Il Fornaio

Another great meal. This time I had the butternut squash ravioli with crispy sage. Normally I need to have a protein for dinner but this was really satisfying. They really elevated the simple butternut squash. Nice and rich flavor with a Nice change up in texture with the fried crispy sage leaves.

Great Service very Clean Restaurant and the food is delicious …
Vegetables all-​dente chicken cook very proper juicy and roasted so good

Went here for a business dinner with coworkers. As soon as the waitress heard we only wanted water to drink, her attitude changed and she became short and snippy with all of us. She remained this way for the rest of the evening, barely checking on our table and MIA after the food was brought out (which took a looooooooooong time).
When the food finally came, it was very disappointing. Two plates had salmon on it: one salmon steak wasn’t pink and was an opaque gunky white (did this come straight from the farm? Because salmon is naturally pink), the other was severely undercooked, and when the waitress was asked about this, she told us the rareness «depends on the chef.» Last time I checked, I went to restaurants for consistency and high quality, but that could just be me (I guess?). I had the cannelonni al forno, which touted organic chicken. The pasta itself was good, but the chicken tasted like it came from a can.
For the price and the service, you can do better. Go somewhere else.
**1/​31/​2016 update: one of the managers contacted me via Unilocal and offered to fix the experience and also stated the restaurant is focusing on training and consistenct. I’m happy to see proactive management like this, and would consider going back in the future.

I have to say this review is all because of the manager. He greeted up and sat our party and chatted with us and made sure we were taken care of. He actually comped some of the appetizers just so we can try them. I have been coming here for years and I have to say he made this the best experience I have had their and it will definitely keep me coming back. Also the food was amazing every bite but I was still more impressed with how welcoming the manager was to our party than the delicious food.

Disappointing to say the least. Large group dinner here. Haven’t been here in several years because years ago with a team dinner I had to help my colleague send her dinner back because the seafood was like a low tide.
Was hoping for better tonight. I give this review a 2 only because the calamari and antipasti plate was decent. However, my salmon was like dried cardboard with salmon scent. Nearly inedible and I left most of it untouched. I intended to tell the waiter that this was unacceptably over-​cooked but he never came by to bother and ask me if everything was okay. My neighbors had the ravioli and another had the steak. Both were unimpressed and complained about their meals pushing ravioli or steak slices around the plate to make it look like they made an attempt to eat it.
This was a group of 20+ people dropping a pretty penny on this tasteless disaster. I wasn’t paying but I talked to the person who did afterwards and she felt «I’ll never go back there again. That was the most overpriced and under delivered dinner I’ve had in years».
I agree. I’m back at my hotel brushing my teeth to get the taste out. I won’t be back anytime soon although I’m in this neighborhood going out to dinner about every two weeks.
They’ll never get my personal dollars, and I have to much respect for the company I work for to waste my business dollars on them. And they shouldn’t get yours.
My recommendation? Go elsewhere. Go anywhere. Just not here. Meh and Blech and Yech.

This is a classy place in a classy hotel. It is somewhat pricy for the quality of the food but it is a nice treat. I am taking it easy tonight. I plan to order the caesar salad and the carpaccio, so I am being cheap and light. I had to order water twice. Apparently, they want to get you something a bit more potent.
I have seen other reviews that describe the interior, so I will skip past that.
It is Tuesday night the place it only about a third seated. There is a large group gathering in a separate dinner room.
There is couple to my left that is finishing for the night. He is have these small tart like things that make me want dessert. She is sitting with her hands clasped together slightly bored, but she stares at her man with intense beauty. If feel lucky to witness this. I do wish I would have been sat in a spot to do more eas dropping. I suppose I could have requested another table.
The waitress delivered dinner with a big smile. It looked fake but she is doing her job. She was then quick to come back and ask if it was good. She has been very attentive and always a smile
The carpaccio is hitting my happy spot with the arugula, capers, parmigiano, and olive oil.
They provide slightly crusty and salty bread to dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is a nice combination.
The caesar salad lettuce is not the freshest but it is January. The crutons are not as crunchy as I would hope. The salad is average.

This Il Fornaio’s location and ambiance are the most impressive. The ceiling is high and it’s roomy throughout. The staff is very friendly and helpful. We were very please with the service.
I ordered the sea food linguine (Linguine Mare) and it was super salty. I found this is common not only here but elsewhere as well. The sea food like clams and mussels are already salty, then the chef makes the mistake of adding more salt. Other that that this is a great restaurant.

