Piccolo Bar — Restaurant in South Island

Cosy decor but more a vibe of somewhere to visit at night as has no natural light, although a few seats outside. Great drink selection. Fried olives were alright but seriously salty and we couldn’t taste any nduja at all. The puffed bread was good and white bean dip very nice. The meatballs were incredibly dry and either the recipe or cooking technique needs to be reworked; they came with a chickpea dip but would have been better with some marina. Pizzette’s are decent, preferred the diavola to the bologna. They both benefitted from adding hot honey and chilli flake but particularly the bologna which was just lacking a bit of spice or sweetness or acid to make it stand out and balance the flavours. Tiramisu was very nice but slightly small portion. The music was nice although a bit loud if sitting next to the speakers. Good service but note it’s walk in only and lots of people were being turned away on a friday...

Went to try this place out, as looking for somewhere for a function. Ordered a couple of drinks and some French fries. The Vermouth drink was advertised as coming with crisps. The crisps were soft and stale. Spoke to the Wait staff about it, they took them away, never received a replacement, maybe all were soft and stale. Mentioned it to the gentleman when paying, no apology or discount for the state crisps Never offered any water either, but that was the same for every table as I didn’t see any glasses or water available. No where not to go for the function…

Not complimentary when you advertise them as part of your drinks package!

“Vermouth Cinzano Bianco or Bosca Rosso...

New favourite bar by a golden mile !! I would go back just for Luca and his insanely exceptional service. He even incorporated Te Reo Maori when speaking which made my friends and I appreciate him that little bit more. I haven’t had service like this in years, i cant even remember the last time so it was nice to see. He is an absolute asset to this bar, when you go and he is your waiter you will know what im talking about. Not one moment did he look bored or stop working even when we were the only ones in the bar. Top tier, and i never leave reviews but he deserves to be...