Il Fornaio

Came here for happy hour. Do not order Maker’s Tea. It ranks #1 or #2 on my list of worst drinks I’ve ever had. The Rye Smash was so-​so. They do make their drinks strong. The calamari was the restaurant’s saving grace. It was not heavily breaded and would’ve gotten 4 stars.

This place is terrible I have eaten at their restaurant in Rome as well and it is much better but the ones in America are just not good. flavor of their dishes are bland and always too oily and way expensive for what you get. So if you want to feel like you have some money and want to go to a place where you will waste it– go here.

Please train your staff NOT TO TOUCH A CUSTOMER’S BREAD WITH THEIR BARE HANDS! I was so appalled that the staff did this right in front of my family. We had one slice of bread left, the guy brought more (which we also watched him put on the plate with this hands), then picked up the last slice from the plate and put it on the new plate of bread.
Disgusting. I don’t know where this guy’s hands have been and I don’t want it on my food. I have been to other restaurants where utensils are used, or the new plate is left next to the old one, and even a cloth napkin is used. Or ASK if the customer wants to take the last slice. DON’T EVER TOUCH THEIR FOOD!
I will never be back.

Like many other reviewers have said, everything was on the bland side. I had a Cesar salad, veal dinner, and desert. It was expensive and totally forgettable. A wast of money, in my opinion.

Met some clients at their office nearby & walked to the restaurant. Many hidden gems in this area of Pasadena. We arrived at 11:20 am and were seated and brought drinks even though they didn’t ‘open’ until 11:30. The service was impeccable and the food was great. My clients had the special which included salmon, scallops & white fish, while I had the grilled salmon with mashed potatoes and vegetables (carrots & broccolini). Fresh bread served with olive oil, Parmesan & pepper was brought to the table as well. Would recommend for bringing clients or adult friends, not kids.

I’ve been to many Il Fornaio locations but this one is the best. It’s spaciois, there’s great service, and the management just seems on top of it. Because It’s a popular spot, every time we go they’re slammed. But without fail we are always seated promptly, and treated really well. The last couple times we’ve been there we’ve sat at the bar, and the same manager (I think his name was Jim but can’t remember for sure) asked us if everything was satisfactory. I don’t know if he’s a part owner or what, but it just felt like old school Italian hospitality. We really appreciated that.
As for the food, I find it to be consistently good across all of the locations.

Good pizza, great outdoor space to seat at and amazing service. Every time I’ve been there I was helped quickly, and checked on throughout my meal even though it got really busy at time.
Portions are large and great drinks too! Definitively worth checking if you’re in the area

I went there tonight with a date…
The place is very spacious and the décor resembles a fine dining restaurant.
My waiter was Rosario who promptly greeted us and brought our drinks immediately.
We ordered calamaretti to share (amazing!), my date ordered the grilled salmon while I opted for the sole.
I am Italian (born and raised there) and I know what to expect from a nice Italian establishment…
Well in Pasadena they went beyond my expectation, it felt being served by the «highest end» restaurant.
I want to thank personally Rosario (our waiter)
Brandon (our busser)
and Rocky (The runner… People do not realize that the runner is one of the guy who really works hard… He is entitled to bring the dishes to everyone of the guest at the restaurant, so next time if you go to dine out, pay more attention and respect the hard work of the runner!!!).

We came in for dinner recently to celebrate a birthday. The ambiance is very nice and the size of the restaurant was bigger than I expected for the bustling downtown Pasadena vibe.
We opted to go straight to dinner as we were all famished. I ordered the Cannelloni Al Forno while the hubs ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli. The offer fresh complimentary bread and it is served with olive oil and balsamic dip. The bread was crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. Definitely a crowd pleaser.
Moving on the the entrees, the Cannelloni Al Forno was an Italian version of an enchilada with chicken, spinach and cheese. I didn’t taste much of any sun dried tomatoes or basil. While the presentation looked amazing, I was very disappointed in the bland flavor. I would definitely pass on this. The Butternut Squash Ravioli was nice and tasted fresh. My only disappointment was the sauce really failed the sauce to pasta ratio. I thought the plate looked rather dry and didn’t offer much sauce sufficient enough for the pasta serving.
The service was friendly and prompt. I thought they did a wonderful job of handling such a large party very smoothly.
Overall I loved the ambiance and service, but I’m not so sold on the food just yet.

