Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2014, Qupperneq 54

Piccolo Italia is—as the name suggests—
a small, cosy Italian restaurant. Located a
bit off the beaten track on Frakkastígur, it
has a certain mystique about it. Judging
by my conversations with restaurant
enthusiasts, few seem to know the place
exists at all. Fewer still have actually tried
it.
I do remember, though, that Piccolo
Italia opened up a while ago at a different
location, on Laugavegur. With a brilliant
business model, it offered clients fresh
uncooked pasta to go. The idea was that
a client could walk in at lunch and order,
say, 500 grams of fettuccini to be ready
when leaving work in the afternoon. The
client would then make a visit later the
same day, and pick up a lovely batch of
freshly made pasta.
I always regretted not taking advan-
tage of this service. I was therefore quite
pleased to find out that it is still available,
only the establishment is now a "proper"
restaurant as well.
It is a bit of a challenge to describe
the atmosphere at Piccolo Italia. Those
who have spent parts of their summer
vacations in small sunny villages where
tourism is the main source of income
will probably have a fit of nostalgia when
stepping inside. Kitschy tile floors, plastic
furniture, tacky yellow paint on the
walls, Italian flags here and there, and
the ever-constant feature of an ice cream
freezer in the corner. It is, literally, as if
travelling to Italy... the only thing missing
is perhaps a broken television displaying
a football match.
The menu is somewhat in the same
vein, as though one were situated in a
"touristy" town in Italy. This is being said
in the most positive way, though, because
as far as food goes, touristy or not, Ital-
ians usually do a good job.
My companion and I both had the
antipasto della casa as a starter, a mixed
plate of Mediterranean goodness: olives,
prosciutto, tomatoes, pickled artichokes...
the works. It was served with a basket of
delicious fresh bread and was all in all a
good way to get the evening started. Not
too heavy, yet full of flavour.
The main courses on the menu are di-
vided into three sections: pasta, pizza and
Italian classics (including steak and baked
al forno dishes). My companion gave
the pizza section a try, choosing Pizza di
salsiccia, topped with Italian sausage. I
dove into the pasta section, given that the
pasta is made fresh every day, and settled
for the Gnocchi sardi con ragout di salsic-
cia—another taste of Italian sausage.
The pizza was a bit different than
expected. Its crust was somewhat thick,
at least much thicker than the usual thin
crust pizza you would expect to find in
an Italian restaurant. The sauce was
nice, although a touch too sweet. All the
ingredients were nice and fresh, but the
thickness of the base did make the pizza
a tad heavy.
The gnocchi was very well cooked,
perfectly al dente, and had a nice con-
sistency. The ragout was a touch under
seasoned, but nothing too serious. The
portion was hefty, making it a dish quite
difficult to finish—although not at all due
to a lack of quality.
To sum up the experience it must be
said that Piccolo Italia is a charming and
nostalgic (for some at least) place. It does
not offer the most complex cuisine but
that has always been the beauty of the
Italians. You don't need to complicate a
good thing. The prices are very fair and
the service was fine. I would however rec-
ommend they get a premium subscrip-
tion to Spotify, as those ads are pretty
annoying. But of course I did get a bit of
goose bumps when Pavarotti appeared
with Nessum Dorma towards the end of
my visit. How fitting.
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An Italian Summer Vacation
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BE SQUARE AND BE THERE
PLEASED TO
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Reykjavík
The groundfloor of
Höfðatorg, the tallest
tower in Reykjavík, right
opposite Höfði
Akureyri
The groundfloor of
the historic Hotel Kea,
in the heart of the
city center
Our burgers are square - beef and bun!
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HERE WE ARE
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What We Think:
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restaurant
Flavour:
Mediterranean.
Ambiance:
Very kitsch, Italian opera/pop
songs played via Spotify.
Service:
Attentive, relaxed.
Price for 2 (no drinks):
6–8,000 ISK
Piccolo Italia
Frakkastígur 12, 101 Reykjavík