Il Fornaio

When I came in, I thought that the guy working the bar was going to be difficult. And that was not true. He was friendly, attentive, smiled a big smile. The big bowlesof bean soup was delicious. I had tea and cookies. It was a perfect light lunch. I will be back.

Looking for Italian food? The Corte Madera location is nice. The food and service is good, not great, but consistently good. They are a bit over priced for the food/​experience.
The place is beautiful inside. The atmosphere is Great. A very comfortable feeling when you visit.
Give it a try, overall I like this location.

We’ve all reminisced on someone we dated long ago and thought, «what was I thinking? How could I have been happy?» Our standards change over time (hopefully for the better). That’s how I feel about Il Fornaio; either my standards have changed or this place has gone downhill.
We visited on a very rainy night after seeing a movie a week before Christmas. The atmosphere was very warm and cozy. I hadn’t been here in about 15 years, and was looking forward to what I remembered. But I was surprised; it wasn’t a horrible meal, but we all walked away a little disappointed. Service was so-​so; the waiter forgot my espresso at the end of the meal (everyone else got their desserts), we had to wait about 10 minutes for the wine after we received our food. .. little things like that. To his credit he was very friendly and seemed to be trying.
The food was fine. Not spectacular, but fine. Starters were good (bruschetta, fried calamari, and carpaccio). My son’s baked pasta was a little dry and overdone, but my shellfish was nice.
Overall a little disappointing, unfortunately. Maybe they just had an off night.

tortino di quinoa, couscous e vegetali 16.50
Quinoa, couscous and avocado torte topped with arugula and burrata; served with grilled artichoke, bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, olives and focaccia croutons Cal/​1070
This dish has an over abundance of burrata (a fresh Italian cheese made of mozzarella and cream) thus the high calories — I would suggest sharing this dish with two people or asking the wait staff for half the amount.

I’ve been to Il Fornaio many times and the only reason I return is great wait service by Humberto. Otherwise, the food is mediocre and the service from rest of staff is horrible. Highly do not recommend.

Savory and authentic — — generous portions. That’s just what our family looks for when we dine out. One of the managers is quite exceptional (Chris Allard), as he made it a point to explain our wine pairing with knowledge and simple English. Chris, thank you, because it was informative and made for an awesome dinner choice. Happy Holidays!

Consistent place to eat at, and great for groups. I’ve eaten here a number of times, whether it be for a large family brunch or a friend’s birthday dinner. Service has always been good, attentive waiters and staff. If you’re looking for a louder venue, request one of the first two «rooms,» if you’re looking for something a little more quiet ask for the back. There is also a conservatory area that is heated in the winter.

I order Shirley temple and omelette. I was eating it and there was egg shell in there three three big size.
Show it to the Waiter and he said O and took the food away! No Response! Then he ask do you wanted more Shirley temple! I said okay. So he change us for two cups! But ice tea is free for refill!
This is not how you do Business! Wow

This is a beautifully appointed restaurant with a very limited food menu — huge wine list however. We were there about 4:30 on a Saturday and were the only people in the patio area. The 4 o’clock shift had not arrived yet and our waiter was anxious to end his shift. So the service was lackluster (read slow). The food was above average for an above average price for what you get. We have been here once before and had a much better experience than we did this time. Would we go again — perhaps, but only because of the atmosphere.

First time here about a week ago. Service a 5. We sat at bar and Moe was superb! Taste a 5, but portions a 2! The menu gives you an option of a full or half order. My friend got a full and I got a half – couldn’t really tell difference. For the price, the portions should be bigger!
Thank you Moe for a great time!

Pretty awesome! You must try the delicious and truly savory grilled salmon. It’s heavenly. The service, of course, always great — - of which we solely contribute to Chris the manager. Thanks for making Il Fornaio a special place for my family and friends. [For dessert try the Zabbaioni (spelling?) … yum-​yum-​yum-​yum.]

First time at IL Fornaio’s happy hour. They have a number of drinks, pizzas, and appetizers for $ 6. This is a great deal, as this is more than ½ off the regular price. My gal pal and I split the bruschetta, carpaccio, and pizza margharita. All super! We both got really good mojitos to wash it all down. Have to give kudos to the waitress, as the bar was hopping FULL, and she never lost her còol. Give the gal some help already!

I’ve been here a few times; the ambiance and noise level are good. Having it in the mall with the big parking lot is helpful. I’ve always enjoyed the food here too but the service can be painfully slow. Twice the wait staff couldn’t figure out who had our table, no one took initiative to serve us and it resulted in a very long wait for food and drinks when the place was mainly empty.

