Piccolo at 42 North Hill — Restaurant in Colchester

Personal thoughts about atmosphere!

i knew the restaurant was small because I've walked past it daily but i never stopped to go in.

However i am SO glad i decided to pick this place for my date on sunday (i looked at three others and they were all closed or closed at 5 on sundays???)

The atmosphere was beautiful, very small only a few tables, personally I'm autistic so bright lights hurt my eyes but they were a tinge yellow so that was great for me, definitely made the place feel warm and cozy.

We were seated on the opposite side of the stairs (roughly in the middle of the restaurant)

However only thing i would worry about is the fact that their toilet is upstairs (not their fault) so if you have mobility issues i would recommend going before you arrive at the restaurant.

Also the restaurant is located on the hill (which i hate.. The hill not the restaurant) so climbing back up it after dinner kinda sucked.

Food review time!!

To start we ordered the garlic bread with cheese and it was very lovely, it was basically like a garlic and cheese pizza without the sauce (that's what it looked like) i personally didn't want the spicy oil that was offered but my date said he enjoyed it, and the cheese was beautifully stringy!!

Then our mains came, i ordered the Penne Dama Bianca (creamy pasta with chicken and mushrooms) IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!! So creamy and wonderful, they even offer extra grated cheese to put on top! The portion size was perfect for me, any more and it would have felt like too much.

My date ordered the Linguine Marinara, (here's his entire review as he's very tired currently) "Solid service. Good quality seafood. Wonderful texture on the noodles and a flavourfull sauce" read that in an american accent as he has one ₍⁽⁰^⁰⁾₎

And for desert i had the Strawberry Pavlova which was lovely, never had it before so it was nice to try something new. My date decided he just wanted an espresso which i presume he liked as he didn't even add any brown sugar that was given to us with it.

And for drinks i had the apple juice, which was very nice, and he had the house white wine which he liked very much

Also (nothing to do with the restaurant) once we were done we dicided to go to spoons for a quick pint before our train home and he asked me to be his girlfriend! ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

So overall i will definitely be coming back!!!!!!

(Review originally posted on...

Had our dinner booked for 4 as a late Valentine’s day on the 16/02/24. Booking went very smooth and the staff in there is normally very pleasant.

The starters were very good and nothing to complain about, had garlic and cheese bread, garlic mushrooms and some other bits. Wine is average in my opinion for what you pay, but it’s like anywhere else.

The biggest problem we had was with the main dish. I have ordered their steak which has been good in the past and they were kind enough to make me blue cheese sauce to go with the steak. The dish itself was not bad, the sauté potatoes were a bit too greasy for my own liking and the steak did not taste exactly fresh, but overall it was made with a decent standard. Unfortunately the salad with the steak had some unwanted extra protein in a shape of a wasp. Unfortunately I only noticed the bug nearing the end of my dish. When the waiter came in to collect our plates I showed him the beautiful dreaming creature that was wrapped between the leafs lying upside down moving its tiny legs. The waiter looked at it, looked at me, smirked and took the plates back without saying anything else. At this point in time me being a reasonable human just waited for a response from them. Two minutes later the same waiter came back with the smile on his face and the attitude like nothing ever happened and asked us if we want any desserts. At this point in time we politely declined, paid the full bill including the service charge and left the restaurant with not a single comment about what happened.

It’s quite a disappointing experience for a family owned restaurant that has a decent reputation in our small town centre.

Been to this place a few times now to change my opinion about it, but unfortunately never had a perfect experience to justify going back...

Had a fantastic meal here . My daughter and I had scallops Thermidor from the specials board were amazing . The sauce had a real depth to it and really complimented the perfectly cooked scallops . My husband was equally enthusiastic about the mussels he had . For our main course my daughter enjoyed chicken in a lemon butter sauce , I had fresh tuna from the specials board which was cooked extremely well . It was grilled but remained moist . The tomato and olive topping was really lovely and I’m not a huge fan of olives . My husband enjoyed a salmon tagliatelle saying how lovely and light the pasta was . We had planned to pass on dessert but couldn’t resist . The portion sizes were just perfect . The tiramisu was light and tasty , the chocolate ice cream went down well with my daughter and the strawberry pavlova I had was simply delicious . I could smell the strawberries and appreciated the desert wasn’t overloaded with cream or was overly sweet . The service was good too . We felt welcome and kindness was discretely shown to our daughter who has a disability and learning difficulties . We can’t wait to visit again as we loved the food...