I haven't been here for years, just because we don't live near Ballard. So when our friend invited us to a birthday dinner for 8, we were thrilled. This restaurant is a neighborhood institution in Ballard. It's huge, with so many dining rooms. They have outdoor tents and they have musicians at night. They decorate the interiors tastefully every season. The servers and bussers are efficient, professional and friendly. The service is attentive, quick to refill drinks and replace China. We were seated in a large table upfront. We shared dishes family style. The Calamari, not fried was delicious. We had bruschettas, the toast perfectly crisp with juicy tomatoes. Caesar Salad was good, hint of anchovies and garlicky. The Tagliatelle with Mushrooms were creamy and heightened by truffle oil. The pasta with Gamberi, shrimps were yummy. The shrimps were plump and fresh. The best was saved for last...Lamb Ossobucco---fall off the bone tender, rich meaty flavor cooked in red wine. It came with veggies and mashed potatoes. This is one of the best Italian restaurants in Seattle. We had a Chocolate Pudding birthday cake made by the bakery---moist, decadent chocolatey cake. Superb! read more

See all

The best cheese ravioli in town! I've been thinking about these pockets of cheesy-goodness for the past week or so... Picolinos ravioli are filled with goat, parmesan & ricotta cheeses, plated with both a brown butter and light tomato sauce. The portion size was generous, and definitely filling. The bread service was complementary and the perfect start to our meal. Their back patio is covered, and the perfect summer spot to sip a cocktail and listen to their live music. I'll be back for more ravioli! read more

I went for a morning chai and this place was amazing!! The bread with tomato and cheese was really good, I order my chai and I really like it, it was not my favorite but it was really tasteful! The service was really nice and fast. And the place is absolutely cute 20/10 read more

See all

Was wine tasting across the street with a friend at Molly's Bottle Shop and stopped in for dinner. We wanted something a little lighter than pasta since it was warm out so we shared a chop salad and pizza. Was the perfect meal. Luckily we both like the same type of pizza and selected the RUCOLA Fresh mozzarella, Prosciutto di Parma, arugula, shaved parmesan cheese. And had a couple of slices to left to bring home. Staff is always friendly and helpful. I appreciated they brought out an extra plate without being asked knowing we were sharing the salad and pizza. I think then one thing that really made an impression on me is they knew which card went back to who. I'm Japanese American my guess is our server took the time to glance at the name on cards and could tell which went to who. something small but made a lasting impression on me. Space is warm and welcoming very old school Italian feel with melting stick candles. One day I look forward to sitting in the tent out back. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - RUCOLA Fresh mozzarella, Prosciutto di Parma, arugula, shaved parmesan cheese. - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Wow our valentines dinner was so amazing. The food is absolutely flavorful. Bury me please in this seafood ravioli special. I was literally licking my plate to make sure I got all the sauce. Cute little heart shaped complimentary breads for valentines too! Calamari was nice and light. Tiramisu was rich and hit the spot. Street parking was pretty easy, but it was quite crowded for Valentine's Day (rightfully so). Hostess and waiter were kind and did not rush us at all. read more

See all

Very nice place and excellent food! Came on a tuesday night and they had a nice trio playing jazz

Nice location with indoor and outdoor spaces for dining. Lunch meal was so-so. Would dine there again though, to better assess the meal quality. read more

I got food poisoning from their carbonara last night. It was awful. Don't go there if you want to keep your food down.

We had the rehearsal dinner for our son's wedding here, and I can't say enough good things about it. We were in the Grand Tent which was a perfect space for our 28 attendees, with excellent acoustics so conversation was easy. The food was excellent and plentiful. We had the chop chop salad and the arugula salad, followed by the salmon with citrus butter, the rigatoni bolognese, and the tagliatelle with vegetables. Everything was terrific. I'm not usually a fan of cream sauces on pasta, but the tagliatelle was spectacular, light and very tasty. The highlight of the event, though, was our host, James, who made everything easy and charmed all of our guests. He gave us so many excellent choices as we planned the event, and handled every special request to perfection. For a generous full meal and open bar, including cocktails, we thought the cost was extremely reasonable. Picolino's will now be a regular stop for us whenever we come to Seattle to visit our son and his wife. read more

