Piccolino Grande Wilmslow — Restaurant in England

I’ve eaten here three times now and here’s what I hope is a balanced review of the pro’s and con’s of all three visits (the first of which was great, the second was dire - after which I said I’d never return - and the third, which my husband inexplicably booked as a surprise for my birthday, was mediocre at best)

First, the good stuff: amazing atmosphere and refurb if you like your restaurants - and therefore the punters it draws in - to be shiny and glitzy. A Man City footballer was on the next table for our first visit.

It’s a big, varied menu as you’d expect at Piccolino.

The pizzas are fantastic. If you like a good pizza, you’ll be a happy bunny

Starters seemed to be the most consistently good dishes. The scallops on mash, for example were great and also reasonable portion sizes.

Now, for the not so good stuff, of which there is way too much:

I’ll cut to the chase by saying that for the hefty price of a pizza or pasta plus starter with a bottle of wine, you don’t want an expensive meal or special occasion to be marred by either bad food, service, or both.

The service was great on our first visit but appalling on our second and dialled in on our third.

When we arrived on our second visit, we were greeted by a hostess who went off to see if our table was ready, but not before breaking off to seat a group of young, good looking lads, who came in after we did. At least five minutes later we were still stood there in our coats and another lady came and asked if anybody was helping us; we explained that somebody had gone off to find our table and she said she’d see what was happening. She disappeared and we didn’t see her again. 5+ minutes later the first lady came back and asked how she could help us!! By that point we’d been there 15+ minutes and that set the tone for the rest of that evening as far as service was concerned. Our waitress was sullen/borderline rude and whilst we could see the evening was busy, everything took a ridiculously long time to come. I think we were waiting an hour and a half before we finally finally had our starters. It took forever to take our order, and drinks took an age to come. Once we’d finished the starters, the mains came within another half an hour. During the night there was no apology or even a reference to the fact that Service was horribly slow.

Two of the starters that we ordered were off the menu. Instead of recommendations being made for similar dishes, we were rushed into a choice. When you’re in that kind of place, it’s not the sort of service you hope for. For example, one of the diners had ordered beef carpaccio. He didn’t spot that there was a beef tartare on the menu, and he chose something he ultimately regretted so as not to hold everything up. Good service would’ve been to point out to a diner who ordered a raw beef dish that that there was another raw beef dish on the menu.

And on our most recent visit we were served by number of different people, and bar one waiter there was absolutely no genuine warmth & service was slow.

The pasta was not great. It looked to be fresh, but the portion sizes were small yet inconsistently sized ‘. One of the diners had a beef Ragu and the sauce thin and sloppy. There were no discernible pieces of meat or tomato and it was certainly far from a hearty, rich dish. I had SPAGHETTI PEPERONCINO with Garlic, chilli, extra virgin olive oil & flat leaf parsley. I ordered it because I expected a simple dish where great ingredients would shine, such as good olive oil and great pasta. Instead of olive oil, the pasta was Swimming in what seemed like a vegetable oxo. There was no richness whatsoever. Because the Parmesan is hand shaved at the table, which is a nice flourish, you feel like asking for plenty of Parmesan to spice up a lacklustre dish is a real time waster and effort for the server. It will be much better to be able to have your own Parmesan on the table.

I could go on and say more, but I’m running out of space and energy! Didn’t take any food photos on any...

‘We can’t take your coats, we’re very busy and the cloakroom is full’. Fair enough, but a strange welcome all the same. Maybe the £2m refurb didn’t run to a full capacity cloakroom. Still, it was a cold blustery night so keeping our coats with us wasn’t a big issue.

As we were led to our table we were met with a DJ and decks playing 80s hits very loudly, very close to our table which made conversation with friends very tricky. Some people enjoyed that no doubt but I think putting tables so close to his decks needs rethinking.

We were seated in the indoor/outdoor area that felt like being shoved out of the way of the main part of the restaurant although with such a disjointed layout I’m not sure where the main but was to be fair. It was a bit cold but the waiter put the heater above us on when asked, which made for a better temperature.

From there, it went downhill steadily. The sea bass main courses were just awful (we were told there had been other complaints about the fish, and yet they were still serving it), my friend’s first two choices of pasta were unavailable (at 7.15 on a Saturday night?) and the side dishes were minuscule served in tiny dishes and were mostly soggy or luke warm (with the exception of the zucchini fritti; hot but again very small)

The lady manager was very apologetic and comped the fish dishes and offered us free desserts, which my three friends ordered. These also weren’t great and as we were asked how they were we said ‘not great’ to which the waiter replied ‘well they’re free, you’re not paying for them’.

Hmmm. What we wanted was an enjoyable meal with friends which we would have been very happy to pay full price for. A lovely meal we didn’t get, by a long shot. It was very, very poor. To top it off we were urged to leave a favourable review and to mention the waiter and manager by name because our dissatisfaction had been well handled. Say what?

All in all, a very disappointing experience overall. We left before 10pm and the place looked pretty much empty by then apart from a few people dancing round the DJ.

With operators like Cibo and San Carlo on their doorstep, I think Piccolino’s really need to up their game.

I should add that I’d recently been to Piccolino’s in Manchester as part of a large gathering on their festive menu. The place was rammed, but the food and service was fantastic. Hot, fresh food and massive bowls of sides to share with the group. So good. The reason I chose the Wilmslow restaurant and again went for the same sea bass main course was because it had been such a great experience in the Manchester restaurant. This experience was the polar opposite...

An Epic Tale of Disappointment at Piccolino's

In the grand tapestry of dining experiences, Piccolino's has etched its name with infamy. What began as an eager anticipation swiftly descended into a nightmarish odyssey of frustration and disbelief.

Picture this: we embarked on our culinary journey with hopeful hearts, only to be met with an hour-long wait for drinks, while our starters languished untouched in their premature arrival. As if choreographed for a tragic comedy, the staff engaged in heated skirmishes before our very eyes, peppering the air with profanity—a spectacle worthy of a theatre, but alas, not a restaurant.

Our waiter, with an aura of aggression, made us feel more like adversaries than valued guests. Our request to quell the oppressive heat went unheeded, leaving us to swelter in discomfort. The food, when it finally graced our table, was a mere shadow of mediocrity—average at best. Our desire for a second round of drinks was ignored, a cruel irony considering we never received what we had initially ordered.

In desperation, we sought out the elusive management, navigating a sea of indifferent staff who seemed oblivious to our plight. The music, a cacophony of thunderous beats, drowned out any semblance of conversation and added to the anxiety of the atmosphere.

The climax of this tragic saga arrived with the bill—a staggering £400—a sum as outrageous as the service we endured. Upon addressing our grievances with the self-proclaimed manager, we were met with hollow acknowledgments and a tasteless limoncello, an insipid attempt at reparation. No service charge was waived, no meal was compensated, and no genuine apology was offered. Instead, the manager loomed over us as we paid, denying us the courtesy of reviewing the bill for the disastrous fare and service provided.

As a head chef at a burgeoning restaurant in Manchester, I understand the weight a review carries. It pains me to pen this tale, but Piccolino's is the epitome of style over substance—a hollow façade. In a town teeming with remarkable venues like Casa Italia, and Stolen Lamb, where food and service reign supreme, Piccolino's stands as a mockery. Never again shall I darken its doorstep! Worst establishment I have...