We dined here on a Sunday afternoon.
Food was very good but service was poor to fair.
The quickest item to appear on our table was the check which was placed on the table before I was done eating. I expect this at a busy diner but not at II Fornaio. I was surprised the waitress didn’t greet us with «Hi Guys».
I also noticed a Calif. ABC Notice regarding the liquor license on the door so maybe II Fornaio is changing ownership… If they are, they also ought to change the waitress we had…

a Mosquito flew all up in our pasta and melted (died) in a bed of noodles and tomato sauce.
The waiter was as surprised as we were about the little guy. They brought out a fresh one pretty quickly though. Plus, the second tasted even better than the first! We got the linguine mare chiaro: the pasta was cooked perfectly just past al dente, it was flavorful and had decent helpings of shrimp, mussels and clams. Very few squid or scallops though.
The pizza cristina was what brought us back to il fornaio. Def the highlight of the meal. Prosciutto, Arugula, Mushrooms, shaved parm, mozzarella and truffle oil. OoHhHh baby it tastes as good as it sounds.
More tidbits: our waiter Armando was great. Charming, quick and attentive but not overbearing. The moscow mule was very gingery + good. Ambiance: our table faced the sun setting behind mount tam. gorgeous touch on top of a great meal!

Just excellent! So happy we choose to come here tonight! I had Petrele & my partner had Sea Bass both were delicious! Service was outstanding The manager was engaging & picked up our desserts!

How does this place stay open?!?
We came for Sunday brunch and after getting a whole spiel from the waitress mentioning she likes to keep her customers happy by refiling coffee, etc that was the last point I had any hope that this would be a good dining experience.
I ordered the crab benedict after being told they made them, what I ended up getting was a pre-​made mess. The poached eggs on top were about the only thing made-​to-​order, the potatoes were precooked and luke warm, the crab cakes were mushy, the bed of spinach they sat on were ICE COLD and the muffin was soggy, all topped with some uninspired hollandaise. I took one bite and couldn’t eat for the rest of the day so for you dieters out there, this meal would be a GREAT way to start the day.
Well, we never saw those coffee refills (our waitress was hardly around) and while I wasn’t charged for my horrible crab cake benedict, we should’ve been comped for something, maybe a coffee?
Do yourself a favor and go ANYWHERE else, the Cheesecake Factory across the road is fine dining compared to this place.

Went here on a Wednesday night, unfortunately the bar crowd was a little rowdy because of the game. Thankfully, it didn’t bother our dinner too much. I had the Sicilian Sunrise which was delicious, and chicken risotto which was alright. If they had a truffle risotto I would be all over that, but unfortunately this one had a tomato based sauce. Love that we got bread before the meal and our waiter, Humberto, was absolutely the best!

I really enjoyed brunch last time I was here. and we decided to give dinner a whirl. 4 of us double dated on a Friday evening for dinner.
The restaurant was fairly busy but we had a reservation and were sat in good time. The thing that threw us off a bit was the service, very brusque maybe timid… that was not really a big deal but our food took a while to come out and I was asked what I ordered again after waiting about 30 min for the entrees.
again no biggie, we were enjoying the company and conversation. and trying to enjoy our drinks but they were rather miniscule. the cocktail glasses reminded me of gambling in the casinos where they hand you the free drinks to loosen your purse strings. in the teeny tiny glasses. while we enjoyed our small drinks rather quickly. our food took an eternity and it looked as if the kitchen might have been in the weeds which is quite understandable on a Friday night… ehh no biggie. let me order another mini cocktail.
Once the food arrived, everything was in order again and the food was decent. I ordered the special Stuffed Canneloni with duck meat which was a bit on the bland side, I did not get any duck flavor and served with a rather bland cream sauce.
However, the mixed seafood grill looked and tasted quite good, albeit overdone, grilled salmon, whitefish, prawns and calamari were served on a large platter with veg.
The go to’s seem to be the grilled dishes and the classic Italian pasta dishes. The bruschetta was quite good and the calamari was standard, but fried perfectly.
The tiramisu was also done well, as was the espresso. Overall it was a A-​Ok experience and I will be back for brunch!

This place is solid. It has a good menu. Good food. Good service. The location is convenient with lots of parking. The location is also a negative because it is in a shopping area and doesn’t give the ambience or atmosphere that you might expect at a restaurant of the caliber it’s trying to be.