Was here a while back. Was told 1 hr for delivery which is normal on a Friday night. At the 1hr 30 min mark we try to call and see where our food was. We call for 15 minutes unable to get through. I head to the restaurant and the staff tells me the phone is off the hook cause they are too busy. Oh I guess those that already ordered don't matter!!. So now they tell me my food is on the way, I wait at the restaurant while my wife is home for another 15 minutes, so 2hrs total time now. My wife tells me the food arrives and it looks like the cook delivered it themselves. The food was soggy and luke warm at best. Luckily I didn't leave the restaurant cause I wanted a refund for my 50 plus dollars worth of food. The young lady at the register said she wasn't allowed to refund that when a boss or management got back they would call me back. I left my name and number and heard nothing for 2 days, so I call and get the run around such as talk to this person talk to that person. So needless to say I was never refunded, food went in the trash as it was horrible. If I could give it less than 1 star I would read more

Went here before a concert at the DCU with 3 other friends. The place is relatively small, it was not crowded at all which I thought was odd and that got me worried that I was in for a bad experience. Having said that, my wife ordered a fish entree over pasta and 2 of us ordered Chicken Parm dinner. I can't recall the other entree.. The food was very good and honestly one of the best Chicken Parm dinners I have had in years. huge piece of chicken, very moist on the inside and tasty sauce. The only complaint I have is just that there was one waitress on in our section and it did end up getting a tad crowded because of the concert so she was definitely running around. Other than that, a great find and we will be back next time we are up that way. read more

Went to Piccolo's for dinner last night. Had the 7 layered lasagna with sausage in the sauce, it was fantastic. My wife had Chicken and eggplant over pasta and she loved it. Servings are huge so plan on bringing some great leftovers home. We also had a nice bottle of red that complimented dinner very nicely. read more

The food is amazing , the service is impeccable !! I highly recommend this resturant for anyone who is looking for a relaxing atmosphere with some true Italian food and great conversation ! Do not forget to ask for Our favorite Bartender/ waitress Tawni . You will not be disappointed ! read more

I have been to Piacolo'o many times and have never left disappointed. The food is original and expertly prepared. I recall last Vatentine's Day when I enjoyed a delicious Ravioli dish in which the Ravioli's were heart shaped. How sweet is that? The atmosphere is quiet and romantic if that is what you want or exciting and and conducive to meet and greets with old or new friends, depends on time you go. Michael also keeps a well stocked bar with a vast wine selection...3 thumbs up if I had them! read more

I love it here. .just had the haddock with spinach and lobster..never a bad dish when I come here...I love the environment and service..

I want to start this by saying I've never written a review on Yelp! in my life, but my wife and I decided this was a great time to start. This dive is a blissful, old-school, authentic Worcester Italian restaurant. This is not your North-end, used-to-be local but now too chic for school type place. I've had better Italian cuisine in this little place than during my career of traveling globally, on someone else's dime. It's intimate, unpretentious and allows for a group of friends to have a few drinks at dinner and be a little loud without feeling like they have to look over their shoulder. To start, there's nothing "over your head" about this restaurant. It's entire purpose is to give you a well-prepared, straight-forward, but amazing meal. Appetizers ranging from home-made ravioli with a smoked chicken and fresh tomato, pink vodka sauce and home-baked bread will set the stage for an unrealistically delicious main course. Weekly specials take otherwise ordinary mixtures of perfectly, al-dente, homemade pasta and mix them with fresh ingredients like grilled vegetables and proteins. This week features a combination of a spicy, sausage ragu with an incredibly perfect pappardelle (wide-form noodle). Wow. My wife chose a menu favorite: The chicken and eggplant parm. I tried both, because: fat kid, but holy wow. Special note about their breaded food: It's not heavy. They use a v.s.o.p.-induced marinade and then dress it with the traditional feels. Eating a corner of the breaded chicken cutlet made me wish I could taunt my brother with it. It's amazing. (His affinity for breaded chicken cutlet knows no boundaries.) The entire meal each time we've been has been fantastic and trustworthy. It's worth the drive if you're in the area. If you want to go after 7, hit them up for reservations. read more

