Piccolino — Restaurant in Jerusalem

I really want to love this place, unfortunately there were issues. Was always intimidated to walk in because of the way it's located, with a nook walk-in (and with the chefs always sitting on the stoop right at the entrance smoking and chatting). But I've been wanting to have a gourmet pasta experience for a long time, so I walked in alone during lunch hours. The restaurant was empty. The service was attentive. Very positive. They do care wether you like the food which is unique to Jerusalem. The old interior beautiful. But lo and behold, the restaurant wasn't what I had hoped for. Where do I begin? The dishes were dirty AND smelled bad. I was seated close to the kitchen and you can hear conversation from the chefs that just didn't seem fitting for the atmosphere. Then, as I was noticing the lack of cleanliness, there was a poor lady that looked like she should be lying down, trudging along, that I realized was the cleaner. The pasta was just ok. I've had better. I'd love to see more pasta and sauce options. But the strangest of all was the bathroom. The placement of it is very visible to all. And the wall/doors do not go up to the ceiling so ppl in the restaurant can literally hear your business. I've never seen anything like it. Picolino has all the makings for a fine dining yet approachable experience. But it needs some tweaking. I'd come back if there were more unique...

I wasn't very hungry when I met a friend at Piccolino, so only had soup of the day - a wholesome, hearty, delicious and filling lentil soup. When ordering, we'd considered sharing a salad afterwards, but we were both so full, didn't have any tummy room for more, even after chatting for an hour. We went at midday, so there was room and time to tarry. My friend (visiting from abroad) told me she'd had nearly all her meals at Piccolino, as the food was so tasty and she even booked another table for the evening, as we left. There are seats inside and outside. Service was good/polite/efficient, though we went at a quietish time. I can imagine the restaurant being quite noisy when full. 4 stars rather than 5 because of the noise. It wasn't Piccolino's fault. A busker was playing music right next to the restaurant, with a sound system. This did interfere with the ambience and me finding it hard to hear my friend's conversation. Otherwise an enjoyable experience and I...

The food is good, the service is good, the place is clean - quite a rarity. We would come again.

We've had the mushrooms ravioli, and the artichoke ravioli. We've also had the arancini. I wouldn't order the artichoke ravioli again - the artichokes had a strong lemon taste to them, and the sauce had too much chewe greenery for my taste.

However, the mushroom ravioli was great, and I would definitely order it again and again. Same for arancini, which was the best I've had in Israel so far.

I'm leaving a single star off because of the desert - the desert options are presented in a glassed cupboard. I was told they are kept there at least for weeks on end. We were also told that the actual deserts we would be served are ordered fresh every day. I will leave a matter of trust out of this, but there is no good reason to keep any type of food in a restaurant for weeks. It's unsanitary and raises enough doubts for me to not even consider a...