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!
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
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.
Trevor Edwin Henderson
+5
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.
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 the food great. 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.
Hi there.
I come into the restaurant quite a bit and it's fantastic! The pizzas are great with a thin base and lots of choices. The service is also top notch. When I go with my family and friends we are always greeted by two young lovely waitresses. Love the tiramisu as well!! Good food, great service and relaxed atmosphere!!!
Am finally getting around to reviewing this handy wee neighborhood bistro that we go to quite often. It's unpretentious and very authentic in style. Many New Zealanders may not know that about an Italian Bistro. They do pizza and pasta and that's it. The sauces are all simple and fresh and the pizza and garlic bread is all obviously done in a brick oven. They serve authentic Italian wines, including something really special that is from the Cashmere neighborhood! Cracroft Chase make (as in grow and bottle) an Italian style Pinot Gris and it's FAB! It's grown just up the road in the Cracroft Valley! Go and see the winery in summer and meet the Italian owners! But anyway, back to Piccolo, yes the chef is a colourful character who isn't Italian, but maybe should be! We love the young staff, especially the young Italian guy they had in there for a while - he added to the whole atmosphere. I have worked my way through the menu and liked everything I've had. The prices indicate that this is bistro quality, not fine dining. The table salad is basic but fresh and everything else is like 'Mama' would make. We love the place and we hope like heck it stays around.
I went there last night and thought it was great! Food was 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.
Piccolo rocks. Isn't it funny how the group of "professionals" need to list their jobs like that excuses their atrocious behaviour. 7 "professional" adults on to one 61 year old chef, please. We look forward to dining there again, go Chef Cinderella!!!
Firstly Never Been, but would love to see this place, and to have worked in a restaurant, i could only imagine a bunch of Muppet's coming in thinking they are above everyone else, and demanding their orders,
Good on the chef and when we are down there, i am going to go and try it,
Thanks to the table of clowns who have given such great publicity for the place!
I wouldn't take the word of the so-called "sober" customers. From the outburst, it does seem that the customers did antagonize the chef. Good on ya mate! Good publicity too. Am gonna check this place out when I am down there at Christchurch :D
I agree with Don C. I work in customer service and a large majority of customers think it's their god given right to act like farkwits for no real reason other than they think being a customer makes them royalty. Really they are just idiots.
Just read the article. Good on the Chef. Good bit of publicity for him too :P
I only wish I was there to back the chef up... someone should have smashed a chair over those idiots heads.
In his 60s and defending himself against a group of much younger men... Good sh*t!! Gutless f*cks.
First of all,let me state that I have never been to this restaurant nor do I know any of the people concerned with this matter below. I have been in the restaurant business for thirty years and have seen this happen before,all most always the customers fault. We are here to serve people but not take abuse. Think about it. Something set this man off and I do not for one minute believe it was because of a wrong order. Maybe some smart arse comments from the guest?I think that maybe the fact that it got this for out of control reflexes back on the customers who had the option to just leave if they weren't happy. Remember, you are a guest an not a mob. A 61 year old man taking on 6 or 7 unruly people ! GOOD ON YOU CHEF!! BEST OF LUCK!
I would say to be honest these professionals who think they can handle their alcohol after a hard day at work are joking. If you cannot handle the alcohol dont drink period. And to think that customers are always right is not in my books. I suppport the chef and management for standing up to these middle class hooligans. I work in retail and I know what its like with customers that they think the world evolves around them. But they will never get pass me for sure. Good work Picollo Ristorante Italiano because customers will realise that they need to show some respect too. And to those who gave negative reviews, youre just a one in a million so get over it. And yup obviously these are all middle aged arrogant idiots who dont think of anyone else but themselves and their precious little career conversations how boring.. Owner and chef please do not let your guard down and give in to the demands of some of the reviewers on here to apologise. These 40+ lowlives should apologise to you guys instead..continue the good work:)
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 the food is 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
************************************************************************
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
This is a fantastic little restaurant, which i would have given 5 stars, apart from a couple of minor things.
The tomato based sauce was not very spicy and a little watery for my liking.
Also I got 2 entrees and my partner a main and dessert. I ate one entree alone and she ate her dessert alone. This just made us feel a little awkward. The other dishes we had were fabulous, and of top range.
My gripes aside, you really should try this delightful little place.
What a great place! Went last night with 7 friends. Called a week prior to book for 9 and the manager wasn't sure they could do it but took my number and got back to me a day or 2 later to say he'd done some jiggling and we were all good to go. We recieved a lovely warm welcome by a chatty but not 'in your face' waitress who was great at getting us going with the food (typical women we were too busy chatting!) - 'can I get you some bread while you have a read of the menus?' Of course you can! Delicious garlic and herb breads soon arrived. We ordered a range of mains which everyone was impressed with, good size, nice flavours, genorous amounts of fresh parmesan. I had 'The Lot' Pizza and is was crispy and tasty and big enough to bring home leftovers. Dessert was devine, only bugger was they only had 2 tiramisu left (we didn't go till 7.30pm so other diners beat us to it) but the lucky recipients happily shared with the rest of us who enjoyed cassata and affrogato (which they were happy to make without liquer and with hot chocolate for me). Will definately be back for another casual and lovely dinner.