Stumbled upon this restaurant on my first time to Shrewsbury st this past Saturday night. I was with my parents and girlfriend and we were looking for a place with good food and not too noisy. At first glance, I wasn't sure because the entrance brings you right into a bar, which was nice but not necessarily known for a quiet place to eat. Fortunately, they have a nice dining area just off the bar. Here are some of my overall thoughts: Atmosphere: The dining room has excellent atmosphere- dark woods, clean, and old school music (ala Dean Martin) was a nice touch. Waitstaff: Very friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about the food. I especially like how the waitress cleaned up the table after each course- nice touch...It's so rare to get good service these days so it was appreciated. Food: I'm from Schenectady, NY which I always joke is the "Land of Italian food" especially of the homemade, family style variety. This food was a cut above solid everyday Italian food you find in NY but it had excellent ingredients such as spinach, broccoli rabe, and smoked salmon (unusual but SO delicious). I had the salmon dish which came with two types of salmon grilled and smoked. The house salad with lemon dressing was delicious as well. One point, my girlfriend said the ceasar salad had too much dressing and the croutons were stale. However, her thick cut, Sicilian style eggplant dish was delicious. I also liked how the cook/owner (John Piccolo?) added his own personal flare to the dish descriptions. You really get a sense that his dishes are his own and he has a real intuitive sense of cooking which is the best kind in my opinion. Well, thanks Piccolo's for a great evening...We went away with smiles on our faces. -Tod read more

Had a wonderful Birthday dinner at Piccolos! The food was delicious and the service was first rate!

I tried the lobster ravioli special and my husband had the salmon. It was the best lobster ravioli I have ever tasted and I order it anywhere I can find it on the menu. The atmosphere is very relaxed and gives you the European experience of slow dining. The owner comes around and checks in with diners. My favorite part although we did not partake was the sample outside area where people drank wine, smoked cigars and enjoyed each other's conversation. Wonderful atmosphere and amazing food! read more

Horrible. If I could give them negative stars I would. The waitress was obnoxious. I ordered baked haddock and asked for the sauce on the side and zucchini instead of spinach. She served the fish without lemon, and the sauce on the side had spinach in it. I asked for a new spinach and the waitress wanted to know why I wanted to take it back, gave my friend and I an attitude and said the kitchen would be mad at her. Then when we got the bill, she neglected to tell me there would be a $5 up charge for the spinach. I asked for the manager to come over and she had the same condescending attitude and implied the waitress was correct. She said I should had read the menu which she wrote and it didn't matter that the spinach was in the sauce, the sauce was still on the side and saw nothing wrong with this. There's a reason no one else is in the dining room but us. Avoid this place like the plague. read more

REVISED. Original review: 5 stars. Always wanted to try this and have no idea why it took so long! This is your father's/grandfather's restaurant. classic vintage ambiance: tin ceilings, old wooden bar, 40's-60's music and not loud at all so you can have a conversation. The food is so really great! The service is also very good so I don't know what the other reviewers experienced. I've been here twice and remarked to my GF that we should make this our go-to restaurant. I'm wearing my fedora next time for sure. New review: 3 stars. Got a salmon special that had snow peas. Beautiful presentation but the snow peas were tough and indigestible so I sent the plate back... only to get more of the same tough snow peas. They offered asparagus which I love then came back and said, No asparagus would I like green beans or broccoli. Beans. Finally I could eat and salmon was very good. My GF ordered eggplant with chicken cutlet. Chicken was tough and sauce was watery. She asked for linguine and got gemelli. read more

The ambiance is old an unassuming. The food was terrific as was the Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon. I was a bit off-put the day after when I examined the bill and found 20% added to the check. I didn't notice the evening of and tipped more. Probably hidden somewhere that was the norm for larger groups. read more

Real Italian food at its best! Excellent service, atmosphere and homestyle Italian food. The only place on Shrewsbury Street that makes you feel like you are in the North End. read more

My favorite dish is veal parm. On a healthier note, the Bel Mondo salad is stellar. Fatima salad also grand. Bar scene is full of fun people almost every night. This place is my go to in Worcester for a Shrewsbury Street experience. read more

