261 S 20th St

Okay, listen...I know it's a seafood restaurant but...just take a look at that chicken. It's probably one of the best chicken dishes in the city. The CHICKEN is spectacular. A home run debut for Little Water.

Came for Valentine's Day and had a lovely meal. We got the seafood plateau, the crab uni potato, the Caesar, the swordfish and the halibut The halibut and Caesar are must have period. The halibut was in a creamy clean sauce which I could eat everyday. The Caesar with the seaweed was such an incredible bite. I want no other Caesar again! The plateau was yummy but I think the clams and the crab were the star so feel free to order those one off. As for the crab uni potato bite, it was just okay. All in all, this was a cute spot and I'd def recommend for seafood lovers

3.5 tldr delicious flavors w/ small portions at a high price point came in with a friend for dinner on a wed, easy res the day before. had a great yuzu cocktail then got the scallops, mackerel, bread, and halibut fresh, zesty flavors (particularly the scallops). mackerel was fun but the flavor is very reminiscent of the miso/ginger orange dressing u get on salads at sushi restaurants. halibut had this cool potato/clam chowder thing going on. i remember thinking that the dishes genuinely tasted new and good which is rare. biggest downside is that we were both still hungry afterwards lmao nowhere near enough food (went to another spot right afterwards to eat a full other dish + dessert) service is wonderful and attentive, great date night ambiance. the kind of place for something special but not if it is hard to get a res or you're actually hungry 72 pp after tax and tip with 1 drink each (and another meal afterwards)

Came here for lunch and found this Cutest little spot! Food quality was spectacular and portions are good size for me personally, but might not be enough for some. Ordered 4/5 Sea scallops (appetizer): very fresh with a heavy flavor of citrus from the yuzu, I thought it was refreshing but may be too citrus for others 4/5 butter and bread: butter was super delicious and creamy 4/4: pan fried or oven baked(?) fish, very light and portion was good 5/5 spirit free Carnation: delicious cocktail with tea and sweet cream (?) as topping, super good! Service: friendly and accommodating. I asked to be moved to a different table as the floor beneath me was vibrating and they were very open to it!

Tuna was outstanding bread also was a standout. This is a good spot in a prime location and won't disappoint

Our Thursday night dinner started off on a super high note with our cocktails. I went with a spirit free option that knocked my socks off (carnation). From there my favorite dishes were the raw bluefin tuna and the peekytoe crab hash brown--both great starters. The hash brown is perfectly crispy but it is certainly a very pricey dish for what it is. If I had gone with a larger group I would also have liked to try the giant sea bass, which I saw at a few other tables. Other things to note are that I'd absolutely recommend a reservation, there's coat check available, the staff are super friendly, and the tables are in close ish quarters where you can hear other tables' conversations.

Vibes: minimalistic but classy; bring a friend or date Tasting notes: - Scarlet crab claws: easy to eat; excellent pairing with the mustard coating over the exposed meat - Vineyard bay scallops: sweet and silky in texture; loved the fragrance of yuzu and olive oil; a clean, refreshing appetizer - Duxbury oysters: delightfully slurpable with a surprise ginger-forward "broth" from each oyster; greens added to roastiness - Lobster toast: bread is thick, buttery, sweet; generous avalanche of tender lobster and escargot; very indulgent and rich - Swordfish milanese: uniformly and addictingly crispy with a healthy dose of tartar sauce with dill; the largest dish of the night - Maple cremeaux: delightful spoonfuls of mousse, cream, and pumpkin seed granola to finish the night! Other thoughts: - fairly bustling and loud on a weekday night - service was friendly and attentive; plates and silverware were switched for each course - above dishes were satisfying for two moderately hungry adults Impression: lobster toast was the highlight for this first dinner, can't wait to come back for more outstanding meals!

Cutely decorated restaurant that's more spacious than you would think! Came here for dinner and unintentionally ended up staying until close to closing time. All dishes creative, delicious, and had perfect texture (for those who care about that). HIGHLY recommend the Crab Hashbrown and Swordfish Milanese. The swordfish had a Cajun seasoning with a satisfying crispy, crunchy coating. I generally avoid crab at most establishments because they pale in comparison to crab from Baltimore, however this came pretty close! This dishes combined the perfect amount of crab to sauce ratio and was great finger food. Portions were super small though :( which is sad considering how tasty everything is. This is definitely a family style spot--order multiple dishes to share or you may not be satisfied...which I learned the hard way. Most tables were filled with couples, so perfect for date night!

