Key West's Culinary Triple Threat

By Laura Richardson

Restaurateurs Kristen Onderdonk and Tommy Quartararo with their son, Truman, and daughter, Teagan.

Restaurateurs Kristen Onderdonk and Tommy Quartararo with their son, Truman, and daughter, Teagan.

Mr. Quartararo grew up in Westchester County, New York, where he started his 20-plus-year career in the restaurant industry after his older brother and brother-in-law opened landmark restaurant Le Jardin du Roi in Chappaqua, of which the younger Quartararo was involved from the conception. “He was made for the industry!” Ms. Onderdonk says.

The spark of the future Key West restaurant dynasty was lit when Ms. Onderdonk and Mr. Quartararo met in New York in 2004, but it took a chance reunion in Key West years later for them to recognize their combined potential. “I officially moved to Key West in 2006,” Ms. Onderdonk says. “My family had been coming to the island since I was 2 years old, so it was always a second home for me. Tommy and I had met in New York through old mutual friends while we both lived there and, five months after I moved to Key West solo, he coincidentally came down on a fishing trip and we connected on a whole new level. We fell in love over the course of that year while he was still living in New York and he finally quit his job and moved to Key West in 2007.”

READ ARTICLE

Newsday | Florida Keys road trip: Where to stop along the way

By Robin Soslow
Updated January 7, 2020 12:07 PM

An aerial photo of Key West, Florida, the southernmost city in the continental United States and last of the islands in the Florida Keys island chain. Credit: Florida Keys News Bureau / Laurence Norah

An aerial photo of Key West, Florida, the southernmost city in the continental United States and last of the islands in the Florida Keys island chain. Credit: Florida Keys News Bureau / Laurence Norah

The Florida Keys have kicked off the new decade by giving you more ways to go wild. I don’t mean just the kind of partying indigenous to Key West’s infamous Duval Street. Island-hop the 125-mile coral archipelago, hugged by crystal blue-key lime green waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and hike, bike, paddle, snorkel and dive in natural settings from the edge of the Everglades to mangrove forests to sand and sea.

READ ARTICLE

Florida Weekly | New Year’s Eve in Key West

By Laura Richardson
December 26, 2019

At the stroke of midnight, Evalina the pirate wench will descend from the “mast” of the Schooner Wharf Bar, cutlass and all. COURTESY PHOTO

At the stroke of midnight, Evalina the pirate wench will descend from the “mast” of the Schooner Wharf Bar, cutlass and all. COURTESY PHOTO

If you’re in the mood for a little more romance as you toast the coming year, Little Pearl (632 Olivia St.) is the bistro you’re looking for. As with every plate that comes out of their innovative kitchen, the five-course (plus amuse bouche and dessert) Little Pearl New Year’s Eve menu is a paean to the bounties of our local waters.

READ ARTICLE

TimeOut | The 21 best Key West restaurants

By Shayne Benowitz and Amy Zavatto
June 13, 2019

Image from TimeOut article.

Image from TimeOut article.

In the tiny space that once housed Seven Fish (which moved to Eaton Street), magical two-year-old Little Pearl is the kind of spot that feels at once like a special-occasion treat and somewhere you want to be all the time. Owners Tommy Quartararo and Kristen Onderdonk followed the successful compass of their sister spot, Thirsty Mermaid, with fresh flavors and techniques that let them shine. But where the lovely Mermaid floats along on a casual wave, the Pearl shines like a precious stone. Start with the seared, tender Bangkok octopus curled around a posey of mung beans, mint, basil and cilantro and gently draped in a coconut-chili sauce, or take a cue from the eatery’s name and order the baked oysters with bright pickled onion, mustard seed and wilted greens. The ample shrimp on stone ground grits with savory, salty lardon and a buerre blanc sauce is sigh-worthy, but you might want to order an extra crab, shrimp and lobster pot pie to spoon into at home when you find yourself thinking about it in the middle of the night.

READ ARTICLE

Afar | Little Pearl

By GiAnna Wyatt

Photo by Nick Doll

Photo by Nick Doll

This stylishly nautical bar and restaurant is located in the Old Town on Olivia and Elizabeth streets, nicely removed from the hustle and bustle of Duval Street. The dining room decor pays tasteful tribute to Key West's maritime culture with sea-blue upholstered banquettes and accents like sea star mobiles…

READ ARTICLE

Florida Weekly | Brand new Little Pearl: an instant neighborhood gem

By Laura Richardson
March 09, 2017

Photo from Florida Weekly article.

Photo from Florida Weekly article.

Usually when a new restaurant opens in Key West, it takes at least a month or two for the owners and staff to work out the menu kinks and settle into the space.

Not surprisingly, seasoned husband and wife restauranteurs Tommy Quartararo and Kristen Onderdonk’s new Little Pearl, which opened Feb. 25, was perfect from day one. Tucked away on the corner of Olivia and Elizabeth streets, the space is dimly lit, romantic and cozy, while adhering to the marine aesthetic of its big sister restaurant, The Thirsty Mermaid.

I have to warn you: The menu is so inspired and inspiring, it is going to be nearly impossible to decide what to eat. Bring a group of people, because you’re going to want to order one of everything, and there’s just not enough room on a two- or four-top for every dish.

READ ARTICLE

Dine with us today!

Open Every Day • 5-9pm