Piccolo Nido

This off the beaten path restaurant in Boston's famous North End is absolutely the best Italian restaurant in the city (IMO). The photos depicted here are of their mouth watering veal parm and house made rigatoni and sumptuous Seafood linguine. The portions are incredible. You will love your leftovers! If you have the good fortune of finding this hidden charm, then please don't let the no-thrills ambient steer you away. It's the hidden gems that are always to most memorable!

Absolutely loved this place! They give you a very healthy pour of a glass of wine. The bread is really, really good. Most of the table were full, but the vibe was very peaceful and quiet...it felt homey. Chef Pino was walking to each table and was super nice!
I got the seafood linguine which was incredible, and also tried part of the spaghetti Amatriciana. Amazing!! Will definitely be back.

Great experience. Owner is super personable. Food is great. Liked all of our dishes Tiramisu is fantastic.

Do I dare tell you it is delicious? One of my favourite restaurants in the North End. A cozy, homey atmosphere with excellent service. Pino will make a custom dish to suit your dietary needs. He has gluten-free pasta and can serve vegetarians too. Off the beaten path - dine here away from the tourists and the feeding frenzy for a relaxing meal with the classic flavors for many regions of Italy.

Feels like going home for wonderful food, amazing staff and perfect location.
This spot is all about ambience and the total experience, not just volume of food!
Best enjoyed with best friends.

Food was Awesome, Pino the Owner and his stories made the evenings amazing. My son has food Allergies (Milk, Eggs, Nuts) and they made him great - safe food. We ate there every night. Can’t wait to visit again on our next trip. Lots of love to the whole team!

We stumbled upon this place last night in the North End, fairly away from the tourist traps of Hanover st, it was quiet and nicely lit. We got a table immediately outside on their patio, which was a very relaxing atmosphere.
The server we had was amazing! Very attentive, wicked cool Italian accent, and very knowledgeable.
I had the ravioli and it was by far the best ravioli I've ever had, the cream sauce was light and savory.
I highly recommend getting off the beaten path of Hanover st and trying this authentic Italian bistro.
We will definitely be coming back!

Back in Boston in 2021 for the first time since 1998. This restaurant was amazing then, and every bit as excellent tonight! Even the house salad knocked us over. Skip Giacomo’s and all the others. Hands down, Piccolo Nido is the best around. They make every dish to order so my vegetarian fiancée was able to choose from a bunch of options. Don’t skip their tiramisu!

Seriously the best eggplant parmigiana and tiramisu I can recall ever having (and those are my Italian staples). Pino was an exceptional host and I look forward to my next dinner experience here!

First time in the North End. This place is a gem. The food was absolutely delicious: antipasti included caprese and the eggplant parm was the best I've had in a restaurant. Met Pino, the owner, and we are lucky he stayed the course. Go there - eat and drink - and be merry!

EXCELLENT!! My dish (attached photo) was phenomenal and same for my husband's. He ordered veal with prosciutto crudo and fontina cheese. We finally ordered tiramisu, unbelievably good!! I recommend this place to anyone that wants to eat REAL Italian food. Very nice and pleasant people too!! If I could, I would give more than 5 stars. I'll be back very soon!!

Dinner was absolutely delicious!! The atmosphere was so comforting and Pino made you feel so welcomed. Absolutely making this a regular stop! I suggest everyone, who loves great food, make this a must!

My husband and I went here on Saturday it was quaint- The food was authentic Italian, its not fancy but the waitstaff food and overall experience was so fabulous, my husband had veal- ( FRESH) i had chicken with artichokes. Delish. We will be back, and the prices are very reasonable too-

Made a reservation over Yelp for 5 and called to check if my reservation was outdoor seating. I ended up speaking to an incredibly rude man named pino who informed me that I did not have a reservation because the "computer is down" and never apologized for the inconvenience or misunderstanding. I would not recommend this restaurant and would warn you to stay away from their rude staff.