Picolinos feels like you're walking into Nonna's house and she is making her homemade gravy for Sunday dinner. It seems to be everyone's special spot for a big occasion. I'm pretty sure we were sitting next to a party of 10 that hadn't seen each other in years. We were just there for some fantastic Italian food, and we were not let down. Table bread is a lost art these days. It's very rare that you get it, and it's even more rare that it's homemade. I know it's not free per se, but it still makes me ridiculously happy. Especially at an Italian restaurant where it is IMPERATIVE to have a sauce shovel to accompany your meal. I scoop up sauce like a dog when it sees food on the ground. They actually had two different types of table bread here, one that was a nice fluffy sourdough-esque loaf, and then another that was a more focaccia-inspired thyme-infused pillowy table topper. Both were fantastic, the waiter understood the assignment here. I had a few dishes in mind that I couldn't decide between, but elected to completely change my path after asking the waiter what he recommended. The way that he spoke about the rigatoni with sausage (blanking on the actual name), altered my destiny for the better. I knew that this was the one to choose, especially since I didn't even mention the other dishes that I was deciding between. I'm always game for a red sauce with heavy cream. The food here is fantastic by Seattle Italian restaurant standards. Great wine selection, a tough selection between the excellent dishes, and the service is quick and attentive. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Rigatoni Con Salsiccia - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Probably one of the best service I've gotten here in Seattle. I emailed for reservations, I was 15 mins early but was seated right away. The restaurant is incredibly decorated for the season, and has a rustic charm with a candle lit for each diner. There was a live accordion player too! Service was prompt with everything. Answered our questions on the menu, and offered their suggestions. They made sure our bread basket was filled. Food was super quick and piping hot. They were all so nice! Food was fresh and delicious. I got a seasonal dish which was a tagliatelle pasta with assorted mushrooms. It was creamy and perfectly seasoned. The bread was delicious, though I wish it was warmed up. The rigatoni dish we got was also perfectly seasoned and the pasta had a good bounce. read more

Chose this restaurant for date night b/c of the Christmas decors. First time here and wow, it's so beautiful with the lights and cozy with the candles and table setup. Though, I did wish they put us in the main dining room. It seemed warmer inside with larger, sturdier tables. We got seated in the tented area (wasn't too cold, but it wasn't warm either). The seating arrangement was a bit too tight for the amount of food and drinks we've ordered. Pasta was delicious (fresh and well seasoned), that ragu is to die for! The pizza on the other hand....I'm not a huge fan b/c I've had better ‍. I wish it was thinner and crispy with that wood fired oven kind of outcome. Toppings were great, sauce was great, but that dough did not hit a home run for me. Would I come back? Yes, but if and only if they're able to seat me in the main dining room. read more

See all

We went here for an early dinner on a busy weekend and thankful we came in early. Our reservations was before 6pm. Service was great when the restaurant wasn't busy. It's quite a large restaurant with lots of tables and an eclectic Italian decor inside. We had a big group and our waiter was very nice. We were celebrating a birthday and we received a complimentary creme brulee for dessert. It was delicious! The food was good except for the pizzas. I recommend ordering the pasta dishes. Our chopped salad was good though I wish the portion was a little bigger. The pizza was larger than I expected which made it worth the price. The spicy pepperoni pizza was a bit disappointing though. The pizza was soggy in the middle and was just flopping down with the cheese and pepperonis sliding right off. The tagliatelle and pappardelle pasta dishes were better and our friends enjoyed them. read more

See all

This place is an absolute gem. We have been there a couple of times and absolutely love their food. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - We celebrating something. I have no idea what but we did. - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Good Italian spot in the city! We came for a friend's birthday and the staff was very accommodating for our large party. The portions were large and they even had a specials menu which I'd highly recommend ordering off of. I ordered one of their classic pasta dishes and was satisfied. For an appetizer we had the Calamari alla Diavola - a great calamari dish with a flavorful tomato sauce. We came on a rainy day and sat on the enclosed summer patio. I can see that spot being highly sought after especially on a nicer day in the spring. There was some live music playing and overall great vibes. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Santi was so awesome!!! Please visit this restaurant food amazing service fantastic! We will be back!!

