Piccolo Bar Kings Cross — Restaurant in Sydney

If there was a ZERO, this bar would get it! You just lost a regular and loyal customer forever.

You'll note from my many reviews I have rarely posted a negative one - mostly because I actually look at these reviews and choose great places to go, but also largely due to the fact that the vast majority of establishments and small businesses are run by decent, good people and deserve great reviews when I/we have great experiences.

Similarly when I feel let down or things don't quite hit the mark, my feedback is constructive. In this case, Piccolo Bar does not deserve anything but a negative review and with the level of arrogance displayed last night by their Manager, and no amount of constructive criticism could change that type of embedded culture to this business.

And I note, not ONE response to any negative review. So many similar types of reviews and issues.

Having frequented Piccolo Bar Kings Cross countless times in the past and loved it, we decided to return with overseas guests, were offered a seat outside which we gladly took, had an order taken and then .... The same waiter with an awkward smile on his face comes over to us, tells us it is mandatory to buy food under their license (BS!) and that kids were not allowed (we had a 12 year old young man with us, quietly reading in the corner).

If its a restaurant license only, then sure, no problems (we were not told until after making a drink order and neither did we worry about that policy despite the completely OTT pricing), but to then contradict yourself and your license and LIE to us about no kids, there is no excuse.

We asked for the Manager who returned with a cocky arrogant look on his face and told us to leave, as kids were not allowed in the bar. Despite us sitting immediately beside a lovely couple with an infant who were not afforded the same level of arrogant refusal of service.

For clarity we were seated OUTSIDE on the street, several meters from the bar and are well aware of liquor licensing rules in NSW, including kids with family's as we have raised 8 kids in NSW and VIC between the 2 family's present, and NEVER in 30 years had this kind of issue or rudeness presented to us at a bar

We can only assume the "mandatory food purchase" was a blatant money grab (noting several other reviews of similar vain) and our olive order didn't quite make the minimum mark, despite ordering 2 overpriced Negronis, as the issue only occurred AFTER we made the order which was happily taken.

We can only further assume, that combined with our order and our presence, the manager felt the need for a little power trip and his ignorance with the clientele (2 overseas diplomats - NOTE this does not afford us special treatment but READ THE ROOM buddy!) and 3x 50+ year old's with a 12 year old, didn't quite fit the Managers woke image.

Whoever owns this bar, sort your act out - you've lost a regular loyal customer forever and word travels fast in Sydney with this kind of BS service. I hope for your sake (Owner), you deal with this quickly as you do not deserve to be represented in this manner and we've never encountered it before at this bar.

Disgraceful service and foul arrogant attitude, coupled with ignorance and righteousness .... its a pretty destructive image to portray in a tough, tight market.

We went immediately across the road to a beautiful little pergola style restaurant and bar called Bloom who welcomed us with open arms. Save yourself the trouble and go there immediately and don't waste your time or money at Piccolo Bar - they...

EDIT: After reading the reviews here i find out that the bar only has a restaurant license which is why this issue came up.

Very poorly communicated and left us in the dark.

Hi all, I'd like to share our experience as to let other newcomers know that there are unwritten rules for this bar. I am a new mum, this was one of my first dates out with my husband in some time. I'd wanted to come to Piccolo bar for a few years as I heard the historic bar had a great atmosphere for happy hour. We sat inside and happily ordered our drinks. When the waiter brought them he asked us what we will be snacking on. We said we are fine. I mentioned we were interested in the dessert and may order it later. The server scoffed at my choice and explained longwindedly that we must order food with our drinks because it is a snacking bar and diner. He said we cannot order drinks without buying food. It felt very forced and as though this was communicated very rudely like we were doing something wrong not knowing we needed to order food. We had already ordered our drinks and he did not mention this then? Additionally there was no signage about this. It felt very awkward as we came to spend money freely but when our arm was twisted to buy more or leave I really felt unwelcome. I didn't speak up as I thought he made it clear this is their policy. So we ordered 17.00 cashews? I'm super confused especially because I was looking around at all of the amazing decor as if it was my first time visiting. I'll...

If you’re non-white, you might want to avoid this place. When we visited, everyone except us was white. One bartender who was non-white kindly explained the menu and helped us with our order. However, we noticed that every other table received complimentary snacks, while we didn’t get any.

When our cocktails were served, the server simply called out the cocktail names, which confused us. When we didn’t respond immediately, they repeated the names in a very condescending tone. I tried to brush it off, but what really shocked me was that while we were still enjoying our food and drinks, we were pressured to place another order. When we declined, they immediately suggested that we pay the bill. At that point, I just wanted to leave, so we agreed.

The most upsetting part? There were several white guests who had been seated before us and were still there, but we were the only ones asked to leave.

This experience left us feeling singled out and unwelcome. It was disappointing and uncomfortable, and I would not recommend this place to anyone who values fair and...