Starving Artist Cafe

A little pricey, but worth it. I love the quiche and anything else I’ve tried here. My prime time to go is on Argenta Restaurant Week, when you can save some money.

The food is eclectic pricy and unusual. The dining experience is extremely enjoyable and food is done of the best we have had in Little Rock out in Arkansas for that matter. I would recommend you check the hours before venturing here but the food is well with the trip

My husband and I love the food here. Lunch service can be a bit slow, so keep that in mind if you are on the clock.
Dinner is great. The wait staff is very knowledgeable, the drinks come out quickly and the food is delicious. We’ve never had enough thing that wasn’t exceptional. The bread that they serve may very well be the best in town.
The chicken crepes are probably my favorite item on the menu. The carrot soup is delicious too. The patio is nice. The ONLY downfall is that they have very odd business hours.

Yummy smoked turkey panini, with roasted red potatoes which was on a thick very dense rosemary bread. They have a pretty short lunch menu of items to choose from however crepes were on it and that was pretty tempting after reading other reviews. They have lots of cool art EVERYWHERE. It wasnt really happening when we went in around 2pm I wanna say we were the only people seated. Also after our meal our waiter, who was very attentive, asked if we wanted desert because his kitchen was about to close.
I think I would come back here and check out other items if I was in the area again. :)

So far my favorite place in Little Rock and I only had lunch! I saw this place listed on Unilocal and new it was one I had to try. The food was really good and the menu was chock full of things that I can’t wait to try. The BF especially liked the crepes and he is a self appointed crêpe connoisseur.
Very eclectic look, it would definitely be a good place to take a date that you were just getting to know. The art provides ample conversation topics and you can get great insight as to where their artistic eye lays.
Prices were good, wine was good and I can’t wait to go back for dinner!

Lunch today – Election Day – at this café, and the giant portrait of Obama in the front window reminded me of the predominant motif of this «hip» eatery in solid-​red Arkansas. But we were undeterred, and anxious to see what the fuss was all about from the glowing reviews.
The service was excellent on a not-​too-​busy Tuesday, and the daily special of tilapia with a crawfish topping, sided by roasted potatoes, was delicious. My business guest, who works nearby, had never eaten at Starving Artists, but if his reaction was any indication he’ll be back.
Definitely worth a repeat visit or two.

Just passing through on a Saturday night and Unilocaled to find some posative reviews about this small gem in the heart of Little Rock. It was late and close to shut down time and the staff was still friendly and entertaining. Their recommendations were on point for everything. The owner/​chef was excellent and made a delicious (best I have ever had) Cajun Pasta and a Apple Cinnamon Crape that was to celebrate over. Must go to this artistic, and fun café it will make your day.

Unilocaled this place while we passed through Little Rock. We weren’t let down! I really liked the art for sale all over the walls — it gave us a lot to look at and discuss throughout the meal. I just had the polenta because I wasn’t super hungry, but it was very good, and my friend had the chicken, which he raved about. They had a prix fixe dinner with wine as well.
Definitely recommend.

This was a fabulous restaurant and experience. My son and I were passing through Little Rock and stopped at the nearby USS Razorback submarine for a tour and I wanted to find a good local place to eat so I did a quick search on Unilocal and found Starving Artist. The food was wonderful; I had the special fish of the day. Was very pleased that they had local beer on tap.
The food, of course, is what makes this restaurant tick but without the art it would just be another good restaurant. The locally made art covering the walls (I counted 130 pieces) is what puts Starving Artist over the top. The art is all very affordable too. The owner told me they sell on average 10 pieces per week.
Like I said, I had my 5-​year-​old son with me and I thought it was just fine for him. I would also recommend Starving Artist for a date or a group of friends just wanting a good meal out.

Totally eclectic spot with some excellent food and service. «The Italian» is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

The place is nicely decorated and moody but the bread they used for the panini I tried was really dry. It almost felt like I was chewing a 2 days-​old bread, and it was only lunch time. Other than that, the place seems to be a cool place to hang out with friends.

Cute little spot for lunch. Artwork all over the walls makes for nice scenery and the service was great. I had the chicken herb salad and the chicken was tender, the greens were fresh, and the dressing was amazing. Hubby had the soup of the day it was a curry soup and he loved it. The real star of the show however was the dessert our server recommended to us– spice cake! It was moist and perfect drizzled with a pumpkin glaze and topped with fresh whipped cream. We were seriously fighting over who would have the last bite. Great lunch!

A group of friends decided to party in Little Rock. One of the things we like to do is to try other restaurants. We set up a group reservation at the Starving Artist café. When 25 of my closest friends and I arrived, they immediately seated us. We were a bit dismayed that we didn’t get one large table as we had hoped for, but we did manage to visit anyway.
The service was on the spot and attentive. The entrée choices were fairly unique. Lavender and carrot soup? I opted for quiche and salad. Food arrived in a timely manner and the quiche was warm but the salad wasn’t. Just the way I like it! I also opted for the Strawberries with crème Aanglaise which was very nice. Enough strawberries to make me a happy girl.
The décor is rustic with art everywhere as you might expect. And intriguing art. I saw pieces there I would have gladly carted home with me had I not been traveling with friends. Another plus was that they also sold books by local writers. I love that their concept of art didn’t stop with a canvas and paint.
Definitely worth the trolley ride from Little Rock across the bridge.

The menu reads like you are about to have a tasty experience but the food came out bland. I had a turkey pannini and hardly had any turkey on my sandwich. No tomato or lettuce either. The service was great but the food was meh.

