Piccolino

 


We decided to try and get a reservation on a Friday night of the long weekend.  We phoned late in the afternoon and were able to secure a table for two at 630pm.  When we arrived my husband kept commenting on what was different.  Lino wasn't there, we weren't greeted like family when we arrived and later when we left no one yelled over to us "we'll see you next time".  Something just seemed "different".  Obviously we hadn't been there in awhile and were not part of the "crowd".  But as the night went on things did start to normalize.  Many, many, many  regulars and large groups came in and were greeted and treated like family, particularly after 730 pm.

Once we were seated we were greeted by our server who we didn't know before but she was extremely pleasant and helpful.  On this night we were not advised that we had to vacate our table by a certain time for a later reservation so we took our time to order our meal, savoured our wine, enjoyed our dinner and ordered dessert while enjoying more wine.

My husband and I ALWAYS order the same dishes when we come.  I have the Pollo Nettuno and he has the Gnocchi.  Tonight we thought we would go "outside of the box".  So when I arrived I was very interested in their specials and there were many on the board that appealed to me.  I was really leaning towards the veal and mushroom ravioli with a spinach cream sauce.  In the end I ordered the Snapper Nettuno (covered in crab and shrimp with a cream sauce covered in melted cheese) with a side of pasta with cream sauce.  My husband ordered the Gnocchi but added spicy sausage and had it baked with cheese on top.  Yep, we really went outside the box tonight! 

Well, even though our choices weren't terribly novice they were absolutely delicious.  The addition of the spicy sausage to the Gnocchi was good.  Next time Phil will try the chicken!  My snapper was absolutely delicious.  I'm always worried when I order chicken, fish, pork at a restaurant that it will be too dry.  This was absolutely most and flaky.  They breaded the fish which I loved as well.  Of course, covering it with a generous amount of crab and shrimp with a delectable sauce just made it perfect.  The side pasta with alfredo sauce is always the best.  I don't know what they do with that sauce but it is the best I've ever had and I have had a lot of cream sauces.  Maybe one day Lino will teach me his secret!




For all the times that we have visited this restaurant we have never eaten dessert here and I don't think we have ever even looked at a dessert menu.  What a mistake!  I had no idea that they had so many great dessert options with many creative gelato desserts that aren't just gelato in a bowl.  They have a little menu book with pictures of all the gelato dishes that makes choosing a favorite much easier.  We settled on the hazelnut gelato in a pear shape covered with a dark chocolate coating with crispy pieces in it.  I'm not a dark chocolate fan but this was absolutely delicious!  The hazelnut gelato was delicious, smooth and creamy.  The dark chocolate coating made the dish with it's crispy pieces.  It was outstanding.  I will not be skipping dessert at Piccolino's again in the future!

 

 This was an absolutely lovely evening.  The service was excellent.  The food was outstanding.  They have a very reasonably priced house wine which is just fine and the people watching was amazing.  We're very glad we returned to this favorite spot.  Next time we won't wait so long!

Tiramisu