Amarone

Amarone, now Forno Vechio is terrible. This restaurant has changed names and/​or owners 5 times in the 10 years I’ve lived downtown. The only good incarnation was The Silver Palette — with the beautiful hand blow glass-​art chandeliers and wonderful food. Each owner since has progressively stripped the character out of the décor, and the flavor out of the food. My co-​workers and I went to the newly named «Forno Vechio» for dinner. The Filo Wrapped Salmon was «so-​so», the shrimp scampi was undercooked (one of the gals I work with had a sever allergic reaction to the undercooked shell fish and had to leave before dinner was even finished). I sent mine back. Not only was the shrimp undercooked, the pasta was dry and tasted VERY strongly of white wine. Save yourself the bad experience and go to the Oasis instead.

Closed? Really? I’m shocked. Not really.
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time,
but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Sorry Amarone, you didn’t fool me…

Came to Amarone (now called Forno Vecchio) for its New Years Eve dinner special. First of all, I loved the cozy, homey atmosphere of the restaurant. The tables were apparently all reserved for the night, so people must really love the food here. Our server was also friendly and attentive
Since I came here for NYE, we had a special prix fixe menu, and it seems like the dishes aren’t on the regular menu (I just checked the website). However, I still think it’s worth noting that I enjoyed my entire dining experience here, from the appetizer to dessert.
DEFINITELY order the house wine! It is sooo good and it will go well with all kinds of dishes. :)

A solid 4… especially with the homemade pasta. The carbonara was excellent. The last 2 restaurants where I had this, they served alfredo sauce with some bacon… boo… but whether raw egg or not, this one was done right. Their desert included a nice coffee moose with a home made pastry shell that made me feel like the chef really likes to cook. The polenta was a little mushy and bland. But overall, I had trouble choosing from their short but different menu… kids menu was nice to see as well though I would not call this a family restaurant. The alfresco seating would encourage strollers to sit for a meal

It was a pleasant but awkward dinner (and no, I’m not talking about the company).
We’d read about Amarone on Unilocal and were looking forward to the good homemade pastas we saw on the online menu. Unfortunately, at the restaurant, none of them were vegetarian. In fact, this was one of those places where the vegetarian (me) had to ask what could be done, since there was nothing for me listed on the menu.
Service was gappy, yet overly attentive. We got a «free dessert next time» coupon. It all felt a little desperate.
The food we had was really good. I’d like to see an expanded menu and wine list, and more confident service next time. Please.

It was my husband’s 30^th birthday and we wanted to have this romantic Italian meal. After thinking about where to go and checking out multiple restaurant reviews on Unilocal,right from San Francisco to San Jose to Los Gatos, we ended up at Amarone, right next to home. And we were not disappointed in our choice.
Amarone is located on Main St. in Pleasanton. We had dinner there on a Wednesday, and so we weren’t surprised that it was relatively empty. Just 4 tables taken out of the 15 that were there. But we are not complaining! Their chef’s special for the night involved a potato and leek soup, gnocchi cooked in creamy white sauce, brick grilled chicken with vegetables and a sweet wine for dessert. And we decided to go with the chef’s special instead of the standard menu.
The waiter was very courteous and polite and knew how to shower attention on us lovebirds :-) While choosing our wine, we’d asked for a white wine, that is slightly sweet and not dry. And he knew exactly what we wanted. He came about with a bottle of Serafino and made us a happy couple.
After the usual bread basket, he brought us our potato and leek soup. Arun and I were in heaven almost instantly. It was delicious, especially since you could feel the russet potatoes melting in your mouth. Cooked to perfection, if I might. The entrée was excellent too. The gnocchi was floating in the creamy sauce and the chicken was all white and tender on the inside and crunchy and roasted on the outside. The portions were HUGE! We couldn’t finish our meal between the 2 of us.
All in all, a wonderful gastronomic experience.
The ambiance was rather homely, with low lit lights and ample space between tables. While it looks small on the outside, it’s rather spacious and simply decorated inside.
Price-​wise, it is a little expensive. But not too different from prices at other Italian restaurants. Our meal including tips came to around $ 80. But it was money well spent.
A wonderful start to the next year for my darling husband :-)