What a FANTASTIC place! I saw the recent review that didn't recommend the restaurant highly, so we didn't expect a lot, but since we had already booked in, we thought we would still give it a go. I'm so glad that we did! We started off with a large garlic/herb bread to share between four of us, and it was DELICIOUS! There was a large and appetising selection of pizza and pasta to choose from. In the end, we ordered a large Margarita pizza, a lasange, fettucine smoked chicken and the spagetti arrabiata. They were all presented beautifully, and tasted AMAZING! The pizza had a great thin base and the tomato sauce on the Arrabiata was superb, and we could tell that the ingredients were of high quality. Somehow, we managed to fit in desserts! The tiramisu was to die for! But it is a case of 'first in first served' as it is in such high demand. We also got a Cassata Ice-cream and an Affagato, both of which were very pleasent, with a good amount of dried fruits in the cassata. The meals are very well priced, $20 for each main, and reasonably priced alcohol (even though we brought our own, we couldn't help try the Italian House Red!) We had two lovely girls serving us, who we found to be very friendly, helpful, prompt and professional, just lovely!. They even laughed at my husbands bad jokes! They looked like they were in control of all the tables, while catering to everybodys needs. Overall, i would highly recommend this restaurant, whether dining in or for take away, but make sure you book as they are they are very popular with the local community! 5 STARS!!
Fantastic pizza. Beautiful authentic pasta - especially the mushroom tortellini! Friendly host and the service was prompt and efficient. We took 2 children who also enjoyed the experience. Would certainly recommend. Delizioso!
It's great to have such a great little restaurant just down the road. Four of us shared a pizza and each had a different pasta dish + a bottle of red(Italian)We all agreed that the food was delicious, fresh and hot and that the portions were just right. For all that and the great service it cost us around $30 each. We will be back!
My partner and I had heard about a new Italian Restaurant opening in our area so were keen to check it out, so booked ourselves in for dinner on Saturday night.
The building is very quaint and only seats 26 diners so quite intimate. The owners are working on doing up the garden area which will be lovely on a Summers evening.
We were both very impressed with the meals and the food was reasonably priced. The Tiramasu was fabulous.
We can't wait to go back!
This is an exclusively-sized restaurant with great ambience. Christchurch has few authentic-style Italian restaurants (pizza chains do not count!) and this one is really fantastic. Very tasty food and great service. Don't forget to book - it was booked out the night I was there.
The food is beautiful, and the service is friendly and warm. The spicy pasta dish really set it off on a winter's night, and the pizza had an amazing crust with the right balance of texture and crispness.
The tiramisu was spot on, rich yet not overly so and so moreish.🤤
Will be back!
We thought we'd try out Piccolo aa it is one of the closest restaurants to our place in Westmorland. Well, we were amazed at the quality and tastiness of the dishes, the rustic, quaint atmosphere and the reasonable prices. My fettuccine gorgonzola combined two of my favourite things - blue cheese and mushrooms - and was cooked to perfection. There was just the right amount of blue cheese sauce i.e. unlike typical kiwi-style pasta, it wasn't smothered in it. And heaps of mushrooms! My partner also really enjoyed his venison ragu special. The crispy garlic pizza bread to start was delicious, with a doughy kind of base that you could let your teeth sink to. And desserts - well, the tiramisu was to die for: light, fluffy and melt in the mouth. We had a bottle of Nero d'Avola from Sicily, reasonably priced at $42. You can also ask to see a selection of Chianti. Piccolo doesn't try to be anything it's not; it knows what it's about and it does it very well. It has only 8 or so tables, so remember to book. It also does takeaways (pick up only). We'll be regulars I think 😀
Delicious quality food, friendly welcome people/service....a small city’s gem...defently we coming back
My favourite place to get Pizza. Always tastes the best. The Anchovies are really nice.
We came here for the first time two weeks ago as a party of 10. I had to leave early with my son and daughter in law as she started to go into labour! But I did managed to have some of my main course (mushroom & blue cheese pasta) and it was yummy. Everyone enjoyed their meals. My husband and I went back again last night and we had a lovely time. He had the fettuccine and I had the carbonara and we had the garlic bread. This place has officially become our favourite and we will be going back many more times. Thanks for the amazing service and food. See you again soon xx
If you are after a lovely, quieter place to have a great dinner, this is the place to go. It's a smaller restaurant with great Italian food. The staff is lovely and you don't have to wait long for your dinner to be served. I highly recommend you to try there garlic bread. Yum. Prices are reasonable and parking is fine.
This is a great little local restaurant, the food is always excellent and the service is friendly. Byo is truly a bonus these days being able to take a bottle of two of your favourites, and they have a few to choose from if you run out (and beers) Can recommend to anyone that likes good Italian food.
Immaculate vibes and wonderful food, staff were lovely, would definitely recommend.
However it's not an accessable building unfortunately, and with all the people in there it was very loud so not very sensory friendly. Made conversation a little tricky at times but in some ways that added to the vibesss
Been here twice and it's been great both times! Pasta is incredible, only topped by the tiramisu and Chianti. Server was super helpful and polite
Brilliant food and surroundings. Great service good menus and pricing. Limited wine list but it is by. Not ostentatious. Very simple surroundings and decor, fits perfectly with a suburban eatery. Pizzas and pasta. Both amazing choices.
What a great Italian Restaurant, amazed at the taste of the food, had an entree smoked chicken with mushroom and cream was divine, then shared a pizza which had a thin crispy base, yummy.
I shared a tiramisu wow, the food was just so good, oh yea we had a garlic pizza bread to start, nice.
Love this place.
One of our favourite restaurants. Great Italian food served by friendly staff in a pleasant and relaxing space. Not expensive but always enjoyable.
Since my earlier review we have since dined here several times and found Colin and his staff very courteous and obliging. The food second to none and all up worthy of a five star rating.
Beautifully cooked venison on the menu at the moment. Thanks.
Great atmosphere. Best pizza in Christchurch, would go back again
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