I've come here many times over the years. The menu includes several salads, pastas, pizzas and they also offer a plant based menu. I've enjoyed all the dishes I've chosen. The average cost of a pizza is around $25 but some are as high as $39. The servers are attentive. The white tablecloths make the place feel high end. It can be noisy when it's busy because it's one large room with high ceilings and no sound-absorbing materials. There are plenty of parking spaces. read more

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The place to go for authentic and tasty Italian food and just amazing dine-in experience. Must try their wood-fired oven pizzas. I tried their plant based sausage pizza and it was amazing. I'm checking out their pastas and lasagnas next time. Spacious and well maintained. Comfy booths. Friendly and professional service. Plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free options available. Strongly recommend for dine-in and meetups. read more

Il Fornello - Vegan sausage pizza - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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We came here to celebrate a friend's birthday and was quite excited. The place was packed but with a reservation, we managed to get a table for 11. The menu is pretty standard for an Italian place though I heard very good things about their pizza from friends. I ended up getting the rigatoni funghi e carne while others at the table ordered various other dishes. The server did a great job keeping up with our orders, however they did forget about my dish and even my dessert so I ended up getting both dishes last while everyone is already almost done eating. My rigatoni was quite average and a bit under seasoned. It was like pasta from any other place and didn't quite stand out. My partner felt the same about his linguini alla carbonara. For dessert, I got the tiramisu and it was also very average. Overall, the food and ambiance was nice but nothing impressive. I do think that it's a great place for a larger group dinner with options to satisfy everyone. read more

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Excellent delivery by Uber Eats. Unfortunately, the vegan pasta dish was strangely over-spiced, indeed too spicy to eat. The vegan pizza was unpalatable; unlike the pasta, it was edible, but bad. This was a very disappointing meal, especially considering the high prices. read more

Pretty much hit the nail on the head for what it was going for. Ordered take out. The meant balls weren't "filled." Love the rapini inclusion (extra cost). read more

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The manager is extremely rude. Someone in a managerial position should have a mature attitude and not be loud and argumentative! I had a very bad experience! read more

A great restaurant. A beautiful and delicious pasta dish was prepared for me for take out. I currently have strict dietary needs. And Il Fornello adhered to all my requests. I am giving them 10 *s read more

First and last time ordering here.. I'm sure they have dishes they're known for or that people usually order. I ended up getting the Pizza.. Honestly, I expected better from an Italian place. This was no better than any commercial Pizza place you'd find across the street. Undercarriage isn't cooked through enough, topping taste cheap and bland/generic. Crust was soft rather than crispy. I had a stomach ache all night - this was... not pizza. Pizza rating: 5.7 Yelp review: 1.1 read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

We recently had lunch here with a small group of friends. Some ordered from their vegan menu, while my hubby & i couldn't decide what to have, so we settled on pizza. I mean, it's an Italian restaurant, how can they mess up pizza?! This was our first time in almost 10 years having a meal at an Il Fornello restaurant - we used to dine at their Bayview Village location. This is what we ordered: Pizza Pollo Asiago - Asiago cream, roasted chicken, sautéed spinach, caramelized onions, rosemary $20.25. Honestly, with that description and the reputation of Il Fornello, i was expecting something pretty spectacular. My meal was a HUGE letdown. I couldn't taste the asiago cream, the "roasted chicken" looked boiled, had no flavour/seasoning AT ALL and was really really dry. The pizza was overpowered with the taste of soggy spinach and not much else. Pizza Prosciutto - Pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto di San Daniele, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, black olives $19.95 - my hubby was a bit disappointed over his meal. A lot of arugula which overpowered any other taste he was hoping to get from this pizza. We also had 2 sides of caesar salad which were "ok", but way too much parmesan cheese. This meal was nowhere near worth the $65+ it cost. Not a safe place for kids to eat at with nut allergies. They do have a couple of items on their vegan menu (caesar with cashew dressing, agnolotti with cashew based ricotta). I found out after we had been there that a close friend of mine had eaten there and had some issues with not being properly informed about the items with nuts. Overall, i was not impressed with the food or lack of service to our group. Certainly not anywhere near the experiences i had at their Bayview Village that i used to go to. read more

