We had a reservation for a Friday night at 5:30 and we were seated right away in a quiet room. They brought us bread and bean salad which we enjoyed (and were both approved by the one year old). The baby had pasta with red sauce and a meatball. He really enjoyed it. I tasted it and it was good! I had the baked rigatoni pasta with palomino sauce. It came with a soup or salad and I enjoyed the salad. The ranch dressing was VERY good! The others who got soups also enjoyed those. The pasta was also really good! We got a crème brûlée for dessert and it was delicious! The custard was thick and sweet with a little hint of lemon. The sugar was nicely browned and not over cooked. I knocked down a star because the decor is a bit dated and the food is a little overpriced ($30 for a pasta dish with just noodles and sauce no meat or vegetables). However we did enjoy our experience and will probably be back again. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Crème brûlée - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

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Been going there since the late 80s. The Sevice is great, but the food really went downhill. Last couple of meals very disappointing won't be going back ever again. read more

Something about this place made me feel right at home. It's comfortable and welcoming. We were a big group of people. We tried many items -- everything was great! To start, the Arancini were crispy on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside. The meatballs were perfectly seasoned and tasted great with the marinara sauce. For dinner, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan. My husband got the filet. Both of us really enjoyed our dishes. Our kids ate their spaghetti like they've never had it before. There was plenty of food left over to take home. The restaurant is big and spacious. Their staff is friendly and kind. The food is plentiful, flavorful, and delicious. I highly recommend trying Picano's for a great Italian meal! read more

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I spent my formative years in the Rochester/Troy area and remember this place being pretty good so I hate to bag on it, especially since I believe it is still family owned. Went back last year with the in laws and my wife remarked it is now a hub for the blue hair crowd . With that said, ironically the in laws wanted to go back last weekend and it kinda sucked. I didn't remember the food being so painfully average. Now that I am not a teenager the main dining room murals seem super cheesy. The lounge area seems more inviting. The caesar was not that great, dressing was light and watery, it had shaved parm (yeah!) and what seemed to be house made croutons but tasted like they were from last week. My pasta was fine, nothing special, leftovers still languishing in the frig. (bad sign) We ordered both styles of calamari and they were frozen straight from the bag and deep fried, the menu mentioned some nice sounding sauce but both were extremely dry and just sad...even a lemon wedge would've helped a lot, they were served with a sweet cocktail sauce that made it worse. My wife had the pasta with peas and pancetta. The pancetta was more like dried garage mud and had very little sauce. The MIL's meatball was ok, the FIL's veal parm was pedestrian at best. My son liked his seafood pasta, probably the highlight of the table, yet again very dry and needed at least a lemon wedge. Lemon cake was good and the tiramisu was fantastic. Service was unbelievably great, huge points for keeping the FIL's insatiable bread and butter flowing. Independent Italian restaurants are rare and I was bummed this wasn't great. read more

Reliably good. Very authentic. Awesome tiramisu. A little dated in decor. Overall, one of the best Italian restaurants around.

Best authentic Italian around. Great and friendly service and management. Carry out is fast and in dining quality.

Wonderful food! Free bean salad! Great atmosphere! Best Italian restaurant in the area!

Classic Italian. Good food and service but the place feels a bit dated. Could use a bit of upgrade

My family and I have been coming here for over 25 years and remains one of our favorites. An Excellent Italian restaurant for all types of occasions-dining out for dinners, graduation celebrations, homecoming dinners, and wedding showers using their private banquet rooms. Service is always friendly, professional, and attentive to detail making sure your experience is enjoyable. Food is authentic and delicious without breaking your wallet. Entrees are served with complimentary bread, house salad, and side of pasta with marinara sauce. Most Italian places charge for an additional side salad and pasta with your entrees but not here. Portions are large and I almost always have leftovers for the lunch the next day. It's an old school authentic Italian restaurant and will always be one of my favorites because it brings back so many memories since I grew up coming here. Not too much as changed over the years even the menu remains almost identical. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Private room used for banquets/showers. This was a family member's wedding shower dinner - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

