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Serving: Lunch, Monday–Friday, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. Dinner, Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m.; Friday, 4-11:30 p.m.; Saturday, noon–11:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m. Reservations recommended. Cuisine: Italian Dinner entrée: $14.99-$27.99 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance: 9/10
Our Gourmet: I like the interior of Piccola. It’s very old-world Italian and nice, but not stuffy. There are booths and tables and on a recent Saturday all were full and the restaurant was hopping. It’s all very comfortable and homey, and a nice place to relax with our guests. 4.5
The Dining Companion: Piccola has a homey Italian restaurant feel to it. They load a lot of tables in a place as small as it is, but it definitely didn’t feel overly crowded where we were seated. 4.5
Appetizer:14/20
OG: My choice was the mushrooms stuffed with seasoned cracker crumbs ($7.99). This was a nice start to the meal. The mushrooms were good; not spectacularly flavorful, but well-cooked and piping hot. 8
TDC: I decided to order the mozzarella Da Vinci ($7.99) which consisted of a breaded and baked mozzarella stuffed with parma prosciutto and topped with fresh marinara sauce. When I think of a mozzarella appetizer, I was hoping for something chewy and gooey, what I got was a wafer thin overcooked appetizer with a fantastic marinara sauce hiding the flaws. I give the sauce high points, but not the appetizer as a whole. 6
Entrée: 15/20
OG: Piccola’s menu is full of tasty-sounding Italian comfort food, so it’s not easy to choose. In the end I went with the risotto alla pescatore ($24.99). The risotto was served with shrimp, scallops, whole clams, mussels and sliced calamari.
I had a Primitivo with it, an Italian wine much like a Zinfandel. It was light and fruity, so it worked, but we were shocked when it arrived and the bottle had a screw top. Say what you will about screw tops, in my mind it makes a wine look cheap.
Anyway, the seafood was cooked just right — the calamari was tender and not rubbery — and was abundant. The risotto was a little different than others I’ve had – less creamy with rice that is a bit more grainy than usual. It’s in a light scampi sauce, so perhaps that, or a different variety of rice, is what makes the difference. The flavor was there and as I said, the seafood was plentiful and well cooked. 8.5
TDC: I love good Italian food and decided to try one of the specialties of the house, the Vitello Fabiana ($23.99), which consisted of a scallopini of veal sautéed with porcini, portabella, oyster and shiitake mushrooms with walnuts in a light cream sauce served with fettuccini. Boy, was I let down. The pounded veal was very tough – even the knife had a struggle to cut it. The sauce, even though tasty, was advertised to be a light cream sauce, which was a stretch as it was quite dense. Not the dish for someone on a diet — not that I can be with this job. 6.5
Dessert: 15/20
OG: There were a number of dessert offerings, and tired of tiramisu (imagine!) I chose a pecan pie that turned out to be about average. When in an Italian restaurant, I guess I should stick with Italian and order tiramisu and cannolis. 7.5.
TDC: When our waitress came by with the desert tray, I zeroed in on the orange white chocolate cake ($6) She then returned a couple of minutes later to tell me they just sold the last piece. Bummer. So trying to think what else I saw on the tray, I remembered the words chocolate ganache ($6) so that's what I ordered. The cake was moist and tasty, but nothing to die for. 7.5
Service: 10/10
OG: Our server Nancy was congenial, helpful and efficient. We were well attended to. 5
TDC: We were seated not too far from the bar and Nancy also was working behind the bar as a bartender, but she was very attentive, and answered any questions that came up. 5
Value: 16/20
OG: Piccola’s prices are approaching the high side, but you do get generous portions and a good dining experience. It’s nice for the occasional outing or special occasion. 8.
TDC: Piccola is not a cheap meal, but usually an excellent restaurant. My guess is we may have hit a bad night. Perhaps the regular chef was off? I would try them again before an event at the Verizon or the Palace Theatre. I’d probably just order something a bit different next time. 8
Total Score: 79/100
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