La Piccola Cucina

I came here on Christmas eve with family and friends. It wasn’t busy at all but the customer service wasn’t great. The server stood in the back of the room our entire meal and stared at us. It was very creepy. The food wasn’t memorable but the weird service was. I don’t think this place is worth the visit but to each their own!

Nice little place with great service and good food.

Absolutely loved this little restaurant. I would come back over and over. Really cool and cozy décor. Italian waiter are super friendly and fun. Great service. Food is served in little pans. Delicious. Grilled octopus was great. Sea bass was superb. Pasta was awesome. Panacota dessert to die for!!! Highly recommend it.

Had dinner here with my husband and we loved it! I had the penne vodka with mushrooms and peas (and plenty of freshly grated cheese :)) and it was delicious. Prices are quite reasonable, and the menu has a good variety of traditional Italian recipes. Service was extremely pleasant– not to be taken for granted in New York! Recommended for a cozy dinner out the next time you’re in the mood for Italian.

This is a lovely Italian restaurant. The food is great, with reasonable (not oversized) portions for a decent price. The service is kind and attentive. Most importantly, the ambiance is lovely– feels like an Old World restaurant with less than 10 tables, light opera music in the background, and lighting that suits the mood. I had the fettuccini alfredo, and while that dish is not rocket science, it was exactly what I wanted it to be. Will definitely go back.

Mediocre imitation of Italian cuisine. I got Chicken Sorentino — it was really over salted, the sauce was mediocre and was not Italian at all. My friend’s dish was also over salted. Wine was good though. But the place has nothing to do with Italian cuisine (I’ve traveled to Italy numerous times and ate different types of Italian food so I know how it should taste) I also haven’t seen any Italians on the kitchen or at the restaurant. Especially with their prices — the place is weigh overpriced.

The best thing I can say is that delivery is lightning quick.
Otherwise, either I am out of sync with my fellow Unilocalers for the first time, or they were having an off night.
Speaking of «off,» the worst thing I can say is that when I reached the last shrimp in my just okay shrimp fra diavolo, it was bad. Spit-​out of the mouth bad. Nothing spoils a special occasion dinner like seafood gone bad. The restaurant would have received at least one more star had it not been for the spoiled shrimp, which also signified $ 22.00 down the toilet.
The spaghetti bolognese was actually pretty good.
The hard as a rock garlic bread was not only inedible, but had no more garlic in it than if someone had whispered «garlic» over the bread.
Very disappointing to say the least. A missed opportunity for this neighborhood, especially now that a branch of a very successful downtown Italian restaurant is opening up around the corner.
P. S. If you are using GrubHub to order, the restaurant does not allow you to pay cash: credit card or PayPal. Even for the tip. I found that odd, and I prefer a cash transaction, but there you go.

BEWARE!!! We have been ordering from here for years. Today they lied directly to us and were unbelievably rude about it. They claim that a man from a different area code called with all of my information and canceled my order. I am a female and no one would know the details of my order that I made from my apartment. Clearly they are making up a fantastical story to cover up the fact that they made a mistake. They wouldn’t send the order now and gave the weakest most half-​hearted apology. They had no reason to lie, but they even created a fake number (we tried it and it isn’t a real number) that this man supposedly called from. WOW. They have no integrity.

This place is wonderful. Good food, affordable, sweet and quiet atmosphere, nice staff. So glad to discover it. Will definitely go back.

I like La Piccola Cucina – I really do… but every time I leave here for dinner, I always leave with the same thought in mind: That place is so weird. Others have called it a hidden gem, and I don’t disagree. I guess I’m just puzzled on why it’s still hidden – it’s located on a fairly active block just a few storefronts down from the always-​full Thai Market.
Inside, it’s small, almost stifling. This is not your typical «hole in the wall», however. La Piccola Cucina has white tablecloths, high backed chairs, salad forks, and just «feels» fancier than you would expect. The food is almost always wonderful – classic Italian, large portions, fantastic olive bread. I like to share the caesar salad and eggplant parm with my partner – more than enough food for two. For dessert, try (and adore) the chocolate mousse.
Service suits the décor – polite, attentive, you’ll want for nothing. Because there is rarely more than one other table eating when we are, service can even be a bit over-​attentive, but I think that’s silly (and a little Goldilocks) to complain about.
Why, you wonder, is La Piccola Cucina so damn odd? I suppose it’s the anomaly of finding a good, reasonably priced restaurant In New York City that has maybe 7 tables and is just about always empty. As a result, it’s quiet – too quiet, sometimes. I guess I can’t pin down the precise reason, but if you go – and you should go – you too might inexplicably feel the same.

