Il Fornaio

Horrible Service, mediocre food, over-priced

by gnomey at Citysearch

I am a server of many years and typically, I am very sympathetic to waitstaff, but the waitress at Il Fornaio was horrible. Her service was needlessly slow, unattentive and rude. It took her about 20 minutes just to take our order and about another 20 minutes to get the wine we ordered. After serving us our food the waitress disappeared until I hunted her out for the check, chatting at the bar.

Aside from the awful service, the food was mediocre at best and not worth the $60 dollar tab.

The only positive thing I have to say was that the water/bus man was wonderful. He stayed attentive and present in the dining room at all time while the waitress was no where to be seen. I only wish that I had given the tip to him instead of the ungrateful server who couldn't even be bothered to look me in the eye to say thank you as I handed her the very much undeserved 20% tip.

Little taste of perfection

by justbeachie at Citysearch

After many trips down to Little Italy over the years, I can say with certainty that my experience at Il Fornaio, blew all others out of the water. From the moment we walked in, my group and I were treated like family. When a fellow diner wanted something that wasn' t on the menu, the staff assured them that it wasn't a problem and had the chef make the dish on the fly. Bottom line- the food, service and prices at Il Fornaio were fantastic and will definitely not disappoint.

• Pros: Definitely the food and service
• Cons: None

Awful Awful Awful!

by minnetonka28 at Citysearch

The food was fine, but the service was the worst I had ever had! The waiters were rude, and we didn't get our food for 45 minutes. The waiter simply forgot to put the order in, and blamed it on the chef. In addition, one of the entrees that we ordered was not available, and we were not informed of this until after we had been waiting for 45 minutes. The order was placed almost an hour after we had arrived. When we asked why he didn't come check on us or make sure everything was okay, he blamed us for not saying something. Our food was served at the same time as the couple next to us, who had arrived an hour later. The fact that our food was late was not the problem. The waiter was so rude to us, and refused to get the manager. Instead of offering to reduce our bill, we had to ask. He walked away angrily and brought back the check, only to find that he had increased the bill. When we finally got the bill straightened out he asked, "Are you happy now?" We were not happy to say the least, and nobody would be after eating at this restaurant. I would give this restaurant 0 of 5 stars if I could.

• Pros: It was an okay meal for a cheap price, cute ambience was the same as every restaurant in little italy
• Cons: Horrible service, rude staff

Good food- Perverted Staff-There's many alternatives in Little Italy-Why Bother

by satlh at Citysearch

My veal was tender but the cuisine isn't the issue. My daughter (age 26) was waiting outside the ladies room and looking at a Heimlich Manuever poster when Nelson, a server, approched her and asked her if he wanted her to "touch her there" refering to her breast area. I wish that at I had checked the

Digital Cities site before we ate at Il Fornaio. I was amazed, but not surprised, hto see another review whicn mentioned the "lecherous waitstaff." With so many other great restaurants in Little Italy skip this restaurant and avoid the low-life staff.

Lecherous waitstaff

by jkbarrow at Citysearch

Well, I've been there twice. Honestly, the food's decent for the price-not great, but decent.

The first time I went, this slimy busboy kept staring at my girlfriend in a creepy way.

The second time, I went with two girls. The waiter and the busboy were off saying rude things about them where they thought they wouldn't be heard. When one of them heard them talking about her, the same slimy busboy came over and started talking to her. He sat down next to us, and was asking me which was my girlfriend. I didn't answer because he shouldn't be talking to either, and it should be irrelevant, so he started talking up both, with a horrible, slimy smile. I couldn't believe that that was happening, and when we left, THE BUSBOY ACTUALLY ASKED ONE OF THE GIRLS FOR A HUG.

I called up the managers' office the next day, and spoke to one of them. When I mentioned the problem to her and described who it was, she was only surprised that it wasn't the waiter!

Hey-sure it's a few bucks cheaper than the others nearby, but stay away.

• Pros: Cheap
• Cons: How quickly an evening can be spoiled by one busboy.