Piccolo Bistro 29 Chestnut St. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 The overall atmosphere and ambiance is pleasant. The dining area is dimly lit and the central air makes it comfortable. The service was also efficient; my server made sure my order was taken care of. Although the cutlet was pounded thin, it was missing a crispy texture. There was a decent amount of mozzarella cheese; it was gooey with a decent cheese pull (Regrettably, I didn't take a photo of the pull.) The sauce was disappointing; it has too much of a resemblance of tomato soup. Overall, the ambiance and service is fantastic. When I return, I will definitely give their other entrées a try. #piccolobistro #ridgewoodnj #chickenparmesan #ridgewoodvillage read more

Piccolo Bistro - Chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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This is a splendid little Italian bistro with excellent service, ambiance and delicious food. It's very pleasant and the prices are very reasonable. If you want Italian comfort food in a nice environment, you cannot go wrong with this little gem. read more

An old-fashioned Italian gem hidden in downtown Ridgewood that begs your visit. It might have become my favorite Italian spot for now. I had the pleasure of dining here on rainy evening at the end of September with my family and we all left happy. I. ATMOSPHERE (4/5) - Old-world charm & Cozy, definitely going to rub some elbows if group-dining. They have decent-sized outdoor seating in the front that would be lovely during the warm weather. It was Saturday evening and the place was packed despite the drizzly weather outside. We had to wait a bit watching diners enjoying themselves for like 5 minutes, then was led to sit at the only available table for us (party of 5) at the back. II. FOOD (5/5) - We ordered family style which is, in my opinion how to dine in Italian trattorias, and here's how it went down. Bread & Pesto Olive oil dip (FREE, 5/5) - You're served a basket of warm rolls with this herbaceous oil dip. Once you start, you can't stop. Barbabietola ($15, SALAD, 5/5) - This is what you want to pair w/ heavy main fare. Just order it unless you can't stomach goat cheese. Generous sized bed of spinach and juicy sliced beets matched by ferocious clumps of goat cheese, topped with nice sized pear slices & balsamic drizzle. This and the bread would be much more refined version of Olive Garden's Bread & Salad combo. Rigatoni Bolognese ($27, ENTREE, 4/5) - Do you need your basic tomato & beef pasta fix? This is it - Simple, delicious full-bodied tomato sauce & meaty flavor, you can't lose. Seafood Linguine ($39, ENTREE, 5/5) - Large party sharing food? Get this. A bit pricey, but they give you a lot of shellfish - every one good (only had 1 stank mussel). The sauce is very well-balanced between the hearty tomato & seafood flavors, and not watery without being too dense. They even give you baguette slices to mop up that delectable sauce with! Chicken Marsala ($27, ENTREE, 5/5) - A classic well done. Chicken was super moist and well-seasoned, and the sauce w/ the fun juicy mushrooms just made me keep going back for more Chicken Francese ($25, ENTREE, 3/5) - This was the only slightly disappointing one because chicken was tad bit dry though not bad by any means. Other dishes were just much better. Homemade Chocolate Mosiac Cake Served with Vanilla Ice Cream ($11, DESSERT, 4/5) - They give you like 4 large scoops of ice cream, and the cake was tasty & FUN to eat with variety of nuts on firm yet chewy browny-esq cake. Homemade Tiramisu ($11, DESSERT, 3/5) - Done right! Amazing with a cup of cappuccino. Was kept frozen so the cake layer needed a bit of thawing w/ that cappuccino mouth if you get my drift. III. SERVICE (5/5) - Waitress that tended our table was super patient in explaining the menu to ravenously hungry yet inquisitive group of five. At one point, one of us even asked about where the painting on the wall is from and she just shrugged, "I dunno" - the right answer. She accommodated all our dipping oil & bread refill request and take out requests efficiently and politely. Definitely made our experience pleasant, thank you. (Kelly? alas, forgot her name - tall lady w/ long black hair). An added bonus - Owners are locals who believe in what they're putting out and seem to have many return patrons. I'll definitely be visiting soon in summer! read more

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Returned to PB last night and John and his team delivered a very memorable evening. Warmed rolls with pesto and butter were so delish on a cold evening. Our appt were delicious and our group shared.The waitress complied and tweaked one of their specials to franchise the jumbo shrimp instead of scampi. Not every restaurant can master a delicate risotto but PB nailed it. Very reasonable check considering the quality and cost of seafood these days. We will return sooner rather than later Michele O read more

