Let me start by saying this should be a 1 star review but because we had a great dining experience here about a year ago AND my wife's easy-to-please parents finished their meals so I gave them 2 stars. Otherwise, our entire experience on 8/4/23 was a sloppy joke. As a seasoned veteran in the fine dining industry, I've worked and dined around the world. Im not a "foodie" or a commonplace yelper. My job is and has been facilitating memorable experiences and generating return business for restaurants... notably in Greece and Croatia. First, my wife called to make the reservation a few weeks back specifically stating it was her parents 35th anniversary and wanted to make it a special occasion. She also called 2 days prior to both confirm the reservation and emphasize the importance of the occasion. We arrived at our reservation time and were sat promptly...which might have been the only highlight of our evening at Piccola Cucina. Anyway, we were lead to our table which was among the way too jam packed dining area (I understand the idea behind more tables equates to more money BUT I've never had to shift my chair every time somebody wanted to take a sip of water or pass the olive oil!). Our server came by shortly after we were sat to take a drink order and inform us of the nightly specials. Unfortunately, with a huge language barrier we only understood "burrata" which we ordered while I browsed the wine list. Once our server returned,I placed and order for a modestly priced ($48) Barbera to start our meal which somehow translated to we were cheapskates who weren't here to spend money and the service went downhill quickly. VERY unprofessional. Not that it matters BUT this bottle of wine was going to be the first of three I had picked. We never got around to the other two after the palpable change in quality of service. Also, just a pointer, as a restaurant with only a beer/wine license, ALL OF YOUR SERVERS SHOULD KNOW HOW TO PRESENT AND OPEN WINE! I'm not looking for white gloves and a spirited story of how the wine came to be but spilling wine on every pour and leaning the bottle on the wine glass are unacceptable in a restaurant of a supposed caliber. Second, the food. As I said before, we didn't really understand anything coming out of our servers mouth because of the language barrier so we didn't really hear the specials. It wasn't a problem for my mother-in-law, wife, or myself as we had found something on the menu already but my father-in-law attempted to order the grilled salmon which they were out of. Not a big deal... restaurants run out of things. However, he ended up getting the ribeye with French fries..... you know, the thing you can get ANYWHERE in Montana as well as most of the US. Anyway, as we waited for our entrees we received our burrata which was supposed to come with bread. It did not. It didn't matter much as it was unseasoned and only a small portion after we divided it into four. As we ate we overheard a different server telling the specials to another table which included sea bass... a dish my father-in-law would have happily ordered had he known about it. Disappointing. Moving on.... We received our entrees in a timely manner. My mother-in-law said her tortellini was just fine. My wife made a small dent in her gnocchi. I barely touched the sorry excuse of spaghetti with ragu the server had recommended (had I had the opportunity to tell our server I wasn't pleased I would have as it could have been fixed but nobody checked in on us after the food had arrived). My father-in-law said his steak was fine and THANKFULLY shared his french fries with me -the best thing that came from the kitchen. Side note ** when asked what they had to dip the fries in they replied ketchup, mayo, or marinara... a saucer of ketchup and mayo packets came to the table. Disgraceful. My food rating is a D+ (the + only because of the fries!) Third, as fore mentioned, my wife really wanted this to be a special evening for her parents as it was their 35th wedding anniversary and they were visiting Montana for the first time. The icing on the cake and most irksome part of the evening was when the music got really loud when Dean Martin's "That's Amore" came on. A candle clad dessert came from the kitchen and.... Landed on the table of a couple sitting at the table next to us. They were utterly confused and noticeably embarrassed. Why? They weren't celebrating anything. The dessert was meant for our table. Sloppy. Lastly, it's very unfortunate to see a restaurant that we deemed the best we'd found in Montana thus far fall so flat. We will not return. In fact, we all joked about how we've had better Olive Garden experiences than what Piccola Cucina gave us on our hour and a half ride home. If anything, we'll all have a good laugh about this horrific meal at a later date. read more

Are you kidding me with this place! So so so amazing. We ordered the Caesar salad to start , and my husband (who does not like Caesar salads) loved it! Best Caesar salad I've ever had. The pastas we both ordered were so fresh and delicious! Got the creme brûlée for dessert and also delicious! read more

Piccola Cucina - Caesar Salad - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

Excellent food and service. A hidden gem in Red Lodge. It felt like we were back in Italy. Super clean as well! read more