I made reservations to hear some live music over dinner but the restaurant is so extremely busy and loud that you couldn't hear a thing. It was difficult to even hear conversation. Staff seemed to be spread thin and our waiter was missing most of the night trying to cover many tables. The lobster bisque was pretty tasty despite being a little overly sweet for my taste. Bread was yummy too. The main course was just "okay" - We tried multiple pasta dishes and nothing really stood out. Overall not a terrible experience but definitely won't be going back. read more

We arrived at 8:45pm on a Saturday night. Were rudely ignored for 10 minutes. Finally, a manager told us the kitchen had already closed at 8:30, even though the restaurant's website says they are open from 4:30 to 9:00pm. Lame. Do better. read more

APPETIZERS: Weirdly enough I wanna say that their bread was the best part LOL - nothing really special about any particular dish, except for the fact that the Brussels sprouts were kinda over cooked and kinda mushy MAINS: Portion sizes are HUGE!! Literally fed me for four meals again, everything was good, but nothing was outstanding. The penne pomodoro was v salty though while the pumpkin risotto was kinda bland weird huh and the pizza was also not v good. The base was soggy, cheese was kinda coagulated and lacking and half the pizza was like nicely charred while the other side was like barely cooked DESSERT: Again with the nothing special comment!! The cannoli's were v pretty but the shell was kinda thick which made it like chewy and tough to get through. The tiramisu was pretty much 80% cream and 20% cake Super vibey place w live music, outdoor seating and fire pits, but food just didn't cut it IG:Spillingthe.beans read more

See all

We had a 3 course lunch here at a public opera event. We ate on the beautiful enclosed patio that was like a garden greenhouse. The food was delicious. I recommend the seafood lasagna. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Menu for the event - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

In the past I have enjoyed Picolinos but unfortunately not now. I reviewed their specials and chose the Panzanella salad. It sounded great with shaved red onion, mozzarella cheese and Panzanella bread. It sounded like a full meal. The salad arrives, about two croutons, very minimal sliced purple onion with minimal mozzarella and some kind of jarred olives. Major disappointment. So then I order a mushroom pizza. Thin crust, cooked okay but another disappointment for $23. I go to another restaurant and their double zero mushroom pizza stays in my dreams for weeks. My partner had spaghetti with prawns. Pretty good flavor - exactly five prawns and I think the bill was $120. I never, ever mind the price of something if it's good. My food was passable, but not good. For a Friday night this restaurant was not full at all. I drove from West Seattle. Too far and not worth the trip. read more

The loveliest little restaurant in town! We have been coming here since we were dating and now we can bring our kids. This place has always been special to us. Wonderful pasta dishes and appetizers. The bread and oil they bring to start is my favorite. Kids loved their meals and they were kind enough to serve spaghetti and meatballs to our youngest's exact specifications (IYKYK) and he actually ate it! The way they decorate for the holidays was so beautiful and we can't wait to come back in the summer and sit outside! read more

Great and authentic food and nice environment! The sauce for the bread is excellent, I wish the restaurant sell it! read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We had a great happy hour and I ordered the Pappardelle with mushroom sauce. It was so good. It's one of my favorites, but is on the specials list so it isn't always available. This restaurant has a great atmosphere and they decorate for each season. Overall, a great experience. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Papparadelle with mushroom sauce. Sooooo good! - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Over the years we have always enjoyed Ristorante Picolinos, especially the ambience. Recently our dinner at Picolinos was surprisingly disappointing. We had early reservations and the restaurant was virtually empty when we arrived. We expected to eat in the restaurant but the hostess offered us garden seating - actually she was not pleasant. She was quite pushy. I ordered a glass of Rose wine and was served a glass of a golden wine - obviously not a Rose. The wait staff insisted it was a Rose. What he thought was Rose was an undrinkable sweet dessert wine - maybe Sauternes? I had to insist that he bring me a glass of white wine - Pinot Grigio. He did bring a very small glass of Pinot Grigio. I was looking forward to the Spaghetti with Prawns. That also was disappointing -- the prawns lacked flavor and had a texture like cardboard. The garden seating was okay but the floor was dirty where we were seated and it wasn't food - it looked literarally like dirt. We are not planning to go back to Ristorante Picolinos any time soon. Mary G. read more

We came here for anniversary this year and were so impressed. We made reservations ahead of time online. The restaurant itself was so pretty. We really enjoyed the live music (it was not loud, and felt perfect over dinner). Service was great. We started with brussel sprouts and they brought bread to the table. Both were great starters. But the main courses stole the show especially the special for the evening, lobster ravioli. Just perfect really. The other main was the rigatoni salsiccia, also delicious. The dessert selection was great with the tiramisu being very impressive. Really great texture and balance. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

A fantastic Italian restaurant which I highly recommend when visiting in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle WA. Food is amazing. Indoor & outdoors seating, great service and convenient location. They also have a bakery and coffee shop shop. Don't miss this place! read more

Great place to take the family, they often have live music and the ambience is top notch. Patio seating is fantastic in the summer time.