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I've been to Picano's before, but only after my grandpa's funeral 7 years ago with a large group. They did a good job then, and I finally returned with my mom for dinner here last night after all these years. Both times, things went really well and I enjoyed my dinner. My mom and I went and I ended up getting the whitefish Picatta, which came out really good. Their dinners come with a few different courses, including soup or salad, a bread basket, a small pasta dish prior to your meal along with the meal itself. I love this since by the time my dinner came, I was literally almost full from all the previous courses. Being that we were eating here on a Tuesday afternoon, we were the only patrons in the restaurant the entire meal, which took about an hour and 15 minutes. Our server was a fabulous lady who did an excellent job of serving us and knew the menu like the back of her hand. Picano's does a good job of offering a variety of dishes and can handle parties of many sizes here. While they are on the more expensive side of things, they do a good job of making you feel like you get what you pay for here. Overall, my mom and I really enjoyed our meal, and will gladly return in the future. read more

We have been going to Picano's for 40 years - we went for the first time seven weeks after they opened - and we were hooked! Food is excellent, lovely atmosphere and great servers. My husband loves the seafood salad - he has it as an entree. It is full of many types of seafood and he adds anchovies to his order. I love the ravioli, the fried shrimp, well - all of it! read more

Ordered pickup from grub hub and this was a complete disappointment. Upon pickup we were completely ignored as other patrons were greeted and walked past us. The seafood pasta had zero flavor - to the point where it seemed as if the water wasn't salted to boil the noodles. The Caesar dressing was completely inedible - tasted like nothing but mayonnaise with no additional flavor. The calamari was rubbery and doused in lemon. Finally, we ordered two entrees and only 1 salad was given. Giving 1 star because the salad itself was good despite the dressing. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Seafood Angel Hair - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

Food was amazing. Service is top notch from Aldo at the bar at the waitresses are great. I am of Italian decent and I highly recommend the food. Eggplant parmigiana is amazing as is the minestrone soup. Dominic the owner always comes around to say hello read more

We ordered a doordash delivery from this restaurant. We didn't receive the bread we ordered, received the wrong pasta which we were charged for and shouldn't have been, and didn't get the Ceasar salad. When I called for rectification, the manager was extremely rude and told me to deal with doordash. I asked since they screwed up and didn't correctly fill my order, that was somehow doordash's problem? She said "yep" like she was in a hurry. Rude, unprofessional and we will never order from here again. No attempt to fix the problem. And the food isn't worth thr hassle read more

Pretty average Italian food. They need a bit more seasoning in their dishes. For carry out at least. We decided to give this place a try because it was so close to our house. The day we attempted to dine in, it was pretty busy so we got a carry out instead. Upon getting home and opening out food, it looked pretty mediocre and the portions seemed small for what we paid. We ordered a chicken alfredo, chicken parm, and a spaghetti and meatballs. All of them were pretty good, but the food wasn't really seasoned. We were expecting a stronger Italian flavor but for us, it tasted like they only used salt and pepper. Not too sure if we'd do carry out again or gamble with dining in and have a similar experience. read more

-real old school Italian food, attentive service,great experience; even if folks don't dress to go out any more. This used to be a place for fancy work dinners so I hadn't been in some time but it was as good as I remember it. Traditional Italian read more

The steak was without flavor, the pasta was simply not my taste. The service was very good friendly and helpful. The place was certainly clean, the layout was different... they left a large space for groups... just made the room look unbalanced. My opinon might be slanted because I expected the food to be very good, OK, I wanted the food to be very good. read more

I was there for a funeral luncheon...which was of course sad...however...the food and service were top notch! We had a banquet meal, but it was an excellent representation of their food. The salad was fresh...then we had Mostaccioli and fettuccine Alfredo. After that we had an excellent chicken dish with mushrooms and a good sauce that I don't know the name of. And fresh steamed broccoli and roasted potatoes. The unlimited bread on the table was hot and super yummy. I definitely would like to go back and have a regular dinner here, for sure. read more

My friend and I went to Picano's for lunch today and everything was top drawer! The food was absolutely delicious and our server, Onilla, was the best! Great restaurant! read more

