Piccola Bussola is a family-style Italian Restaurant located in both Huntington and Mineola. The restaurant is classic Italian with a minimalist interior, where dishes are served in “Small” or “Family” sized portions. The menu is exactly what you’d expect at an Italian restaurant, featuring various antipasto dishes, pasta dishes, and everything in between.

The restaurant is comfortable and is usually fairly busy around dinner time. People seem to really like the place, and it’s a good neutral spot to hang out with family or friends. The staff is fairly friendly and attentive. I am a fan of Italian cuisine (who isn’t?), but I’m not crazy about the Italian minimalist atmosphere. I lean more towards having greater depth and character to a restaurant, and unfortunately I didn’t feel the character at Piccola Bussola. Nonetheless, it did have a friendly atmosphere.

I’m quite a critic when it comes to Italian food, purely because New York has the best. Their Caesar salad and their hot antipasto were pleasant, but not remarkable. I’ve had better hot antipasto elsewhere. Their shrimps felt a bit overcooked, and so I wasn’t too crazy about the appetizers. They weren’t bad by any means, but simply the appetizers were not extraordinary.

My main dish, which I shared in a family-size platter, was a lobster ravioli dish with shrimp and asparagus. The dish sounds wonderful, and it looks quite good. The visual appeal was decently there. However, the sauce lacked the depth in flavor I yearn for. The shrimps, again, were overcooked. Perhaps, this is all my perception, and my perception may be completely wrong. But I felt as though such a beautiful dish could have been remarkably better.

However, their Veal Milanese was very impressive. It looked beautiful, and my dad is a big fan of it. I would say the Veal Milanese is the best dish from my personal experience at the restaurant. It is a noteworthy and acceptably good dish.

Their desserts, however, were very good. Their tiramisu was excellent (thank goodness). I would honestly say the tiramisu was my favorite food that I personally ate at the restaurant. They also had a pistachio tartufo, which was very good. Their desserts were classic and straightforwardly tasty and enjoyable.

However, with all that said and done, I have to say that I definitely think better Italian restaurants exist on Long Island. Maybe, I just ordered the wrong thing, or it was a bad day. But, I do truly believe there are some better options out there. Piccola Bussola is a good place to meet up with some friends for a nice get-together or to have a pleasant family dinner with good conversation. I wouldn’t see myself gravitating towards the restaurant like crazy, but I do see some appeal. Perhaps, if I tried their other pasta dishes, I would have a different impression. I glanced at a nearby table, where a woman was eating a very tasteful capellini pasta dish with white sauce. Next time! Heh.