Piccolino — Restaurant in Santa Fe

Wednesday, Sept 24 12:00 pm

Piccolinos is clearly a popular place, ranked #1 by the Santa Fe Reporter many years in a row. We arrived at a full parking lot, yet were greeted and seated right away. And even though they were busy, our server came immediately. The dining room is crisp and bright with walls hung with Italian themed posters and art. There is an extensive and exclusively Italian menu with Ravioli, Pastas, Baked Dishes like Lasagna and Stuffed Eggplant and Pizzas with plenty of add-ons. Appetizers and salads were creative and interesting. Mains are listed by Seafood, Veal and Chicken. We began with a surprise of a complimentary starter of warm Italian bread with olive oil and a spicy tomato dipping sauce. We shared a Capri Salad (mozzarella, slices of tomato, basil, carrots and crispy, cold lettuce with vinegar and olive oil jugs to mix your own dressing.) Our main course was a large (16”) Pizza Stagione with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives and sausage (substituted for the standard pepperoncini,) ample for two and satisfying. Our beverage, Pellegrino sparkling water came in a frosted mug with a big lemon wedge on the rim. We appreciated these kinds of thoughtful details. There was a quiet hum in the dining room (72dB) making it easy to converse. We especially enjoyed this lunch and will return. Pellegrino's is very reasonably priced, especially for the quality...

I ordered takeout. 4 plates which we split between 6 (2 adults, 1 middle school, 2 elementary, 1 Pre-K) with some leftover. I love how creamy the Alfredo is, and the bread smells like childhood 😋 I truly appreciate that there are so many options WITHOUT pork and that ones cooked with wine mention it in the menu. It's really hard to order Italian in general because of those ingredients.

Here's why I'm rating 5 stars - when I was waiting for my order to get packed, a homeless man walked in. He waited patiently for the woman at the counter. Only took a minute for her to be available and she asked if she could help him. He politely asked "can you help me with something to eat?" To which she instantly and kindly replied she could give him a small spaghetti with meat sauce. That event was less than 5 minutes, but it was such a nice interaction and seemed like it's a common thing for her to handle. Seeing that and the way she responded 👏👏

When I was leaving I saw cars around the side - is there a drive thru?? I'm glad I didn't know about it this time but I would use that...

My partner and I came in from out of town, and wanted to hunt down some local Italian food. Damn, were we impressed to stumble on this local gem.

The staff starts you out with bread. It was hot, deliciously buttered, topped with a pinch of pesto, accompanied by absolutely mindblowing marinara. I barely wanted to eat the main course; I loved the bread so much.

I was pleasantly surprised that my beer was served in a frosted, chilled glass. Some of the nicest places I’ve been don’t chill their glasses. That was a great fancy touch that was a solid foreshadowing of what was to come.

The amatricciana I got was flawless. Perfectly balanced cream sauce, popping pancetta, seasoned like a musical to my taste buds. My partner’s ravioli di mare was impressive to her as well, with its handmade ravioli and perfect crescents of shrimp, but she wanted my sauce over and over. I had to keep her away from my dish.

This unassuming little building with a drive thru housed some of the best Italian American food I’ve had. I would recommend this place to anyone in Santa...