Friends and family night at @littlewaterphl was a complete success! Shout out to @chefxjeff for the invite because everything was so amazing. From the ambiance, to the amazing food, attention to detail and fantastic service; you truly cannot go wrong dining at Little Water! The intricate detail in every dish was truly remarkable! This contemporary costal resturant has an extensive menu. We decided to indulge in their shrimp cocktail, sour dough bread w/ house made butter, crab hash browns and swordfish milanese. For dessert we had the s'mores fudge pops which were decadent, chocolatey and delicious! Everything was incredible and packed with flavor! Cannot wait to come back to Little Water with friends to try more of their outstanding menu items!

Seafood Plateau, Uni Latkes, Swordfish Milanese I loved this meal! This restaurant recently opened up, and we were lucky enough to snag seats at the bar. The restaurant interior is beautiful and quite large; the bar is lovely and the staff super kind and attentive. The food was exceptional!! The seafood plateau is a must--so fun and fresh and delicious. We had the best time munching through everything. The uni latkes were so fun and the uni was delicious. Great drinks and milanese too!

A newly-opened Rittenhouse spot with a great ambiance and delicious water-inspired menu. Our bay scallops were delicious, and the fried fish-based "hash brown" was my favorite of the dishes we ordered. The crab and uni complemented the flavors well, and it was a great balance in each bite. However, my one wish was if we had three per order instead of two! I think it's just a *bit* pricier for its portion size. The swordfish was flavorful and well-seasoned, but we felt the salad was a bit underwhelming for the garnish. I felt it was a bit surprising that both main fish entrees were fried and there wasn't a pan-seared option on the menu, but it was still delicious with each bite. Service was great the entire evening. Coat check was offered, and our waitress gave great recommendations on preferred wines and tasting. Overall, the atmosphere and price matched well with our expectations. It's on the pricier end of your tab, but I'd certainly come back again!

Ugh I am so happy I got to try this place! It's perfect if you're a seafood lover. The raw bar has so many delicious options. We went for the shrimp and the crab claws and I think the shrimp was my fav from here. As far as entrees go, the swordfish Milanese stole the show. So so so delicious. Not pictured, but if you get the sourdough toast make sure to add the anchovy. Service was good especially given they just opened! The place has a really nice vibe overall, too. Can't wait to come back.

One of the best meals we've ever had. Small place, need reservations. But wow, the tasting menu is fantastic

Okay. This place was amazing! I came here with my boyfriend for his birthday and this place did it disappoint! We got the grande plateau, the caviar service, and the hashbrowns. I'm not kidding when I say this..every single bit was amazing! We are definitely coming back here!!

So I have BIG thoughts on Little Water. First and foremost it's a welcomed addition to the neighborhood. It certainly has great ambiance and a vibe. Definitely a nice spot for a date. I personally loved the bar space and would rather snag food and drinks at the bar than sit at a table there. Bartender we had was excellent. Now for the food, it's obviously a high end place with excellent tasting food, but I can't help but say I do think it's a bit overpriced for what you get. The Oysters with the white sauce are VERY good and interesting....but it's certainly a different taste than just getting your traditional raw oysters (obviously). The Hash brown dish was tasty, but to me it was just okay for what it was. Honestly it reminded me of the Tuna Rice Cracker small plate dish at Sampan but triple the price ($32 vs $11). Again, I'm not a chef, I'm sure the ingredients used among other factors warrant the price difference, but to a Joe schmo like me, I find the Sampan dish just as good and friendlier to the wallet. But as you'll tell from my review, this isn't a place to go if you're looking to carefully budget your dinner / night out. Go here when you want to enjoy good vibes and appreciate the creativity of the chef and team at Little Water.

