Family owned Piccolo Trattoria features both an affordable pizzeria and upscale Italian Restaurant. Located at 800 A Denow Rd in Pennington, Piccolo Trattoria has 12 years of success. Originating in Newtown, PA the restaurant has now three locations including Langhorne, PA.
Along with the great food, the restaurant has different elements of italian culture. When you walk, besides the refrigerated desserts display, you can see are the pictures and paintings of Italy. The background music, iconic italian singer/songwriter Andrea Bocelli, sets the atmosphere.
The main dining room also features three beautiful large light fixtures and large windows. Although the restaurant is not very large in size, it has a seating arrangement of about 20 tables, but provides enough space to be comfortable.
The decoration and music are assets on the success of the restaurant. Eric Szymanski, restaurant Manager at the Pennington location said that the difference between Piccolo Trattoria and other Italian restaurants is the value and quality of their menu.
“We provide a better value for our food and each dish is made with the freshest ingredients.” He continued by saying “Our chefs have a strong culinary background in Italian food.”
The restaurant menu features both classic and unique pasta, seafood, chicken and veal dishes. All meals on the dinner menu come with a homemade soup such as pasta fagioli or fresh salad.
The dinner menu appetizers range between 10 to 13 dollars and the entrees range from 15 to 23 dollars.
Prior to the first course, fresh baked Italian rolls were served with a warm, chunky tomato dip that had a hint of italian seasoning. The dip was flavorful and the tomatoes were extremely fresh.
After placing an order, they bring you the first course, a salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and carrots. The house dressing, which was an incredibly sweet balsamic dressing, gave an amazing taste.
The chicken parmesan with a side of angel hair pasta ($16) had a steaming hot, breaded large piece of chicken topped with a layer of warm melted mozzarella cheese and topped with more sauce and and fair amount of pasta to go with it.
Patrons seem to be happy with the food and service offered at Piccolo Trattoria. “The quality of the food can’t be beat and the service is always really great. It has that family owned atmosphere and that’s one-of-a-kind,” said Paul Dorio, Mercer County Sheriffs Officer and resident of Ewing Township.
During his second time dining at Piccolo Trattoria Restaurant, Dorio ordered the Penne Pasta with Shrimp and Chicken in a Pesto Sauce ($17).
He said “The pesto sauce was very creamy. I could taste the freshness of the basil with garlic and parmesan cheese. The chicken and shrimp were cooked just right and complimented the dish nicely. It was outstanding!”
Dorio said that the prices of the dining menu are more expensive but worth it. “I usually order from the pizzeria because it is significantly less expensive, but it’s occasionally nice to splurge on dining out.” Dorio said.
Server Alexandra Lang said “I’ve been working here for 10 months now and I really enjoy it. It’s a great restaurant to work for. Because this is a family owned business, everyone is close and that’s what makes this a great place.”
The restaurant operates seven days a week and serves dinner all day on Sunday.
