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15th May 2017
04:37pm BST
The chances of you finding Piccolo cafe in Skerries by chance are incredibly slim.
It’s about 30km out of the city centre and not even on the main street in Skerries. Add in the fact that it only sits about 20 people and it doesn’t open for dinner and it is understandable how it probably has never come across your radar.
The fact that you have probably never eaten there is a massive shame, because it is the very definitive example of a hidden gem.
I spotted Piccolo on Instagram.
They'd tagged a photo using #lovindublin of a chef making hand made tortelloni and I instantly knew I was going to love the place from that picture alone.
The menu is tiny and you'd be a fool to look beyond the two pasta specials that change daily. We started with a Caprese salad with featured some of the creamiest and most delicious mozzarella I have ever tasted in my life. A wonderful prelude to the pasta mains.
Tortelloni are incredibly hard to make fresh and by hand to the point where most chefs wouldn't even try. I was glad to see that they were on the as one of the two specials. Served stuffed with porcini mushrooms, crispy pancetta and a creamy sauce this was about as good a winter pasta dish as I've ever tasted. Wholesome, rich and delicious.
The second pasta dish featured farfalle with smoked mackerel and a rich tomato sauce. I'd never seen this combination in a pasta dish before but it worked an absolute treat.
We were absolutely stuffed with no room for dessert but they did look delicious clearly all hand made by the talented chef who also makes the pasta. A quick look around the room revealed plenty of happy faces munching away on cakes.
Piccolo is an absolute gem. So few places make their own pasta and even fewer do so at this standard. If it was in Dublin city centre this place would be booked out for months in advance.
The fact that it is in Skerries, only open for lunch and so small makes it even more special though. Time to pack up the car and have a day out on Skerries beach rounded off by an amazing pasta dish. You won't have many better days.
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