Il Fornello - Very dry chicken that needed seasoning, couldn't taste the caramelized onions or the asiago cream - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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Portions are extremely small and not worth your money. We paid $115 for 2 appetizers and 3 main dishes. The portions were so small that it was not enough to feed 3 people. We had to order pizza from somewhere else after dinner so that we could feel satisfied after our meal. I understand that Italian restaurants have either extremely small or extremely large portions--no in between. However, there is nothing special about this restaurant for it to have such small portions for a high price. The dishes were not exceptionally flavourful and did not stand out compared to other Italian restaurants with small portions. We ordered: MEATBALL APPETIZER $15.95 - If I'm going to pay $16 for THREE meatballs, I expect the meatballs to be either (1) big or (2) taste amazing. Each meatball was $5.30 each and it was grocery store meatballs that got heated up and tossed in tomato sauce at best. EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA $14.25 - This came with THREE SLICES of eggplants that were slightly smaller than a coaster for your cup. It did not taste like eggplant and was mostly batter drenched in tomato sauce. CHICKEN ASIAGO $26.95 - The sauce for this dish was pretty good; however, the chicken was extremely dry. Almost $30 for mashed potatoes and vegetables in sauce is not worth it for this dish. The chicken was not pleasant to eat. GNOCCHI $19.95 - This is literally just gnocchi pasta in a rose sauce. You could make this yourself at home for $5. There was nothing special about it. The portion for this was so small that I could count all 24 pieces (you can count yourself in my picture) of gnocchi pasta that it included. The portion of the gnocchi is mini-sized compared to the portion of the mushroom pasta that I also ordered. ORRECHIETTE CON RAGU DI PANCETTA E FUNGHI $19.95 - This wasn't bad. Probably the only good dish of all four that I ordered only because of the portion size. The portion and price was fair for what it was, but the flavour and taste was below average. There wasn't much to it. It's just pasta with mushroom and some sauce. read more

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Average typical American styled Italian like restaurant. Easy to find parking spot. Pasta wasn't the best, not enough pesto. Pizza was unique. The restaurant itself is nice and clean with a bright bar. read more

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Awful. Really disappointing food. Will never recommend this location to anyone. 1. Steak was ordered medium rare. It came out more on the well done side of medium well. When it was sent back to the kitchen the chef came out to argue that we didn't know what we were talking about, didn't know what a medium rare steak was and that he had been cooking for 50 years. But he sent out another one which was medium well - almost fully grey with a think strip of pink in the centre. The chef does NOT know how to cook a steak 2. Espresso shots were SOOOO tiny! It was maybe a dessert spoon worth of espresso - and that's probably being generous. 3. Desserts were nothing to get excited about - the 'homemade' tiramisu was bland and uneventful. The crème brûlée top was burnt not caramelised. The chocolate cake was "meh". Save your $ and get dessert elsewhere. 4. Mushroom pizza had lots of mushrooms but was tasteless and had so little cheese and was missing the honey-truffle drizzle. Our server was good but really disappointed with the atmosphere and the management of this location. read more

I ordered a takout pizza. It was VEGAN SAUSAGE PIZZA. Really tasty and full of flavour. Good job on vegan food. I heard about vegan pizza being good here and was looking forward to try it and I was pleasantly surprised. Well done! read more

I waited nearly half an hour for an order of 4 basic Margherita pizzas for take-out -- the order totaled to over $75. Unfortunately, the pizzas were more bland, tasteless, and dry than the cardboard boxes they came in. The cheese had a bitter aftertaste and an unpleasantly yellow sheen that looked more like processed cheddar than fresh buffalo mozzarella. This callous bastardization of the humble Neapolitan staple may be the worst blight on the good Italian people since the rise of Mussolini. The next time I want disappointingly insipid pizza, I'll visit the frozen food aisle of a No Frills -- at least that way I won't feel ripped off. read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

