Ristorante Picolinos

I really like Picolinos food, but they make it too difficult sometimes to get past everything else. During our last visit, we had a waiter that talked AT our table of 4 for at least 7 minutes non-​stop while we were trying to eat our salads. And twice they’ve denied us the ability to order take-​out because the kitchen was too busy — one of those times was after I had called the day before to confirm that they were planning to support take-​out the following night.

T. and I stopped in around 9 pm for a drink at the bar. It was not busy… a nice quiet evening… both bartenders were clueless! They ignored us, took care of everyone else around us… then finally asked us what we wanted… then had to ask us again… and even a third time… dear lord… you’re BARTENDERS… tend bar!!!

Fabulous authentic italian food and charming atmosphere. Highly recommend this restaurant, and i have spent much time in tuscany at some of the best. Our server, sarah, was just a delight! We will be making picolinos a regular destination.

Nice place for a 50^th birthday party. The wine was great, the atmosphere fantastic, the food was fine. My flank steak was not particularly great, but tastes I had of other people’s dishes were better than what I ordered.

My wife and I will stop in at eat a salad or small pizza at the bar every week or so. We absolutely love the ambiance, servers and food. Every couple of months we’ll eat a dinner at a table.
In all cases, the food is excellent and the service is great. It amazes us how busy they can be every single day of the week, and yet it never seems crowded or noisy. This is such a fun little neighborhood fine dining experience.
OK — one criticism: I like dark beers (long story), but hate Guinness. Often they’ll have a Stoup Stout or some other dark beer. Come on y’all! Get me another good porter or stout!

First time at Picolinos last night. Everything was fantastic. Will be back.

I could go on and on about the number of times I have attempted to give this place a chance and they continually screw the pooch. Suffice to say —
If you want to be treated like scum of the earth regardless of how nicely you have dressed for the occasion. This is the place for you.
If you want to spend exorbitant amounts of money for frequently mediocre and/​or inconsistent food. This is the place for you.
Portion sizes are petite as well. So at least you don’t have to endure masses of food.
This «neighborhood» place needs to take a few pages from Fred Rodgers to say the least.

This review is primarily for the restaurant, not Pico Café.
I’ve been frequenting Picolinos since I moved to Ballard two years ago and have yet to be disappointed. My partner and I have gone countless times for breakfast at the café, dinner at the bar and on occasion, dinner in the restaurant. Their café is dog friendly and if you’ve got an anxious pup like mine, sometimes we request to take our breakfast on their terrace if it’s emptier. I don’t think the terrace is dog friendly during dinner service but I could be wrong.
My favorite time to come is during Valentine’s Day when they have lamb osso buco as a special. I can’t not order it each time! However, as much as I love dinner at Picolino’s, my wallet is less enthused so we typically eat at the bar. I am equally impressed with their offerings, even if it doesn’t change much with the seasons. Plates at the bar average around $ 8 and you get a sizable helping that is usually enough for one person (me thinks). My partner and I typically get a dish each and a third to share.
I love how Picolino’s serves all my dining needs — morning, afternoon and night!

I really really really wanted to like this place.
The two stars are for the greeting, the waitstaff and the ambience… Simple amazing…
That’s where we make a screeching HALT!!!
She ordered one of the ravioli dishes; looked amazing!!! So rich we felt like a dog that had a mouthful of peanut butter. Whoa and whoa…
I was so excited for the Braised short rib with saffron risotto. This was a fail and a fail.
The risotto was watery and reminded me of chicken and garlic rice a roni I ate as a kid… The shortrib, fatty and covered in a red sauce designed to cover up the fattiness…
We ventured to the crème brûlée hoping for some type of salvage to the night… Meh and sad face.
Michelle our waitress, really made the night. Always on top of filling our wine. Service was amazing.
Don’t think I’ll be back, too bad. It’s super cute and only 4 blocks away. Hey, at least the Green Market had a lovely wine selection to pick up another bottle for a night in…
Thanks anyways…

Love the ambiance, and love the food.
I had the pork shank that came with risotto. Seasoned a little heavy but still delicious.
We also had the calamari… just pass.
Caesar salad was good… asked for extra anchovies.
Service was great and I would recommend trying it out.

I enjoyed my food and service. Others not so much.
We sat outside under the vines and I thought it was a very charming. Others thought it was old and dirty. I think they were hung up on the small birds that were hanging out. I pointed out that we were outside – I don’t think that took.
I think they didn’t have a bartender on at the time we were there. That was unfortunate – I didn’t actually realize this until after we got the drinks.
I was amazed at all the number of rooms this place had. Perhaps if we sat inside and a bartender was on staff at the time, we all could have had a better time.
Did I mention I enjoyed the food?

We love coming to Picolino; they are very warm and gracious and the food is good. Very romantic, with linen tablecloths, candle light and often a violinist.
The place used to be a lawnmower repair shop and the owner purchased the building and renovated it into something very special. The back patio is like something out of Little Italy – with small intimate tables, grapevines overhead, flowers, and a lovely fountain. Very easy to forget your issues here. I included a photo of the antipasto plate; would have included more photos but the minute the food arrived we dug in. I had the meatballs, made with lamb. They were tender and full of flavor as was the sauce. My husband had the chicken piccata and it was very very good. The veal peppardell (sp?) is great but a bit heavy. Our salads had homemade croutons I am still dreaming of. We’ve had family dinners here, romantic nights, dinners with other couples and cocktails with girlfriends. Suffice it to say Ballard is lucky to have such a lovely and consistent restaurant in the ‘hood.