First time here. The food was good, nothing spectacular. The service needs improvement; we shouldn't have to tell the waitstaff for refills or more olive oil and bread. The Ambiance was fantastic, we enjoyed the live music and singing. We will give it another try maybe it was an off night for the waitstaff. read more

No better place to celebrate my 80th birthday than here at Picano's. MY wife invited 80 friends and family members to the party in the Caesar Room. We started with the smallest banquet room and moved to the biggest. It was a full family-style meal with two meat choices, salad, pasta and dessert for all. Folks with certain food allergies were will served. Everybody enjoyed their meal and the fast service. Such a great waitstaff! This was the best party ever! Thank you!!! read more

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***GRUBHUB EXPERIENCE RATING ONLY!!*** After ordering through Grubhub before the restaurant closed, I was later informed that my order was cancelled by the restaurant over an hour before closing time and after 30 mins of the order being in. Plenty of time to throw an order together. No explanation given. When I called them directly before closing time, no one answered and I called about 4 times in a row. I won't be attempting to order from here again since they've already left me disappointed with their service practices and lack of customer service. read more

The food, amazing. The service from Aldo at the bar i believe his name was, 5 star. The vibe or "ambiance" hit the godfather - italian atmosphere right on the head. Highly suggest a chicken fettuccine palomino with a few red pepper flakes. A glass of chianti has me ready to go catch some Zs before an important day tomorrow. Thanks again Picanos. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Chicken Fettuccine Palomino Pasta - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

Went last night, first time, for family dinner. You could actually talk and not have to keep asking what did you say. The food was so very delicious. Our waitress Christine was a delight. She recommended items and joked right along with us. She fit right in our group Big menu, which for me stinks because it's so hard to decide! It's worth the drive if you do not live near it in Troy. read more

Came here for a wedding shower on a Sunday afternoon. Restaurant is right off Rochester Rd and easy to find. Old school Italian is the best was to describe Picano's. Parking is easy and plentiful. I cannot speak on the restaurant side but only the banquet room. The banquet room felt small but there were four long rectangular tables which I think made the room cramped. However, the room was bright and airy. The service was great, especially for so many guests. One staff member was filling waters, others were taking orders, and others were cleaning the tables. Bathrooms are close to the banquet room and are clean/modern. Food was very good and is everything an old school Italian restaurant should taste like. Good pasta, sauce, and chicken. Food came out hot which was great for having so many guests to feed at once. Would not mind coming back and trying out the restaurant side. read more

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Another well established restaurant hanging on by the laurels of their past. The service was fine. The ambience was dated but nice. The food was just not on par with the prices. My baseline Italian dish is a good lasagna. If you can make me a great lasagna I'll be back. I gotta say Picano's lasagna looked and tasted like it came out of a Gordon's Food Service box. Edible but totally forgettable! I was actually relieved the portion size was small but at $27 a plate I felt a taken for a ride. My wife's dinner fared no better. She has Beef Tips on Mushroom Risotto. Canned mushrooms on a $30 entree plate! Seriously! The gravy was made inedible by amount of salt used in the sautéed onions. I told her to send it back but she said prefers to vote with her feet. We won't be back again. Too many great Italian restaurants in the 'D'! read more

Went for Mother's Day with a party of 10. Food was slow and mediocre especially for the special menu inflated prices. Server wrote in "minimum tip $XX" on the bill. I understand adding a 20% gratuity for large groups, but she had miscalculated and based it after sales tax. I wrote in the correct amount based on the subtotal with a note explaining the discrepancy. She rudely came back to the table to confront me in front of the party. I explained to her and when she left again I went to speak with the manager. The server confronted me AGAIN at that point. The manager wasn't any help and we just left it as is, agreeing to disagree. This server is either misinformed on how tipping and taxes work or there are shady business practices happening in how they compensate their employees and apply/pay sales tax. In my research after the fact, it appears a mandatory gratuity should be added as a service fee and IS subject to tax. Very disappointing experience and we will never go back. read more