Went for dinner tonight with the family and we had gnocchi which very tasty but small portion, we shared a Diavolo pizza which was good but salty and also shared a Gorgonzola salad which ad no taste othe that a clump of cheese. Then for dessert we had the cheesecake with seasonal fruit...what a disappointment for $8.25 for a small piece of cake which was probably no more than over 1" high....way over priced. Overall would not go back...disappointing as they use to be good. read more

Il Fornello - Small piece of cheesecake for $8.25 - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

I've never been to Il Fornello before, but I'm a sucker for Italian food, so I decided to check it out with my wife. Our experience was excellent. From the food, to the service, and everything in between. I ordered pasta, and my wife ordered gnocchi in rose sauce. For dessert we had tartufo. Our food came fast too - 12 minutes, and our waiter was friendly and attentive. Would definitely go again. read more

I personally felt like the quality of the food has gotten worst since last visit (December 2018). We had a set menu so I opted for the Insalata Mista and Fettuccine Alfredo. Insalata Mista - wasn't portioned out properly if I compared to other plates around me. It was weak on the dressing so I had to pour extra balsamic for flavour. Fettuccine Alfredo - loved how the pasta was cooked but the Alfredo sauce was weak and lacked flavour. Other than that, service was decent and the warm bread they provided was a nice touch. read more

well i liv ein king city, twenty minutes away by highway. i do take out cause we love the vegan plant based menu, but the staff do not listen to instructions. I ordered tonight, took it home open up my cashew caesar avacado salad WHICH I SPECIFICALLY SAID NO CROUTONS OR CROUTONS ON THE SIDE. no such luck, into the garbage. and like an idiot, i tipped. WORD TO THE WISE: ask and check, never trust what you get ZERO STARS, and they deserve it this time brian ordered lentil spagetti, lentel soup and the salad i tossed todat at 730 august 5 read more

Great place for date night w/ friendly wait staff Stephen was our waiter for the night - awesome recommendation with the Mussels as our starter - save some bread for the sauce! I went with the Pizza Diavola as my main - this can easily feed 2 people... lol, but fantastic pizza full of flavour. The Mrs ordered the Ortechiette Con Ragu Di Pancetta E Funghi - destroyed the plate before I could grab a picture. Would definitely come back again read more

Il Fornello - PIZZA DIAVOLA Pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami, basil, chillies, black olives - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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There area few Il Fornello locations around the GTA. Coming here, the venue is beautiful with contemporary decor, however the parking is a bit strange as the entrance doesn't face the lot. Nonetheless this restaurant focuses on traditional Italian cuisine, however I did find their food prices a bit expensive and higher than normal. I decided to have their pizza salsiccia which consisted of sausages, onions, red peppers, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce. Overall a great gourmet pizza dish. Unfortunately since I was sick and medicated, taking advantage of their exclusive wine was not feasible for me. read more

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Went for dinner with friends. I got the lasagna. My friends got the gnocchi with white and with rose sauce with hot water and wine! Started with bread. It was hard and cold. Seemed like it was leftovers from lunch that they just put in the fridge. The lasagne was delicious. I want to eat it every Monday night. "On Mondays we eat ll fornello lasagne". Would have been a 4 or more but the bread, the waitress had two tables and spent most of the time chatting with the hostess. Get the lasagne!! read more

Il Fornello - The delicious lasagne! - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