To start I am very sad to learn that the place is under new ownership and my beloved ribollita soup is no longer a mainstay especially with the colder months coming. I have lived in Italia and this was an authentic restaurante de Italiano.
With this said my review…
I was surprised to find that the new owner had changed the entire menu and to top it off shortened the menu significantly and chopped the wonderful wine menu as well. If you are going to completely change the menu and wine list I believe you should change the name of the restaurant because you are presenting something you are not. On the same token the chef/​owner is their own person and they should rename it to something that embodies what is trying to be created. Anyways just a thought… back to the food…
With a limited menu it really confines a person like me, with annoying allergies like lactose intolerance and of course I cannot eat spicy food or red meat. Since I am not supposed to eat this stuff I do really try and stay away from it because it makes me sick and can last for days. Usually I can fudge what’s on the menu to find something that works but I had such a hard time with this because it is so restrictive. I would have a hard time bringing friends that were vegetarian here. There were others in my party that don’t have any dietary restrictions and they mentioned the rationed menu, (the first to do so btw), and how it restricted their choices uncomfortably. For these reasons –2 stars.
Final Notes…
To mention the décor; what was done finally tied this cavernous location together and made it feel homier. BUT with what was mentioned above about the menu it did, overall, show: promise, thought, and the food that was delivered was beautiful. I think with expanding this menu a bit it would make this restaurant a gem again. Maybe they can add some sides that would allow more flexibility to the menu so you could substitute? Or make one or two of the main dishes changes to 3 ways and you can choose what way you like, (or can eat)? Also, to mention the desert menu, it looked yummy; however I passed because of the lactose thing. But I did hear that the owner is a pastry chef so I’m sure it’s wonderful. Best of luck to the new owner and I will be back again…

Fast service and great lunch! I’ll go back for sure.

My wife and I were in Pleasanton unexpectedly and decided to find a place to eat. We happened upon Amarone after walking both sides of the Main Street. To our surprise, there were not many people in the restaurant on a Sunday night, but that was fine with us, no waiting.
We were promptly greeted and seated. We felt like honored guests with all of the attention we received. Matteo was our waiter. He suggested two dishes that turned out to be wonderful. The first was VITELLA ALLA SICILIANA, which is a veal on a bed of mixed greens. Crunchy and flavorful. The second was the TAGLIERINI AL SALMONE a pasta with salmon. This was cooked to perfection and tasted great. Just the right portions of food for both.
We can’t wait to come back and try some more things on the menu.

I have to admit this is my first rating on Unilocal.I am an avid foodie and love trying new places. I am originally from Pleasanton but moved to Phoenix for college. I was back in town and my father had suggested Amarone for dinner with my aunt and uncle and the rest of our family. It was new to all of us and we are all rather picky eaters.
Being a picky eater I tend to read menus and restaurant reviews before I actually go to a new restaurant. After looking through the past ratings of Amarone I was rather excited (despite the juvenile arguing that seems to be going on in these particular Unilocal reviews). I must say that I have both fallen in love with downtown Pleasanton all over again and this restaurant as well.
I personally ordered the gnocci with bolognese with a glass of Barbera d’Alba. In my experience gnocci is something that can either be amazing or absolutely terrible. I don’t even venture to make it at home because I haven’t been able to quite get it right. The gnocci I had here was one of the best I have ever had with the pasta tender and flavorful and not at all gummy or bland. I didn’t taste anyone else’s dishes because the rest of my family members all finished off their own plates but the consensus seemed to be that everyone loved their dishes.
At the end of the meal we couldn’t say no to dessert even though we were all very full. My mother and sister shared the panna cotta, my aunt and uncle shared a dessert that had puff pastry layered with strawberries, chocolate, and whipped cream, and my father and I shared the profiteroles. The desserts may have even been more delicious than the entrees.
All in all, the prices were reasonable, food was delicious, and the service was great. I didn’t add another star because the restaurant décor left something to be desired. As mentioned in other reviews it is a difficult location to thrive in so I really hope people come in and make it last for years to come!

My favorite Italian spot in Pleasanton! The feel was very Italian. They served a nice olive oil/​garlic/​cheese type of mixture with warm bread to start out. I love when restaurants serve you good bread to start off the meal. I got a mushroom pasta… it came with a hearty minestrone soup. The pasta itself, very good. My only complaint is that the tomato sauce was a bit too tart. All in all… it was a good experience and I will be coming back!