My review here is based off more recent experiences since the early 2000's as I've been a customer here since the mid 80's. It was a favorite for my grandparents and my dad but it comes with several altercations between them and Dominick the owner. I've personally have held several special events here as well like birthdays, anniversaries etc for 25-50 people over the years. Had several business lunches here and several dates over 35 years. The food was great in the 80's and 90's but over time faded and is nothing special anymore. I'd say it was a 5 then and a1-2 now at best but I'm averaging it out and being very generous. The altercations came when we e had events and business lunches where we'd order this and that doing a family style ordeal and the kitchen would surprise us. The problem with that was you never knew which Dominick you were getting. The fair one or the one trying to pay off his mortgage off your meal or event. I remember having a birthday here for maybe 30 of us and was p,eased for $1,000 tab back in the early to mid 90's but then in 2005 for my wedding my Dad was taken to the cleaners for a lunch layover banquet between my wedding and the reception. If I recall correctly the price bs head count was more than the wedding at that time and like $100 a head for appetizer and buffet style lunch. Recently, just a few days ago November 2024 I ordered carryout for my mom who was coming in from Florida. We met her halfway from the airport and brought her penne pasta with olive oil, mushrooms, and zucchini. I was it with a $36.00 tab. Wow was my wife's reaction. No meat, no sauce, just $25 for penne pasta and $11.00 for a few veggies. Let's just say his competition is offering, our favorite pasta Soprano for $26.00 which includes paste, olive oil, sausage, capers, hot peppers, spinach, & olives. How do you justify the prices they gouge you for if you have dietary restrictions and modify a simple pasta dish which is now Olive Garden quality. Forget this place and try Eatalina for an amazing pasta. Or Sapporo Italian restaurant in Shelby Twp.for a much better option at much better pricing. Eatalina is also on Shelby and on,y does pasta but the guys straight from Sicily and brings quality as best as you can get here in the states compared to Italy. My favorites here were always the chicken siciliano, lamb chops, pastina brood soup, and hot peppers with sausage and potatoes. The bean salad was always a classic goodie too. read more

The food was incredibly bland and insanely overpriced. Definitely not worth the price. We got sat immediately because the place was basically empty. Service was ok. I wouldn't describe our server as friendly or welcoming, but she did her job and kept bringing us bread. The ambiance of the restaurant is a deteriorating relic of the 90s. read more

My family loves this place. I love the pickerel dish. Bean salad to die for. Yummy salad. We fight over the Arancini! My son adores the Chickrn Bonadeo with Prosciutto. The owners walk around and talk to you. Simply delicious. One of our favorites! read more

Decent food but such a letdown at their price points. If you order a $40+ entree, I expect more than 4 bites of pasta on the side served in a 4" plate. Can get better Italian food just about anywhere else for half the price. read more

My husband planned a surprise birthday party for me! There were ten of us. Was absolutely wonderful. Everyone one loved their food. My sister brought a birthday cake for me and the wait staff was gracious enough to cut it and serve it. This is one of my favorite restaurants Always great food and service. My husband did good! We live quite a ways away from here and was not disappointed at all read more

This past weekend, we help a surprise party for my grandma's 90th birthday here. We had a party of roughly 40 people and were in one of the rooms near the back. The staff was extremely polite, helpful, and accommodating and everyone had an excellent time! Their assistance with helping with the surprise portion was second to none. Everyone was in on the act. We had two types of pasta, chicken pastina soup, salad, veal, and breaded chicken which was all excellent. Excellent wine selection and as any good Italian restaurant should....amazing bread! Highly recommended for small to midsize events. At the end, my grandma said it was one of the best birthdays she has ever had! read more

Very old school Italian. This was my first time at Picano's - for years my coworkers and I have been saying we should go here for Troy Restaurant Week, but we inevitably choose Capital Grille, so this year, I put my foot down and said we are going to Picano's. :) Service was very good and also fast, which was great because I only had about an hour for lunch, as I had a meeting I had to attend later in the day. We all ordered off the TRW menu. First course was prosciutto with melon, which was an interesting combination but tasty. For my entree, I got the lemon chicken, which tasted similar to chicken piccata but without the capers; my coworkers got salmon and the pasta with meat sauce, and everybody said that their meals were good. For dessert, I had actually just had a cannoli yesterday, so I tried the spumoni, which was very good - three different flavors of ice cream with bits of things like pistachio, dried fruit (??), etc. in it. I've had spumoni before but not for a while, I think. The restaurant itself was nice too - I'd say it's not really as fancy as Loccino's (down the street on Crooks) but our round booth was comfortable, and I liked the overall feel of the restaurant. I would come back here for lunch; it looks like most entrees are $9-12, on their regular menu, which is reasonable. read more

