Piccolino Hale — Restaurant in Trafford

I just want to bring to your attention the issues that we had with our family meal that was booked for the 24th of December at 8:45. Your restaurant had been recommended to us through family friends, however our experience has made us question whether we would visit the restaurant again. The fact that it was for the occasion of Christmas eve as well, and we wanted to celebrate it altogether as a family, we unfortunately had a really bad experience.

Firstly, we weren't sat down for our reservation until 9pm and we had made the booking for 8:45pm. I appreciate that Christmas eve is a busy time for everyone, however if you can't cope with that amount of bookings, then they shouldn't of been made. This was evident because our reservation was late and when we sat down at the table, it wasn't prepared and it was dirty with glass stains and food marks. The toilets were also filthy, which I can provide a video of.

The waiter who served us had a bad attitude and it felt as though because we weren't "regulars" in the setting, we didn't have a personal service. The waiters and hosts were all laughing and joking and sitting down at tables with other parties who they obviously knew or recognised, however we were ignored and it was a while before even our drinks order was taken. When we did eventually receive our drinks, which was two pints of Moretti and one bottle of rose, the waiter dropped one of the pints on someone from our party.

We had our starters, and before the plates were cleared away, someone had brought our mains down. The starters were took away and then the mains came down, which was evident that they hadn't been freshly prepared because none of them were hot and one of the dishes was actually cold. When alerting one of your hosts, they said they would get a fresh plate prepared and it would be with us in "two minutes". The dish wasn't with us within two minutes and everyone else had finished their food which meant that this person was then eating on their own when their food arrived. Yet again, the food was still cold and this person didn't even eat it. It wasn't fresh as promised.

I then went to ask one of the hosts for the manager to alert them regarding the poor service, which he said he was one of them. He was very condescending and with all the issues that I raised, he just replied with "yes". It wasn't until my boyfriend came over, that he started to take a bit of notice about what I said, and I feel as though he discriminated against me because I was a woman, and it took a man to come over and address the same issues I did, before he took anything into consideration.

Eventually, we were taken seriously because we asked for the bill. One of your hosts came over to our table with limoncello shots and he apologised. However he did say that none of them were at their highest standards because the day had been busy and now they were ready for closing. Why was it that our service and food was so poor, because your staff couldn't perform. This isn't our issue. There shouldn't of been so many bookings or your restaurant shouldn't of been open until that time if your staff and hospitality can't cope.

Your host did discount our bill, however it doesn't justify the service that we had. I am extremely disappointed because it ruined what should have been a nice family meal on christmas eve, and on so many levels you failed to deliver.

The reservation was under the name of Sean Davies.

I cannot express how disappointed we all are with the service and the food.

Also upon checking our bill, there is a service charge and there was only 25% discount where as the manager told us he would half the bill. Again, more lies and rubbish service...

For context, I ate here once in May, once in June and twice in August 2024.

The most recent visit on Saturday 10th August will be my last.

Owing to a busy schedule, I ate just a couple of biscuits during the day with bottled water and my first meaningful food was the scallops I ordered at 5pm. I only drank water with the meal so it’s reasonable to conclude that what followed was due to the scallops I’d consumed.

By 7pm I was experiencing the worst diarrhoea which persisted throughout the night until around 9am the next morning. At 3.30am, I vomited my entire stomach contents.

I contacted the restaurant to advise of the issue and they deferred to a third party although I struggle to see what their investigation would find given I had flushed away the evidence.

Furthermore, I attempted to report the incident to HSE but they said that without a sample analysis, food poisoning would be difficult to prove so there was no point making a report. After speaking with a hospital Consultant to record my sickness, he said that samples would not be tested until symptoms persisted 7-10 days.

I did ask that the restaurant might refund my bill but nothing has been heard from them. It seems bizarre that I have eaten all over the world and yet I get food poisoning 0.1 miles from my house.

My advice is that if you are at all vulnerable in terms of health, then this place is best avoided. Clearly something went wrong - and these things do from time to time - but it’s how a company responds which shows you what their priorities are. The very least the could have done was offer a refund as a gesture of goodwill. I mention my previous visits to show I have no axe to grind but their lack of care for what I experienced tells me that this is not a business I want to spend my money with...

With the exception of Liverpool and Bramhall, I think I’ve eaten and reviewed most of the Piccolinos in the Northwest and I’d have to say that this is my favourite.

Sure, I’m biased because it’s pretty much on my doorstep, but in terms of location it can’t be beat. With Cibo bookending the Hale high street, you have your choice of Italian specialty restaurants. Make no mistake, this is a ristorante and not a trattoria like Sugo in Altrincham.

I doff my hat to the Piccolino group for maintaining consistency across all the sites. It’s not easy, but front of house staff were brilliant in putting my figlio at ease. The table settings were top notch. Crisp white linen and place settings get full marks from me.

Before I start with the food, I have to say that I spotted some tantalising wine selections. Sadly, I was unable to peruse anything more than the house white on this occasion and it went down well in the sun-shine.

I doubt there’s a ristorante that can beat a dedicated pizzeria like Rudy’s or even Vito’s a few doors down, but with a traditional oven on site, they do a great job of keeping the kids happy.

Time permitting, I would have had antipasto and primi piatti before the secondo piatto. But such is life that I had to make do with just a well balanced gamberoni pasta. The prawns were succulent and the pasta seasoned well with just the right quantity of chilli flakes. No hint of cream to obscure flavours. Despite almost ruining the dish myself by asking for Parmesan (never on seafood), it did not spoil the deliciousness...