Seated my Dad and I by the bar in the back when the rest of the dining room was large and empty. Ordered a starter that only had 4 cuts of prosciutto, one sliced fig, and 10 raspberries and blueberries. It cost $18. The 12" we ordered was the one with vatious meats and....turned to have one per bite, if lucky. This plus one diet coke and one cocktail was $80 post tax and 20% tip. What a ripoff. read more

My parents and I went here for my birthday and the food and service was spectacularly amazing. My mom told them it was my birthday and so Picolinos took my dessert and put a candle in it and it was amazing. I would recommend this place for out of town guests and tourists and the ambiance was fun and it reminded me of an Italian restaurant in Magnolia! read more

My roommate and I adore the handmade sourdough bread it's divine! Crusty outside and scrimps inside just like it should be.

This is a quality Italian restaurant with notably charming ambience. Honestly, when we stopped in we weren't expecting to get a whole meal. We just wanted to hang out on a cute patio. But this is a place for a meal, with good food and service. I got Spaghetti Carbonara, and although it seems like it was very authentic (you don't see that too often with Carbonara), the noodles were undercooked. Tasted good otherwise, and my friend got a seafood pasta that he LOVED the flavor of, but he also noted that his noodles were undercooked. I would still come back here, since they probably just had an off night with pasta-cooked-ness, and their pizzas looked worth trying. And such a cute bunch of rooms & patios, very pleasant spot to sit & eat. read more

See all

Another top restaurant in the city. One of our favorite spots for a date night. Great quality food, service and atmosphere. Usually go for wine when we dine here, and they always have a wide selection to choose from and our server recommends a couple too. Love when there's live entertainment too. Pasquale the violinist is our favorite. We don't mind sitting outdoors even in the winter time, they have heaters and it's covered pretty well. read more

Ristorante Picolinos - Perfect date night spot! - Italian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

What a lovely looking restaurant - great ambience and we sat outside on a beautiful June evening. Even with a reservation, it took a while to get us a table and when the host was leading us to said table, he at one point yelled "DOOR!" loudly enough that I jumped (I guess we were passing through an area that the servers come out from?). Service was...sort of absent. It took at least 15 minutes for our server to arrive and we he showed up he asked for our drink order and then said "I bet you're ready to order food, too." Yep! My drink didn't come until after our appetizer and salad appeared (together instead of appetizer first) - after I reminded the waiter. The waiter barely spoke to us after our meal was delivered. The food was good - try the lobster ravioli and the arugula salad. read more

We had a celebration of life for my mother yesterday and reserved the patio area of Picolinos for the brunch. We had a party of 19 attending and I felt nervous about attending, so many mixed emotions but the experience couldn't have been better. James Riemer was our Banquet & Special Events Manager and he was a perfect host/server for a sensitive occasion. The ambiance in the patio room is bright, sunny, cheerful (it also helped having a beautiful sunny day). The food was excellent, in fact, they had the best bruschetta, croissants and garlic roasted potatoes I've even eaten! The service was so excellent and things went so smoothly, we could really relax and focus on enjoying the guests and sharing fond memories in a beautiful setting. I'm so grateful things went so well and allowed us to have had such a beautiful celebration in honor of my mother. read more

