Piccolina is a 20-seat Italian restaurant in Asheville’s River Arts District, owned by husband-and-wife team Nathan and Elana Pearlman. By day, we serve Neapolitan sandwiches, pizzas, and house made pastries. By night, we offer a reservation recommended dinner menu featuring handmade pastas, risottos, and whole animal butchery. Rooted in our New York Italian heritage and inspired by local ingredients and the creative spirit of the RAD, Piccolina is a warm, intimate space for soul-nourishing food.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 375 Depot St #101, Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 505-0029
Website: https://www.piccolinaavl.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Reservations: resy.com
Related Web Results
Piccolina.AVL – Asheville, NC – Instagram
Piccolina | Asheville NC – Facebook
Piccolina | Explore Asheville
Reviews
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Mind you, I consume kale only because I feel obliged to do so. But if one must eat this glamour-challenged garden step-child, the salad here, garnished thoughtfully with pistachios and plump sultanas as well as rich Parmigiano Reggiano and a delightful roasted garlic crumb, can pay one’s debt to healthy living in a most agreeable way.
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The pillowy moz and crispy-chewy crust of my margherita pizza were on point. But the standout was the sauce. This sauce, oh my. You could frolic among the vines in San Marzano, the blunted cone of Mt. Vesuvius in the distance, a zephyr from the Sea of Naples whispering through your hair, and you could pick a sun-ripened, ruby-red tomato from one of those vines, and take a lusty bite of it, and the taste would be no fresher, no more vibrant, than the flavor of this sauce.
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Piccolina — small space, big experience.
On Sunday night, our tasting menu started with a well executed kale salad and minestrone soup. As a couple, we got to taste both options and it was nice to go back and forth between the two.
The star of the night was the pasta course – no boxed pasta here. Again, we opted to get one “Alfredo” and one marinara. Wow – handmade pasta, excellent texture and warming flavor.
Next was the chicken Marsala – again, well seasoned, fresh, with an appropriate portion size. The meal ended with a chocolate cake and zeppole fried dough balls with lemon curd.
Service was paced comfortably and we left full. The restaurant is small, with limited available table service. Although garage door lined bar seating will thrive in the warmer weather, in the Winter it was a bit constricting.
We love to see the river arts district continue to thrive and this restaurant has a bright future. We can’t wait to return and try the tiramisu!
1) Food: To feed the three of us, we ordered the suppli, kale salad, pizza, prosciutto sandwich, and zeppoles with lemon cream for dessert. Literally every single dish was a home run. The suppli is perfectly cooked and melts in your mouth. My wife and I fought over bites of the kale salad, and the pesto on the sandwich was phenomenal. The sauce on the pizza stands out and the warm bites of the zeppoles will make you want more. Truly, they do masterful work.
2) Drinks: For lunch, they have a full drink menu, but my wife and I ordered the blood orange Italian soda. It was delicious and comes with a full glass of ice.
3) Service: It was excellent from the owners to the staff. Everyone was friendly, attentive, and clearly proud of the space they all are creating.
4) Space: It sits 22 people so it’s cozy, but not overcrowded. The green colors and textures on the wall make it stand out. It’s beautiful!
5) Area: It’s in the River Arts District sharing a space with Trackside Studios, a gallery and space for 60+ local artists. There’s street parking out front.
Dinner is a seated service and about $65 bucks. A preset four course meal and worth every penny. An appetizer, two mains, and dessert.
The pistachio cookies served during lunch are worth the trip alone.
Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.
This was one of the first restaurants we dined at in Asheville and it set an extraordinarily high bar. From the food to the service, it was a perfect meal. We visited for lunch and ordered two sandwiches (the Rossi and the Prosciutto) and the Chopped Kale salad (it was so hard to choose). When the food arrived, we ate in silence for ten solid minutes because it was so good. The sandwich bread is akin to pizza crust and absolutely delicious. Light, but with a slight chew, and warm! They pre-portioned our kale salad (so thoughtful because we were sharing), it was the perfect touch of freshness and acidity, with notes of sweetness from the golden raisins and crunch from the toasted breadcrumbs. The two owners are also delightful and so kind, and even sent us a surprise dish (Suppli – a must order) when they found out we were visiting from out of town.
My only regret is not ordering the pistachio cookie as soon as I sat down, but it gave me the perfect reason to return.
No photos to share because everything was devoured quickly!