I'm starting to lose faith in chain restaurants, as most of them usually just churn out boring, generic and commercial-tasting food. Despite this, I always feel compelled to give them a chance, and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. Il Fornello, however, falls into the category of chain restaurants that disappoint me. For appetizer, our group shared a calamari fritti: Sardinian spiced deep fried calamari with lemon aioli. The calamari was really mediocre, and the sauce was just bland. I sampled the pasta special of the day: Porcini mushroom filled ravioli with roasted red pepper with cream sauce. It was basically commercial ravioli slathered with a mount of heavy cream sauce. I was not impressed. I usually love Lasagna, but I really felt that Stouffers microwavable lasagna taste a lot better than this one. The sauce tasted like canned tomato purée that I can get at any supermarket. It was also missing that browned cheesy crust on top that I love. Needless to say, I will not be returning to Il Fornello. A lot of other chain restaurants offer much better "fake" Italian food. read more

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The service was mediocre, the food was tasteless. Our waitress was not able to make meaningful food recommendations. The bread that arrived for the table was thick, cold and hard. The food was very bland. Definitely not authentic Italian food. read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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Our server that night was very friendly and prompt with filling up our water glasses. However, he forgot to bring our wine for a few minutes until he suddenly remembered. He also completely forgot to bring us our bread basket.... which in the end was fine because I wouldn't have needed more carbs anyway, but the fact was that he forgot entirely. We ordered the Orrechiette Con Ragu Di Pancetta E Funghi and Pizza Fichi (which I have raved about and recommended to people since the last time I had it. Unfortunately, neither was to my liking that night. Firstly, the orecchiette dish was overly al dente at first taste. Being at an Italian restaurant, I wasn't sure initially whether the al dente was just too firm and hard for my liking or whether it was slightly uncooked -- that actually didn't occur to me until a halfway into the dish because my impression of Il Fornello had been so good up to this point that I didn't think anything less of them. However, I actually did think that the pasta in this dish was undercooked. Not to mention that each pasta shell was very firm and did taste a tiny bit raw, but also the shells of the orecchiette stuck together several at a time. I believe that when pasta is thoroughly cooked, it shouldn't stick together at all... The Pizza Fichi was also a disappointment because instead of being a predominantly fig pizza, it ended up being more of a prosciutto pizza. When I looked at the pizza, there were barely any figs on it. Yes, there was one fig piece per slice of the pizza but that one piece was like a sliver of the actual fig fruit and nothing compared to the generous and succulent portions that I had had before. Before we left that night, we had the Chocolate Banana Cake. This was actually very good! It was a lot more chocolaty than I realized. The banana and banana mousse were extra cold in between the slice of the cake and the cake was definitely garnished with chocolate ganache on the outside. It was a heavy cake but tasted quite good and moist (which is so important for cakes). That night, both K and I had to go to the toilet multiple times.... we think it was because of what we ate for dinner at Il Fornello.. :/ read more

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This place was a so so experience and if it wasn't for the service and the quality company of colleagues I was with, my star rating may have been lower. I came here for a early Christmas dinner with my colleagues. They all raved about how good it was so I was super excited. Pizza and pasta is always a quality combination. I'm not going to go into details about what everyone ate but I'll talk about what I had. The eggplant parmigiana was amazing. I completely forgot it was eggplant until I was basically done. It was crispy then sauced up with extra cheese. The mussels aren't fresh. I can understand because of the location I'm sure it's hard to get them fresh. But frozen mussels aren't exactly appetizing to eat either. They had a smell to them. A smell any seafood lover is not a smell that comes out of fresh seafood. That was a big miss for me. And probably why I'm giving this 3 star rating. I had the seafood pasta (forgot the name on the menu) but it has calamari and shrimp and once again, MUSSELS! I didn't finish my pasta and my mussels were put to the side. I think that was a mistake on my parts after realizing the mussels were in that condition and I still ordered more seafood. For dessert, I had the Baccio which made up for the not so pleasing pasta dish. It was rich and flavourful and a nice way to end our evening. Our server was pleasant and respectful the entire time, we didn't feel rushed or pressured to leave right away or hurry up with eating. read more