Piccolo Bistro - Better than leftovers on Thanksgiving Saturday - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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Returned to this lovely, quaint establishment last evening with friends. Had not dined here in two years therefore we were delighted to return. It was a perfect Monday evening dinner. We sat outside with our bottles of wine - BYOB. The owner, John, took care of us the entire evening along with the rest of the tables. He was quick, nonstop and just great! We ordered a few specials including the sirloin with glazed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and veggies. It was delightful! We also tried the risotto with scallops -my absolute favorite dish of the evening!! We had the chicken dish again (forgot the name) but it was oh-so-tasty! We were there for a small bday dinner and John was extremely generous and provided us with a complimentary chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. It was huge and absolutely delicious!! The ambience, weather, seating, cleanliness and service was outstanding! Will most definitely return again and again! Oh they provided complimentary warm bread with olive oil, pesto and basil? We devoured that as well! Thanks for a wonderful evening John and an extra thanks for not kicking us out even though we sat there chatting and laughing after your closing time. read more

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This is BYOB, it has Nice outdoor seating area that is covered and has fresh greenery. The owner was attentive to our table, brought out a wine bucket for keep our wine chilled.The service was good. It took awhile for our bread to come but when to did it was warm and served with a seasoned dipping oil. Apps- polenta with mushrooms and artichokes was tasty. Dinner- chicken parm was thin and crispy and served with pasta. The halibut special was served with a glaze that had green grapes in it. I was curious to try it and I'm glad I did. It was a sweet and savory dish. The chicken saltimbocca was a little dry and the sauce was bland. The last dish our table had was the special pappardelle with chicken dish served with a spinach and sundried tomato sauce which was tasty but just need a little salt. read more

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We made a reservation for NYE night at 5:30. We were sat immediately and noticed that only a few other tables were filled. There was a host, 1 server and 1 food runner. We sat with the menus for a while before the server took our order. We ordered our appetizer and entrees at the same time. Warm bread and oil came out and then we were ignored for the approximately 35 minutes it took for our appetizer to come out. We had to ask for a bucket of ice for our wine bottle. It is BYOB. I overheard you can get wine delivered from a local shop. Everyone is friendly enough, but seem way too laid back about service. Just 3 people handling the front of house, especially on a holiday was wild. The place filled quickly while we were there and no other help arrived. Our entrees took a while to come out once she took our appetizer plate away. They kept saying no to walk-ins, but then backing down and saying that they could only order an entree and had to leave quickly. I feel like their food was prioritized over ours to get them out quickly. I watched another table get sat for their reservation and they waited over 15 minutes to even get menus! The food was very good and well prepared. The lava cake was a bit dry, but the creamy vanilla ice cream saved the dish. We had cappuccinos with dessert and they were delicious. If you bring a few bottles of wine, good company and have an open schedule, the food is worth checking out. read more

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This is a local staple we dropped in to for a casual holiday meal with family. They are located in downtown Ridgewood along one of the restaurant rows. Ambiance is cozy indoor with an outdoor courtyard seating area. Food is traditional Italian with pasta, fish, meat and other. My chicken francese was very good (a bit lemony) and potatoes were crisp and creamy. At the table was spicy rigatoni, chicken and some delicious squid ink pasta. Prices are reasonable and highly recommend. read more

I like this place and I want to like it more than I do. The owner John is a nice guy and Tomas is a really excellent server, but it really tends to be inconsistent here. Really used to love the Casio Pepe gnocchi but either they changed suppliers from where they got it or they have a different Chef that's making it but it is definitely not as light as it used to be nor is the sauce as flavorful. The food is nothing fancy but generally it is pretty good. We do love the outside sitting area and that's a huge Plus read more

Delicious classic Italian American. One of the better everyday Italian spots and byob

We had the gnocci cacio de Pepe and the squid ink pasta. Overall a very nice dinner. It is the perfect little byob restaurant for a quick dinner or night out. read more

Piccolo Bistro - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

Stellar service and a relaxed vibe. Bolognese is top level. A great evening on the front patio. read more

I've ordered from here a few times via UberEats. Every time the order was great. Food was fresh, cooked properly and warm. Everything was very tasty- including the broccoli rappa! Will definitely continue to Oder from here & visit the restaurant soon. read more

After a walk about downtown Ridgewood, we wandered in to Piccolo Bistro and so glad we did! The food was Ah-mazing! Perfectly flavored and portioned sized. The salad was fresh as if the leaves and vegetables were just picked! The chicken Parmigiana and Francese were paired with the right amounts of sauces and was so delicious! This was my first visit to this restaurant and will certainly come back. The staff is friendly and there is light musical notes humming in the background while we sat out door in the warm summer air of the evening. read more