Ok, so we had a lot riding on this place going in tonight, and just to be fair, this review reflects that. We are a family with young kids (9 yrs, 6 yrs, and 9 months), and it was our 20 year wedding anniversary tonight. We wanted to bring the whole family out for dinner and walk somewhere in the neighborhood that was family friendly, but still feel like we were having a celebration.
We did not dress up, brought the umbrella stroller, and so I’m sure we looked like not the most refined clientele. Still, we were greeted in a friendly way and made to feel welcome. We were shown what was probably the least desirable table in an almost empty restaurant (a cramped four top right next to the kitchen), and when we hesitated, were offered the table next to it, also cramped and far from any windows or other desirable spots. We understood, knowing that a family with young kids was a crapshoot dining experience.
We ordered aperitifs (prosecco and negroni), plus an antipasti to share, pizzas off the adult menu for the kids, and two pasta dishes for ourselves. Our server was not terribly friendly or helpful, but we understood. He brought our drinks, bread and appetizer and then disappeared for a VERY long time. We watched our kids’ pizzas sit on the counter for several minutes, the cook ringing the bell several times before finally flagging a host to serve us. Had we not been seated directly under the waiting pizzas we probably never would have known.
When they brought the pizzas we asked for the wine list, having been ignored by our server, and the host was very apologetic. I was glad he noticed we were unhappy. Wine and entrees were brought, albeit before our appetizer plates were cleared, so there was much uncomfortable shuffling, apologies were made, and the food was good.
All told, we spent just shy of $ 175, and our kids were extremely well-​behaved (even the 9 month old!) given the circumstances. Our friendly host even came by to comment on how he hadn’t heard her. A perfect evening would have of course included a nicer table and a more attentive server, but in the end I was very happy to have spent the evening of our anniversary here.

Lovely restaurant spot with an old fashioned feel.
The servers were very attentive and polite. Huge choice of pizza and pasta. I had the rigatoni bolognese which was absolutely delicious, and plenty big enough to take some home for later. The sauce was amazing, much creamier than a usual bolognese sauce but super rich and flavourful.
Try to sit out on the back terrace in their nice garden.

The food was amazing we had the lamb meatball pasta and it was to die for. Delicious wine and then dessert OMG the crème Brulle is redic! So yummy!

Upon first walking in, we were greeted friendly and were sat right away within 1 minute. I got my raspberry Italian soda within 5 minutes of ordering and got our orders ordered after that. We ordered the antipasti, Caesar salad, spaghetti poletti and the papardelle pasta. All of them were wonderful. To top it off, I also ordered the crème brûlée, delicious! The atmosphere gives off a casual feel and many family comes here to eat. The service is good and comes out quickly or in a decent amount of time.
Would come back.

Glad we went here on Valentine’s day! What a great experience! Will totally be back!
They had live music and VERY romantic and comfortable atmosphere for the evening. No rush approach but nicely-​timed service in the restaurant that was completely full. One of the best restaurant services I’ve experienced.
Food was delicious!
We’ll be back!

So glad to have come across Picolinos to host a large brunch for 40 people. The owner, Tom, was so accommodating and helpful. What could have been a stressful event turned out to be seamless and enjoyable.
We were placed in the larger dining area with well dress table tops. Everything about the environment at Picolinos is charming and inviting.
The food: Yum! Everyone in our party thoroughly enjoyed their dishes, which is rare, especially for such a large party. The biscotti served with coffee was so good and I’m not typically a fan of biscotti. Do try. The brioche toast served with the florentine scramble was truly delightful. As a self professed Carb-​a-​holic, I single handedly demolished 2 baskets of toast. It was one of my prouder moments in life. Oh, and the strawberry jam? Get in my belly!
The serving portions are rather large, so you will definitely get your money’s worth.
Popular dishes that I would recommend:
— Florentine Scramble
— Lasagna All Nettuno
— Tuscan Strata
I can’t rave enough about the great experience I had at Picolinos. Whether you’re dining alone, or want to host a large brunch/​dinner party, Picolinos is the way to go!
Krista

Charming, authentic, and delicious. Ristorante Picolinos, where have you been all my life?
I’ll admit it, although I absolutely adore Italian food, I haven’t done a very good job of finding Italian restaurants in my area that I really like. Until now. Made a impulse decision to try Picolinos after Unilocaling, and my friend and I were off for a «fancy date night.» Seriously, this place is so charming! Situated in inner Ballard, Picolinos looks like the what I imagine the Italian restaurant from «Lady and the Tramp» to be if it actually existed. It’s dark, intimate (candle-​lit), and delightful.
Came here on a busy Friday night but was seated (without a reservation) within minutes — and at a very intimate place by the window. As an ex-​Italian student having spent a few years abroad there, it was a real treat to hear the owner conversing with the staff in Italian. It definitely added to feeling like the cuisine might be truly authentic.
As an accordionist played nearby, my friend and I munched on bread with pesto while deciding to split the insalata di lattughette (large size), which comes with greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, freshly shaved parmesan (so fantastic), and balsamic dressing. She ordered the spaghetti carbonara, and I went with rigatoni alla bolognese. Both dishes came out rather quickly and were VERY generous portions! We split so we could try one another’s, and they were both divine. The carbonara was creamy without being nauseating and had deliciously crunchy pancetta. The rigatoni was nicely done with chunks of meat and a very well-​seasoned sauce. Service was top-​notch, and the bill wasn’t too horrifying (~$ 25 each without alcohol).
Even though the place looks like a romantic date night locale, we both came in super casual and saw parties ranging from families celebrating birthdays to Seahawks fans decked out in their jerseys.

Came here for my mom’s birthday. It was everything the family expected. Awesome food. The Ravioli was totally mouthwatering good. Great service with the 12+ table. The price was what we agreed on ahead of time. Best of all my mom had a great Birthday dinner and was very happy.
Can’t wait to go back and try more of the menu. A Beautiful restaurant