I am typically pretty understanding when places are busy and things tend to go off plan. No problem, I go with the flow.
In this case, we selected this restaurant to celebrate my mother’s 84^th birthday. We chose Sunday and the weather was perfect. We arrived at the restaurant a bit before our reservation time and we were promptly seated. Originally, we had asked for a patio table but the weather was quite hot so we opted to stay indoors. The restaurant was buzzing busy.
No problem.
We were seated on a round table in the middle of the floor surrounded by equally sized tables and very little room to even pull the chair back slightly.
No problem.
We sat, and waited, waited and sat and no one came to our table. After 25 minutes of neglect, my husband waived one of the servers. He mused that no one had yet come by our table and although he was not assigned to us, he took our drink order and brought some bread. He conceded that he had no idea where the waiter was. So off he went to serve other tables and like in time-​lapse photography, people came and went and no server. To make a long story short, it took more than an hour and half for anyone to take our order, 45 more min. to be served, 30 minitues to get «one» dessert. The restaurant had actually called the day before to confirm what kind of special event we were celebrating, nice touch, I thought.
This is the problem… I can deal with busy, I can deal with a full restaurant, I fully understand not enough help, I can even deal with food delays. What I can’t stomach is that not once any of these people were apologetic or even acknowledged the poor service. I would have liked to hear at the very least «sorry folks, thank you for waiting and for your patience, we are busy today and short-​handed but we’ll try to get you served as soon as possible» Nothing, nada, zilch… and no acknowledgement of the birthday we were there to celebrate. Sad.
The food was good, plenty and I will not say otherwise. The check did come back fast though, no delays there. I paid and even tipped the waiter.
This is the worst service in years and no desire to ever go back. Too bad that the arrogance of people at the forefront can damage the reputation of an eatery. Visit Michael Mina in Glendale and get a taste of excellent service bar none.

Horrible wines for being an italian restaurant. Then to top it all off management is rude.
We used to enjoy it when they had a sommelier on staff but he has left to another location. The last time we were there a manager actually told us to stop having to having too much fun, during Happy Hour. Really? Then don’t have a happy hour!

We were seated promptly on a Tuesday night without reservations. That was nice.
A waiter brought us our water and iced tea.
Our server took our order, and it was delivered promptly. It was cooked to our request, and nothing was missing.
Except the taste.
Everything was bland but tasted clean and natural. I had to add alot of salt and pepper to my medium rare steak, spinach, and potatoes.
My fiancé said her seafood medley was great as well as her beet salad.
The bread and olive oil/​vinegar appetizer was OK.
This restaurant is not terrible. But we wont be back. Thank you.

This is a BIG restaurant — and for a chain (started in Italy), it is quite elegant, and often pretty good.
There is a bakery in the back with the best Ciabatta I have ever tasted.
The kitchen is open so you can watch the cooks and chefs preparing your food.
There is a nice bar — an elegant dining room with linen table cloths — and there is also a large enclosed outdoor eating area that is nice if the weather is right.
My favorite dishes here are: the pizza four ways (each quarter has a different topping) — and the bacon wrapped rabbit. Both of these may need to be ordered off-​the-​menu.
Il Fornaio often has specialty months, where the menu changes to honor a different district in Italy.
If you want to order fish, remember to ask when then get their last fresh batch in. Often there are no deliveries on the weekends, so don’t order fish on a Sunday, and avoid the seafood ravioli because the filling is usually made from the older seafood that they cannot sell on its own (this rule applies to nearly all restaurants).
It’s not cheep here — but it is worth the treat.

This restaurant never disappoints me. Everything is usually pretty consistently great.
We recently came here for lunch with some family. Our waitress, Becca, did an amazing job. We had members of our party arrive late, coming and going, etc and she was extremely patient and attentive. She never seemed to get frazzled or frustrated with our table, even though we were a difficult party and were there several hours. She was very kind to my 93 year old grandfather who is can be picky and hard of hearing.
Everyone seemed to like their food. I ordered the special which was a shrimp risotto. It had plenty of shrimp and was great comfort food. I also ate my share of olive bread, which is so good!

Nice place to take someone special who would enjoy the craftsmanship of a skilled bartender with old school cocktails. But I am turned off by the pretentious style offered by The Baker, especially if the meal can’t back it up.
Sauce can be a chef’s best friend. It covers everything, you can make it in advance, and plop on it goes over whatever that was underneath. That’s the feeling I got here. My ravioli was just ok, but it lacked flavor and was covered in a sauce that demoted the ravioli way too far. I was tempted to add salt, but I thought no, I am paying $$$ for this small plate, and I am not going to add salt. For me, worst 3*** in recent memory.