I was not impressed. I choose this place after reading reviews of the food being authentic, a good vegetarian selection (for my friend) and tasty gnocchi. I’ve never been to Italy or any of it’s provinces, but either way, it was Not the quality I expected… especially for the price.
The bread was warm and toasted and served with minced olives in olive oil. Perhaps that’s authentic. Nothing to write home about and I would have preferred good old fashioned olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The gnocchi… was not good. It was kind of tough and chewy. Also looked like it just shot out of a tube and they cut it into 1 inch slices. None of that nice spoon made shell shape. The sauce didn’t have much flavor and the main one it Did have was salt.
Would have enjoyed Bertolli’s, from the refrigerator section at the grocery store more. And paid a lot less. I don’t mind paying for quality… but this was Not it.
On a positive note, the service was good.

Came here on a Tuesday night – I swear we were one of three parties to dine this evening. Very surprising as dinner was excellent! The waiter was very attentive, quick to take our order, fill our water and take away plates etc. He suggested several items on the menu and overall was just pleasant but not overbearing like at some restaurants.
We ordered:
–grilled calamari on bean salad – probably the most unique dish consisting of red beans mixed with vegetables and topped with calamari. Simple, yet tasty!
–TAGLIERINI FRESCHI AL SALMONE – fresh home-​made taglierini pasta with fresh salmon, spinach and vodka: The pasta was very fresh and ironically reminded us of ramen noodles, but obviously of higher quality.
–Ossobucco on saffron arborio rice: Very tasty meat – well seasoned and not overly salted. The rice was a nice complement.
–MILLEFOGLIE: «thousand sheets» a pastry made of several layers of puff pastry filled with pastry cream and strawberries. It is glazed with fondant chocolate strips– Wow. I don’t normally like dessert and found myself wishing for more room to eat the last couple of bites! The strawberries were fresh and the pastry super cripsy!
To top it off, I had a $ 25
gift certificate so we saved a little money while enjoying a fantastic meal. I recommend checking Amarone out!

So when we first sat down to eat here, the restaurant was empty. It was as if they had just opened. Indeed, this was not the case, but who knows, maybe the Round Table pizza buffet was more appealing down the street. I mean, it’s only $ 6.99. Anyway, the lunch special here is $ 9.95 which includes a choice of variety of sandwiches and pastas accompanied by soup or salad. I had the lentil soup which was pretty good, lots of vegetables and a hearty soup. The meal I had was the ziti al forno. It was the only item with meat so I took it. It didn’t smell that great when it came out, but I was pleasantly surprised and it was just the right amount.
The bread that came out was good, but got cold pretty quickly. It was served with a tapenade. At first, I thought this was good, but I found that I was not satisfied with it. Some kind of dipping sauce or garlic butter please.
The service was okay, again, maybe it was because it was early and lunch is not the forte.
Looks like there is a wide selection of wine, unfortunately, we were not there for the wine. Maybe a next visit is required.
Sorry folks, nothing to really rip on. I think I’m okay with this place. Glad we gave it a try.

The reason that my wife and I decided to try this restaurant was because of Chikku C.‘s review. To put it quite simply, we could not find real Italian food in Pleasanton… until now!
If you are looking for a «normal» American meal where you shovel your food and then pay the bill then this place is not for you. But, if you are looking for an experience, a night out eating authentic Italian food and drinking good wine, then Amarone is the place to be in Downtown Pleasanton.
The food is excellent! It started with a fantastic pizza and only got better from there. I ordered the Vitella alla Rossini and my wife had the Gnocchi Bolognese. We shared everything, mostly because I was jealous of everything she ordered :)
The veal was perfectly cooked and served on a plate of red onions, tomatoes and basil. It was delicious. The bolognese was very good, the best I have had in the area. I am really happy that I have finally found a place to get a real bowl of pasta.
The deserts were beautiful and delicious. I had an awesome crème brulle and my wife had a masterpiece of a dish called the Millefoglie which consisted of three light pastry dough sections stacked with fresh whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate… YUM!
The staff, especially Matteo our server, were extremely polite and very fun! Please don’t mistake them not bothering you every 5 minutes for inatteniton. Anytime we needed service they were there, and anytime we just wanted to enjoy our food and company they were not. You should plan to spend a little extra time enjoying yourself. I am sure if you wanted to hurry in and out you could, but you would be missing part of the experience.
Over all it was an excellent night out and our search for a real Italian food restaurant in Pleasanton is over. I will be going back… over and over. I can’t wait to enjoy the pizza for lunch someday soon!