Perhaps the best pork chop I have ever eaten. Meal was well portioned, atmosphere is hip, service friendly. Hopping John soup was really a great starter.
We were walking by on a one night visit to Little Rock, I am so glad we turned around and came here rather than going in the bar/​grill options down the block.

I officially became a fan of Starving Artist last night, when we went for dinner before the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre performance of As You Like It at the new Argenta Community Theatre. We arrived early without a reservation and were promptly seated. My husband had never been here before, and he was interested in all the art, etc. Although the prix fixe looked good, we were sticking with smaller orders ($ 32 for three courses and a glass of wine). Our service was friendly and attentive, and our waiter was very informative about the food.
The focaccia bread and oil the waiter brought right away was to die for! I could not stop eating it! My husband ordered the soup of the day, lavender carrot. How imaginative! I tasted it and it was very, very good! He also ordered the chicken crepes for his entrée. The waiter cautioned him that it wasn’t a large meal, which was thoughtful. I couldn’t resist the pasta of the day: penne with shrimp and sausage in a shrimp creole sauce (not too spicy, just a little kick).
It took a little while for the food to come, and we were getting a little nervous about my husband’s call time (he was in the play), and the waiter, whom we hadn’t told about our time constraints, explained to us that nothing is waiting to be ordered, and it is all made fresh when it is ordered, even the daily specials, which is why the food takes a little while to arrive there. He brought it shortly afterwards, and it was amazing, but a HUGE portion. I was sad I couldn’t take it with me, but I couldn’t have it in the theater or the car for all that time. Our waiter even offered to box it for us and hold it, but they closed at 9 p.m. and the play wouldn’t end until after 10:30 p.m.
I will definitely be back for dinner on the weekends! The food was imaginative and flavorful, and Starving Artist Café felt like the place to be in Argenta on a Friday night!

I’ve lived around the corner for eight months now and I have probably been in about a dozen times.
I still think the place is five stars. Only a few ups and downs to mention:
— The shrimp crêpe. I ordered this because the night before on Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay had flipped out at some chef for serving a seafood crêpe. The shrimp crêpe came out to my table and it didn’t look tremendously pleasant But it was delicious. Amazing even. A white wine and tomato sauce with asiago cheese, VERY fresh tasting and perfectly cooked shrimp inside — totally great.
— The fresh foccacia bread is killer, made every day with a tremendous recipe by a steady and talented hand. However, make no mistake, the bread is wildly better tasting at 11:30 than it is at 2:30.
— The red potatoes… I don’t know what to say about them. They accompany most of the lunch dishes. They are disappointing, pretty much always. The are exclusively undercooked and too hard. I spoke to the sous chef about it and he rolled his eyes, he said that he has repeatedly tried to change to procedure for the potatoes but has been rebuffed by the chef/​owner. No big deal, can’t win them all.
— The hours. This is my MAIN problem with Starving Artist. Keep in mind, I still gave them five stars, something I don’t do often, especially with an aggravating schedule. I would have eaten at Starving Artist twice as many times as I have, and I am sure that is true for tons of other people, if they acted like a normal restaurant. The place is closed one or two days a week, closed between lunch and dinner, only does some special kind of dinner on one night and some other kind of thing and something else. Plus, the hours are NOT POSTED ON THE FRONT DOOR. Please guys, restaurant should open at 11 and close after dinner. It should be open seven days a week. While it is common here in AR to have this same screwed-​up schedule, it doesn’t make sense.

This place was pretty good. If it was an essay I’d give it 87.5%. I had a tasty salad with olives and a pepperoncini and a house made dressing that was pretty tasty and a dank and tasty Italian Panini. It was heavy on the mortadella and was very satisfying. Lots of local art and things to look at around the place and my gf had the biggest girlcrush on the waitress. Looks like they had a lot of beers on tap and a decent bar set up. If i’m ever in Little Rock again (never) I’ll have to give it a go.
Aside from Kirsten Dunst being our waitress and some bomb ass whole home fried potatoes, this place was ‘go-​once-​and-​enjoy-​then-​move-​on.’ if you haven’t gone before, go. But I’m going to tell you that you’ll go again every friggin chance you get. Just enjoy it and move on.

This is definitely a unique place. Came to Starving Artist Café off of a suggestion and it turns out he knew what he was talking about… kind of. The place is just cool. Local art is displayed through out the restaurant, surrounding the small tables and yellow covered chairs. They have a few places where local artists come and use as a make shift studio, so this place truly supports the local artist.
The lunch menu is very simple; soup, salad, sandwich, quiche and desserts. They do offer a few daily specials as well. Our service was quick and friendly, which was a total surprise. Little Rock restaurants in general are not known for their good service, but SAC is the first place where I’ve found it.
Food was fresh and good at best. The Manhattan clam chowder was very tasty if you like tomato soup. There wasn’t much taste of clams or anything else but tomato broth. I ordered the Italian panini, which they said they were out of. How does one run out of a sandwich that consists of three different types of meat? Ended up with the turkey panini with mozzarella and home made red pepper mayo. The sandwich was good, but could have used a stronger flavor of the red pepper mayo. Besides that it was a good and hot. Pass on the potatoes, they’re not as good as they look… lukewarm and under seasoned.
They have a few tables outside. Parking can be a pain as it’s street only.
I’ll go back, because good service is hard to find in this town and hopefully they’ll have the Italian Panini then.

My family and I attend the Argenta Art Walk frequently. Last night we decided to do dinner here. The Starving Artist Café has a great vibe about it. Besides the great atmosphere and mesmerizing art — they have some tasty food! We each ordered a panini and soup– which after tax and tip averaged about $ 10/​person. The bread was fresh and tasted homemade. I tried the chicken corn chowder while my husband had the ham and white bean soup — both really good.