The food was delicious, and the service amazing! I was initially brought a dish to which something…read moreI am allergic to was added as garnish (it was not mentioned as an ingredient on the menu). When I mentioned it to the waiter, they had the dish quickly remade, and insisted on comping us for it. This was beyond what was necessary, but we appreciated how highly they value customer service. We highly recommend this restaurant. And, I reiterate - the food was delicious!

I really enjoyed iTalico! It gets super busy on Fri/Sat but they have delicious pizza and pasta…read more Sister restaurant to Terun. Service was prompt and knowledgeable. Food was generously proportioned and delicious. I don't eat out for Italian very often since I make a pretty decent pasta sauce at home but their pasta was soooo delicious it was well worth it. I'd recommend sharing since everything was good. The seasonal truffle pasta had tons of truffle and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The pizza... it was delicious but I could have used a touch more crustyness - maybe was taken out a hair too early? But the burrata was really good. The Porchetta was fork tender and delicious

Had dinner last Friday night to celebrate a birthday. We had a nice private room and the service…read morewas great! Our server checked on us throughout the evening to make sure we had everything we needed. I had the swordfish (which was one the specials) I think it was a cilantro sauce (which really made the food pop). All the dishes we ordered were plated great. This was my 1st time at this location (as Palo Alto was our go-to, but it has now shuttered). Mtn View location was very busy and lively!

HAPPY HOUR! 4.2…read more One of the perks of early retirement is that Happy Hour can happen whenever you want... at least in my mind. At this Il Fornaio location, Happy Hour runs daily from 3:00-6:00 p.m., with Mondays offering Happy Hour pricing all day long. The bar and lounge area features three seating options: cozy sofa-lounge seating, a long communal table, and individual seats at the bar, complete with two TVs mounted overhead. We arrived with just 30 minutes left to enjoy it. The Happy Hour menu includes Italian and domestic beers ($7), Italian and local wines ($8), nine different cocktails ($9), plus a selection of antipasti and pizzas for snacking. One thing I appreciated was that the drinks were served in full-sized glassware; nothing scaled down just because it was Happy Hour. I ordered the Tiki Taormina, made with Don Q Piña rum, peach purée, pineapple, lime, and mint. It was absolutely delicious. My husband chose the Margarita Italiano, featuring Herradura Silver Tequila, Lucano Limoncello, Cointreau, mango purée, lime, and a salted rim. Naturally, I had to conduct my obligatory taste test; his was quite good as well. For food, we started with the Polpettine ($13): three flavorful beef meatballs in tomato sauce, topped with creamy stracciatella cheese (the soft center of burrata). Served alongside were three slices of crostone, or toasted rustic bread, perfect for soaking up the sauce. We also shared the Pizza Fradiavola ($14), topped with mozzarella, Italian sausage, tomato sauce, mushrooms, bell peppers, red onions, and spicy peperoncino. It was tasty, nicely topped, and ideal for sharing. Service was good with at least two bartenders working throughout our visit. Between the quality drinks, satisfying bites, and good service, this spot has earned a place on our growing list of favorite Happy Hour discoveries.

Wonderful spot to wander into. Happy to have stumbled upon this eatery. Excellent service…read more Excellent food. Excellent ambiance. Can't say enough about our waitress, Kailee. She was a ball of life a a wealth of knowledge. Started out with an artichoke shrimp fondo, and it had a lovely lemon flavor that gave it a nice zesty flavor. My main dish was a penne with chicken and asparagus and it was great. Nice mix of crunch from the asparagus with the soft warmth of the penne. Highly recommend this dish and place!

I loved the ambiance and service at Osteria Toscana! The atmosphere felt warm, cozy, and inviting…read morefrom the moment I walked in. The food was excellent, and I especially appreciated how accommodating they were with my dietary restrictions. I ordered the linguine alle vongole, and not only was it delicious and fresh tasting, but I also had no issues with cross contamination afterward, which means a lot to me. Their wine pairing complemented the dish beautifully and made the whole experience feel even more special. Definitely a place I'd come back to!

A+++++ meal and service. I arrived early on a Friday evening and cheerful hostess let me snag a…read more2-top outside in the gorgeous weather. Menu joy seeing Arancini - Sicilian rice balls - as an appy. Spectacular taste, texture and filling. Order of spinach and cheese handmade ravioli - OMG - perfection! Also popped for meatball appy to add bulk to my planned leftover. Service was attentive in that perfect team way: server, busser, second server stopping to check. Bonus for after dinner back at my hotel was the light and sweet tiramisu. If I lived local this would be my go-to.

Overall 3.5 stars for a to go order, reduced overall 1.5 stars due to the acidity of their tomato…read moresauce, as the well made Italian tomato sauce should not be acidic, acidity is a sign of underdevelopment (I think if cooked slow and steady would give it a nice depth and that umami flavor that we love so much, but rushed sauce is bright and sharp but not in the best way). We love Italian food, and I can't believe we haven't tried this spot yet, so we took it to go as I wanted Pasta. We tried their Arancini di Riso - it was delicious but acidic due to the tomato sauce, reduced 1.5 stars for heartburn from it. Arancini di Riso - 3 stars as it was pretty acidic, good tomato sauce is not supposed to be acidic Cesare - their Cesare dressing is great and delicious - 5 stars Gnocchi Tartufati - 4.5 stars, I did like the sauce, it's delicious, the Gnocchi was a bit mushy hence reduced it by half a star, the taste was good Kids Penne Al Burro - 3 stars stars, it's basic, their "butter sauce" is just plain butter, super light and not much in it Mezzelune Di Ricotta - 4 stars, it was okay for me but my husband loved it Can't comment on the service or the ambience, as this was a to go order. Will definitely try it again and update the review

