Classin’ it up at Piccolo Venice

It’s rare that V and I are treated to a fancy dinner.

You can dress us up, and you can even take us out, but 5 glasses of wine later you might regret it.

However, luckily for us, the lovely Siana from The Dish PR decided to take a chance on us and invite us out to Piccolo in Venice to see the restaurant’s new, and larger, venue + indulge our palates with some of Piccolo’s great menu options.

So there we were, last Tuesday, in this adorable little restaurant in Venice just off Rose Ave and the beach, on a little lady date. There’s a fireplace roaring, the kitchen is open at the center of the restaurant with handsome chefs cooking away, and the place is filled with lovey dovey couples.

With little prior knowledge of Piccolo we were thinking casual, small, and funky wine bar. I mean it’s Venice for Pete’s sake – who knew this area had intimate, romantic, fancy-pants, and wow-your-socks-off Italian food spots?

Needless to say we felt slightly out-classed and out of place.

Already Impressed by Bread & Cute Candle Holder

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Anyway, we got to try a boat load of food (see photos below) and a couple wines as well (our version of love potion). Everything was delicious. I wanted to eat a vat of the ravioli (which I referred to as a ‘fancy mac & cheese’, and possibly the best I’ve ever had.). V couldn’t stop raving about the buttery-ness of the filet mignon. We even really enjoyed the scallops, which is a lot to say since both of us are rather timid when it comes to sea food & shell fish (Judge as you wish.)

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Lamb Carpaccio with White Wine Pairing

Seared Scallops with Truffle

Fontina Ravioli with White Truffle - AMAZING.

Long story short: We want to come back already. The food, though rather fancy for our typically burger/taco dominated palates, was delicious. The wine, well you know we love all wine, but these Italian wines were especially tasty and perfectly paired with our food.

Dead Cow. Yummmm.

Dessert Tray - V's fav part of any meal

For those looking to recreate our meal, Piccolo has the perfect new option on their menu: the reversal dinner, or ‘cena al contrario‘ in Italian, offered just once a month.

The details:  A multi-course meal where you pick the series wines (from a preselected list of options by Sommelier Pietro Biodi) – then Chef Roberto ‘Bobo’ Ivan picks the food that best pairs with your wine selections. The first of such dinners was last Wednesday 7/23, but there will be another dinner coming up in July so keep your eyes peeled on their website for details.

Price per person: $110 for 5 courses, $70 for 3 courses. (Ouch!)

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Okay, okay – so yes this is a very expensive option, especially for our typical post-college-shitty-job FinerThings readers. Truth be told – the regular menu is pretty pricey too.

But, for what Piccolo offers – it’s a pretty standard fancy restaurant deal (wines start around $11-$13/glass, 1st course items $14 – $19, main courses $30-$40). And, after trying their amazing food, we’d have to say it’s all worth it. Granted – due to our limited budgets this won’t be our typical evening haunt any time soon , but it’s definitely a great date night spot for those looking to impress.

Don’t have a rich mate to take you out? Get creative! V’s already started back up her Match.com profile to find some wealthy suitors to take her back to Piccolo. I’m working on a pyramid scheme that will help reunite me with the ravioli and buttery steak.

Drinking Tip: Piccolo is within walking distance of Main Street SaMo bars like O’Briens – so make an evening of it and go out boozing after dinner!

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Piccolo Venice

5 Dudley Avenue, Venice, CA

310.314.3222

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Parking Tip: We parked on Main Street off Rose, Free & Without Time Limit