Piccola Cucina - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

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Wonderful food and service. We drive 45 minutes one-way just to eat here. Relaxed, friendly atmosphere. read more

Fantastic food, great atmosphere and service. This place would be 5 stars in any major city in the world. Had pasta with clams, simple dish fantastically prepared, al dents perfection, great sauce and clean soft clams. read more

Every time we have went there for dinner the food and experience were delightful! The staff is wonderful. They are packed most nights so do t expect to have a quick dinner although they are efficient and I've never waited a great deal of time between courses. The zucchini is just fabulous - very thin and crisply coated. It is a family favorite. The aroncini is good, Caesar salad is delicious and plenty for 2+ people if you order dinner entrees. We've tried every pasta dish and the steak - all wonderful. Dessert is always panacotta for me because theirs is the best I've ever had - family likes the chocolate dessert with ice cream. The atmosphere is the best part of dinner though as they break into delightful Music and dancing if desired. Very fun read more

Our best meal in Red Lodge and we've had a few! We LOVED the pasta, the wine, the music, the staff and decor. What a wonderful treat! So much fun and so delicious. read more

Piccola Cucina - Ravioli - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

Food is always tasty but the restaurant runs warm to the point of a tad uncomfortable. Festive atmosphere! Would like to see a wider selection on the wine list... Service is polite and prompt. read more

Loved this place! Food was delicious, service was outstanding. The decor was clean, fresh and inviting. They have a great wine selection and a diverse Italian menu. Salads, panini, pasta etc. They serve warm bread with a sun dried tomato, olive oil and caper spread that is delicious. We had the meatballs and friend calamari and zucchini appetizer. I had the orrchette pasta with buratta and shrimp it was delicious. We had tiramisu and cannoli for dessert. Everything was fantastic! We will definitely be coming back for more! read more

Piccola Cucina - Calamari and Zucchini - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

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Let me start off by saying, the food was tasty. We ordered the daily appetizer special- it was a lobster appetizer. It had lobster, mozzarella, micro greens, and tomatoes with a burrata sauce. My husband ordered the ravioli with the buffalo ragu sauce. It was great. I ordered a tomato based pasta that was supposed to have scampi langoustine in it. Although, the order was substituted for shrimp, the meal was tasty. Now for the service. Our server, I can't say he ever introduced himself, but he was the longer haired, Hispanic man. He Sat us at the only table right by the front door and promptly got us drinks. He then took our order. We received our food, except mine wasn't correct. I confronted him about the substitution for shrimp rather than the langoustine (which is like baby lobster). He told me I wasn't correct and that I ordered the Shrimp pasta. I showed him that the menu states that it was supposed to have langoustine. He proceeded to tell me that they were little and mixed in the dish, which wasn't accurate. From then on, he ignored our table. He didn't check on us. He didn't offer to correct the order. We had to get his attention to get our check. I'm sure not all of the wait staff is as rough as this guy, so it's worth a shot to visit. I do know that if a business advertises one thing on a menu and doesn't do anything to rectify it, that's poor practice. I hope that the owner and/or manager will see to it that the situation isn't just glanced over. read more

Amazing wait staff and the food was spectacular! Wish it was in California. Would definitely recommend read more

Wonderful food, great service, pleasant-atmosphere. Enjoy an exceptional dining experience in Red Lodge...or the whole of Montana! read more

We only heard good things and wanted to finally try. Was very disappointed in our food. 3 of us had different pastas. All were bad. Mine was blah, looked like Hamburger Helper right out of the box. No taste. Service and atmosphere were great. Red lodge needs a good place. This isn't it. Our Octopus appetizer was good. Wine was good. Food was not bad price. Just no flavor. read more

Hmm...where to begin? We had to ask to be served. We sat at our table for a long time and no one came to take our drink orders. What are we? Lepers? None of the wine on the list was available. One person in my party was served a warm beer. The food was nothing special. Someone had a birthday and you would have thought we were in a nut house. Our server was arguing with another employee in front of all the customers. What a mess. For those of you thinking that this is authentic fine Italian dining...I have to ask...are you high?? read more

Food was delicious! Service was great! The chef made a balloon hand with a glove for my son. They play a lot of really fun music.

