There aren’t many places to find spaetzle — an egg noodle pasta that’s popular in Germany — on Oʻahu. That’s just one of the reasons why husband-and-wife team Vince and Halley McCarthy, the owners of Little Sparrow, decided to specialize in it.
“Vince and I have been making spaetzle since early in our careers; he worked at a German beer house in Portland, and I learned from a German chef on Kauaʻi,” Halley McCarthy says. “We would bring it as a special or for staff meal to each restaurant we’d work at over the years. It’s tasty, different and super versatile.
“We realized that no one else was making spaetzle consistently out here, and we wanted to share it with Oʻahu,” she adds. “When we decided to open our booth, I did some research on the history and origins of spaetzle and discovered that it translates to ‘Little Sparrows’ in Swabian, a southern German dialect.”
Little Sparrow officially opened in December 2021 at the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau Kailua market. While customers can now find Little Sparrow at a variety of farmers markets across Oʻahu — including Mililani, Kakaʻako, Kailua and Honolulu — the business opened its own brick-and-mortar in Kaimukī last fall.
“After nearly three years at the farmers markets, we decided that we wanted a space of our own,” McCarthy says.
Little Sparrow’s Kaimukī shop is currently open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sundays. The business is hoping to expand their hours in the future.
The shop is currently located in an alley by Yoga Under The Palms on Waiʻalae Avenue. McCarthy says she and Vince were inspired by the little alleyways with shops and cafés that they saw while walking around Melbourne a few years ago.
“It took us a while to open; we weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do with the space since there’s no dining room and it’s off the beaten path,” she says. “It started as just an A-frame outside and the menu on the open gate, then came some decorations to make it feel friendlier.
“One day, a couple of ladies ordered food, then sat down against the fence to eat it; we ordered the little tables that night,” McCarthy adds. “It’s a work in progress; we’re just finding little ways and touches to make it feel like a quiet hideaway on Waiʻalae.”
If you can’t find the alley right away, keep an eye out for Little Sparrow’s menu board and the colorful chalk (with arrows) on the sidewalk.
“The kitchen had been vacant for quite some time before we moved in, but now that we’re open, we are learning so much about its history from guests coming and telling stories,” McCarthy says. “There was a steakhouse/pottery studio (before), which seems like such a fun concept; and an art-forward fusion restaurant; an airsoft supply shop. There’s an old sign in the alley that says, ‘Karaoke Ichiban,’ which is very cool.”
While spaetzle is traditionally eaten as a side dish, according to McCarthy, Little Sparrow focuses on it as the whole meal. Its dishes showcase two different spaetzle noodles — the original is made with milk, eggs and flour, while its lemon spinach has lemon zest and spinach, resulting in its bright green color, according to McCarthy.
“We saute the spaetzle with different meats, veggies and cheese to make each dish,” she says. “Everything is made to order and is customizable. We can substitute vegetables for meat to make a dish vegetarian; spicy dishes can be made without. We are happy to modify any bowl to suit someone’s preferences.”
The biggest difference between the business’s shop menu and farmers market menu is that the Kaimukī store offers half-sized and full-sized portions.
“We offer half-sized bowls here, so if you’re cruising Kaimukī and don’t want to eat a huge, heavy portion, you can do that,” McCarthy says.
Customers can choose from the classic mac-and-cheese style OG Cheesy ($8 half portion, $15 full portion) and truffle mushroom ($10 half portion, $19 full portion) to garlic shrimp ($11.50 half portion, $22 full portion) and kimchi and kalua ($9.50 half portion, $18 full portion). The latter is a Kaimukī exclusive, according to McCarthy.
“It’s a flavor bomb with our homemade kalua pork, kimchi, garlic, local bok choy and house cheese blend, topped with chili aioli, bulgogi glaze, green onions and ‘Korean Crunch,’ which is our mix of Korean chili flakes, fried garlic and sesame seeds,” she explains. “It was one of our most popular specials and has found a permanent home on our shop menu.”
The truffle mushroom — which originated as Little Sparrow’s first special, but was added to the menu due to customer demand — is the most popular flavor. It’s a savory, cheesy medley of original spaetzle with umami mushrooms, fresh herbs, kale, house cheese blend, lemon, black pepper, truffle aioli, green onions and fried garlic.
The CBM ($10 half portion, $19 full portion) — chicken, bacon and mushroom bowl — is another customer favorite, according to McCarthy.
“It has garlic, kale and our house cheese blend, topped with a Paprikash sauce — a nod to how spaetzle is served in Hungary — and green onions,” she explains.
While Little Sparrow is known for its spaetzle, the business offers more than that. In previous years, the business has offered take and heat dinners, Thanksgiving feasts to-go and holiday feasts to-go. Last year’s holiday feast included 28-day dry-aged prime rib-eye and roasts, according to McCarthy.
“We’re planning on doing more, and not just for holidays,” she says. “We want to make fine dining-level food easy, accessible and convenient to eat at home. We’re also figuring out how to put ourselves on the food delivery apps.”
Since the McCarthys love to cook, customers can expect a variety of non-spaetzle specials at the shop, ranging from clam chowder and sandwiches to fish, shrimp and chips, wraps and the business’s fresh fruit lemonade.
“We love what we do, love making great food and truly love making people happy,” McCarthy says. "That’s why we started Little Sparrow. We live in Kaimukī; this neighborhood is our home. It means so much to us to be sharing everything we do with this community. We’re really looking forward to making our little alley somewhere that folks know that they can get something delicious made with quality ingredients.”
CONTACT
Little Sparrow
3574 Waiʻalae Ave., Honolulu
Instagram: @littlesparrowhnl
Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
