piccolo ristorante italiano

first went to this restaurant when it opened - no liquor license at the time which wasn't a problem but never offered anything else to drink, food was average and service reminded me of faulty towers! not sure why we decided to go back but thought we would give them another try - especially being close to home and being huge italian foodies!

not sure why we bothered - food was very average - pizza bread for starters - well manufactured (if u know what i mean), lasagna tasted like it was overheated in a microwave and lacked flavour, my partner had a pasta dish which tasted like a tin of tomatoes tipped over some pasta - not good. i must say on a positive note the tiramisu was good which we shared.

we dine out alot and like to support our locals also - but come on - if you are going to survive you need to pick your game up - we won't be back unfortunately as much better options to dine at in chch.

go often to piccolo...never been let down..

we were a group of six adults who had exceptional service and great food following on from two of us adults being there the previous week! started with wonderful hot bread followed by three of us having the specialed salmon dish, two different dishes with gnocchi and one pizza. it was so nice to be able to take our own wines for the price of corkage. spent about $40 per head. we will be back again!

we had a takeaway from here a pasta and a pizza.
extremely disappointed- pizza was stone cold when i got home- only live 5 min away.
very very overpriced for what you get. if you order a medium pizza - you are getting a childs size.

small quant restaurant i've driven passed a dozen time but finally showed up without a booking randomly and it was such a lovely place. the waitress was so pleasant and just looked like she loved her job, made us feel real at ease never being here before. we ordered the garlic pizza, ravioli, green lip mussels and spaghetti meatballs in entrée sizes. they were perfect for us, tasting and sharing our plates. the ravioli i would recommend. loved the flavours in it & mention the meatballs had a nice flavour to them. had a simple ice cream sundae was very pleasing to see something classic and simple on a menu.

awesome food in a cozy environment went out with a group of 8 a few weeks ago, pleasant waitress and the food was delicious reasonably priced and byo .. yes will be back and have been spreading the word.

i love this restaurant! it has great character and ambience, and the service is fantastic. no pretences, just fantastic food at a really good price.
we have had both takeaways (ready quickly and delicious) and dine-in experiences.
i especially appreciated the info in the answer phone message advising us of availability over the next few days - a great idea for efficient booking!

my new favourite!

visited this restaurant last night for my birthday with my wife. we've been here probably about half a dozen times in the last six months and really like it. it's small, unpretentious and excellent value.

the service is prompt and the menu varied.

i'm sometimes disappointed with italian restaurants as i often think i could have cooked a better dish myself. this is never the case with il piccolo.

excellent value, tasty and well presented food and good service.

we were first time diners at your restaurant last night. it was our anniversary and we have been wanting to try your place for quite some time now. the wait was definitely worth it. the garlic flat bread had oodles of delicious garlic on top of a beautiful base. we shared a pizza and a pasta. again the food was delicious, the sauce on the pasta was so delicious i was tempted to use my finger to get every last drop. the pizza was so tasty and the amount of toppings was perfect. we loved the quaint and cosy atmosphere.

only one 'fault' and that is that you tables are small and we couldn't fit it all on :)

great meal and we will most definitely be back again.
thanks

possibly the worst meal we have ever had! followed closely by the lack of service! 40 minutes from giving our order to delivery, no offer of bread, (when we queried the lack of bread we were told it was available to order, however was not on the menu - work that one out!), only a half carafe of water on the table and not refilled, and i opened our bottle of byo wine and poured it, and for that they were prepared to charge $8.00!! when we informed our waitress that the food was tasteless she told us that the 'chef' didn't use salt and pointed to the salt shaker on the table!
other reviews have been favourable, up until mid 2013. it appears they have changed their 'chef', (i use the word very loosely) - beware - christchurch deserves better, and good, simple italian food is not hard, neither is service. you just need to care about both!
piccolo - an absolute shocker!!!!!

6 of us had a very pleasant meal with good service and great food a fortnight ago when the snow was brewing. relaxed venue and an excellent night!

just enjoyed another meal at ristorante italiano. took my brother and his wife from auckland, my son, and my partner. we all ordered something different, they came out promptly and were delicious. the men wanted beer, my brother wanted shandy, and honestly nothing was a problem for them. had a lovely dining experience and i expect i'll be back when my sister visits from ash vegas.
thanks ristorante italiano - love that you are becoming my local eatery!

i've just got home from dining at ristorante italiano and i'm so glad i went. fantastic food, charming service, excellent hospitality. having lived and worked in europe i can testify that this restaurant has a authenticity that is often not found in new zealand. the thing we loved most was its lack of pretentiousness... it was plain and simply great food, great service. the host even shouted the ladies at our table some of his delicious limoncello! my mouth feels so good i won't want to brush my teeth for a week :)

we were a small group from taipei, and had been told we should go to this italian restaurant when in new zealand christchurch. we enjoyed the pizza, and pasta, we try tomato type pasta and very good. as we are restaurant people in taipei, we are very happy. two people in group say it just taste like when in italy.

what an amazing place, good staff, good food and an interesting clientele...staff very well mannered and a very friendly operator. nice thin base pizza with at least 12 or so to choose from and a very good pasta menu.
talk to harry for an update on youth affairs- he seems to know it all; the italian waiter is quite a character and the female staff are very efficient.
shall return again.