This place is in a very nice area but I don’t think I’m a huge fan. The atmosphere is nice, although it is very loud, especially evening time. The tables are really close to each other which I disliked. I could hear the guy sitting at the table on my right louder then my boyfriend, who was across me.
The food was ok, nothing special. I ordered the spinach ravioli with sausage and wasn’t too pleased. The sauce was good, the raviolis themselves were plain. My boyfriend ordered the pennoni alla vodka, it was a much flavorful fish.
Overall, very busy place with a bit slow customer service and ok food.

I don’t know why this place was practically empty for Sunday brunch as the food and service are great! They even have a make-​your-​own-​Bellini cart. Come on!
My preggars gf and I hit up this spot one Sunday because Café 86 down the way wasn’t open until 11 and we were starving. So we figured go for savory here then hit up C86 for dessert. As I mentioned, I was with a pregnant lady and I can always blame her situation for me loading up on carbs that day.
Anyway, my gal got a huge sandwich loaded with bacon, eggs, and avocado while I got the divine crab cakes Benedict with lobster sauce. That was fantastic! And you think I wouldn’t finish it knowing we’d be heading to get dessert afterwards but I did. Cuz, you know, I was with a pregnant lady and I didn’t want her to eat alone and all that. Yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I come to the café in the back all the time for lunch and honestly, old town is lucky to have Il Fornaio to offer such a great lunch menu considering the lack of non sit down restaurants in the area. Build your own salad or get a great sandwich, or order a pizza among other goodies. They have a full coffee bar as well and offer breakfast sandwiches in the morning now. Each day they have a special on an item too. As great as the food and convenience factor is to this location, the key to this place is their workers. There’s only a couple of them back there but you can really see how hard they work during busy hours. Some items require custom orders whether like taking apart a sandwich just to heat it up properly, and the staff always comes through in an efficient manner. If you’re looking for a quick spot for lunch or even just a cup of coffee, I highly recommend this place.
I haven’t had dinner here but their happy hour is fantastic.

Lunch meeting in a private room.
THE AMBIANCE:
Il Fornaio is a little hidden. It is located on Union Street but you have to walk inside the block a bit. The building is made of bricks and it has an outdoor patio. Il Fornaio is decorated beautifully. The main dining room has many tables, a very nice bar, and the room is separated by metal posts with matching lamps. Il Fornaio has private rooms for meetings or events.
THE FOOD/​DRINK:
The bread they provide with oil and balsamic is good. I enjoyed it. For an appetizer I tried the carpaccio and it was okay — raw, thin meat with slices of cheese, slice of lemon, and a handful of greens. For my entrée I decided to try a special. I ordered the ravioli de pesca stuffed with salmon, white fish, and ahi tuna with a white sage sauce. Unfortunately, it was underwhelming. The sage sauce was nice but the taste of the ravioli filling was nothing special. I would not order it again.
In regards to drinks, I tried the strawberry lemonade and then the blackberry lemonade. I liked the blackberry lemonade more. The blackberry lemonade had a fizz to it. Our waitress told me that the lemonades are all supposed to have a fizz but my strawberry one did not.
THE TIPS:
I had come here once before for a work meeting and I remember having the same feeling regarding the food. At the moment I will give Il Fornaio three (3) stars for their beautiful décor, the yummy bread, the cheese slices on the carpaccio, and the sage sauce. The dishes as a whole however were «meh.» I would like to give Il Fornaio one more shot at an entrée. I am thinking of trying their bolognese. As of right now, I would have to pass if I had to pay out of pocket.

Well let me just start off by saying, first and foremost I was very impressed by the hospitality that I myself and my aunt received from them for lunch.
First impressions are very important, know matter what we do in life. Just the basic greeting. Most of all be sincere. The Hostess did a Great Job. Not knowing who we were upon our visit, to plan my Grandma’s party.
The décor of this location is very appealing and most of all pleasant. You have a relaxing fill with all the colors throughout your Restaurant. Most of all its open to see and view all that’s occurring in your location.
The server was very knowledgeable is explaining the different types of lunch dishes to us, most of all, he was very pleasant, even know he thought my aunt was my date.
What I was most impressed by was the way all the employees worked together as one. Its not the name on each other’s shirt, its the name of who they work for ll Fornaio. Great Job.
2015 Unilocal Challenge.072/100