Went for dinner on Friday night with my daughter, a college student (hungry!) and husband and had an awesome meal! It is a very cool little place, it is dark, but loved the atmosphere, even the tin ceilings! BUT THE FOOD....now that's why we are going to come back to Piccolo's again and again! I can't believe we havne't been here but everyone we encountered was so nice. Our waitress suggested the "famous garlic bread" so we tried it and it was yummy and different, and was served with a gorgonzola cheese dipping sauce! My husband had the seafood over pasta dish that was served in a delicious spicy tomato based sauce with loads of seafood! My daughter had the ravioli in a pink vodka and artichoke sauce that she loved and i had the Eggplant Siciliano that was out of this world...thick slices of tender and lightly fried eggplant with just a touch of light red sauce on top. Then, it was accompanied by cavatelli sauteed with spinach and garlic that was to die for delicious! We were all stuffed or we would have had dessert, because they looked wonderful! This place reminded me of an intimate italian restaurant in the north end of boston...it was cozy and charming and the food was fabulous! We'll be back!! read more

The ambiance in the bar is great. I ate dinner here recently and we sat in front of the large glass window. The seating for a large group is a little cramped, but the room definitely made up for it. I ordered the zucchini appetizer and while the red sauce was great the zucchini was overwhelmed by the amount of sauce as well as the amount of breading on it. There could have been eggplant inside the breading and I would not have known the difference because the vegetable was not tasted. A pizza was also ordered and deemed "good." The ravioli appetizer was ordered and deemed great, and the garlic bread was awesome. A caprese salad was large and appreciated. The prices for entrees were moderate, but the atmosphere makes it worth it. The waitress was attentive. I would return again to try the entrees. read more

Excellent food. Authentic meals. Stacy, our waitress, was great. Five (5) for 5 - thumbs up at our table.

Tried this place out because it was Worcester restaurant week. It looked so good didnt go off their prix fix menu. Had the spaghetti and meatballs and they were HUGE! The menu has something for everyone. A little bit expensive but worth a try. Next time I go trying the honey bun or something dessert. read more

Had an amazing dinner at Piccolos this past July. It was the night of the Worcester fireworks. The place was very busy and that did not hamper the service at all. The food was delicious. There were 10 in our party and we were all in agreement of how good everything was. Highly recommend you give Piccolos a try. They are on 157 Shrewsbury St., Worcester! read more

this place is great. awesome dining room and bar. delicious food. well worth your dollar. this is the place to go for quality italian food and a quality family owned restaurant. read more

I haven't been here in about 5 years and back then this was a great place to go. After last night, I will not be going back ever again. We were seated at the time of our reservation with only two menus for a table of four. We were told we would be given two more menus but of course never got them. Right away we ordered waters and a bottle of wine. We sat there with no bread and only two menus we shared back and forth. When the wine finally came after 20 minutes, we asked the waitress to take our order. After 30 minutes, the bread and water finally came out . Forty five minutes AFTER ordering our food we started to wonder where our food was. We got excited when two dishes arrived at our table, however they did not look like what we ordered. We questioned the waitress whom them walked away leaving the dishes there. Confused we all looked around and caught the eyes of the table next to us. Turns out it was their meals! We passed them over and again waited for ours. After an hour, we asked the waitress when she thought our meals were going to come out and she said to talk to the manager. I've never ever seen a manager act this way in my life. It was like we were little kids being scolded. She came out and immediately started questioning us in a condescending way. She started off by saying that EVERYONE was waiting over an hour for their food (not true, people that got there after us had gotten their food already), and she repeatedly kept interjecting what we were telling her by saying "Well did you order appetizers?" She NEVER apologized and in the middle of our conversation started ripping things off our table without any explanation: our wine glasses and utensils- to the point where we all thought we weren't getting our food and were being asked to leave. Finally after sitting at the table for for an hour and forty five minutes, our food arrived. The reason for two stars is because the food is very good. However, the attitude of the manager was COMPLETELY unacceptable and for that reason I will never return back to Piccolo's. I hope that if you do you have a better experience than I did with my family. read more

