Piccolo Sogno — Restaurant in New York

We were attending an event at Queens College and wanted to have a lunch/dinner afterwards, so we searched for restaurants nearby. There were many choices, but I was impressed by the website and menu for Piccolo Sogno. Following the event, joined by four friends, my wife and I made the short drive to the restaurant. It was a hot day, and at first we said we would like to dine inside. But the gracious host said we were welcome to check the outside seating first--and we're so glad we did! In the lovely, covered garden, we comfortably began a great feast!

Piccolo Sogno has a nice selection of wines and beers as well as sparkling water. That was followed by delicious Calamari Fritti (done to perfection) and a Hot Antipasto Sampler with more calamari, baked clams, eggplant rolatini and amazing fried shrimp.

We followed that with Pollo Alla Francese (some of the best I've ever had), Spaghetti Carbonara, Penne Vodka, and Insalata Dello Chef with chicken. These were served with generous side orders of Caesar salad or pasta.

The service was friendly, courteous and at a pace that made for a wonderful afternoon.

Even though we were extremely well-filled, we ordered dessert, and are so glad we did! The Limoncello Flute was one of the best desserts we've had, as was the Chocolate Mousse. Some iced expresso (wait until you see the special way it is layered!) and coffee would have been the end of a perfect meal, but then Chef Maurizio himself came out to spend some time at our table. After a nice conversation, he took this selfie shot of us all. As we left, the wonderful staff of the restaurant all greeted us and thanked us for coming. I can't remember the last time that happened in such a warm and spontaneous way.

I could not more highly recommend a restaurant. We live in Manhattan and have our choice of some of the best restaurants anywhere--but actually, I look forward to returning to...

I was kind of excited to try this spot. Classic Italian food, and a pizza joint. The outside isn’t very appealing and the inside was lack luster. There was a weird funky smell upon entering. Greeted with a smile and then asked table for how many. Said 2 and then just waited about 5 minutes to be acknowledged again. Headed over to our table. The table was clean, and dining utensils well kept. Menus were given and a drink menu was offered also. We ordered the eggplant rollatini for appetizers, the Chicken Parm with spaghetti, and the spaghetti carbonara. The eggplant rollatini wasn’t even luke warm on the inside. The sauce was reminiscent of chef boyardee. It was bland and had an acidic taste to it. You could tell the dish was reheated in a microwave. Onto the main. The chicken parm was covered in a greasy layer of mozzarella cheese that was burnt and just thick. It felt like it was cheap store bought mozzarella. The sauce was the same used for the rollatini. So the taste wasn’t great. The chicken breast was definitely not done in home. It was pre breaded and tasted bland. Felt like a deli made chicken cutlet sandwich. The spaghetti was cold and over cooked. The sauce was poured on it, to help mask that old stale sitting pre made spaghetti feeling. The carbonara was dreadful. The bits bacon was off putting, and gross. The sauce was watery and flavorless and the spaghetti was the same. Cold and flavorless. Pictures below you can see one of the spaghetti noodle being brunt / brown. I have no idea how this spot has a 4.4 star on Google. Only reason it’s not a one star was because of the wait staff being friendly. Definitely...

Went there for the first time for a private gathering. The storefront is small (piccolo) and unassuming. Upon entering we were led through the modestly sized dining room through some back doors that seemed like they should be for employees only. We were seated in a surprisingly spacious, well ventilated and heated tented space behind the building. The likelihood is the area was created as a pandemic alternative to indoors. A multi course meal was served family style: fresh bread, antipasto, pizza, salad, wine, rigatoni with tomato sauce, penne with vodka sauce, eggplant rollatini, chicken parmesan, chicken francese, sides of broccoli and roasted potatoe, ice cream (tartufo), cheesecake, espresso/cappuccino. All food was excellent without exception and was served by a very efficient, attentive, and polite staff. Glasses were always refilled, plates were cleared and replaced without delay, and consideration given to vegetarian and vegan guests. This place is a gem that left a lasting positive impression of surprising all around excellence. It definitely motivates a return visit and is entirely deserving of a 5...