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Fantastic BYOB cozy relaxed home-style place. Great food, comfortable atmosphere and perfect level of service. I ordered the codfish special and it was delicious. The other items we ordered were also very good. Warm bread with herbed olive oil to start, nice sweet and sour salad and then the entrees. No room for dessert but they sound great! read more

Piccolo Bistro - Fish special - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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Situated in Ridgewood near the train station in a nice Bergen County community. Parking is a bit tough, so be prepared to walk a couple blocks. The venue is a bit old and outdated inside. Although we dined indoors it looks like outdoor dining in good weather could be pleasant . The menu was somewhat uneventful. Our group tried a bunch of different items which mostly stood out as OK at best The chicken Parm might have been the best, but would have expected one of the pastas to take the number one spot. Polite and attentive servers made the experience much more tolerable. The octopus appetizer with chickpeas and quinoa sounded great, but should've passed. The antipasto appetizer was a couple pieces of sliced meat, mozzarella, artichoke, and some sliced olives, and tomatoes for garnish. However, reasonably priced, and a BYOB in a nice active area of town. Our server was great and it was easy to get a reservation. read more

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Lovely unpretentious bistro. Warmly greeted. Menu large enough to make a decision but not overwhelming. We'll priced for the area. Wait staff was attentive. Three adults picked at a special salad, then shared chicken marsala and rigatoni bolognese (bolognese perfectly executed without salt, as requested). My grandson had their version of chicken fingers with homemade hand cut fries. Fortunately, the baby slept. Will definitely return. read more

We had a wonderful dinner with friends on a Thursday evening. Despite the rain, there were a good number of people enjoying their dinners. We found the food to be excellent and the menu quite varied and reasonable. We also enjoyed the fact that it is BYO. Our server/front of house was Sandra. She was just a delight! She was able to answer any questions that we had and offer suggestions. Although she was pretty busy, she never missed a beat, and there was never a lag in our meal. Although this was our first time at Piccolo, we will most certainly be back! read more

First time at this restaurant. It's in Ridgewood NJ. Food was ok, it's a byob which is a plus, service was good. The biggest drawback is the parking, found a spot 2 bocks away on a very cold night. The parking has been a huge negative for years thus the reason we don't frequent that town very often. Having said this, I would say give it a try and decide for yourself. read more

Charming and delicious We sat in the courtyard and it was very lovely ambience and good service read more

Lovely restaurant centrally located with outdoor seating. Very nice atmosphere... greeted at the door and wait staff was excellent Each of us very happy with all our meals off the menu and specials All our personal requests handled perfectly Everything was excellent. Attached photos of my choices. read more

Piccolo Bistro - Arugula Salad - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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Very nice Italian restaurant with beautiful outdoor seating on a nice covered patio. Nice, small but intimate indoor restaurant. Located in the heart of Ridgewood but easy to miss with all the going on's around it. I've eaten here a few times and the service is very nice every time. I love the chicken saltimbocca and chicken Marsala the most. The pasta is great as well. Food is always fresh and nicely presented. While it is not the best Italian food I've ever had, it is very good and the ambience and service make up for it. It's clean, comfortable and a really nice setting. The prices are extremely reasonable for what you get which is really hard to find in Ridgewood where everything is very overpriced. read more

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What a hidden gem! Excellent food and dessert. We made reservations for the next day immediately after finishing our meal. New favorite!

I booked reservations for my fam and I for Mother Day's, just 3 of us. We were seated promptly and given water. The modified menu looked like it had a nice selection. FYI it's byob, which I hadn't realized, so remember to bring! We ordered the asparagus wrapped in bacon in a Scampi sauce. That was delicious. They give you a roll with some oil as well. The roll were nice and warm, like they just came out of the oven. For entrees we ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Risotto, the Lamb Shank, and the Pesto Gnocchi. While some components of the dishes were good, it mostly was egh. So paying almost $40 for an egh kind of dish was very off-putting. My lamb tasted very fatty. My mother wanted her pasta to go, and I guess when the waitress brought it to the back, someone accidently tossed it in the garbage. She was kind enough to replace it with a free dessert. The wait time for our food was ridiculous. Over an hour after we put in our order we received our dishes. I understand restaurants are way understaffed right now and it's difficult for them. But in the same breathe, I'm paying almost $200 for a brunch that tasted egh and took hours to get to me. read more