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I would say closer to 3.5 stars. Came on a Friday night for an early dinner. Place was pretty empty so service was not an issues whatsoever. Service was courteous and waiter made sure we were well taken care of. We weren't very hungry to just ordered a mussle and a good old pepperoni pizza. Mussel $14.75 - in a nice spicy tomato sauce. All the mussels were plump and fresh, no bad apples in the pot, which is always a good sign. Make sure you save some bread to soak up all the tasty sauce and not waste it. Pepperoni Pizza $14.95 - thin crust and came out fresh and piping hot. Ask for some parmesan cheese and chili flakes and hot olive oil on the side to crank up the flavour. Overall, it's satisfied our pizza craving and does the trick. Having a quick look at the rest of the menu, the price point does seem a little higher than I remembered. But for pizza and mussels, it's reasonable. read more

Il Fornello - Plump mussels. - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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Food is delish. Excellent service. Our server was very attentive despite it was busy. read more

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Just like the other reviews for this restaurant, my experience here was very mixed. We made reservations for the patio for a birthday dinner and everything was fine. The service was ok, nothing very notable so I'll comment specifically on the food. We ordered five main dishes (pizzas and pastas). They were all pretty decent, but my favourite was definitely the "RIGATONI FUNGHI E CARNE" (literally copied and pasted from the menu in case I spell it wrong). The brandy cream sauce is so rich and the beef tenderloin has just the right amount of bite. I want to cook all of my cream pasta sauces with brandy now. Now onto the cons. The bread was extremely dry and stale. It was a chilly day to begin with and we thought the bread would help warm us up a little bit, but it wasn't heated at all (same with the butter). We also ordered a Mango Peach sangria pitcher for $48 and it literally tasted like juice. We each only got about one glass' worth and didn't taste any alcohol in it. We ended up having to order a bottle of red wine after. It was a pretty average experience, but at the price we ended up paying, I guess I expected a little more. read more

3.5 star Maybe I was lucky? Maybe it was a Sunday? I have quite a decent meal at Il Fornello and the service was terrific! Linguine di Mare ($19) - too saucy and that made the pasta a little too soggy - Seafood is plentiful and fresh: Mussels, Calamari, Shrimps and Scallops Rigatoni Bolognese ($16) - pasta cooked al dente with a good bit and texture - meat sauce is rich and bold Chocolate Souffle ($11) - a little overpriced with the portion - More like a warm brownie with ice cream but really hit the spot! I am biased with warm chocolate everything Service... Attentive and Cheerful... I love my waiter! He alone worth that extra 0.5 star! Will try to come back on Tuesday for their $10 Pizza Special! Hopefully really soon! read more

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Il Fornello Staff & Management I want to thank you for the wonderful service and the way you accommodated our family for this very special Birthday Celebration The service was amazing, the food was great, The Staff made us feel extremely comfortable at all times So much appreciated You made our Day !! With Gratitude ! Bette Ursini read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

I used to really enjoy coming to Il Fornelo, especially on discount Tues nights. But my last couple of visits here have been a real disappointment. The price keeps going up but the food and service quality is absolutely plummeting. The complimentary bread was extremely hard and stale. The rigatoni funghi was tasteless and the pasta was way undercooked to the point where it was very chewy and hard. The gnocchi with rose sauce was absolutely horrendous! Instead of mixing potatoes with regular flour, perhaps they used drywall compound. Yes, it was that bad! Even the rose sauce tasted funny. One of the worst gnocchi I've ever had, and I've ordered it at least 2-3 times here before and I remember it being quite good. Finally the pizza! How can you mess up the pizza??? After waiting so long for it, I'd expect the crust to be at least somewhat crispy. No, it was totally mushy. The only good thing was the beer, and it was only good because they didn't make it. The service here has also gotten much worse. Our waitress was extremely grumpy and seemed agitated when I asked a few questions about the different pastas. When the pizza came, I asked her to bring me an extra plate for sharing and off she went and I never saw her again. Had to ask a much more pleasant waiter for the plate, which he promptly brought. Not sure if the management changed or if all the original chefs/cooks/servers left, but this place certainly changed for the worse. What a shame, was a great place before... Not coming back again. read more

