We stayed for two nights in late March for the first time and everything about this place went beyond our expectations , especially the staff on greeting and throughout were always willing to offer assistance and go out of their way to help, the place is immaculate and very well managed by the onsite manager . This is all on top of the beautiful rooms , location and facilities , I highly recommend . - Amy
Like a stroll through green Tuscan hills or a glistening summer swim along the Amalfi Coast, there’s something utterly blissful about Piccolino. Perhaps it’s in the humble name or the mouth-wateringly brief and uncomplicated menu? Or perhaps it’s the clever use of a small space in one of our country’s most hallowed dining strips? Methinks it might be all three, mia bella…
Located just 100 metres from Tingirana, it might be easy to stroll past Piccolino without really being cognisant of its existence. Two steps, and you’ve passed all three of its al fresco, dining room and rooftop areas. However, what this delightful Italian restaurant lacks in Hastings St walkway frontage, it makes up in generous flavours and a joyful dining atmosphere. This is owned and operated by a proud Italo-heritage family; dining here isn’t super formal, but the feeling of being ensconced in the love of an extended family meal is obvious immediately.
Serving breakfast through dinner and everything in between, making yourself at home at Piccolino is easy enough. Breakfast is perhaps the least Italian inspired of the menus, but this can be forgiven in what is traditional and delicious Australian café fare. All the usual suspects are in attendance, including Signature Avo, Salmon Benedict and Bircher Muesli, but with a nod to more interesting offerings such as XO Eggs and Pumpkin Toast. Perhaps most beguiling is the range of drinks, notably the Bartender Breakfast which includes a Bloody Mary and Peach Bellini.
The lunch and dinner menus offer a simple Italian experience, with antipasti, pizza and pasta. It sounds pedestrian at best, but this is not some cavernous homage to bottled Bolognese sauce and cardboardy pizzas. Here, Nonna wraps her arms around you and feeds you all the good things. The antipasti pulls no unusual punches, but it is done exceedingly well from the hand stretched Focaccia, to the Calamari alla Griglia and Insalata di Primavera. The pizzas are simple, with the small number of toppings able to shine on top of a red or white base and chewy, savoury pizza bread with the odd charred bubble a delicious pop of wood fired goodness. Calzone, Gamberi or Patate e Salsiccia and across the pizza gamut, there’s not one ingredient out of place. Similarly, the pasta and risotto section is filled with a delicious homage to the kinds of Italian food Australians have come to recognise. Piccolino is certainly not breaking or shaping any Italian culinary traditions here, but what does that matter when the Carbonara, Risotto Frutti del Mare or Lasagne are authentic and even better, deliciously comforting? The small range of desserts lend heavily on the holy triad of Italian sweets: lemon, chocolate and coffee.
As in most Italian families, bambinis are revered with their own dedicated menu. In a delightful departure from the hushed reverence for gastronomy you might find in some of Noosa’s more upmarket restaurants, children are most welcome at Piccolino. Space for wild child behaviour however, is limited.
And if a 3pm pizza or thirst slaking aperol spritz is required after a hard day at the beach, an all-day bar menu will have you feeling suitably refreshed in no time. Still not content? Complete the holiday vibe with Piccolino’s live music, offered almost daily, and watch the passing Hastings parade from street or rooftop level. For a little one, this restaurant packs some serious good-time punch.
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