The Little Gem Cafe

Only 4 active tables in the whole place & the voices bounce off the brick walls like noise grenades! Food great, noise terrible.

Wrong — our experience is it is very loud. We have stopped going there because it is SO loud we are almost lip reading. If the dining room is even half full, forget it. Our young waiter said it is always an issue - especially on the eves when they have live music in this tiny space. The last time we were there it was not a music night. He had to repeat the house specials more than once (standing right next to us) because we could not hear him. I’m not old and I have excellent hearing. I like to enjoy conversations and wine over dinner. Almost impossible here. With brick walls, large glass windows, wood floors and a painted tin ceiling, there is nothing to absorb the noise. It is made worse by patrons using an “outside voice” in a restaurant. We have tried this 5 times (we loved the former restaurant in this space) and each time we have been disappointed. We kept trying to get a different result. Silly us. Never again.

We will no longer eat at Little Gem. In evenings it is SO loud that even the waiters have to repeat themselves to be heard over the din. My friends and I felt like we had to almost shout. I don’t want to attempt lip reading to have a nice meal. Very very loud. We’ve tried it 4 times (good food). No more. The wait staff have told me it is a problem, too.