an absolutely beautiful new restaurant with delicious food & the friendliest staff! i was so excited to check this new spot out, and it definitely didn't disappoint. my friend and i both started with the carnation mocktail, such a unique drink! the maple honey yogurt on top was divine, and i thought it complimented the light tart drink well. my friend did not like the contrast and thought the drink part was too sour. we ordered the grand plateau which was absolutely beautiful. every bite was delicious and the seafood was so fresh. my personal favorites were the vineyard bay scallops! my only complaint was that almost all of the seafood were pre-dressed in their sauces. i'm personally not a big horseradish fan and found myself trying to push the horseradish off of the shrimp. we also found the oysters quite salty with all the marionette, but the platter was stunning and delightful nonetheless. for our mains, i got the lancaster county chicken while my friend got the swordfish milanese. both were extremely well done and so tasty! the swordfish milanese was perfectly fried, light and crispy, not oily. i was in love with the lancaster county chicken. the chicken was so tender and flavorful, it had to be one of the best chicken dishes ive ever had. the sweet potato mash it came with was also perfectly buttery with just the right amount of sweetness. we couldn't stop eating the mash! the entrees are also quite large, i ended up taking home half of the chicken. the fudge pops were cute but honestly a miss for me. i've heard a lot of people enjoyed them for the nostalgia factor, but it's not something i had in my childhood and kind of just tasted like a glorified chocolate popsicle. it was also quite cold outside, perhaps it would be better in the summer. my main critique of the restaurant was the wait time. my friend and i weren't seated until 30 minutes after our reservation. i'm going to chalk it up to the restaurant being extremely new and give them a pass, but the atmosphere was a little chaotic and the waiting area was quite cramped. the staff were super friendly though and extremely apologetic! our server was super attentive throughout the dinner, we never had a moment where our water glasses were empty. has to be some of the best service i've experienced, he just sparked joy! i would visit again, perhaps after the hype dies down.

Came to Little Water for my birthday dinner, and was impressed with this cute comfy sea food restaurant! Drinks were decent-I got a simple martini which hit the spot. My friend got the Sauvignon blanc which was exceptionally good! For appetizers we got the Caesar salad, oysters and the hash browns with crab meat & uni. We were not impressed with the oysters as they had an Alabama White sauce on it, and we usually like our oysters served with just lemon juice and hot sauce. For main course I got the sea scallops which were really delicious. My friends got the Swordfish Milanese and the chicken which were amazing! Only thing about the chicken is that it is served with the claw attached to the meat. Overall I loved the delicious food, cute cozy ambiance and attentive service at Little water and will definitely be back!

Chef Randy and Amanda Rucker have rucking done it again! We've been fans of River Twice for years now, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to their second restaurant since it'd been announced. But holy moly, Little Water is a triumph. Where to start? The restaurant is absolutely beautiful! Much more spacious than River Twice, yet still cozy, comfortable, and quiet. If there was a couch, I would bring a book, have a cocktail and never leave. The interior design is inspired/inspiring as my wife and I sat at the bar and started to pick elements we may want to use in future home improvements. If you're a fan of Chef Rucker's playful flavors, techniques, seasonality, and fresh seafood, there's so much to like here. For two people, we definitely over ordered - but we ate every single bite. Not a morsel left. The Grand Plateau was so good! One of our favorite oyster preparations to date, we fought over the scallops in lemon oil, the pickled clams with Alabama white sauce and shrimp cocktail w/ smoked catsup and horseradish were perfect compliments to each other. Chef Rucker once did a venison tartare years ago that we still talk about as one of our favorite bites ever, so when we saw another venison tartare on the menu we had to order it. And while very different from the past iteration, this was one of the best bites of the night. The Caesar-like Salad is definitely for garlic lovers - wow! Super savory, bright, a little funky from the furikake. From pictures from their first week of service I think the dish I was most looking forward to was the Hash Brown with Crab Salad and Uni. We were happy that there were two per order, and they came with a generous amount of uni. Maybe my palate was a little blown out from the Caesar salad, but I thought the hash brown could have used a bit more salt. But I love a salty, fried potato. The Swordfish Milanese was a knockout! We had been debating whether to get the Chuck Flap or this dish, and as we were finishing the Swordfish we said we would have been really sad if we missed this dish. It was so crispy, meaty, yet delicate. The bitter green salad and tartar-like sauce were perfect accompaniments. And though we were full we had to eat every last bite. My wife will usually go for chocolate desserts, but we took our bartender's suggestion to go for the squash dessert, and we were so glad we did. It was the perfect amount of sweet, creamy, savory from sage(?), and we felt good about having vegetables for dessert! We sat at the bar and shoutout to the bartending staff for their attentiveness, banging beverage suggestions, conversation, and genuinely being a good hang! Little Water is a great addition to the Rittenhouse area that's already full of great spots. But this is the one I can't wait to return to. Lightning struck twice with the Ruckers, folks.

