dish was really unattractive. The pork medallions were overcooked and sat drowning in a soupy sauce. The asparagus was pathetic — three burned pieces skinnier than a pencil sat atop the mound of linguine-​shaped, flavorless spaetzle. I left wishing I hadn’t eaten the food, because I wanted something else to eat to feel satisfied, but was too full to eat anything else. I definitely won’t be back here. Yuck!

Love this adorable little place snuck inside the Adams Morgan madness. It’s at below-​ground level. You walk through a small and modest-​looking door and you end up in a comfy, warm, and reassuring place away from the hustle and bustle not far outside.
The rustic décor, intimate ambiance, and simple menus (wine, food, and dessert) are harmoniously created. The food comes in the right portion, deliciously cooked and not ridiculously priced. When I visited three nights ago they had three specials (pasta served with salmon and salmon caviar — and that only cost I believe $ 17.95, steak frites, and another entrée I can’t remember). I had the pan-​seared sea scallops (with mashed potatoes and broccoli served in a truffle mushroom butter sauce that was a little too sweet for me and I would’ve rather not had so much liquid on my plate).
You get complimentary bread and butter before the meal. We also got fried calamari as an appetizer. The «spicy marinara sauce» wasn’t really spicy, and the calamari was a little soggy, but they can’t detract too much from my overall impression of the place.
I did not see a fountain, though, inside or out.
They do a three-​course prix-​fixe menu for $ 24.95 every day (is this a rebellious sign against Restaurant Week? also they have their own online reservation system so screw OpenTable too). All in all it’s a cute, inviting, and comforting place away from the bar street craziness. I remember reading about it in Zagat and how it gets a high score for the romantic ambiance. Given the quiet and intimate atmosphere one can so effortless feel here, after having finally visited I can totally see why.

I really do love this place, and as another reviewer so perfectly put it – it is a «hidden gem,» not to overuse the cliché.
I’ve been there several times now, but have never written a review. I have to say, the eggplant pasta-​dish (I can’t remember the specifics) is truly amazing, but unfortunately limited to the summer menu, from what I understand. It’s a perfectly sized portion of long pasta strands with an eggplant and tomato «bolognese,» albeit vegetarian.
Fantastic place, and a little oasis in the middle of the mayhem that is 18^th Street in Adams Morgan. Bathrooms however, need a major update.

After reading the mixed reviews here, I was concerned going in to Little Fountain Café that we would be disappointed. Fortunately, we were pleasantly surprised!
The atmosphere inside is very cozy and quaint, with a fairly small number of tables and a bar for wine right at the entryway. This is a great place for date night or anytime when you have a small, intimate group of people. We were seated right next to the little fountain, which made for some additionally nice ambiance. The place is fairly easy to miss from the outside, but don’t be fooled by the exterior as the inside is very pleasant.
We ordered drinks from the bar upstairs because we weren’t really in the mood to splurge on a bottle of wine. My boyfriend’s martini was tasty but pretty small; however, my whiskey sour was a good size and had great flavor. The prices were pretty reasonable for an upscale restaurant in Adams Morgan.
The food that we got was quite delicious all around. I should stress that for the most part we stuck with the vegetarian dishes, so perhaps those portions are a little more generous, but I had absolutely no problems with the portions. For appetizers, my boyfriend got the calamari, which he enjoyed very much, and I got the eggplant napoleon. The sauce was very flavorful and unusual, the eggplant was cooked perfectly, and the cheese was a nice complement. For entrees, we ordered the basil pesto gnocchi and the mushroom ravioli. The pesto was unusually heavy, but it was really tasty and the gnocchi were very nicely made. The mushroom ravioli was also intense as it came with a rich cream sauce, but the flavors were really outstanding.
My biggest complaint about this place has to be the service. They didn’t do anything glaringly wrong, but I just felt that they were a bit haughty in little ways here and there that added up. I just got that sense that the server felt like she had more important things to do than serve us lowly folk who had to use a Groupon to help pay for their dinners. She lost patience with us pretty easily at a time when there were only ever one or two other tables with guests, so there was really no excuse for that attitude.
Other than the service, though, the restaurant was excellent, so it’s possible that we just got them on a bad night or just got a bad server. But overall, I would definitely go back on another date night to enjoy their delicious food!