Went for an early New Years Eve dinner before going to the theatre on San Pedro Square. Great dinner and the service seems to have improved but still a ways to go. One negative comment-​2 oz Bombay Sapphire martini-​$ 14.49-absurd! A 1.75L bottle is approx $ 30. If the martini was 3 – 4 oz it would be more acceptable, but 2 oz?
It is too bad that management doesn’t read and comment on Unilocal reviews. Responsible reviews are intended to help the business improve.
We frequent the Il Fornaio locations in Palo Alto and Carmel and they too are very nice.

Ok. Our family tradition for the last 5 years has been to eat here and then head over to Christmas in the park. Granted our reservation is for around 18 people but ever year we come they put us in a back room and they get it done. But NOT this year! We made a reservation at 4pm so that the small children could stay up and we would be done in time to go as a family to Christmas in the park. It took 45 mins to get the appetizers of pizza and cold calamari. Then it took another 45 mins for the dinner to come. They served my mom a fish that was not the sea bass she ordered. My mother-​in-​laws risotto wasn’t even edible. My husbands steak was the worst steak I have ever had and I have had a lot of steak in my life. We had to ask the server 2 times to get us more wine and when he didn’t come back after 20 mins and was no where to be found I had to go to the hostesses station for them to find our server. He finally got it to us after waiting like 30 mins for it. At this point we are at 7:30pm. 3 hours and coffee and desert have still no been served. No one has checked on us nothing! My husband and I are in the car with our 1 year old (who is now asleep) on the way home
as I write this review. We didn’t get desert or coffee. We also get to miss Christmas in the Park with our family. There is no way an Italian dinner should take 3 ½ hours! This place has gone way down hill and I will recommend to the family we don’t come back… ever.

Service was amazing, lasagne was not to my liking, Sea Bass was ok but not amazing in flavor, the short ribs were amazing and the zucchini appitzer was probably the best thing I had.

Great service and great food! The wine they recommended also pairs with my seafood dish perfectly. The tiramisu is delicious!

Had a wonderful pre-​concert meal with friends, the resto was very crowded and was so glad I’d made reservations about a month prior. We saw some very sad faces being turned away. The Caesar salad was super tasty as was the salmon, however, I thought the outstanding dish was the butternut squash ravioli. The pasta was super fresh and the chef did an excellent treatment of the brown butter and fried sage. We didn’t have time — nor room in our stomachs — for dessert. I really don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal at any of the Il Fornaio restaurants.

While I have been at other locations (San Francisco, Del Mar) this was the first time I tried the San Jose restaurant.
Now, generally speaking, I would rate Il Fornaio at 3 stars. Solid performance, good food, good service, and especially the Del Mar location on top of the Del Mar Plaza has stunning ocean views.
At the San Jose restaurant — in side the Westin hotel — I was disappointed. I ordered the chicken roasted with a mustard sauce, and not that it was bad… It was just… OK. The service was not that great. It was empty when we sat down, and the waiter took his time to come around to order, to deliver, and to check on us to see if we wanted anything else, like the check. I had to flag down the Maitre D’ to finally get the check. I won’t be back

I’ve been meaning to come here for quite some time. Well, since last Christmas to be honest. We were going to our restaurant we passed this place and it seemed magical inside. Something out of New York. It didn’t feel like San Jose, so I vowed to come here next Christmas.
So this past Friday night we came here! My fiancé has been here multiples times, but it was a brand new experience for me. It’s really warm and toasty in here and they really had the Christmas spirit flowing, just the way I like it! Can’t complain about Christmas toasty!
Service was a bit on the slower side, which is why I’m knocking it down a bit. We weren’t greeted for nearly 30 minutes. Not good. My fiancé got the three course meal for $ 35. The first two portions were really small, but surprisingly, the main course was rather large. I had the free ranged chicken cannelloni which was pretty good.
Overall, I had a wonderful experience here and I would suggest anyone wanting the NY Christmas feel in the South Bay, should check this place out. Plus, Christmas in the Park is only a few minute walk from here.

I really liked this place. Located in a hotel, white table clothes, and great Italian food. They even have Italian beer on draft. The waiters wear these old school white jackets.
The calamari was not my cup of tea, I prefer a heavier breading like cornmeal, these reminded me more of french fries with a very thin to no breading.
The thin crust veggie pizza was bombastic thought. Highly recommend. Portions are good, average plate is about $ 17.

