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Soups, salads, antipasti, fish, pizza, pasta, meat and chicken dishes, most in classic southern Italian red-sauce style

ATMOSPHERE

This is a step up from the checkered-tablecloth variety in terms of cuisine, but it is homey and friendly, in the middle of a string of shops in downtown Boca Raton.

OUR FAVORITE FOOD/PRICE

In the appetizer category, Piccolino does a nice peppery take on the homey favorite minestrone ($6.95) and they make a fine eggplant parmesan ($12.95). When we asked Roberto, he recommended the two fish dishes we ultimately chose, the sole Francese ($21.95) and snapper ala Livornese ($21.95). Both were delightful. The Francese was lemony but not puckery, and the Livornese was hearty, garlicky and sprinkled with capers and black olives. The chicken paillard ($15.95) was wafer-thin medallions of chicken topped with salad.

REASON TO GO

Roberto seems to know most of his clients and after just one visit, we felt like we knew him too.

SERVICE

Roberto came out of the kitchen in his crisp white double-breasted chef tunic and recommended two fish dishes, both of which were delightful and he kept checking on us, taking particular note of how we seemed to like our food.

NOISE LEVEL

Quiet, with no hint of the traffic zipping by behind us on Federal Highway.

KID FRIENDLY

With pasta and pizza on the menu, only the most persnickety kid would turn his nose up on the fare here.