Piccolo Cafe - Amsterdam Ave - New York

This is a chain that could be made vegan salads, at least one vegan bowl (one shroomami, others are available in certain seasons), and offers some vegan sides. It is usually for take-out, but they have a number of tables and seats that you can grab and an available toilet. The vegan items are marked- but the labelling could be better. For example, today I had the sweet potatoes (they were good as usual), but note that the dressings offered with it did not seem to be vegan - what the server confirmed (even if this dish was labeled as vegan)

I have a last minute dinner reservation based on the reviews I read on Open Table. Unfortunately, my culinary experience was very different from previous reviewers. My family of 4 was lined into a small table, our ducks were slowly coming out; the table next to us sat later and received her food sooner than we did. The food was fair/good, but the portions seemed small, especially when plated in a large bowl. Service was dirty; had to request water several times. Has made takeout boxes available for residues. As already mentioned, dining room is very small. I'm sorry we're probably not coming back when we're in NYC Upper West.

While the food was tasty, I was surprised by the discrepancy between the menu provided by Open Table prior to dining, and the actual menu: not only were items missing--such as steak--but the actual price was much higher. For example, the shrimp and avocado salad was $10 on Open Table's Piccolo Cafe menu, and $17 at the restaurant. When we asked for a beer, the waiter said they were out. Later, after asking for cappuccino, he said there was no espresso. The service was lazy: no waiter checked to see if our dishes needed anything, and we had to wait quite a few minutes before parmesan was provided to top a pasta, or finally receiving the pepper I requested. Finally, the wine list was very limited.

The restaurant is small but the atmosphere was wonderful. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Earth Wind and Fire was performing at the Beacon Theater and they played their songs the entire time pumping us up for the show. Most of the customers were going to the show. The experience overall was fabulous.

Great all around food, service and cocktails. Perfect location to the Beacon Theatre. WIll definitely return.