Cafe Piccolo

Kind of astonished the reviews aggregate to 4 stars here. Piccolo is oasis compared to what’s available in the NE.
Food:
— Red sauces (ragus) stood out. Alfredo was quite good too. You can taste the individual ingredients. Not overly fatty. Lots of depth. Amazed at how good the chicken ragu was. (That’s right — chicken.)
— Pasta was homemade with lovely al dente texture
— Lamb gnocchi struck a fine balance between moist and a dente. «Lambiness» played harmoniously with the red sauce.
Environment:
— A rare family friendly establishment w/​non-​crappy cuisine.
— Loud enough that you don’t have to figure out how to keep your toddler quiet.
— Intimate enough to bring your parents.
— Waitstaff was helpful. They also knew how to deal with kids.
Happy days are here again. I don’t know why it took us so long to try this place. We will definitely be back.

I will definitely be a lifetime customer. The service was wonderful the establishment is very quaint and the food is phenomenal

My husband and I ate there on Tuesday and they have a half off wine glasses ($ 8 to $ 4) and carafes ($ 22 to $ 11) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Our waiter was extremely polite and helpful and let us sample a few wines before selecting our half carafe.
I am gluten intolerant and this place is amazing! They had bread, appetizers and pasta that were all deliciously gluten free.
We got the bacon calamari appetizer, the bolognese and two desserts. The desserts were amazing and really well priced ($ 4 – 6). I got the pumpkin cheesecake and he or the doughnuts (which was a favorite for both of us).
We will definitely be going back again and this might be one of our regular places that we go now. Thanks for your awesome food and service! Keep it up!

This place is delicious. Good food, great wine, outstanding service. I had the bacon wrapped calamari, grass fed beef and chocolate torte. Plus I love half price wine night. Definitely coming back. Only reason I’m not giving five stars is the cut of beef could have been better. Otherwise, perfect.

Went in here with some friends after living in the neighborhood for a few years and not stopping in. Complete mistake, I should have started coming here years ago! The service was extremely good and the waiter very polite! The atmosphere was nice, nothing overdone but very relaxing and quiet.
Now for the food. I ordered the Ahi Tuna dish which was absolutely fantastic. I’ve been to restaurants all over the place and at a much higher cost but the meal were not prepared as well as it was here. In addition my friends ordered a Lamb Gnocchi and the other ordered a Veal dish, both completely satisfied!
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone! Again, extremely good service, fantastic food, and very reasonable price wise!

This small, non-​flashy little restaurant is one of a limited number of choices in a not particularly trendy part of town. So I didn’t go in expecting much beyond red sauce, but was pleasantly surprised. The place has a low-​key neighborhoody feel but really good creative food and top-​notch service, for pretty reasonable prices. We had a variety of dishes, including pastas and meats, and all were quite good. It was fairly quiet, even when mostly full, so it’s a good place to go for conversation. I was there with my somewhat hard of hearing mother, and it worked out fine. All in all a great choice.

Always solid! Very accommodating, and with great service. We have gone here many times and always had a good meal!

It doesn’t get better than this. I have eaten here MANY times, and half always found the service to be personable and the food to be DELICIOUS!
My wife and I have enjoyed almost everything on the menu, but usually listen for the specials because the chef likes to use local fresh ingredients to make exciting meals. If you haven’t been, GO, if you have, GO AGAIN!

I’ve been going to this lovely spot every visit to the Seattle area and am always impressed with the fabulous service, well portioned-​unique and tasty menu, and ambiance!

I thought that this was a great find! I wish that I had found it sooner. Café Piccolo is a very intimate, semi-​casual Italian place. They have some very unique dishes, and the portions are not ridiculously sized, nor is the price too high. I believe that they have discounted wine on Wednesday, but I have yet to take them up on the deal.
The place is very small and quiet — very different than many trendy, crowded places you will find in downtown Seattle. I am definitely looking forward to making this a regular Italian stop.

This local neighborhood restaurant has always taken good care of me, whether it’s date night or a nice family dinner with my kids. Every dish I’ve tried has been delicious, and the wine selections are always intriguing. Plus the wine is usually half off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!

Oh my gosh, I am soooo addicted to the fresh pasta in this place, I can’t believe I haven’t written a review about it sooner. Other things I like about this restaurant is that I have a lot of friends who can only eat certain foods, and they can all come here. Whether they are gluten free or vegan, they can make some foods for my friends.
It’s a small restaurant but have been very lucky in that every time I’ve come here they’ve had space and I didn’t have to wait. However if you come here with a group, I highly suggest you make a reservation.
Servers are nice and friendly, but can be slow. Not sure if it’s the kitchen or the service that’s slow. I think it’s probably the servers as sometimes what we’re waiting on is a coke or a napkin or something like that.
It’s a bit pricey and they are not in any of the coupon books, which is sad. I’d definitely come back more frequently, if I could afford it.
But highly recommend the butter ravioli!!! So fresh and melt in your mouth soft. Salads have all been good as well, and they can pour a good drink. Haven’t tried the dessert yet, but plan to, the next time I come!

