Al Forno's Ristorante

For $5.50, even with today's higher food prices, you'd think you'd get more than five or six pieces of spinach, two cucumbers and half a tomato. That was the smallest salad I had ever seen - for $5.50! What a ripoff. As old as the building is and as long as they've been there, it's been paid off for at least a decade! I hope they pay their staff well. The entrees were so so, overpriced, not big portions for the price. The best thing about it was the bread. It's probably from Stoneground or another bread bakery, but very good. Also, our service was excellent. But, I've been twice in 20 years, but I'm not going back in a decade!

Posted 05/24/08 | Report Abuse

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Pretentious and amateurish. This restaurant was so poor, I am still compelled to write a flaming review three months later! First, the stench in the alley wafting from the kitchen vent should have been our sign to leave. At the door, we were greeted by a young imbecile maitre d who, since we lacked a reservation, spent minutes pretending to search his book for a table. I never understood this, as the restaurant was half-empty when we arrived and dwindled further during our stay. Our server was another winner. Her name escapes meLaken or something like that. Her ability to deliver attentive and courteous service was overshadowed by her apparent self-envy. She was head-waiter or some other position of contrived consequenceI dont recall or care. Service was unnecessarily slow and negligent. The food was mediocre. The salad appeared dumped straight from a Fresh Express bag. The spicy alfredo linguine was a mass of boring Hamburger Helper style sauce speckled with strips of flavorless, wet, boiled chicken. Entertainment consisted of watching a waitress chase a group of tuxedo and chiffon-laden prom-goers down the street, who evidently neglected to cover their check. Then, we were treated to an encore as we listened to Laken go into a tirade when a take-out customer evidently called with a complaint. You would have thought she cooked it herself, the way she so ungraciously handled the criticism. We gave this hole in the wall a chance because we were hoping for good food with a little character. We ended up regretting our choice, and wished we went with the predictable, if unexciting, Olive Garden. Al Forno apparently has an identity crisis, trying to be something that it is not. Rather than a chic gastronomic boutique, it is just a plain bunch of amateurs serving up mediocrity and poor service.

Posted 07/19/07 | Report Abuse

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I have quite a few coworkers that love this restaurant but I have been there at least five times and can not say that I love it. The place is clean, and the food is good but not rave about good. I feel like the cost of the entres is not worth the food received. I have never had trouble getting a table as the place is usually not super busy during a weekday lunch.

PROS: Always an open table
CONS: not a good value

Posted 06/21/06 | Report Abuse

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