Piccolina

Piccolina is an Italian restaurant on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia built around a broad, contemporary menu. The selection moves from chilled starters and salads to warm small plates, pasta, pizza, larger meat and seafood dishes, and dessert. Its cooking draws on familiar Italian forms while making room for Southern Italian flavors, including Calabrian peppers, Sicilian ingredients, and other bright, savory accents.

The menu offers several ways to shape a meal. Starters include raw seafood, oysters, salads, fried seafood, meatballs, prawns, and baked cheese, while house focaccia provides a simple option for sharing. Pasta is a central part of the offering, with choices that range from seafood preparations to lemon-seasoned, tomato-based, cream-based, and vegetable-focused dishes. Pizza adds a more casual route, with classic and more elaborate combinations built around tomato, mozzarella, cured meats, vegetables, and regional seasonings.

Larger plates extend the Italian theme into dishes influenced by Milanese-style preparation, grilled steak, and fish served with a brothy seafood sauce. The menu includes meat, seafood, and vegetarian choices, giving mixed groups room to order differently without leaving the restaurant's Italian focus. Dessert keeps the finish straightforward, with chocolate and soft-serve options.

Drinks are an important part of the experience. The cocktail list combines Italian liqueurs, vermouth, grappa, amaro, gin, whiskey, rum, tequila, and sparkling wine in drinks with both classic and playful profiles. Italian wines span sparkling, white, red, rosé, and skin-contact styles, and the beer list includes selections from Pennsylvania and nearby states. Zero-proof cocktails and alcohol-free beer provide alternatives for guests who are not drinking.

Piccolina serves lunch, brunch, and dinner, making it suitable for different kinds of visits, from a daytime meal to an evening built around drinks and shared plates. The combination of pasta, pizza, seafood, cocktails, wine, and dessert gives the restaurant a flexible format for diners looking for a modern Italian meal with plenty of choice.