Carina and the team made my dad's 80th birthday dinner unforgettable…read more We hosted an intimate dinner for my dad's 80th in the private room -- 22 people, formal setup, speeches, the whole thing. My dad is a regular at lunch but had never experienced dinner there, and this was exactly the right way to introduce it. Carina was exceptional from start to finish. We'd mentioned 19-20 guests ahead of time, and when I said we'd grown to 22, she had tables added and the room spread out without missing a beat. She made sure kids at the table had options from the main menu outside the prix fixe. She asked ahead about wine on the table. She anticipated everything. We brought our own cakes -- no issue, plates and everything provided. We stayed well past closing. Nobody rushed us, nobody hinted it was time to go. They just let the night be what it needed to be. For my dad, who's been a lunch regular for years, to experience that room and that level of care on his birthday -- that meant a lot to our whole family. Thank you, Carina. -- Anton

The food here is so good! I loved the gulf shrimp app (so flavorful) and the tagliatelle pasta with…read moreshiitake mushrooms and chicken. The pasta was cooked well and the sauce wasn't too heavy, as you might expect from an alfredo sauce. The shiitake mushrooms added so much flavor and the chicken was also very tasty. The caesar salad portion was quite small so that's the only item i wouldn't get again. Prices were on the higher side but the service was great. They were able to accommodate a very large group at lunchtime without a reservation.

Solid spot for Palo Alto and for large parties…read more We come here once a year for our recruitment of new students. The location is perfect - nearby Stanford - and has a great patio for hosting larger parties like ours. Great table layout options, good amount of outdoor heaters to keep everyone warm from 6-8pm in early March. Beautiful upscale setting perfect for wining and dining the candidates. We always get one red and one white wine poured. For basic cheaper wines these are always solid - which is great considering the wine focus of the venue. For food, we get a selection of pizzas and charcuterie to start and then a full buffet dinner. The food seemed even more elevated this year and was fantastic. The caesar salad had whole anchovies on top (a very nice touch), the appetizer bites are bite sized and good variety, the pastas are yummy, and the desserts are delectable! The tiramisu was so so so great! Service was very friendly and as fast as possible with so many. The bartenders pouring wine were a bit distracted, but still did the job. Overall, perfect for large groups, great food, good wines, and great atmosphere.

Casual setting.. Came for a company dinner .. Service was remarkable. The food was mediocre. The…read moresalmon had no seasoning . The drinks were savory. The pasta isn't something I would order again. We were confined to the menu. The waiter very was very accommodating. The beet salad was a good time.

My Husband and I were planning to go to another restaurant for his Birthday but we decided it was…read moregoing to be too busy and too loud for the mood we were in so we headed down to Laurel street. We tossed between this and another place we have been a lot of times. We decided to give Pranzi a try. Oh My! I am so glad we did! We started with the burrata bruschetta and it was delicious! We ordered Conchiglie Free range chicken, broccoli sundried tomatoes sherry, wine & cream Entrees Farm Chicken Mary"s marinated airline double chicken breast, calabrian pepper, aioli, farm vegetables & roasted yukon gold potato These were both Devine! They were amazing and so full of Flav and complexity! It really was an excellent experience and meal. We are outdoors with a lovely heater and the staff was great!

Super attentive service, and a pretty relaxed vibe. This is their highlight. I was here twice with…read morefriends, once in 2023 for dinner, and was back more recently for lunch. The food unfortunately is the less impressive part. Both the Bruschetta and Calamari Fritti appetizers were mediocre. I expected the Bruschetta to be better with the Burrata, but it fell flat. The Calamari was super-greasy but also just ok (I've had way better versions elsewhere). For entrees, the Tagliatelle that I tried could have been more flavorful. It was a tad on the blander side, and watery. Disappointing. The Cappellaci had a nutty flavor, heavier, and better tasting (recommend this over the Tagliatelle). We almost enjoyed the Conchiglie (the pasta and the flavors came out right), but the chicken was very chewy. Walked over to the nearest gelato place and coffee place for dessert and coffee, so we didn't really explore their drinks and dessert menu. I've never been fully satisfied with the food here. And so will continue exploring other places in the San Carlos area.

When I came here last year with my parents and part of my brother's family, I didn't know it would…read morebe the last time I would eat here. One never really knows when any restaurant will close, really, but this place just felt like such a Palo Alto institution that it couldn't close, but it did. I had been here at least once before, in the 1990s, when I was in college and my brother worked in Palo Alto. That era feels like the zenith of this upscale chain's cultural relevance, which made my most recent return that much more interesting. I expected things to have changed or at least to have felt different, but my experience in 2025 was eerily similar to my previous experience in 199x: I was expecting to be annoyed by pretentiousness but was instead wowed by the food and the service, which was excellent. But because it felt exactly the same, it didn't feel timeless; it felt dated in a way that I know rationally things are dated, but I'm a very nostalgic person by nature, so I love old things. But Il Fornaio felt too dated either to catch up with the times or to care that they were passing it by. Our large party was originally seated in a cramped area, but they were happy to re-seat us in the patio, which was covered and had heat lamps. That change made all the difference in our experience, because I know my mom, brother, and I would have been itching to get out of here as soon as possible if we had eaten inside. Instead, we enjoyed our leisurely meal, and even though my nephew (a Stanford student) had to bike back to campus, we took our time and relaxed. I can't say I'm sad Il Fornaio is gone. I didn't come here for almost thirty years, and it's not as if the entire chain is closing--at least I haven't heard that it is.

Very very sad this location is closing this wknd. It was a staple for my family for 36 years. Dad's…read more80th birthday celebration. Both mom and dad's memorial dinners in the back room. I will miss the bartenders and servers as well as my local bar to hang out. I'll be going a few more times for the yummy pizza and local conversations at my neighborhood gem.