I wrote this to the manager/​owner on March 27^th and received no response to this date.
This is what I wrote:
Yesterday evening, I was in a wonderful mood, ready and eager to experience a new culinary location. I walked in greeted promptly by the staff and swept off to my table. After looking over the menu we decided to have a 3-​Course meal, starting with the Caprino con Vegetali. This dish was prepared and tasted as explained. The mozzarella was fresh and nice, while the eggplant was cut so thin I could not taste it through the breaded exterior. Still, it was a fine dish.
Then, we moved on to the Risotto con Asparagi E Gamberi. The pink parmiagiano and butter cream sauce was absolutely flavorless. It tasted like mush! The prawns were overcooked, the rice was overcooked, and the entire dish was bland. The asparagus was alright, but the amount was few and far between. There was no seasoning what-​so-​ever in that dish. Whoever cooked that does not know what they are doing, and the person who tasted it and sent it out should be reconsidered to hold such a position.
Now, on to our final course, we had the Ossobuco Alla Milanese. This has to be one of the worst dishes I have ever put in my mouth. Our server told us that there was an article put out about this dish… I didn’t know it was probably an article condemning it. It tasted as though, the veal was recooked 4 or five times, and/​or just plain old and bad. The dish tasted like old dishwater! It was not seasoned right either. The veal had the texture of bubblegum and the sauce was crap.
Our server was very nice and attentive though. The only thing I would dock him off on was the fact that we had no shellfish fork to get the marrow out of the veal. Luckily, the veal was so bad that there was no possible way I was going to try it.
I am hoping that a sous chef is responsible for Thursday nights and not the head chef.
I am not a complainer at a restaurant, as you see. I like to keep confrontation away from my night out, but I think you need to know how bad my meal was. I am writing this simply because I want you to do better. I want local businesses to thrive, but with the quality I had last night, I do not believe you will make it.
I do not believe that I will ever eat at your restaurant again, but I hope you all the luck.
Bonne Chance,
— — — — — — — —
After stating that without a response, I hope this business does fail. I would not go back to Amarone even if I lost a bet. The place is terrible!

I travel to Pleasanton often and am always looking for good restaurants. I love Italian wine and when I saw Amarone I thought that it might be a great place to get a wonderful glass of wine and a good Italian meal.
I looked over the wine list and they had a few appealing wines — including my favorites — Barolo and Barbaresco. Unfortunately, they only offered them by the bottle and the choices for wines by the glass were very limited and in my opinion not very good. I asked if there was a glass of Barolo or Barbaresco available — the big wines need to breathe and I would not have been surprised to find one that had been opened. No such luck.
So on to dinner. I asked the waiter if I could be served the Ossobuco with sauteed spinach or the vegetables of the day instead of with the risotto. The waiter told me that the chef had determined that this dish should be served as designed so I explained that I was controlling my intake of carbohydrates. I said that if it did not insult the chef that I would appreciate the ossobuco with vegetables, but otherwise I would take the pork chops served on a bed of greens. The waiter returned to inform me that they were «too busy to accommodate me» and they would serve me the pork chops. The place had about 4 tables full with perhaps 18 diners.
They brought me several razor-​thin deep fried pork chops over chopped lettuce. My impression of the first bite was that they tasted overcooked, in old oil, and there were bone shards in the meat.
I immediately asked for my check. They were gracious enough to only charge me for the glass of wine though I would have paid for the dinner if it would have gotten me out of there faster.
I headed down the street to the Agora Bistro and had a great time. Read my review!