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I hadn't been to Picanos in quite a few years. Recently had the good fortune of meeting up with some wonderful friends for a Friday evening dinner. The atmosphere was wonderful as was our service from the moment we arrived until we left. I wish I could give this place a 4.5 because everything was really good, the wine, salad, the side pasta, and our entrees. My only thought is that the Pickerel Siciliano could have used a bit more seasoning. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty and a generous portion. We will definitely return again! read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Dining room - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

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The Thanksgiving dinner was one of the worse meals I ever had. The stuffing was chunks of stale bread not moistened with anything. They were out of sweet potatoes and the turkey was dry and small. The meal was $32 of pure yuck. We never got refills on our drinks and when I tipped $15 on a 80 dollar bill, the waitress Julie came back and demanded her three extra dollars twice. I did not think she was worth 18, I did not think she was worth $10. I ended up giving her $20 after she embarrassed me in front of my dinner guests. I will not return. I will call the manager soon and tell him or her of my experience. But what a way to ruin Thanksgiving, go to Picano and get bad food and a rude waitress. We should have just ordered Italian food not turkey. Sigh read more

This restaurant used to be one of the best Italian places around. Over the years, it's kind of become a little less so. We went to a different Italian place for our anniversary the other evening and it was so packed, you couldn't find an open parking space. We mutually decided to go to Picano's since it had been quite a while since we'd eaten there. Parking lot was pretty empty at 5:00. Staff was extremely friendly/pleasant! Very refreshing. We ordered an appetizer - really wanted roasted red peppers - and the server assumed their other roasted ones which looked like giant banana peppers. I thought it was strange when she asked us if we wanted potatoes, but just assumed it was something different they did now. Whatever this was, she included sausage without asking (was good though). When she brought it to the table, I didn't question (my fault) because I just assumed again that it was their version. Let me tell you these were the NASTIEST tasting peppers not to mention they were like eating fire. I managed to choke down two and couldn't eat any more of it. Next, she brought my minestrone soup and my husband's side salad. Again, the soup was extremely disappointing. Barely tomato based, a lot of celery, and what I think may have been cabbage. I had to choke it down - Olive Garden's is way better and more flavorful. Our entrees were good and, of course, the rolls. I checked the menu when I got home and they did have the roasted red peppers with the cheese as an appetizer. I'm not sure why the server didn't ask for clarification as to which one we wanted. The sausage was an additional $3.00 up charge for just four or five little pieces. The roasted red peppers would have been less costly and tasted WAY better. The entrees were expensive, but what isn't any longer. Overall, a bit disappointing meal to celebrate our special occasion with a high cost. read more

This is not exceptional but the food was good not bad so I say average. My recollection of the quality was that it used to be much better. The staff were very attentive and good. The menu provides the typical Italian options. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Dinner - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan

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Had to post an update. Got Picanos carry out for Xmas Eve. Gnocchi with marinara sauce, meatballs, wine, salad and bread. Their sauce is seriously the best. I could lick it off my plate. Both the marinara and meat sauce are so authentic and tasty. The gnocchi are amazing. Meatballs are amazing. And setting up carry out was easy and convenient. Easily my favorite Italian restaurant read more

Food is mediocre. Service is mediocre. All 3 of us in our party ordered the same entrees and we all had to send them back because it was watery and bland. At the end of the meal, we split the bill and the server double charged us for everything and took her an additional 20 min to sort it all out. The decor inside is depressing, looks like an old big boys almost. The plus is that the bathrooms are clean and so is the rest of the front of house. It was 10 minutes before they were closing when we were finishing our entrees and they started to shut the lights off on us. For that reason I am moving them from a 2 star I originally was going to leave them, down to rock bottom 1 star. read more

Picano's Italian Grille - Lemon chicken, bland, had to smother it with cheese - Italian Near Me - Troy, Michigan