Piccola Italia Restaurant — Restaurant in Florida

I cannot believe it took us 7 years to find this place! Been living in Wesley Chapel and have eaten all over. I wanted Veal Marsala for my birthday dinner and we didn't want to travel to the far away Tampa and Pinellas restaurants we knew were good. We found this place on google- reviews looked good, menu was right for what we wanted and we did togo- as we have 2 kids under 4 and didn't want the stress of sitting down. THE SECOND I walked into the restaurant I knew our Sicilian NJ hearts would be satisfied. This place smelled delish, was packed at 5pm, and couldn't have been easier to pick up our food. We got a LOT of it!!! When in Rome, right? We got Veal Marsala, Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, Rigatoni with Princess sauce, Zucchini fries, fried eggplant, sausage, and a pizza for the kids. (SO MUCH FOOD TO LAST US THE REST OF THE WEEK!) We skipped dessert(this time), as we had a birthday cake at home. Salads came with each dinner and garlic bread (WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN EXTRA!). It has been hard to find an actual Italian spot that has it all and isn't in Tampa or over the bridge in Pinellas. Everything was perfect. The Marsala sauce was delish, the homemade fettuccini delish, fried zucchini and eggplant so fresh. The bread as amazing, and who knew a Florida Italian restaurant actually knows how to make a cutlet, veal and chicken. Most of these places slap on either a teeny piece of something or a huge hunk(bc they think quantity not quality.) Both proteins were cooked perfectly- the sausage tasted like it was sitting in my crock pot all day Sunday.

I also want to call attention to the way everything was packaged. NOTHING was soggy or wilted. They had correct packaging for every dish, bread, salad, etc. That's so important. Nothing is worse than a restaurant that's only good when you dine in.

We are so happy to find a new spot! Can't wait to try more things on the menu and bring our parents when they come down from NJ!

The front of house staff couldn't have been sweeter or more helpful and PROMPT.

The online ordering was EXTREMELY easy- and so detailed.

*I am looking forward to see if they make a Braciole , as I can't even find a deli that sells it for me to make with my Sunday sauce down here.

*when I walk into a restaurant and see that its not some trendy place "playing restaurant", like so many in Wesley Chapel, it's a breath of fresh air. ALSO, it brings me back to childhood where it's all about the food, family, and service, not the countertops, chairs, wait staff on their phones and lighting fixtures. When your product is THAT good you don't need pretentious decor- Piccola Italia is welcomed new addition to us as a family. It's a preserved gem, that reminds us what life is really about. Mangia, Saluto,...

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! MASSIVE COCKROACH INFESTATION!! WAS SHUT DOWN BY THE STATE FOR 3 DAYS IN MAY DUE TO AN UNCONTROLLABLE ROACH INFESTATION! POSSIBLY BUGS INSIDE OF FOOD!!

Do you want to know what this restaurant is like? Picture this:

• A nasty "red" carpet from the year 2000...almost entirely black from the dirt crusted upon it. The place smells like a nursing home!!

• Cockroaches literally crawling in EVERY corner of the kitchen and dining room. ...inside of their coolers, on their "clean" plates..inside of the walls, INSIDE OF THE PIZZA BOXES! Nothing is safe.

• Air vents lined with black mold, Fans caked with years of dust...Bits of dust will be flying into your food..

• FOOD takes 25 minutes for even the simplest meal, and if there is any pizza involved...FORGET ABOUT GETTING YOUR MEAL! IT WILL TAKE AN HOUR!

• Broken air conditioning, for WEEKS causing you and your family to SWEAT over your food!

My experience: My family and I were eating at this restaurant WHILE IT was being shut down by the health department. The state HALTED ALL FOOD PRODUCTION and wouldnt allow us to eat or drink....requiring us to leave immediately. We had already paid for our meal and we quietly left after our server told us the situation. We later went home and did more research on this place and paid attention over the next few days.. Apparently, we were liable to get sick due to the MASSIVE cockroach infestation. From what I understand, they did NOTHING to fix the issue, either. No tent, no exterminator.

They tried to open for the next 3 days and were shut down by the state every day. A friend of mine even came to eat the day the REOPENED and they ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THE ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH SITCKER ON THE DOOR, while seating guests!!!! How ridiculous!!

I am posting a late review, off of an anonymous account to ensure privacy, because I do NOT want to be targeted by any aggressive owners!

If my family and I could give this restaurant a negative 5 star review, we would. They need to be shut down before...

Unfortunately I have made the attempt three different times to eat here. I judge an Italian Restaurant by their Spaghetti and Meatballs. If you go cheap on the cheapest dish than you just go cheap everywhere else as well. Now while I say this lets keep in mind I have yet to find a decent Italian Joint in East Pasco. Even the one at the Wiregrass Mall uses frozen meatballs.

Food: The food seemed right from the frozen food section of the grocery store and was drowned in some watery sauce and cheeze that clumps up quickly.....The white and red sauces were flavorless. I could have cooked better baked dishes with stouffers at home.

Service: The waitstaff is impatient and friendly all at once. They welcome you with open arms but ignore you after seating you unless you make it super obvious you need them. All three times I was there the staff seemed to have changed... This smacks of problems as well.

Decor: It looked like someone stepped into the 80's and brought out a picture of a mom and pop from then and applied it to now. The furniture not dining sets .... Was stiff and uncomfortable. Instead of comfort they focused on cost. Bad move.. Spend a little to make people not wanna leave I say..

Impression:: I beleive that this may or may not be an Italian family after listening to them yell at each other back and forth but they seem to want to push some substandard food that people obviously seem to buy so why bother right? Well they will continue to receive people who are aging and without care versus casual diners as regulars. This place was a horrible exscuse for Italian food and it should be illegal to call it dining instead of takeout. I watched the family gather for dinner after they started closing and I was amused and not surprised to see different foods and preparation for the food they gathered around. I stuck around after closing to talk with them about their menu and they claim pride and eagerness to please...I would say they are eager to sell but cheap on their...