Piccolo Cafe

This place sucks. The cappuccino I order was cold. Also, I ordered a lemon tart pastry and it had a hair on it!!! I brought it back to the girl and she just said thanks. She did not offered a new one or a reimbursement I’m totally disgusted with this place.

Probably one of the worst sandwhiches I’ve ever had. I had to throw it away.

Great little place to grab a coffee and breakfast. It’s a small place but the food and coffee are both good. Not much room to work.

This place really gives you what you pay for, the Gnocchi far exceeded my expectations. The atmosphere is cozy with a great rustic charm. I would have given 5 stars with the exception with any pasta meal states it comes with bread and small salad. When i received my meal I only was served the pasta. When I asked for the whereabouts of my salad portion the server told me she would place my order in. When ordering, say exactly what you want including any sides that are part of your meal! When walking out, I noticed a sign that states their dinner special, any night after 5pm have any two items for $ 16, any wine for $ 9. Wish I saw it before!

Terrible online ordering experience.
We used Eat 24, which is a gamble in itself unfortunately as some businesses sign up, and don’t have a good local process. I was also charged twice for this order because they overcharged the first time. So instead of $ 50 for a mediocre order, I paid $ 100.
This location has a bulging menu online, but not in real life. About ten minutes after ordering, the restaurant called and let us know they didn’t have any Signature Lobster Ravioli. Signature, mind you. Doesn’t signature mean it’s your special, always in-​stock, prize of the menu dish? I guess not. The lady also told us Grandma’s Meatballs doesn’t have pasta. And that we can’t add pasta … To anything. Wait what?! An Italian place doesn’t add pasta to anything? But, and here’s the sticker, she offered us meatballs instead. There is some sort of sham here I can’t quite put my finger on.
So when they came … 50 minutes later … The delivery guy didn’t give me my receipt. I have a feeling I paid for the higher priced items. Please never order from this establishment.
It gets two star versus one because the spaghetti and meatballs were good.

I mean, you get what you paid for. The pasta is definitely cheap and reasonable. But sometimes their veggies are just not fresh. I used to get their brussel sprouts a lot because they’re so yummy but the past couple times I’ve gotten it, it’s been gray brown in color. I couldn’t even eat it. But if you’re looking for an average meal for your money, this is definitely an option.

The best part about this place is that they delivered within 20 minutes of my order which I have never experienced in NY. Which probably means everything is pre-​made hence the quality of the Italian food you can expect.
Despite the fast delivery, oddly the food all came cold.
Gnocci All Sorrentina– The Gnocci was light and fluffy. The sauce wasn’t anything special or flavorful and I lost my appetite when I saw a think short black hair in my food which certainly wasn’t mine. I get that places make mistakes but maybe a hair net next time?
Grandmothers meatballs– The meatballs were dry and well below mediocre. None of that juicy flavor I typically expect in a good meatball. Again the marinara sauce was lacking that robust Italian Flavor.
Nutella Panino– free desert coupon on seamless. It was just literally Nutella between hard rustic bread. I couldn’t bite into parts of the bread, but really it’s hard to go wrong with Nutella and anything.
I considered giving this place another chance for the delivery time alone. Maybe try the pesto Gnocci?

An unanswered email that I want to share:
Just thought you should be aware of our experience at your Gramercy location last night.
Last night I placed an order after 5pm at your Gramercy location and ordered two items which my wife was going to pick up on her way home. When she arrived to pick up our order, she was quoted a price that reflected the full price of the two items I had ordered and she asked about why it was not the «combo» price. The woman behind the counter told her it was because I did not say the word combo when I had place the phone order.
So, two things come to my mind:
1) When I placed the phone order for 2 items why didn’t she say «do you want the Combo deal?»
2) No where on the menu does it say you have to say the word combo to get the special price– it just says «after 5pm, combo, any 2 items=$ 16
And what was the result as the server refused to offer my wife the discounted price and gave her attitude as well? Well, my wife walked out and you lost our order if not our total future business.
There are many options as you are well aware in the city and this, again in my mind, is pure insanity and an example of customer service at its worst.
PLEASE NOTE: I have subsequently heard back from restaurant management and they have taken steps to address the situation I encountered and apologized for what occurred.

Ordered the spinach and ricotta ravioli for pickup and it was amazing! Great flavors and quick and kind service. Nice hole in the wall café, would def go back. The desserts loooked amazing so will def go back for more.

Had the chicken cutlet on focaccia with mayo and L&T. It was so fresh each bite had to be savored one at a time despite how hungry I was. All of the options looked amazing. A great place if you’re looking for a sandwich in the east village /​Union Square area.