Came here for dinner the second time and definitely had amazing experience! Started with shrimp bisque soup and tomato mozzarella caprese. Soup was delicious! For entrees got chicken francese and lamb pappardelle. Both dishes were very tasty, down to the vegetables and I usually don't eat vegetables, yet I ate them!!! The last thing was homemade tiramisu!!! OMG. Heaven!!!!!!!! Definitely a must on the menu. Will be coming back for sure to try more dishes. Oh! And Parmesan truffle fries- DELICIOUS read more

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The service was phenomenal, and the food was DELICIOUS. From the moment I entered the restaurant I felt the family atmosphere with great vibes from diversified customers. Highly recommend this gem of a restaurant in northern New Jersey right by the train station! read more

Excellent food, definitely a great spot for some lovely Italian dishes. BYOB The manager was acting as server as his staff had called out, but it didn't hinder the service. Food was excellent. Outdoor seating for nicer weather too read more

My boyfriend and I went out to dinner tonight. The whole meal and experience was amazing. We were treated like royalty and Jon the owner is so friendly and welcoming. We ordered the calamari to start and the sauce it came with was Devine. I ordered the paperdelle and he ordered the mushroom risotto with shrimp. Absolutely delicious! We will definitely be coming back! I even bought a quart of the paperdelle sauce it was that good! :) read more

Piccolo Bistro - Paperdelle & Porcini Mushroom Risotto with char grilled shrimp - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

Piccolo Bistro is located in the center of ridgewood, and close to a couple of different parking lots. They have both outdoor and indoor seating, although inside is a bit tight. I had been here right at the beginning of Covid so I wanted to give it another try. Unfortunately there were not enough staff working for all the customers they had. We had very slow service ( at no fault to our very nice waiter). We had the burrata appetizer to start, and the shrimp risotto and pappardelle for entrees. The burrata was good but needed salt and there really was not that much of it. My husband had a generous portion of shrimp risotto and there was plenty of meat in my pappardelle. I had eaten half my meal before the waiter was able to stop back at my table to offer us cheese. The food was good, but I don't know if I'd go back due to the wait times. I know it wasn't just us because all the tables around us were complaining about the same thing. read more

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Stopped in for lunch on a chilly day - best decision made! The place was empty the restaurant was just opening up. Ordered the octopus appetizer- amazing. Freshly grilled and flavorful. Cooked perfectly. Squid ink pasta - very good but could have used some flavor. Seafood pasta - awesome! The seafood was fresh and the pasta was cooked just right with the sauce. Ordered tiramisu for dessert and the owner brought out rice pudding on the house as she she just prepared it. Great service, extremely friendly and accommodating staff - loved the owner. Will definitely return and recommend this place read more

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Coming here with a friend on a Wednesday night- no reservations needed. We were the only ones in the restaurant which was kind of nice. Piccolo's is located right across from The Office, so this street is extremely busy on the weekends. If you're going to park anywhere in Ridgewood, remember to bring quarters!! Cute little place with a few outdoor tables, the inside is spacious enough to not feel too crammed, even if you're with a group of people. The hostess was amazingly sweet and friendly. I mean, this review could be biased because we were the only ones in there, but she treated us really well. We ordered the octopus to start which was anything short of lacking...with three large piece of octopus, it was cooked really well, with the right amount of juiciness and chewiness. I ordered the pappardelle mixed with shredded lamb. My friend ordered the skirt steak that came with a side salad and over roast potatoes. The steak was a little saltier, but very flavorful. At the end of the meal, we opted to not get dessert, but the hostess bought us out a plate of brownies topped with vanilla ice cream that was complimentary which was really nice of her to do. I would love to come back here in the summer and try the other dishes! My entire experience was great and the hostess and chef didn't lack in anything- given that we were the only ones there. It seems that They treated us like they would have if the restaurant was full and the food was delicious! read more

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Have had multiple events here. Great food, owners are very nice and accommodating. Outside area is very nice since most of it is covered

Relied on Yelp reviews to find somewhere new to try while visiting family in NJ, and they didn't let me down. Piccolo is a really nice place with great food and staff. Enjoyed the food so much that after taking my father for dinner, I went back a few nights later with my wife and some friends. The atmosphere is warm and inviting; perfect for date night. They offer an really nice outdoor seating area setup as a courtyard at the front and side of the restaurant. Service was very good. Pastas are made in house. I had a very nice Veal Parmigiana the first time and my father had a wonderful Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu. The second time, I went with Chicken Parm and my wife had the Shrimp Risotto special; both were great. A seafood Arancini appetizer was also really good with an excellent saffron cream sauce. Between the two nights, I got to meet both owners, who couldn't have been nicer. One thing to keep in mind, is that it is a bring your own wine spot. They also offer a couple of gluten-free pasta options, which other in our group tried and liked. read more