This is one of those rare occasions where the rating scale doesn’t accurately reflect the experience. I say this because there are some things about Amarone that are really good, such as the service, atmosphere, and dipping sauce for the bread (yummy!). But, those positives are overshadowed by some seemingly unfavorable aspects of our dinner.
As mentioned, all staff were most friendly. It was about 7pm on a Saturday evening, and I would say the restaurant was about ¼ full, if that. While not a good sign, I have to consider that times are a little tough now, and eating out is now more a luxury for many of us. Obviously, there was no wait for our table, and we could pick out seat. The menu was nice, and it seemed rather balanced. A good selection of pastas, meats, and fish. Chicken could be made any of 3 ways, such as picatta, etc. I would have wished they offered the veal in such a way. It was only offered breaded (more like a schnitzel, I imagine), but no Parmesan or picatta (a favorite of mine). Still, the menu was decent. We both ordered the Caesar salad, my wife the risotto with shrimp and asparagus, and me, the red snapper.
When we ordered cokes for our drink, we were informed that they are «out of coke.» Out of coke? Okay… So, we ordered Diet Cokes. Surprisingly, they were brought to our table in cans. As if to make the «can experience» a bit more «refined», they had poured ½ the can into our glass. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with that… but it just didn’t fit with the ambiance and feel I thought they were trying to establish at this restaurant. Again, not bad service… just in congruent.
The salads arrived, and were a bit salty. I do understand that a Caesar salad does have more of a salty flavor sometimes, but in this case, you could actually taste «salt», not a salty flavor. I think it may have been the croutons, but not entirely sure. Also, the salad was a bit «dry», and could have benefited from a bit more dressing… but that may just be my preference, and don’t hold that against them.
The entrees were, for lack of a better term, unremarkable. My wife told me that the risotto had a funny smell to it, but unfortunately, she could not articulate any more specifically what it was like. My fish was okay… not remarkable, and not bad. Just… okay.
We skipped dessert, so I cannot comment on that. The table next to us did have something that looked delicious, but we were not in the mood.
With no alcohol, no dessert, no appetizers (other than salad), and sadly, no coke (but yes, a soft drink included), the total bill came to around $ 75.00, not including tip. Honestly, I don’t feel the meal met with the cost. I know this restaurant just opened (miss the old ones weekend buffet) recently. I think this restaurant could be a 3 – 4 star experience, but maybe they still need to get their legs under them, iron out the kinks, and for Pete’s sake… get some extra Coke on hand! ;-)

I went for a second wine dinner that was Tuscan themed and really enjoyed it so I’m raising the rating again. There were about 20 people in the group this time. Again we got 5 plates of regional specialties with matching wines and all were quite tasty. The staff really made an effort to see that we enjoyed it.
I went back for a wine dinner, with Umbria as the theme, with a small group and I’ve decided to raise the rating. They paired 5 courses with 5 wines. The service was excellent and the chef came out to see us twice to tell about the food. The food was authentic for the region and the wines were quite nice. The waiter told us about each wine which was interesting. At $ 75 a person the price was typical of similar dinners I’ve been to.
I was pleased to see a new place open at this location and the menu looked decent so I decided to try it out and take a friend to lunch. I got a plate of linguine with some prosciutto and a crème sauce. My friend got a salad that was mostly some green leaves. The cheese and vegetable appetizer was decent, the noteworthy piece in the meal, but it was small. The total was almost $ 50 for three items and no drinks. I can’t really comment on the service as we were the only ones in there at the time.

5 Stars for the food!
Amarone is a new restaurant in Downtown Pleasanton on Main Street. My husband and I were happy to see QUALITY in this space. It’s a well-​needed addition to Pleasanton. The food is incredible! The cooking is simple but that’s what is so good. They really allow the flavors of the food to come out without masking things with too much sauce like many Italian restaurants do. They change the menu frequently to be able to always use fresh ingredients. And, they make everything from scratch, including the desserts. The only reason I know so much about Amarone is because the owner, Matteo, is extremely friendly and he and my husband had a long conversation because we loved it so much. Matteo is from Italy where his family has restaurants so he definitely knows what he’s doing when it comes to the food!
So far we have tried the Salmon which came with a really unique black rice — it was incredible. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the seasoning was so good!
My husband had the Oso Buco and he said it’s the best he’s ever had — and he comes from an Italian family so they’re highly critical of Italian food… when he said that, I knew it must be good!
We have tried several of the salads. All were good but the Caesar with chicken really stood out as being excellent. The dressing tastes freshly made and it’s not drenched. It’s just the right amount of dressing to really enjoy the salad without it being overwhelming. And the chicken is cooked perfectly.
The Margarita Pizza is also excellent. Yum! Our friend ordered the Gnocchi with Bolognese sauce and he raved about it. I had a taste and I have to agree with him, it’s the best Gnocchi I’ve ever tasted. It was cooked perfectly and the sauce was so fresh and tasty!
I really liked the Tiramisu. It was light and fluffy and tasted very fresh. It wasn’t too sweet either, which I liked. My husband had a cappuccino and is still talking about how much he enjoyed it.
Also, the prices are VERY reasonable… especially considering how fresh everything is. Nothing at Amarone is coming out of a freezer, you can taste the difference!
The only area where I think they could improve is their wait staff. They were very friendly but didn’t seem to know the menu very well. Luckily, Matteo is always there so he can answer any questions. And, I think part of that is because the restaurant is so new. Hopefully with time, they will become more confident with the menu.
I HIGHLY recommend Amarone! In fact, I’m meeting some girlfriends there tomorrow night for dinner!