I went with a friend on a Friday evening I will definitely come back! The arugula salad with figs and Gorgonzola was Devine :) ate the whole thing. I had the special Ahi Ahi which was so fresh, cooked just right, my friend doesn’t care for seafood at all but was able to convince to try a bite, loved it. And top it off the Feta cheesecake was to die for. The service was superb and I liked the atmosphere very quaint. Recommend it to all my friends. Can’t wait to go back:)

How are you missing staples like any Alfredo dish in an Italian restaurant?
The ambience is terrible. The music comes from the kitchen, leaving the sound lopsided.
The food was seriously over cooked and desperately lacking flavor. I am still scratching my head as to how you mess up something as simple as bread before the meal and common dishes like lasagna and chicken parm.
The burned out Christmas lights framing the tacky Italian map complements their gaudy décor nicely.
Café Piccolo needs a visit from Gordon Ramsay.

Fabulous restaurant with absolutely delicious and fresh food, happy and helpful staff, lovely setting just overall a great place to be.
We found this gem by accident, living quite some ways from here, but now we plan evenings sometimes just to make it out here.
You will absolutely not regret coming out!

Solid! First time. Will certainly return. Love neighborhood joints and Piccolo hits the mark!

First things first, take my review with a grain of salt.
I came here with my girlfriend and her friend +1 because we heard GREAT things about this place from the friend. They tend to have pretty good taste in food so we trust their take on things.
However, I am not really sure what happened, because our dinner service was simply not good. Trust me, you guys, I usually try and keep it positive when I hit up new restaurants, but this was just a really poor dinner experience.
To start it off, our server seemed extremely rushed. The place looked understaffed as he was the only waiter for the entire restaurant on a Saturday night. Our table was sticky when we got there and there was no attempt to clean it. Seeing his poor predicament, I was pretty understanding and my review does not factor in the disappointing service (just thought I would add this little tip for anybody reading! Gotta be thorough nameann)
Our server quickly briefed us on the special of the night (seared pork belly with gnocchi) which piqued my girlfriend’s attention. She’s a huge fan of pork belly so it was an easy choice.
I went ahead and ordered the first pasta on the menu (I tend to think restaurants are smart and put their money-​maker first) which was the lamb gnocchi (we’re fans of gnocchi).
When our food came out, the first thing I noticed were the small portions. I mean, sure for $ 16 you cannot really expect that much, but come on.
Secondly, when I went in for a taste of my gnocchi, it was essentially non-​existent. I was served a grimey gloop of what resembled a gnocchi but it had no texture whatsoever. I had a bite of my girlfriend’s gnocchi and it was significantly better (it was actually formed and had some consistency?), but it was not really anything special. Her pork belly was pretty solid but they came in tiny bits and there were not very many of them. My lamb was served as a ragu and really lacked the flavor I typically associate with lamb.
All in all, I think it was a pretty disappointing dinner. Based purely on the food and price, I would say this is easily one the worst Italian dinners I have ever had. I hate to give such a scalding review, but I am simply giving my honest opinion.
I would give this place a second shot though; there must be a reason for all the hype.

Determined to try new Italian places (that aren’t chains) in the neighborhood, my friend and I set out to try Café Piccolo based on Unilocal reviews.
First impression? It’s dark and a bit on the musty side indoors. And the clientele tend to be of the older persuasion. Nevertheless, the staff is EXTREMELY nice, and that’s why this place gets 3 stars instead of 2.
I wasn’t terribly impressed with the food. I got the lasagna, which was in desperate need of more sauce. It was dry and just overall uninteresting. The rosemary bread that they bring you is complimentary, and they will keep refilling it, but it’s a tad on the salty side. My friend got gnocchi and felt it was just okay.
It’s competitively priced compared to other non-​chain Italian restaurants, but I think I’d rather pay a bit more and have a better dining experience at Mamma Melina in the U District.

Such a hole in the wall place, but I love it! We had the steak (which melts in your mouth!!!) and the pasta with Shrimp. The pasta was good, the noodles were a bit bigger than I am used to, so eating it wasn’t the most graceful I have ever been. But that steak! OMG. THE BEST!
At first my mother ordered the fish and wasn’t happy with it. The server was so kind and attentive to her thoughts. He right away took the plate away and told her to order something else. The service was GREAT.
Order the flourless chocolate cake with the sea salt caramel gelato :)
The food does take a little time to cook, but worth it. I would call ahead to make sure there is room available.
The featured menu gets very creative.
Gluten Free pasta available.

You know, one of the reasons I love Unilocal is that you can have a hankering for a particular type of food, and find out that there is a great place right in your own backyard. In my case, I was looking for a great bolognese sauce, which many places have, but few (practically none) do well.
Since one of my favorite restaurants (The Rialto) closed a couple of years ago, I have been on a never-​ending quest to find a bolognese sauce that can compare to theirs. Well, I have found one that is darn near as good at Café Piccolo.
But wait, there’s more! This restaurant has so much more to offer than that. There is the Seafood Risotto, Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Parmigiana, and Veal Saltimbocca to name a few.
In addition to that, they have gluten free options, and really work at making a dish that everyone will enjoy. As I have said before, my son has multiple food allergies, and each time they have gone out of their way to make a special dish that is safe for him to eat, but is also tasty!
And to top it all off, the staff are very friendly. Thank you for a wonderful experience every time!