First time here, table of four, seated quickly at the table of our choice. Gnocchi & pastas seemed home made and cooked al dente. Panino parmesania was excellent! We will be back. read more

Turned away because of no reservation, which is totally fine. But it's very disappointing when the party behind us is given a table for asking "can you fit us in". read more

This place is by far the best Italian restaurant I've ever been to. We travel often and rarely in a small town like Red Lodge do you find an authentic gem like Ox Pasture. That's not to say small towns don't have great food but authentic Italian food.....never...until now! If you visit Red Lodge call ahead and book your reservation for dinner. You won't be disappointed! read more

Piccola Cucina - Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

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We had quite a nice lunch there a few weeks ago. Nice servers; nice food. (I didn't love my food, but I think I'm just not a white ragu person. Not everyone loves everything, even if it's done well, right?!) It was our friend's birthday. His dessert came with a candle and some extremely loud birthday music. read more

Piccola Cucina - Preparing cacio e pepe in the parmesan wheel - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

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Authentic Italian food and friendly service. Feels like being in Italy. The fact that reservations are hard to get speaks to the wonderful food and experience you'll have. Could only get in around 2pm on last minute notice. But was glad we could. Highly recommended. read more

Don't bring your family here if you have a child under the age 15. A very rude employee came and yelled at us to leave the unmarked table because he had other people with reservations coming. Mind you, there were other open tables and the couple that walked in ahead of us did the same thing, walked in and sat down at an open table. No posted signs saying wait to be seated or check in at the hostess stand. read more

I so wanted this place to be awesome but it wasn't. The food was good but it was all ruined by a waiter who treated our party of four like a poor step child. Very disappointing experience. read more

Food was great but service was very annoying. One girl was carrying the whole operation but our server came by once. Not worth the frustration! read more

This is my first time here, the food is amazing, I would highly recommend this establishment if you can get in. Service is above normal MT standards, these people know how do it right. read more

The staff was great and friendly. This is definitely the high point of this place. They certainly have forgotten how to season food. Smothering pasta in cheese is not Italian food. read more

OMG I HAVE NEVER SEEN BETTER SERVICE ANYWHERE! The people are so friendly and made me feel at home. Especially this one lady that personally changed my brothers order because he was being picky. I am so pleased that I went here and would not hesitate to come back!! I will never forget this amazing experience I also forgot to mention that the food is such good quality! It is so flavorful and you really get a taste of France. read more

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Excellent food, great service, and lively atmosphere. Can't recommend Ox Pasture enough! This is a must stop for authentic Italian food in Red Lodge, MT. read more

Not the same. Almost a fast food restaurant. Preferential treatment to guests. Portions on the small side. Better meal choices in Red Lodge.

We have tried this restaurant three times. All times the food was good to great. This restaurant offers Sicilian Italian; so you have to have a taste for what they offer. The atmosphere is loud and fun, certainly not a romantic Italian joint. What makes this a two star rating is the service and hence why I waited to review until after three visits. Two out of the three times our service was incredibly sub-par. These are waiters who transfer back and forth between New York, so these are career waiters, the service should be far above what one would expect from a local restaurant with teen aged or young inexperienced waiters. We have been completely ignored after the initial order, no check back, no "can I get you anything else?" This last time I made eye contact twice and still our waiter was playing at being too busy to stop and ask if we needed anything. No way this place is a five star restaurant anywhere. It's a shame as they do have plenty to offer but without service this place is a pass. read more

Great dining option while visiting Red Lodge, MT!! Place has a super neat atmosphere and the food is amazing! We stopped for lunch and had the smoked salmon panini and the caprese (?) salad and both were delicious! Oh, the crusty artisan bread served before the meal is off the hook!! read more

Wow what a find. A great treat. We had a reservation and were seated right away.Our server was very attentive throughout the entire meal. As for the food... everything was fantastic. The warm bread and dipping sauce were delicious and the bread was so fresh. We then decided to split a caesar salad and the special yellowtail ceviche. Both were great and fresh. I followed that up with the appetizer crabmeat tacos for my meal and my husband had the tortellini. Both were delicious. We finished off the meal with an amazing cannoli which should not be missed. I have been all over the world and have eaten in some of the finest restaurants and Piccola Cucina was right up there with the best of them. And what a treat to find it in Red Lodge. I would love to get the story on how the owner found Red Lodge but I am sure glad he did!! read more

