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,foodwas 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 -foodwas 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.

we were a group of six adults who had exceptional service and greatfoodfollowing 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!

awesomefoodin a cozy environment went out with a group of 8 a few weeks ago, pleasant waitress and thefoodwas 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 fantasticfoodat 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 presentedfoodand 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 thefoodwas 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 thefoodwas 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 italianfoodis 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 greatfooda fortnight ago when the snow was brewing. relaxed venue and an excellent night!

what an amazing place, good staff, goodfoodand 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.

last night we visited piccolo risorante for the second time in recent months. once again we found the service excellent, the staff friendly and obliging and thefoodgreat. would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone wishing to try good quality italian cuisine in a friendly casual atmosphere. would recommend booking as this little restaurant fills up very quckly.

i went there last night and thought it was great!foodwas good, service good and a nice atmosphere. good pasta dishes, simple but good wine selection and great dessert -- and even the green salad was good -- fresh and simply dressed. we'd ordered take away pizzas before but this time ate in. very please.
felt we had 'value for money'! we'll be back.

will be visiting this week at some stage while i am in chch. very curious after all the publicity surrounding the place.

i definately thinkfoodis the main factor to be reviewed upon, however service definately does make all the difference. i will be going in with an open mind and judging solely on my experiece! i'm sure they will lose some customers over this but they will also gain a lot of the curious like myself.

i’ve been here twice and had takeaways as well. thefoodhas always been great but i have never experienced such poor behaviour, here or anywhere for that matter.
here are the facts:
1. wine appreciation group that meet each month. all seven are over 40 years of age and drive; they have a self-imposed 2 drink limit. they recently moved venues due to the earthquakes.
2. entrée order for one of the woman at the table came out incorrectly, twice. first time it was wrong and the second time it included specifically excluded mushrooms. she sent it back both times.
3. chef returned the second attempt at the entrée himself, he abused the woman. ask any of the customers there that night.
4. he then swore at the rest of the group and assaulted other diners at the table including one of the other women.
it is a shame that this event has been sensationalised and there is support for the chef’s violent outburst. he abused and assaulted customers. for whatever reason, the chef lost his temper that night plain and simple. he should be embarrassed by his uncouth, unprofessional behaviour.

0 stars - 1 is too much.
i was 1 of a group of 7 adults (40+) who was at the centre of this atrocious behaviour by the chef/owner?
we are all professionals and were not drunk - and had been there about an hour, hoping to enjoy a nice meal with good friends.
we are all stunned and shocked (still) at the appalling treatment we received by the chef/owner.
my friend sent back her order twice - as they kept getting the order wrong. i'm sure order mistakes happen from time to time at restaurants - normally no big deal.
the chef came out and slammed the plate offoodin front of my friend, telling her that if she had problem with hisfoodshe could just f#$k off. she left, we were stunned, especially once he told us and other patrons that we could all f@&k off to if we didn't like his food.
the chef aggressively slammed the table at my mate and grabbed/shook his chair.
things escalated, with plates/wine smashed on the floor. my female friend was in tears as he pulled her long hair - not letting go. my mate tried to stop him but got punched in the face. the waitress was aghast, and kept apologising as he rampaged.
the review by the guy below must be related to the chef/owner, and couldn't of been there - as any reasonable person would not think the chef handled this well.
i have only now composed myself to even write this - as i need to warn everyone about this madman.
patrons - avoid avoid avoid.
owner - anger management course and retire.
ccc - close down this crazy man.

hi
3rd time i have been there and twice this weekend / were there last night when a table of troublemakers caused a scene obviously couldn't handle the drink and when management asked then to leave they caused a scene but was handled well by management/staff so i took my parents back tonight as it's a great place and thefoodis just out of this world - good vegetarian selection which not seen on alot of menus and the desserts are to die for mmmmmmm / great outdoor area also.i would recommend casual dine or to impress some friends / just great well done guys and thanks
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just got an email from a media organisation and here is my reply

hi
i did put my comments on the website as you can see above and other than that from my dining experiences over the years i have never seen a waiter or chef have a plate thrown at them or kicked at as the customers leave - ask yourself? maybe an idea to look at all 16 reviews - 10 of them over 4 star plus and the 4 bad reviews are from this group - maybe ask the others who have put a review and rated it as i did
thank you
regards

anthony