Piccolo Ristorante Bellmore — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I picked up a half tray of chicken Francese on Thursday night at 5 PM, which I had ordered days before. Due to a series of events, we didn't eat until late and the sauce was by that time ... orange in sections of the pan. Since one of us has serious food sensitivities, I called to ask why the sauce was orange. After waiting a few minutes, speaking to two people and specifically asking whether the sauce had been prepared with a powder base, I finally learned from a manager that they put paprika in it to "give it a little kick" because "we do things differently around here." Huh, aren't some dishes sacred classics? Thank goodness I inquired because paprika is one of the spices my guest cannot have without risking very unpleasant symptoms, including breathing problems in a worst case scenario. More and more places are using powder bases to make sauces. I know because I have to ask these questions on a regular basis. Restaurant owners and personnel are legally bound to respond honestly for their own protection due to liability issues, etc. I thought chicken Francese would be a safe option. The manger offered to make something else, but we were over an hour away. To be fair, he sincerely encouraged me to ask for him next time we come in, but I think I'll pass. Those of us who ate the chicken all agreed that it was just ok and not of the same quality we have experienced at family events we've been invited to at Piccolo's, nor when we placed a large order of takeout in the fall. Also, the person who took my order asked me if I wanted anything else. I asked her if our order was too small. She very nicely said "of course not." Hey, $78 (cash) is a big deal for us, but we can swing it for special occasions. We are selective about where we buy the food with which we will "break bread with" our dear ones. My impression is that Piccolo's can count on huge orders from many important people. Our small order may not have been treated with the same importance or care a larger one would...

Had my daughter’s party here a few weeks ago. It honestly was a terrible experience. We came into the room and nothing was set up. We dropped decor, seating chart/cards, and balloons off at 10am for a 1pm party. We ended up finishing early at church so we all arrived at 12:45pm. Nothing. Was. Done. Still in the basket that I brought it in; placed on the table. I had to verbally tell people where their tables were as well as run around like a chicken without a head to put decoration around/untangle balloons.

Pretty disappointed as well with management/owner, Tommy. When we booked this event, we purposely booked here for the family style menu. Everything was served family style other than the main course (Chicken Parm, Chicken Francese, Eggplant Rollatini, Salmon, etc) When I asked the waiter about it being family style he said the kitchen is under prepared for it to be family style, he’s not sure. So I grabbed Frank & Tommy to ask about it. Tommy came off beyond aggressive saying “it’s not on the contract… I don’t remember it…. it’s not written down”. BUT if you look at the contract it doesn’t say family style for pasta or dessert as well but yet that was served family style. So why is the entree served differently?

Frank saw we were visibly upset and offered to have the cake be free. Well, good thing because they served the cake on hot plates fresh from the dishwasher (glad they were clean at least) This made the whipped cream melt and foam like.

Food could have tasted better…Not really impressed then to have service be the way it was, just made a bad taste in my mouth. A few days later a woman called asking about my experience with the party. I told her exactly what is said above and she said Tommy (owner) would get back to me — 3 weeks later and he...

I’ve eaten here a few times growing up and each time I’m more disappointed and disgusted. We went over the weekend by invitation of another couple and once again it was not good which is leading me to my review.

The staff is always polite I will say but our waitress didn’t have a clue what she was doing. I asked for a particular wine on the menu, she came back and said we don’t have it, I asked for a hard seltzer that’s on the menu, she back again saying we don’t have it. Finally got something that was actually in stock and it took forever to arrive. I opened my napkin and a hair fell out. I almost threw up and got a new one. The salad is weird; it came with a random piece of salami in it, I had one piece of cucumber and my husbands had about 10 tomatoes in it. Made no sense. No consistency.

Got our entrees very quickly and the food really seems like it’s microwaved. The sauce was like water, the chicken was beyond salty. My macaroni was cooked right which was surprising but my husband got mussels blanco and he asked for angel hair and got way over cooked spaghetti. Someone else in our party got simple spaghetti and meatballs and barely ate it. Also, someone else asked to take home a white slice and was given a regular slice because you guessed it! They were out. Food is way overpriced too. Next time we’re invited I must have to respectfully decline because I won’t eat...