EDIT: the owner of the establishment is trying to say I cancelled my reservation because they didn't have outdoor seating. This is NOT true. He explicitly asked if I was cancelling and I said no.

$20 for a plate of frozen gnocchi served in unseasoned tomato sauce. Zero flavor. You got to do better if you're charging those kind of prices.

Wine was good, though.

This was my absolute favorite hidden gem Italian restaurant. I was excited that it reopened during the pandemic. The staff were super nice and attentive. This time around the food was not as good as before, henceforth, 4 stars. But overall, very tasty.

We always have a wonderful experience here! Most recently, we sat outdoors. It was just lovely, plenty of space and so safe. Our dinner was phenomenal. My husband had the eggplant parm, I had the chicken with artichoke hearts. Both were perfects tens. Our salads were scrumptious and our wine was delish and generously poured. The service was impeccable! I want to rave about this hidden gem, but want it to remain hidden!

This wonderful restaurant is tucked away, around the corner from the action. Come here for authentic Italian cuisine served by Pino.
They have an outdoor area for dining as well as socially-distanced seating inside.
Some of our faves:
Mushroom Crepe appetizer
Grilled Calamari
Eggplant Parmesan
And any special on the menu!!

The service is excellent and attentive. Well priced. Truly a gem that rises above the pedestrian tourist offerings in the area.

Was able to get a table for 7 last minute on a Saturday night, so we were just happy to be there. Really thankful to the owner allowing me and my wife to bring our raucous group of friends into such a nice establishment. The antipasto was delicious and high quality and one of our group members noted that she tried the house red on her latest sojourn to Italy (no worries, it was before the COVID 19 outbreak) so we knew this place was legit. Most us got pasta dishes that were clearly freshly made and we devoured every last morsel. The clam dish was also very good, although our friend from Maine said

Food was awesome and the waiter was very friendly. Quick service and diverse menu. Much calmer than most italian restaurants in the north end while still having friendly and fun energy. Would recommend.

Away from the Hanover street chaos kind of hidden. Yes it's not that popular however the people are local and food is good.
The gnocchi is sumptuous and light, the sauce was so delicious.
Had the antipasto platter. It was great for sharing. The roasted peppers and the portabella mushroom was something you'll remember. The prosciutto was sooooo good.
Coming to the risotto: it was soooo good. Homely yet it makes the heart feel warm. It was packed with flavour yet was so light on the palate.
The food here is homey and great and would any day compete with the other more famous ones.

We were so lucky to find this place. It was parents weekend at BC and I'm sure other colleges. Plus the Red Sox Yankees game just finished. The Main Street in the North End was packed. Waits were over 2 hours. We were SO happy to find Piccolo while walking down the side streets. And fortunately for us a giant party just left the restaurant so opened up seating. We were graciously sat within a reasonable time. We ordered the Veal Marsala, the Trout dish but the were out of trout so they substituted it with haddock but with the same seasoning of trout, and my wife got a mushroom bow

This was a very interesting experience! When we arrived at the restaurant, the owner approached us to let us know he had given his waitstaff the week off as it was going to be slow! ok, nice of him but let's hope it doesn't negate our experience. So, he wasn't all that attentive at first which made us all feel pretty uncomfortable.

We finally got his attention & things got "better". We learned that they do not have a full bar and only serve beer & wine. We got past that, ordered the Campanile Pinot Grigio & it was lovely!

From this point on, PINO (the

Lovely little "mom and pop" place but with just pop running the house. Delicious ravioli porcini --perfectly Al dente. We had the special that night, hake, and it was incredibly fresh and prepared just as they do in Italy with fresh fish--just salt, pepper and oil. Delish! Wish they had a bigger/more extensive wine list.
PS they seem to get scammed by lameass customers a lot who want to park their car in front and think if they order a glass of wine that they can use Resident parking. Weird, I know.
Also, they were great about keeping our reservation (see one star review below