Sick for entire day after dinner. Waiter was rude, gave us the wrong entree, forgot to bring wine (had to ask twice). Noisy, chaotic atmosphere, felt like cheap European tourist trap. Living here full time and dined at most restaurants in town this was the worst time ever. There are MUCH better options, especially if you want the real Montana experience, not some bad pasta from a part time New Yorker. read more

The experience my wife and I had at dinner here was by any standard Exceptional. After several days of western fare featuring generally good beef and potatoes mostly, we found the small plates ( starters and sharing items ) interesting , fresh , flavorful , and delightfully healthful. We ordered them all and shared. Unfortunately, we were so satisfied, even without any wine ( no license yet ) that we had no room for the yummy sounding desserts. We would return regularly if we lived here as the menu will change with local sources and availability. The atmosphere is clean , fresh , and perfect when pared with attentive , friendly service. Thanks, Jessica. read more

Piccola Cucina - Neat and tasteful - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana

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For dinner we went into the town of Red Lodge to just walk around and find what we might find. The menu at piccola cucina at Ox Pasture won the day and so we went in. The restaurant was quiet when we went in but it quickly filled. The menu was very inviting. At first the service was very good. We placed our orders and anxiously awaited our meal. We split a Caesar Salad; it was definitely large enough for two people. It appeared to be a romaine head, cut in half with lots of creamy dressing with slices of cheese on top and croutons. This did make it a trifle difficult to eat as it was a very labor intensive salad - lots of cutting. In all truth it had way too much cheese. And this from someone who adores cheese. The dressing was decent but the salad on a whole lacked salt. I chose the special for the night, orrichiette with calamari in a light tomato sauce. The hubby had penne in the same sauce. All of the pastas are house made. All meals come served in little fry pans which was cute. My pasta was just a minute or two short of being done but it was still good. The sauce was delicious - rich, buttery and full of tomato flavor. The calamari cooked perfectly. I didn't understand the pistachios sprinkled on top for they didn't to anything to enhance the dish. The hubby's penne were cooked perfectly. Then the service which had been OK to that point completely fell apart. We sat and we sat and we sat. Our waiter visited his tables on either side of us but ignored us. We finally asked for our check and....nothing. Again we asked and it arrived but minus my entree. It was pointed out and then we had a correct check and we paid and left. read more

i went there for dinner tonight and it was horrible. Some of the items listed on the online menu were not actually available at the restaurant, but the restaurant does not make clear items you cannot order. During dinner, it was impossible to have a conversation because the staff of the restaurant kept blaring music from speakers. We asked the staff to turn down the music. they did for one song and then just blasted it again and again. Ruined our evening. There are lots of good places to eat in red lodge- spend your hard earned dollars somewhere else. read more

Review to follow. I need some time to explain every detail of what is wrong with this owner

We discovered this place while stopping in Red Lodge and staying across the street. Just be prepared to either wait a long time or make a reservation. But this means how amazing it is! They are full of life here and extremely friendly, dancing in the restaurant (I'm not sure if this is because they only had an hour left til close) but we got up and danced with them. Food was to die for! They put a lot of detail in their menu! The restaurant looks out of place because it looks so cool and fancy. read more

Just an incredible experience. Food was unreal. Calamari came out on a huge platter with thinly shaved and fried zucchini. Gnocchi and Ravioli were fantastic. Service was incredible, with singing and dancing throughout the service. Everyone stood and danced during a birthday announcement, felt like we were in a movie. Can't give this place enough praise. read more

I had to drive past this place a couple of times before I found it, but it was very much worth the search. Food and service are stellar, best I have had in Montana. I was treated to a celebration of my birthday there last year and was treated like royalty. I dined at many excellent Italian restaurants in San Francisco while living there. Picola Cucina is at least as good as any of these, minus the horrible parking and the snobbery of the waitstaff. read more

If you're staying in red lodge and want a heafty, well seasoned, decadent pasta dish this is the place to be. The bread basket comes with a lovely light red sauce, kind of a tomato chutney thing. I got the special which was large rigatoni noodles in a tomato sauce that comes with lobster and shrimp (I didn't get shrimp) but the lobster was amazing! Very soft and perfectly cooked, with lots of lobster meat along with the head. Their tomato soup is also delicious and well presented in a large bowl with i think croutons and cheese (not sure what kind). Added a picture of the lobster pasta dish). read more

Piccola Cucina - Lobster and shrimp pasta special (minus the shrimp) sorry it's blurry. - Italian Near Me - Red Lodge, Montana