One of the most popular restaurants in Ridgefield is opening its second location in southern Wilton.
The Little Pub—which opened in Branchville in 2009—is gearing up to open a sister restaurant at 26 Danbury Road, in the space formerly occupied by Dina! Restaurant & Bar.
“We've been working on this project since last June,” owner Doug Grabe told Patch. “Like any new baby, it's taking nine months.”
Grabe hopes to open the restaurant’s doors this month.
“We are still targeting late February but this cold weather is really slowing everything down,” Grabe said. “That said, even if we slip a week or two, we should be open by Wilton Restaurant Week in March.”
Grabe describes the restaurant as a “rustic European countryside pub.”
“It’s comfortable, cozy and fun,” he said.
Those who have sauntered up to the Ridgefield location might have noticed it can get pretty jammed during lunch and dinner rushes. The Wilton location is bigger and seats around 90 people.
Though that which is offered at the Ridgefield location will be available in Wilton, the new location’s size also leaves room for more options on the menu, which changes seasonally.
“One of the things that's really exciting us about the Wilton location is the size of the kitchen,” Grabe said. “It's like four times the size of the Ridgefield kitchen, so in addition to all the little pub dishes people have come to know and love—burgers, fish and chips, et cetera—we'll also be able to add traditional pub dishes like shepherd's pie, bangers and mash, Guinness beef stew. Most exciting is that [chef] Timmy will get a chance to really stretch his legs on the daily specials.”
Though several names were kicked around, Grabe said they eventually settled on calling the second location a name they know works: The Little Pub.
In last summer's Readers' Choice contest, Patch readers voted Ridgefield’s Little Pub the best place in that town to get a burger, as well as the town’s best bar.
To view the menu currently offered at the restaurant's Ridgefield location, click here. To see the pub's extensive beer menu, click here.