Great vibe, unfortunately the bar is reservation-only which adds an obstacle if you just want to pop in for a drink.

I had an excellent dining experience last Thursday. The server was great. The old Twenty Manning location is an ideal restaurant space. Lots of room for comfortable seating and nice bar. My buddy and I ordered the Mighty bread with butter and sardines to start. We got the shrimp cocktail and raw oysters, both fresh and well-dressed. The Caesar salad was one of the stars. The dressing is SO garlicy to the point that it was spicy. I loved it so much. The squid ink rice dish was interesting. It was good but not my favorite. The sea bass was the main attraction and it blew me away. It was huge, so me and buddy shared. It was fried to perfection. It was not greasy or heavy. It was served over a delicious thin cilantro sauce and a bed of sea island rice peas. It was phenomenal. The cocktails were awesome as well. Great ambience, great food, great drinks. Not cheap but worth the price. My only suggestion is toast the sourdough bread. Will definitely be back.

Chuck tail and farro verde were excellent. Beautiful space and food presentation. Could have done without the surprise chicken claw.

Despite the noise and crowded feel for a Friday night, the service and seafood here were phenomenal. Splurge on the seafood starter spread; totes worth it. Drinks are interesting, and desserts are dangerous. If you're lucky enough to see the key lime "pie" offered, do not hesitate.

Get your taste buds to little water. Everything is delicious and fresh af. The grand plateau is a must... a not so little taste of ALL raw bar selections. Everything on the platter is cute and perfectly dressed up. Throw some housemade hot sauce on your whole life. Our server Colin was super attentive, nice and knowledgeable. It is such a beautiful space with clean cozy vibes. Love this place. Ps get Colin's creation 'the hole in the wall' cocktail

Nice setting and atmosphere, but that's all. Food and service just ok/blah. The crabs had a nice flavor, but just too tiny. Maybe out of season probably should come off the menu. Joes stone crab they are not. The sourdough bread didn't come out until the entree so expectations were high. But just cold bread and some substance that was repulsive. Flavors didn't work. The whole fish entree looked great flavor ok sauce was lacking flavor. Tried it don't have to try again. It's ok if you can't get in anywhere else it will serve its purpose, they serve food.

We changed our reservation last minute, but they were still able to accommodate us. We sat at the counter which was entertaining and had the most delicious and fresh seafood I've had in a long time! There wasn't a bad thing on the menu and the wine/bottle selection is great.

Five star price, two star experience. We had a reservation for two for New Year's Eve, and we ultimately got seated 25 minutes after our 7:45 arrival time, despite a policy of charging guests $30 a head if they are 15 minutes late, which I guess only cuts one way. They tried desperately to seat us at the bar instead, which is mind less if not for their own militant policy on charging guests if they don't honor their commitments. When we were seated, we were at a two-top next to a four foot tall barrier. Bizarrely, throughout the night, the hostess began seating guests on the other side of the barrier to use as a bar top. The guests, looking at us, were rotating through and essentially part of our table, completely ruining the atmosphere as our uninvited guests conversations penetrated our space. I've never encountered anything like this at a local McDonald's, let alone a restaurant of this caliber. You'd think you could have a somewhat private table at a place like this. The food was delicious, but the quantities were so small: think 2-3 bites per dish. To get a full meal here one needs to order at least three plates per person, making the true cost of food $100-$120 a head pre-tax. At the end of the night, I ordered a glass of port with dessert. Dessert was brought out and the port never came, by the time we were checked on and finished eating, I didn't want to sit and have a drink alone after it was time for the check. For a restaurant where a tab for two will run easily into the high two hundreds or three hundreds, placing it at a price point at the top of any restaurant in the city, you'd expect the service and experience to match. Instead, expect to be disappointed.

Start to finish, it was excellent! Our waiter, Rodney, was so nice. Food was so great- will definitely be returning and recommending to others.