Cafe Piccolo

My husband and I went to Cafe Piccolo for our anniversary dinner last night. We've been talking about trying this place since we moved to Maple Leaf, but after seeing the pricey offerings in their online menu, we decided to save it for a special occasion. What a disappointment! From the outside, the restaurant looks so cute...but the decor inside leaves much to be desired. It looks more like a cheap pizzeria than a fancy Italian restaurant. We ordered the specials: a flatbread appetizer, and for the entree a gnocchi dish with tomatoes and pesto. We also ordered a bottle of wine from the extensive wine list, which is conveniently sorted into categories by price. We ordered a bottle from the $18 list, and it was truly awful. The flatbread arrived and was completely awesome! Then came the gnocchi, which was ok. The sauce was delicious, but the texture of the gnocchi was weird...sort of soggy. Our server was really great the whole time, and overall I was thinking the experience was ok, maybe 2 or 3 stars.

Then our check came. We had brought a coupon from the internet, and we paid with the coupon and our credit card. When the waiter came back with the receipt, he had added 18% gratuity to the bill - I guess he assumed that since we had the nerve to bring in a coupon, we wouldn't tip him sufficiently. It was ridiculous. I didn't want to ruin the evening by arguing over this, so we paid and left. And won't return.

Overall, the place is just too expensive, especially given the lame decor, mediocre food, and rude service. With so many other choices of restaurants in the Seattle area, there's no reason to waste your time on this place.

Pros: some of the food is tasty

Cons: overpriced and rude service

Posted 10/02/09

A couple people with a couple drinks won't get out of here for under 50 bucks, so they place is not cheap.
The outside of the place looks great and I saw the menu onlone, so I was expecting a pretty nice atmosphere. When we got in, I did like the atmosphere, but It was more like a nice pizza place then a fairly expensive restaurant. The had a jazz band which was nice.
We had a $25 online coupon we were given so we had to buy $35 in food to use it. The appetizer was very good (pizza like thing with goat cheese) We got the special, gnocci, which was soggy, but tasty. Maybe that's authentic style, but all the veg were soggy too, so I wasn't impressed.
The had parmesean on the table in a jar with a spoon. Ok, for this much money, they should come around and grate it fresh, c'mon.
We got a bottle of $18 wine, screw top and it sucked, too bad. The house chianti was good.
For the coup de gras, we give the guy our coupon and he comes back and shows us he added 18% gratuity for himself (tip on food and alcohol pre discount)... TACKY.
So we get out of there for 80 with 25 off. So what would have been 100+ we would have got some ok drinks, a good appetizer and two soggy entrees in a pizza place atmosphere. We will never go back because it's no worth it. If the place was as nice as the outside, the website, and the menu suggest, it would be different, but there was too much about this place that said pizza parlor to pay that kind of money.

Pros: Appetizer was excellent, jazz band

Cons: Entree seemed soggy, too much money

Posted 09/17/09

My wife is of Italian decent, grew up in an East Coast Italian community and even worked in Italy for a few months. She knows her Italian food very well and is extremely picky about it. She hates most of the Italian food served in Seattle but totally loved Cafe Piccolo. We both appreciated the great food, pleasant-but-not-pretentious atmosphere and good prices. She had the eggplant parmesan, which she loved. I had the chicken cacciatore, which was succulent and delicious. We had no problems finding parking either.

Pros: Food, Service

Cons: Ugly lamp in the shape of a woman's leg

Posted 03/02/09

Having lived in New York for many years, we have dined at the best Italian restautants in that city and Piccolo is equal to the best food we have experienced. It is equivalent to going to a great restaurant in Italy. The sauces are exquisitely prepared with subtle tastes not to overwhelm the diner and the wine list is very inexpensive and "all Italian". We brought our own bottle and there is a $15 corking fee.
I had one of the pastas and selected the bourgelaise sauce with meatballs, my sweetheart ordered the seafood risotto with five types of seafood in it. The food was fresh, the pasta was homemade and incredibly tasty and the sauces.....I can't say enough.
We shared the white bean bruschetta which was something I had never tasted before and it was phenomenal, very tasty beans topped with greens and a garlic, olive oil base and very good toasted bread.
The house salad was fresh; we just ordered the small salad and shared it as we didn't want to get full before our entrees. After the main course we shared the panna cotta topped with fresh pineapples, orange slices, kiwi fruit and raspberry sauce. WoW! All this for seventy bucks!!!
The only but major downside to this restaurant is that on Saturday night at 7PM there were only three tables being served. At this rate its sad to say but the best Italian restaurant in the Northwest might not survive. In my opinion the only reason for the business being so slow is the location. Finding 94th and Roosevelt is not easy and its not like its on the way to anywhere.
The service was excellent and the waitstaff well informed and friendly.
I hope that some food critic visits this restaurant and writes it up in the paper as the only thing it needs is customers. So please, please, please, go to Cafe Piccolo, you will be so pleased you did!

Pros: Everything!

Cons: Not enough people know about this great restaurant.

Posted 07/04/08

This restaurant is phenomenal. The pasta is housemade, and the sauces are fabulous. If you go, be sure to order the bruschetta; it's amazing. The service is always excellent, and it is our favorite neighborhood itialian restaurant. My favorite dish is the housemade fettuccine noodles with puttanesca sauce. You won't be disappointed if you go here.

Pros: The food, the service

Cons: none

Posted 06/30/07

At Cafe Piccolo everything is prepared with obvious forethought and careful attention to detail...imported olive oil, authentic recipes, organic produce and fresh bread made in-house from the best ingredients. When you visit, you will find that it's difficult to pick a favorite dish. After much sampling, I've almost decided between the deeply satisfying Eggplant Parmigiana and the excellent Cioppino. The waitstaff is warm and friendly. The food is good enough, they could easily get away with being pretentious, but you'll find none of that - just the finest food in an extremely pleasant setting.

Pros: Ambience, decent parking, great brunch, nice wine list

Cons: Haven't found any yet!

Posted 12/26/06

Cafe Piccolo is the tastiest and most romantic Italian restaurant in Seattle. Wonderful vegetarian options, great beverages (and wine), and the best gelatto! The service is friendly and I just feel very comfortable there. DELICIOSO!

Pros: 10 out of 10!

Posted 11/27/06

In a perfect world, every neighborhood would have a Cafe Piccolo!
The cooking is sophisticated without being pretentious; accentuating the natural flavors of the fresh ingredients rather than masking them, while at the same time creating flavors that are rich and unique. The panzanella salad, the seafood bruschetta, the rib-eye steak, and anything in the sage and brown butter sauce stand out in my mind especially. And the rich, rich bordelaise sauce ? and of course, the bread? and the panna cotta ? All of this, plus an excellent wine list, reasonable prices, a warm and inviting atmosphere, friendly service, and a kids menu too!

Posted 11/09/06

Chef Carlino's Italian food is wonderful. He approaches traditional dishes with flair and authenticity. The warm, friendly staff provide excellent customer service. I've enjoyed several meals at the charming Cafe Piccolo and plan to dine my way through the menu. See you there!

Pros: High quality, delicious food, ambience

Posted 10/31/06

you don't have to be rich and fabulous to enjoy this rich and fabulous food. every bite is savory and delicious. you will want to come back again and again to try the many homemade & complex dishes and sauces. - really, its all just too good to decide on one thing- i recommend group sharing wich includes sampling appetizers and desserts. excellent wine choices too, but they even have great cocktails!

Posted 10/30/06