Best croissant! Nice very «italian» space)
gonna come back for Benedict and will let you guys know!

Came here and it was a comfortable easygoing lunch stop. Appreciated the great customer service and fresh ingredients. Will be coming again to try out rest of menu!

Nice tiny place. Definitely paid attention to details, like the music they play, pictures on the walls, and a shelf with load of cook books (though seems like never been used and only for a fake deco.) other than that the food was nice. I had the pasta, it was not bad but drenched in oil.
Probably will come back here if I’m around and need a quick bite.

This is such a special find. A small, adorable café with a great rustic ambience.
The coffee is lovely; not the best I’ve had, but certainly good. However, the food is stellar. As a a salad junkie, I am a huge fan of anywhere that seems to serve a nice variety of salads, and they sure do here! I ordered their chicken salad with a side of brussels, and the herbed chicken was exceptional — so flavorful! I lusted over many other salad options on the menu before I made my choice, and know I’ll be back soon for more. My friends order their gnocchi, truffle, and truffle egg sandwich, and those were all stellar too. Especially the truffle egg sandwich; it lives up to its reputation! They even have specials every day.
On to dessert for a moment though; AMAZING SELECTION. I loved how they called their smaller pastries «temptations.» The service was lovely as well, and they had wifi!

My friend from Long Island and I came here around 12 on a Friday during our lunch break. We were really famished and so our orders were especially delicious. I ordered the #2 and my friend ordered the #9.
For $ 8, there was soft mozzarella and prosciutto and arugula in my croissant (I asked for croissant and the workers were in a *special* mood that day). Normally, the sandwiches are in the form of paninis, not in their fresh, flaky café-​baked croissants which definitely satisfied my hunger regardless of my distaste for cheese.
Although the case is small, its decorations create a cozy atmosphere for its guests. I would definitely visit this place again just to try their dinner deal: any two entrees for $ 15!
**My older sister came here to try this place on Tuesday and she didn’t enjoy her meal as much as we did. She described her mediocre lunch (#11) as one that she could put together at home.

This is such a cute spot. Limited seating but fantastic food. They bake the croissants on site and they are so yummy.
The gnocchi was also great and very affordable

Totally happy about finding this place.
–counter service, very affordable and quality
–dining in gets real plates/​cups/​silverware! (Yeah for less waste)
–card minimum is $ 5
–food is simple and delicious italian (w/​croissants)
–they bake their own croissants
–they do poached eggs, baked eggs, clean simple omelets or fried eggs– no crazy scrambles with potatoes
–mesclun and tomatoes are the default side and guess what, the know how to select nice tomatoes.
(Not grainy!)
–lots of options for paninis, pastas, eggs, or salad.
–good coffee.
–I love it; I feel like it was made for me.

If you want to visit the best tiny café in the area, this is the one, straight from Italy. They started in union square market but expanded to more than one tiny stores in manhattan.
They roast their own coffee beans and make a perfecto espresso!
They make their own croissants!
Their panini, salad and soup are all delicious!
The quality is worth it.

Piccolo café is a sweet dessert spot post-​Union Square dinner adventures. They offer fresh and hot coffee and a huge array of desserts including cake, gelato, and tiramisu. My boyfriend absolutely loves their tiramisu in the little cups and it is honestly one of the best. It is nice and airy, with the perfect mix of chocolate and cream– heavenly, no? I’ve had their mango gelato and let me tell you, if you love mango, this is for you. Gelato has a rep for being creamy and milky, as it is sorta ice cream, but this is more like a sorbet. But not like a cheap, sugary sorbet. This is like a good scoop of fresh mango (no actual mangoes though) in an icier form.
The atmosphere is also very homey — Christmas lights and wooden tables and highrise chairs. Very very cute for a date spot.
The service is also very nice. Just note that you order and pay upfront and they will bring it to you.
I’ve never had their dinner but it looks like they have specials and I am totally willing to try that out. Will be back for sure!

(**Only a dessert review**)
Piccolo means «small» or «tiny» in Italian!!! Yes it was a small café, but really not THAT small.
The interiors are cutely decorated with vintage newspaper and the wine is served in cute and stubby stemless glasses! Too bad the bf and I just ate. We walked by and saw the desserts and in queue of National Dessert Day, we got the mango gelato ($ 3 only!) to go.
Damn, that is some good gelato! So rich and flavorful… The bf and I love mangos and this was perfect and not too sweet.
Will definitely be back to try real food. Looks great!