Inside Little Water, the Contemporary Coastal Restaurant in Rittenhouse

Philadelphia’s seafood restaurant renaissance continues to flourish with a new spot in Rittenhouse from a lauded husband-and-wife team.

Ted Nghiem

This Friday, October 25th, Little Water will open its doors to the public in Rittenhouse (261 South 20th Street). The former intimate space of Twenty Manning, Carolina’s, and 20th Street Cafe is now a restaurant that “celebrates the ecological diversity of life by the sea.”

For owners Chef Randy Rucker and Amanda Rucker, who also own the James Beard Award-nominated River Twice, this new venture is an opportunity for the couple to “further express who we are and what we have to offer Philly.”

Ted Nghiem

“With Little Water, we’re looking forward to serving a different neighborhood and a broader audience, and offering new opportunities to experience our food and hospitality,” says Randy Rucker. “For example, we have a bar at Little Water for guests can walk in and simply grab a drink at the bar. Unlike River Twice, the menu at Little Water is a la carte, so guests can order as they please. We’ll soon be open for lunch, too, so people can experience Little Water at different times of the day.”

“We wanted to bring our sense of hospitality and food to another neighborhood in Philly,” Amanda Rucker adds. “It was always part of our 5-year-plan when we opened River Twice to open another restaurant, and we just celebrated five years of business for River Twice, so we’re right on track.”

Design wise, diners can expect an entirely different make-over from previous restaurants that occupied the Rittenhouse location. Amanda Rucker, who is also an accomplished interior designer, brings her keen aesthetic eye to transforming the space into what she describes as the couple’s “strong commitment to green and sustainable design” with a focus on biophilic principles.

Ted Nghiem

“We love how the corner property is filled with windows to maximize natural daylight and connect the interior to the outdoors — we intentionally selected corner properties rich with windows for both Little Water and River Twice to enhance the natural light and foster a sense of connection with nature,” Rucker says on her vision for the restaurant’s interior design.

Ted Nghiem

“For the art at Little Water, the piece that hangs in the dining room is a piece that I’m particularly excited about as I made it with my three-year-old daughter, Ruby. It has been in the works since we moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 2017 — it is a living piece of work that includes natural elements from the places we’ve lived from Connecticut to Martha’s Vineyard, using shells and sand from places that we have lived and have significance to us.”

“The murals in the bathroom are done by me as well,” Rucker adds. “You’ll see a similar style as the bathroom at River Twice.”

Ted Nghiem

The cuisine at Little Water is contemporary coastal — familiar seafood dishes with Rucker’s signature flair for cultural inspiration, sustainability, and modern interpretation on classics.

Ted Nghiem

Ted Nghiem

Ted Nghiem

“The cooking techniques are classical—we use modern techniques only when the dish requires them,” Randy Rucker says on the couple’s vision to serve food that’s “simple with clean flavors and bold presentations.” “Similar to River Twice, we lean into fermentation, preservation, and conservation, and when you have those elements at the forefront of your approach, they automatically provide a unique style. The preserves, pickles, and ferments that we are using are uniquely Little Water.”

Ted Nghiem

“From beaches and marshes to secluded coves, we celebrate the full spectrum of coastal terrain,” Amanda Rucker says about the culinary direction of the restaurant. “By highlighting the ecological diversity that thrives by the sea, we offer a dining experience deeply connected to this unique environment that is not just seafood.”

Ted Nghiem

Diners can expect to try their uni toast, caviar, oysters, peekytoe crab hash brown, Lancaster County chicken brined with shio koji, swordfish Milanese, grande plateaus, and other dynamic culinary takes on traditional seafood dishes.

Little Water has a full-service bar that’s led by Ben Spirk, the restaurant’s beverage director, who wants to “echo the work in the kitchen that is being done with our vendors and purveyors.”

“At the bar, what looks simple starts with a much larger process focused on flavor, with an emphasis on the raw ingredients, rather than the spirits used,” Spirk says. “At Little Water, what is in the glass is as important as what’s on the plate.”

In terms of signature cocktails on the menu, diners can try their Orchard Daiquiri, which uses Three Springs Fruit Farm’s Granny Smith apples to make an apple cordial, and white rum infused with espelette pepper — which Spirk describes as being “reminiscent of the flavors from our raw bar—which is reflective of our approach to highlighting specific ingredients in our cocktails.” The restaurant’s Juice Box Negroni is described as “a less traditional take on a negroni” as it uses local concord grapes from Local Bound as a stand-in for vermouth to provide “a more singular flavor” that’s combined with the botanicals of London Dry Gin to create the familiar flavors of a negroni.

Ted Nghiem

Ted Nghiem

Ted Nghiem

And in keeping with the restaurant’s focus on sustainability, Little Water’s bar is also passionate about something else — ice.

“We’re definitely putting an emphasis on the importance of ice at Little Water,” Spirk adds on how “bartenders really can’t do their job without ice, similarly to the way chefs can’t function without fire.” “We’re breaking down ice, and controlling our ingredients with it. We have a great relationship with Philadelphia Craft Ice Company here in Philly.”

Overall, the Ruckers want diners to treat Little Water more casually (and frequently) than the grand allure of its predecessor, River Twice.

“We also want diners to know that one of the largest differences between River Twice and Little Water is that Little Water is a place for diners to come once a week, rather than for special occasions,” the couple says. “Guests can walk into Little Water and enjoy the raw bar, or a beer at the bar, and that’s it!”

Little Water’s grand opening is this Friday at 5 pm, with regular service on Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 5 pm to 10 pm. Reservations can now be made on Open Table. For more information, their number is (215) 337-3343 and more details can be found on their official website.