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Haha writing this makes me laugh because the service at the front of house at this establishment was a total joke. Went on Valentine's Day. Made resos and mentioned will need high chair. It took them 20 mins to deal with the high chair situation. There were three ladies at the front of house. Completely clueless all three of them walking around with confused looks on their faces. Management should really either train them better or get rid of them altogether. Saving grace was our server, even the food was mediocre. Stay away and save your money. Lesson learnt. We won't return. read more

Tuesday pizza for $12! Great deal for good food and great service! This is actually a good spot for business meetings too since it is quite quiet and private. Service is great as well. Obviously we had pizza since we came on Tuesday but we have been here many other times and ordered pasta etc and it was great. The ambiance is very comfortable and the service here is top notch. read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

Been here many times and it never disappoints. We have had my daughter's communion and recently confirmation party. The food was excellent and the service top notch. The atmosphere is classy and there are nice areas for special party's. They will change the menu to your liking. read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

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We came to the Richmond Hill location but I'm used to going to the King St location. This location seems bigger and more spacious. We were on the elevated level and noticed that this area can be sectioned off by curtains if you want to host a private party. There is a large bar and TVs. Our server was attentive and friendly. I was thrilled at trying their new vegan menu. They can make any of their pastas with gf rice pasta and they offer gf pizza crust....it's a flatbread I was told. They have a gluten free bread but you have to pay for the loaf....it is not complimentary like the regular bread. I did not try it. I had the vegan Caesar salad and vegan pasta bolognese. The salad was fresh and tasty. The bolognese is made with "Beyond meat" crumbles. The texture is quite hard and it tastes different than the "Beyond meat" burger. I had to verify with the server that I received the vegan version It was satisfying. I will go back to try other items on the menu. The only vegan, gf dessert is sorbet so I suggest they improve on dessert options. read more

Il Fornello has been a regular haunt for 16 years now. The Richmond hill location is our regular haunt. It is clean, beautifully decorated, nice music,and a pleasure to eat at. Good for families, or for an intimate meal. I take business associates here for meetings as well. This location is by far my favourite. I've been to most, if not all locations. The staff is fantastic and goes out of their way to make sure I'm treated like family, and that I always have something that I am able to eat. They have for many years provided some of the most diverse choices for an Italian restaurant for anyone who must eat gluten free. They provide normal food as well that is extraordinary, but for me I will review this as someone who has to maintain a strict gluten free diet. The pizzas are quite good, and the pasta selection is great. They have gluten free crusts and pasta, but what sets them apart from most restaurants that serve gluten free is that they also have several appetizers, soup, and main courses that are not just pasta and/or pizza options I typically get the veal and have a nice butternut or minestrone soup. Today I am having a higher protein version of "pasta." I have asked them to substitute vegetables for my pasta, and I am happy to pay extra to get a more low carb option. They have been great in making substitutions for us as needed. All three of us in our family must eat gluten free. One of my absolute favourites! read more

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Came here for a couple of times during lunch hours, Il Fornello has a great name and potential, but the quality and service need some improvements! It's usually steady and not that busy which usually allows servers to take their time and extra efforts to provide an A+ service, but this isn't the case here. Food is good, tasty and authentic. Prices are a little high but they're certainly justified with the type of place and atmosphere. Portions can be enhanced of-course! I have tried it a couple of times and would've loved to be a regular here, but after few tryouts and failure to impress, I think I won't be back here again. Good apps: Calamari and Antipasto platter Mains: Veal Limone and Lamb chops read more

