Pici — Restaurant in Waitematā

WOW. In the last two weeks of traveling New Zealand, I have made my way back to Pici four times now!! If I had the option I would have dined here more than four times. My friend and I found this cozy restaurant on a Friday afternoon after seeing how delicious the food looked. We spoke to a sweet individual with short hair (cute SpongeBob sweatshirt!) and they informed us we could be seated for dinner around 5:30pm. When we returned later for dinner we reviewed the menu and decided to split 3 appetizers and 3 pasta dishes accompanied with the Huntress Pinot Noir (must try!).the first appetizer we tried was the porchetta with thyme and wow it exceeded any and all expectations as did each and every plate we had. Continuing we had the focaccia along with mushroom pasta, pappardelle sausage pasta, and the mascarpone pasta dish. Each one was delicious and unique in their own way. The last 2 times my friend and I dined here we both ordered plates of the pici cacio de Pepe along with focaccia and porchetta and OF COURSE the huntress Pinot Noir. Tonight I dined at Pici alone for my last night in New Zealand and to no surprise I was more than satisfied with my meal and exceptional service by all staff. Tonight my waitress was the sweet bartender who was more than happy to answer all questions I had. Tonight I treated myself to a glass of Syrah to accompany my porchetta, the aperol spritz to accompany my Pici cacio de Pepe, and The Godfather amaretto whiskey to accompany the dark chocolate mousse with pistachios and salted caramel. I highly recommend this restaurant to any and all interested. The staff, food, and ambiance have exceeded all expectations and I would gladly come back. Cheers...

The worst experience ever. We showed up just 3 minutes earlier than our reservation time. The lady was very hostile and basically kicked us out of the restaurant. We understood they needed time to prepare as we were early. So we just quietly sat down on the table outside. The guy who seemed very frustrated then came out and repeated and emphasized that we needed to wait which we were doing so quietly. How on earth can we do more than that???????

It was very very cold outside when the food was served. I asked 5 times to turn the heater on. It was ignored. Our side was the only side without the heater. And not sure if this was coincidence but we were the only asian table there. Please think again before going as it felt like I was eating canned pasta out on the street like a homeless person.

Food portion very very tiny, honestly just tasted like what I would buy from new world frozen food section. Not sure why this place is overly praised. Try it and you will know. Service terrible except for the one girl who served us food. She was the only smiling person there, the rest are...

We had their ‘special’ antipasti which was not on the menu, melon, prosciutto and stracciatella. Unsure why they decided to serve unripe and non-sweet melon and was very expensive for what it was $25. Looked aesthetic though.

The pastas were ok, had the fettuccine & oysters pasta ($26) and the pasta with clams ($18); could have had more flavour and pasta was on the softer side rather than al dente. There were only a few pieces of cut up oyster in the pasta but it had a really strong taste. Overall the portions are on the smaller side but was recommended around 2 entrees and 2-3 pastas to share between two people. Presentation was a bit subpar.

Personally would not recommend this place to friends and family as there are many other pasta/Italian places in Auckland with more flavour and a better price point and portion.

Atmosphere and location is not right for this place trying to sell ‘high end’ food price wise and in a tiny space. Music was loud hiphop music, strange for an Italian place.

Girl that served us was really helpful and kind. Had high hopes for this place. All the...