Unfortunate Thanksgiving Dinner.
1. Service was very, very slow. I think they were understaffed for how busy it was. Our waiter rarely ever came by our table.
2. There was a hair in my food.
3. Ordered seafood platter with prawns. They brought a seafood platter with lobster instead. I am allergic to lobster.
4. Turkey was inconsistent, with chewy skin and fat.
5. Bland soup in need of seasoning.
6. Waiter spilled oil and vinegar LITERALLY all over our table. Left the dirty tablecloth there for the rest of the evening instead of replacing it (it was a white tablecloth).
7. Ordered a strawberry lemonade. Instead, they brought us lemonade with a ton of grenadine in it. Grenadine isn’t strawberry flavored. They refilled the lemonade, and charged us for two, without telling us that refills would cost extra.
I regret coming here to celebrate our Thanksgiving.

Service was below average but maybe the restaurant wasn’t too formal to begin with but still the service should have been better. Food was wonderful! The wait wasn’t long and the food came at the right temperature! We arrived early and they happened to have a table ready so they sat us early as well. We spend almost two hours there eating and talking. For the most part they left us alone for some privacy but I wish the waiting staff was more attentive to our needs.

Came here to celebrate my good friends 21^st birthday, Classy.
I would only come here for special occasions, since it is a little pricey. however, there are other options around $ 14 – 17 instead of around $ 22 – 27
Our server was very engaging, professional. and had a sense of humor. Older gentleman with a beard I think. The wait staff was so courteous.
And the food… I only tried the cannoli entrée, it had 2 with chicken ricotta, and mushrooms, so yummy! I came here starving and only was able to eat 1 so filling.
We also had a few pieces of the bread with balsamic they offer regular white bread, or bread with some herbs in it, although I couldn’t quite tell the difference.
I also tried a bit of my friends brown sugar and butternut squash ravioli which isn’t something I would order if I came back, too sweet for my liking.
At the end, they came out with a tiramisu slice for my friends birthday. The cake was interesting… There was like pure cocoa powder on the bottom and on the top which was quite strong and bitter for a cake.
Overall, so delicious. I would be here again to try some other options, as well as the happy hour if I’m in the area, to find out my favorites.

Group rate should not mean you let the quality of your food, portions, and service suffer. If you can’t provide a high quality experience at your offered price, you should consider adjusting that price. Adequate portions and service should be assumable; if you can’t provide at the price promised, then you should stop undercutting yourself, charge a higher group rate, and provide an experience that is actually positive. After all, isn’t a group reservation your opportunity to impress new potential patrons?
Oh, I forgot to mention, your waiter was clearing one of the three tables for our group after they had already left. Since we were still waiting for our food, your waiter literally offered us a half eaten plate of pasta (saying «they barely touched it, do you want it?» to placate us since some in the group were murmuring about how long it was taking to get our food. I wish I was making this stuff up…
I’d encourage management to spend more time rectifying their restaurant issues rather than spending that time defending themselves and their actions/​food on Unilocal

It’s strange that they don’t list prices of wine by the bottle. I mean, I was told to multiple the price of a glass by 4… really? For a chain Italian restaurant, it was alright.
I started with the bread. The bread was excellent. The baguette, nice and crisp and «moelleux» on the inside. I especially liked the one with, I think sunflower seeds in them. I wasn’t blown away by the rosemary one, too dense. It also came with a nice balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil dip, my fav.
I ordered the beef carpaccio. Now, I’m not a connoisseur of this dish but I found it very enjoyable with very thin slices of beef and a strong lemon flavour. I did find it incredibly salty with capers and shaved parmigiana. Perhaps it needed more arugula.
Then it was the seafood linguine. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente but the tomato sauce was again a bit much for me. It was heavily sauced and too salty. I did like the fresh parsley and the scallops were excellent. I wasn’t a fan of the mussels, which shrank to the size of a pea. There was a sufficient amount of seafood though.
I’d come again if I were in the area and craving Italian food… But I wouldn’t be crazy excited about it.

C’est un repas a oublier. Le service était medioc. Une heure trente minutes pour être servi. Le maneger fut désagréable. Et même les autres tables ont eu des problèmes.sur dix personnes, aucuns et aucunes n’ont apprécié,
Les plats né goûtaient rien. Je né recommande pas.