Piccolo Bistro - Veal Parmigiana and Spaghetti - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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Food was very good had Easter dinner here party of 6 .... BYOB lots of gluten free options including pasta ....... Service was attentive

Nice to sit outside in Ridgewood and enjoy lunch. The chicken parm was solid. Always the gold standard order for me at italian american spots. It wasn't spectacular but got the job done. The polenta appetizer was too runny for my liking. The fritto misto (calamari) was delicious. We also got the tartufo for dessert and enjoyed it. It was solid italian fare and we had a good time sitting outside. Will I run back? Probably not but its solid. 3.5 stars. read more

Wonderful breath of fresh air experience! Lively little quaint and romantic setting! We were able to sit outside in their beautiful patio, which was able to be covered by an awning with lights underneath. It was perfect! It was a quiet night which made for a nice date night. The service was excellent, and quick and friendly! The bread and olive oil (which had pesto, cheese and maybe some other spices?) were fresh and tasty! We ordered the fritto misto, YUM! and the special lobster bisque. For entrees we had the homemade Tagliatelle with Crab Meat, Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, Citrus Gremolata and the penne vodka! Both were very very good! We will absolutely be back again, happy to have found this little hidden gem! read more

Wanted to throw a *very* well-earned recommendation to Jale and her entire team at Piccolo Bistro in Downtown Ridgewood. My wife's and my anniversary was yesterday. I'm immunocompromised so we couldn't go out, but Jale helped me set up a surprise private dining experience in our backyard that helped make the entire evening really, really special. We were able to have a night out, in. We couldn't be happier with how the night turned out. We can't wait to get back to Piccolo's wonderful outdoor dining once my immune system is back, and I personally can't recommend them enough! The risotto rice balls (pictured), pappardelle with lamb ragu (pictured, far plate), chicken parmigiana (pictured, near plate) and lobster ravioli are absolute musts. read more

Piccolo Bistro - Far plate: pappardelle with lamb ragu Near plate: chicken parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey

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We had our wedding ceremony at Piccolo Bistro on Sunday afternoon and could not have been happier with the way it turned out. John helped us through every stage of the planning process, allowing us to customize a party menu and suggesting details to make it special for our guests. We had a section of the restaurant to ourselves, allowing us to facilitate a special and meaningful ceremony with family and friends. After the ceremony we enjoyed a delicious Italian meal. Thank you John and the Piccolo Bistro team for allowing us to host this milestone event with you. read more

Date night al fresco dining. We were tempted by the amazing pasta dishes coming out all around us, but we in the mood for a little lighter fare so we ordered several small plates. Octopus, salads, and a crab dish. All were very good. Service is attentive and efficient. I see a bounce back visit coming soon. read more

I am really disappointed to be writing this review. After having passing this place for years I was always intrigued by the outside inviting atmosphere and was really psyched to try this place. We made reservations for a Friday night for a party of four. For appetizers we ordered the Panzanella, La Polenta, Grilled Octopus, the muscles, and a Beet/Eggplant Goat cheese app. For our second course we agreed to share the Pappardelle, and for our Entrees we ordered thePollo alla Saltimbocca, Veal Alla Saltimbocca, a chicken giambotta, and the Branzino. Overall this food was hands down one of the worst meals I have ever witnessed at a restaurant. To start the Polenta was so watery we were questioning if it was soup, the muscles were so dried out and stringy (Pic attached) that It blows my mind a chef would even sent that to a table, the Beet/ Eggplant/Goatcheese app was literally RAW Eggplant and Raw beets with zero balsamic on it. To be fair our octopus and our second course for the Papperdelle was not horrible but not great either. On to our Entrees is where things really went downhill. The chicken and Veal Saltimbocca was so over cooked and bland it was like eating leather, if it wasn't for the Prosciutto on both there would have been ZERO flavor. The Branzino was not horrible and probably the best bite of the night however the chicken giambotta was inedible due to it being served with completely raw potatoes. At this point we decided we can just move on from the bad apps but felt it necessary to send back the chicken giambotta . When we told the owner/manager what our issue was he said the chef went home then proceeded to call him in front of us telling him "a customer didn't like his meal". He then came back to our table and asked if we wanted a quick simple dish so we agreed on Penny vodka with Chicken. This replacement dish was super watery. We were then charged for the Penny which after we complained it was taken off. Overall a horrible experience read more

Piccolo Bistro - Italian Near Me - Ridgewood, New Jersey