A group of 5 of us decided to come to Il Fornello. I choose it because they now have a plant based menu (woohoo!!! Finally). I started off with the avocado caesar which was very good (which they added faking bits or something). M and I shared the pizza vegano and swapped the onion for mushrooms! We were both pleasantly surprised! It was very good. The only thing is that this restaurant is kinda pricey for what it has to offer...would I come back? Sure but it's not my first choice. read more

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At nearly $20 for a personal pizza and given the location, I expected a lot more in terms of quality. My Nonna and I went into Il Fornello in search of good pizza. While the atmosphere of the restaurant itself was good, the fact that many of the tables were covered in sheets of paper over top of linen should have been the first red flag. After being seated we were left alone for about 10 minutes (it was not a busy night by any means) before being give bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar by our server who (keep in mind I am 20), referred to us both as "ma'am". He nearly ran away from the table after taking our drink order, and we ended up having to stop him to let him know that we already knew what we wanted. We both ordered pizzas, ringing in at $19.95 each, plus tax. While waiting I decided to try the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and I was extremely disappointed to find that the olive oil was nearly flavourless while the balsamic vinegar was so sour it might as well have been white vinegar. Then came the pizzas. While their appearances were promising, we quickly discovered that the actual dough of the pizza completely lacked flavour. This is something we assume they attempted to compensate for by putting a hefty amount of toppings on top. As an Italian, and as someone who has grown up eating pizza, I know that a good pizza does not rely solely on its topping for flavour. As for said toppings, the prosciutto on mine was incredibly salty and the arugula was beyond bitter. Beyond the food, the service itself wasn't great. My water glass sat empty for upwards of 10 minutes while our server did who knows what (again, it wasn't a busy night, and he also wasn't the only server on the floor). It should also be noted that after packing up our leftovers, we found a short, dark, coarse hair on the pizza plate. Upon looking at the cook making our pizzas (who was in clear view), it appeared to have come from his moustache. Overall, I was extremely disappointed by our experience at Il Fornello and will not be returning. read more

Il Fornello - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario

We were on the hunt for a pateo in the Richmond Hill area, but I had no interest in typical pub food, so we soon found ourselves at Il Fornello. Il Fornello is an Italian restaurant that sells pasta, pizza, salads, etc. The restaurant is situated in its own building, which is fairly large. Though the decor doesn't scream dress code, when we went for lunch on a Saturday afternoon, many of the other groups there were dressed rather well. I'm not sure if it was just coincidental and they just happened to have left a wedding, but don't say I didn't warn you. I went into the meal with minimal expectations and planning, so on the advice of my Italian companion, I opted for the pizza fichi. She's a vegetarian, so when she said she would eat this pizza if she HAD to eat meat, I was intrigued. When the pie landed on our table I was presented with a thin crust pie dressed with marscarpone, prosciutto, sliced figs, large shavings of grana padado, honey, and a healthy amount of arugula. I was a little worried by the amount of arugula, considering how chefs often don't respect how powerful it could be, but thank God my fears did not come to pass. Once I settled in for my first bite, the genius of this soul soothing flavour combination rudely interrupted our lively conversation. The dollops of creamy marscapone beautifully mesh with the perfect amount of honey distributed on the pie. The other half of your pallet is simultaneously stiumulated by that unique arugula flavour and the tang of the grana padano cheese. And don't get me started on these damn figs... Those cute, little, sweet bundles just add to the whole bunch, along with the prosciutto. And if that wasn't enough, you'll get to enjoy a stellar crust too. I don't really hold this against the pizza, but you MUST eat this fresh, because the quality of the meal drops from 5 stars to next-day-leftovers in maybe 15 minutes. I have no idea what the rest of the food tastes like, so please do not take this rating as indicative of everything else they serve at Il Fornello, but as far as my experience with this pie goes, it passed my socks knocked off test. Killer pie, good service. read more

Il Fornello - Pizza Fichi: Mascarpone, prosciutto, figs, shaved grana padano, honey, arugula ($21.95) - Italian Near Me - Richmond Hill, Ontario