My wife and I ate at Piccolo's last night (July 26th) Apps. she a steak Tar Tar and I chose the ravioli 157, both out standing. Meals - we both ordered the veal porterhouse chops, they were two inches thick, cooked medium rare, smothered with mushrooms, fantastic, sliced grilled squash and roasted potatoes, served with a great sauce, where in Worcester can you get such a veal chop. John cooks each meal to order, takes a few minutes longer but that makes for a great meal. read more

Terrible. We waited forever for our salads which were drenched in dressing. Our diners were terrible. We had meatballs that were enormous but tasteless and could have posed as baseballs. I got the chicken/spinach/garlic dish--it tasted like NOTHING.. Totally tasteless. Our son got a seafood dish with scallops, clams etc--he liked it. When I told out waitress I thought the food was terrible, and did not blame her for it--she got very defensive and started to interrogate me about why I hadn't told her immediately about the dish being bad.. She didn't like my explanation that I had already waited 25 minutes for my dinner, so I wasn't in the mood to explain. She was not professional and frankly probably would have rather been sitting having dinner than serving it--she had a chip on her shoulder. The whole experience was bad--including when we were leaving--slinking out because we got chastised for complaining--and it was obvious that the whole wait staff was aware. One would have thought that instead they would have been asking what they could do different, but they did not. We will never, ever return. Too bad, we eat out 5x per week and were looking forward to putting them on our list. read more

We had eaten at Piccolo's many years ago and had a really good meal, at the time it was crowded and had to wait for a table. We had totally forgotten about it till my wife mentioned it. I was surprised we could get last minute reservations at any time. Well, when we got there I understood why. It was restaurant week so I thought it would be packed, it was empty; only one other table of people. They seated us against the wall near the kitchen and immediately we noticed there was an air-conditioning vent right under the table. When we asked to be moved to another table (we could have had our pick), they brought over a wooden plank and put it over the vent. Of course it didn't cover the whole vent but we sucked it up. So the one thing I can say is that the 157 Ravioli appetizer was great, that's where it ends. At one point while eating the bread, we spilled the olive oil on the table and it sat there the rest of the night. The waitress never tried to clean it up or ask us if we wanted it cleaned up. I probably wouldn't have cared if the food was good. Well my wife had a chicken and lobster dish over pasta. Now, my wife has worked in the food service industry all her life, as a chef, a line cook, and recently a pastry chef. She took one bite of the lobster and spit it out. She said, I think it is bad. I tasted it and it did have a funny taste to it. The chicken also had a funny texture and taste. When my wife brought it to the waitress's attention, she just said; I'll get the manager. Over comes the manager, who was also waiting on tables, well, the one other table that was in there. My wife explains the issue and the manager proceeds to tell us how that is not possible as they get all their seafood fresh each day. My wife says, but you don't throw everything out from the night before do you? The manager said, no but it should be fresh. The manager offered to bring her another dish but by then my wife had eaten the ravioli, salad and bread and some of the pasta and was quite full. So she said, no I'll just eat a little of the pasta. I had the veal with prosciutto and mushrooms in a cream sauce over pasta. The veal was just ok. It was a little tough. When we finished the waitress asked if we wanted to wrap up our meal. Are you kidding, my wife just said it was not good. So we declined. Then we got the check. Nothing was taken off the bill. Like a smock, I payed the bill. In hindsight I should have said something. Well, that's the last time we go there. Food was ok at best, service and manager were totally clueless on how to treat customers. read more

What a joke...Went here for drinks with friends after the fireworks tonight and head trashy bartender with the tight tanktop and gut hanging out screams "ID's!!!!" before we can even find out what they have in bottles from the one mildly friendly bartender who wasnt drinking a cocktail behind the bar or swearing about customers within earshot of guests. Head bartender seemed to be more interested in drinking her white russian and slamming things around than to bother being an ounce friendly. Hostess was picking her nose/nosering and drinking her cocktail in between texting at the podium. And other shorter younger bartrnder was swearing about a few kids that asked to use the restroom...wtf. Couldnt wait to finish our drinks and leave. I dont think i have ever been to a more classless place. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this restaurant/ bar. There was nothing hospitable about this place or the staff that we encountered tonight. read more