I intentionally waited a couple of weeks to post this review so I could try to be as objective as possible, given our dreadful experience. The review has little to do with food, as we didn't get to eat much of it (more on that later), and EVERYTHING to do with the abysmal customer service we experienced at the hands of the hostess/manager (maybe owner?). The long story short is that our party of five adults had a reservation for the last seating (8:30 pm, closing is at 9:00 pm) on Christmas Eve. I called in advance, not once, but twice, to make sure that we wouldn't feel rushed due to the late seating, and was assured twice that we would not be. TWICE. During neither of those calls did the person on the other end mention that the kitchen closed at 8:45 pm -- which would have been good information to have, given that we were looking for a more relaxed experience and were very clear about that. When our party arrived (three adults at 8:32 pm and the other two at 8:37 pm), the hostess/manager (maybe owner?) informed us that the kitchen was closing at 8:45 and that we needed to have our entire order in before that (she did offer us the alternative of not being seated at all). We scrambled and made our selections just under the deadline, and ALL the food (appetizers and entrees) arrived on our table within 10 minutes. The table, designed for four people but accommodating our group of five, wasn't large enough to fit all the food that arrived in one fell swoop -- and suffice it to say that we totally felt rushed. The hostess/manager (maybe owner?) demonstrated ZERO customer service skills. We were visibly upset by the rushed treatment and explained that we had been assured TWICE that we would not be. She didn't bother to apologize for any miscommunication (there wasn't any miscommunication, but she could have at least tried to say there was). She didn't try to make things better in any way. The end of the story is that my husband used a little choice language (at the situation, not directed at the hostess/manager -- maybe owner?), and that's what she decided to focus on rather than trying to find a way to salvage our experience. Ultimately, and about five minutes after all of the food arrived, my husband asked if we could just leave -- without paying. At this point, we had nibbled on a few of the appetizers, and three of the five of us had sampled the entrees. The hostess/manager (maybe owner?) agreed we could, so we did (at 9:05 pm). In all honesty, if she had apologized and offered us ANYTHING, we would have stayed and paid the bill, including a generous Christmas tip for the wait staff. Instead, she lost at least a $400.00 tab due to her sheer rudeness. And our family had a Christmas Eve dinner of Costco spring rolls and homemade pie when we got home -- which we will definitely be laughing about for years to come! If you've made it this far, I will comment on the food. The osso bucco was absolutely delicious, according to our oldest son, who did his best to stuff as much of it as he could into his mouth when he realized we were leaving and likely wouldn't be able to find another place to eat dinner. We didn't get to try the pizza, but it looked tasty. The Caesar salad was simply terrible -- wilted and totally flavorless. The antipasto platter and brocolini was fine, if a bit on the small side for the price. The two pasta dishes were not just al dente, they were undercooked (probably because the kitchen was closing and rushed things). I know we ordered a couple of more things, but I don't think we got to try them before we left. To be honest, the food, besides the ossu bucco, wouldn't warrant a return visit, even if the hostess/manager (maybe owner?) had been a lovely person. read more

They cancelled my reservations twice with no explanation, and they lied to me over the phone about reservations. Will not patronize. Update--spoke to owner, gave them a chance to rectify, but they were uncaring, unapologetic, and outright rude. read more

We highly recommend Picolinos. Everything was perfect. Our dinner, service and the ambiance. It was our 34th wedding anniversary the owner made very special. Thank you, for a great evening with you. read more

My husband and I came here for a wedding dinner. It was our first time to try the Italian food here but we had high expectations as this restaurant is a highly rated on Google reviews. We started with two appetizers. They seasonal salad of mixed greens and gamberoni alla griglia (shrimps) accompanied by freshly baked artisan bread. The dish of shrimps tasted great among the appetizers. The main course included rigatoni bolognese and tagliatelle with cream sauce asparagus as well as grilled seasonal vegetables and veal. All of them tasted great. Only the texture of the rigatoni was a bit harder than expected. The desserts were a variety of Italian or European sweets. We were too full that we tried a couple of them. We had to pack the rest home. There is no parking at the restaurant. But there is street parking. The size of the restaurant was quite big. We couldn't tell when looking at the exterior but once we got into the restaurant, it was like a corn maze that it had many rooms and a lot of space for many tables. I personally loved everything here and would love to come back and try other dishes but the food might have a lot of sodium or MSG. I kept drinking water the whole night. read more

See all

Huge cool venue!! What a treat this dinner was!! I kind if feel like there aren't a ton of good Italian restaurants around, but this one was delicious!! We tried all the things, appetizers, dinner, desserts and wine!! We sampled 3 different dishes settling on a favorite. Michael our server was well versed and full of recommendations that didn't disappoint. The winning dish of the night was the Pappardelle Al Ragu Di Vitello!! We also has the Ravioli Al Formaggio Con Burro E Salvia and Chicken Marsala. The appetizers were the chop chop salad and burrata dish, both amazing!! Dinner was accompanied by a bottle of Chianti Classico and dessert was a berry crisp ala mode and tiramisu. We will be back for sure!! read more

See all