My boyfriend and I were starving one late night and had no desire to cook. I usually never order pasta, especially as take out, because I make it so often at home, but the Penne alla Vodka blew me away. It was delicious and creamy and the portion was big enough for two meals. My boyfriend was equally satisfied with his chicken. The delivery service was speedy and they gave us bread, butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese! I’m absolutely delighted to have discovered this place!

Authentic Italian food ~ great service and cozy environment, very good portion and ice cream dessert is a pleasant surprise ~ recommend the clam pasta !

This is our favorite Italian spot on the UWS. There are no thrills which it comes to décor, but it’s cozy (seats about 16 people), service is phenomenal, and the food is consistent and amazing. They have 3 specials daily which always makes for an even more difficult food selection. My favorites that I could eat any night of the week: penne alla vodka (I add shrimp and red pepper flakes bc I like everything spicy), tortellini alla pana, shrimp fra diavlo with capellini pasta (no need to add red pepper flakes here bc it already packs good enough of a punch), chicken Parmesan with capellini pasta, and the chicken sorrentino. There are so many other dishes I want to try but I love my go to’s so much I just haven’t. We’ve never left here not loving everything. Highly suggest this restaurant! Yum! Now I’m hungry!

This is the quintessential hole in the wall NYC Italian restaurant. Reminds me of that Billy Joel song… Any who, great restaurant. The food is basic Italian dishes and the service is impeccable! Best of all, my wife is so happy here.
Recommendations:
Chicken Parm
Penne Vodka
Chicken Sorentino
Seafood pasta.
And all the other dishes that I haven’t tired yet.

Nice Italian place, the food is great.
I ate eggplant parmigiana and
was very tasty and the forst beer was amazing. The staff is very friendly. I’ll be back.

Great little hidden Italian Cooking! priced fairly great service, beautiful warm cozy space

OH MY DEAR GOD… i’m not sure what other Unilocalers have been tasting (or rather, what is wrong with their taste buds) but this place does not deserve any praise. personally, i would love my $ 18.51 back. thankfully, i was also craving a reese’s and got one of those because this food is going where it belongs… in the trash.
normally, when i want something as simple as chicken parm, i make it myself to ensure deliciousness. that said, it’s one of the easiest things on earth to make at least decently well in ANY kitchen, but this is supposedly an italian restaurant… i know great italian food, i eat great italian food and seek it out in all my travels, and i make great italian food. this was sloppy and a waste of time and money.
but after a long day and no food in my stomach, i took a chance because i just moved into a new apartment and my kitchen is not yet ready for me to make magic.
i digress:
they get one stinking point for having the food be hot when i went to pick it up. it was a seamless order and the spaghetti was flavorless, overcooked and drizzled with some chunky plum tomatoes with zero salt, pepper, or hint that it was made of something other than air… and the chicken breast was tender. they used the same crushed tomatoes (again, flavorless) and some melted polly-​o mozzarella for the chicken and the chicken aside from being tender and juicy, lacked flavor, but was at least the perfect tenderness. overall, i’m sincerely disappointed. i won’t be revisiting la piccola cucina. I’m so sorry that I used my nice utensils and debased my freshly shaved Parmesan on this pointless meal. my tummy is still grumbling, but I’d rather go hungry tonight.
a dirty trick and no flavorful treat on this halloween.

Warm and cozy ambience, attentive service and good Italian food.
The Ceasar salad was particularly good as were the chicken dishes we ordered. Not crazy for the Trebbiano but good Pinot Grigio by the glass. Overall a satisfying dinner and a fun place.
Not adventuresome but real comfort food.

This place had great pasta and decent wine list. It is a local joint and close by the local bars! The servers are nice and accommodating when you are hammered.
We had the chicken and bolognese gnocchi…

This was a very pleasant meal with a very polite and well mannered waiter attached. The salad was very fresh and the dressing was crisp and delicious. I had the chicken monte bianco. The chicken was cooked nicely and flattened in typical Italian style. The sauce needed a little help with some added pepper. The artichokes improved the sauce greatly. No room for dessert.
The house Montepulciano was only $ 8 and a great value.
The space was a bit tight in a warm way. I think if there were a few more people it would have been uncomfortable.