Piccola Italia

The food and service were both fantastic! The location was also great, as was the ambiance of the restaurant. Their menu has a lot of great gluten free and vegetarian options to choose from as well. If you go during lunch, like we did, you'll hand to order a dinner sized portion of the pasta as your gluten free option. They typically have gluten free penne pasta, but today it was fusilli (which is actually my preference). I got my dish with the creamy basil pesto, mushrooms and broccoli. It was delicious! So much food that I could only eat about 1/4 of it, so I'll be enjoying leftovers. At night the also offer gluten free pizza crust for an upcharge. So I'll think I'll have to come back during dinner one night to try it. My only complaint is their online menu doesn't denote any of this. It just lists that most dishes can be made to accommodate gluten intolerance. So I had to call to ask for more in-depth information regarding what that meant. Other than that, it was a fabulous experience!

Piccola Italia has been a Raleigh establishment since 1982. I remember coming here since I was a little girl so I had to make this review longer than usual to do justice. It's authentic, traditional home-cooked Italian food at its best and the owner Frank, true to his Italian roots, always asks me about my parents and makes me feel welcome like family. I think a lot of people miss this place because it's not trying to be glitzy or glamorous, it's a comfortable family setting, but after 40 years in business the food still has that same special something - and my dad eats here every week! My favorites are the pizza and the pasta. The pizza is hand tossed with a crispy crust and homemade tomato sauce. The Tomato Sauce is the BEST in TOWN - smooth and rich in flavor (the Marinara is a more bold and chunky sauce if you're into that)! The pasta is delicious and always al dente - just be sure to ask for the parmesan if it's not on the table (gluten free pasta is also really good). Sicilian Pizza is Amazing - order ahead of time for that. Meatballs and sausage also delicious. Thank you Frank and to your family for the labor of love to keep this place alive through fires, recessions and remodels - for my family it's a home away from home - Authentic Italian at its Best.