05/11/09

Worm in my salad!

by diningreviewer1

Remember that episode of Seinfeld where the chef blatently dismisses washing his hands after using the toilet? That's what happened here. Why don't people wash their hands after using the facilities?

In addition, there was a worm, or some kind of grub, in my salad. It was disgusting!

The sauce is just ketchup with garlic!

• Pros: It's Italian!
• Cons: It's nasty Italian!

05/01/09

Too Bad, They Don't Really Care

by SLC1

We tried out this restaurant on the first night of the SLC Dine-O-Round. That is where a selection of downtown restaurants offer special menus for a fixed price. My wife and I tried both of the offerings. First course was a salad. Boring, uninspired, small.

Main was a stuffed chicken breast for my wife and salmon for me. Stuffed chicken breast was decent, good flavor and a creamy pesto sauce. It was served with a pasta with marinara sauce that seemed a little lost on the plate. My salmon was uninspired. It was served on a bed of spinach. Not much salmon, plenty of spinach, topped with a dijon sauce and two shrimp. The salmon didn't shine through and the shrimp were badly overcooked and seemed like an afterthought. The dijon sauce was bland and ill-conceived.

Dessert was Mud Pie. Flavors were off and it was served with some raw peanuts that seemed a little lost in the dish. The ice cream was watery and lacked any flavor.

The main dishes on the normal menu range from $12-$18. It seems that we could have ordered off of the normal menu and spent less money than on the Dine-O-Round menu which was fixed at $30 per person.

What's worse, the specials weren't a good representation of what the restaurant is, an Italian Restaurant. It's not a bad location and the interior is fine, but it really seems to lack any soul or personality. Maybe the normal menu is better, but these events exist to highlight your restaurant and to showcase your vision and passion for food. Given what we experienced, it seems that vision is a little lost and the passion isn't there.

11/13/08

Seems cheap but actually pricey. NOT worth it.

by MissItalian

As a true Italian, I had high hopes when I went to Al Forno's. I was severly disappointed. While it's true the entrees don't appear that expensive, it turns out the place gets pricey. When the waitress asked what salad I'd like with my meal, she neglected to mention that it would be a $10 salad. Also, the deserts don't even have prices listed on the menu--and there's a good reason for it!! Now, I can deal with high prices if the food is worth it, but it wasn't. The portions were small, the sauce was odd, and the pasta was not al dente. Don't waste your time or money!!

• Pros: Atmosphere had potential, but things like cardboard stars hanging from the ceiling ruined it.
• Cons: High prices, small portions, mediocre food.

06/28/08

Fraudulently Over-Charged!

by DasNootz

I thought the food here was good, and in fact, I complimented the manager on the way out the door. However when I received my credit card statement I noticed that I was overcharged by $30.00 by the waiter who seemed to think his service was worth far more than I did.

Two months, four phone calls and four promises to pay later, I've made a complaint with the state in an effort to recoup my money for their fraudulent practices.

• Pros: Gnocci was very good
• Cons: Over charged by $30 on credit card.

02/13/08

Best Bad Service Ever

by missmoe

I tried to make a reservation for dinner, but the phone rang and rang and rang. I called 5 times on my cell phone, then called on my office phone and just let the phone keep ringing. Eventually it went to a fax machine maybe, or something that made a very similar unpleasant sort of noise. I even checked their phone number on 3 different websites! It was the right number.

I finally gave up on trying to make a reservation, and called up Lugano's. They answered promptly. I forgot the reservation time promptly after hanging up 6:00 or 6:30? I called them back. The woman on the phone was very gracious. All in all, a marvelous dining experience

In any case, Al Forno's totally blew their chance for our business. They may be almost 10 times closer to my house than Lugano's is, but service and well, just picking up the phone, goes for a lot. I would never make another try for Al Forno's.

• Pros: I got to try my new favorite restaurant.... Lugano's
• Cons: Crazy fax noise in my ear.

12/20/07

Good food, classy atmosphere, reasonably priced

by rsh27

We've wanted to try out this resturant for a while now after driving past it several times over the past few months. We were hesitant because of the location (not very many other restaurants nearby). We then looked at these reviews and were even more hesitant because of the mixture of either highly positive or highly negative comments. We decided to give it a try anyway, and were plesantly surprised. We went on a Thursday night, so it was not too crowded. The food was flavorful and portion sizes were ample. The free bread (with oil and vinegar) was exceptional. My only complaint was the lack of variety on the menu--only pastas as entrees--which is to be expected at an Italian restaurant I suppose! I would definitly eat here again and would even recommend it to a friend.

Atmosphere: upscale, but not so fancy that you need to dress-up, however if you wanted to go out for a nice evening you could be dressed-up and not feel out of place. Low lighting; pendant light and candle at each table. Nice cream linens (tablecloth and linen napkins). Both wooden tables with chairs and booths.

Price: reasonable. About $13-15 for an entree. $6-8 for appetizers or salads.

Service: our waitress was great. She offered several suggestions for menu choices. The host at the front desk was kind enough to prepare a table large enough to accomodate our party (4 adults and a toddler).

• Pros: cosy yet classy atmosphere; ample parking in back
• Cons: seating a little cramped (in places)

11/07/07

R0tten Salad - not worth your money

by jade2

Let me get right to the point.

Definitely not worth your money.

The lettuce on the salad was r0tten....yes r0tten. black and gooey.

The BRUSCHETTA AL POMODORO tasted like bread with Pico de Gallo. Definitely not Italian. The Lasagne tasted like it was made with enchilada sauce. The Chicken Fettecunni picante was not picante and the chicken was not fresh. You could clearly taste that it had been in the fridge for a couple of days. The dish had a strange Mexican taste.

I never have done a restaurant review however this place was so bad I had too.

Remedies: change the menu and remodel or move locations.

PROS: good bread and water. Waitress was excellent.

CONS: restaurant smells of cigarette smoke(has an old smokey Denny's smell) and waiters clear you plates before you leave and are right in your face.

one place that I have found great Italian in Salt Lake is Luganos on 3405 South and 2300 East.

09/07/07

AWEFUL, DISGUSTING, DISAPPOINTING ! ! !

by kmsalvesen

My wife and I went to Al Forno's for my birthday on 9-6-07 for dinner. We have been there many times before and quite liked it, now it is TERRIBLE. The service was HORRIBLE (the waiter even had dirty fingernails!) The food was unacceptable. A waitress made rude comments to another employee about a dessert item I ordered. WE WILL NEVER, EVER GO BACK TO THIS RESTAURANT. AVOID THIS RESTAURANT AT ALL COSTS! Thanks for ruining my birthday dinner!

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: SERVICE, FOOD

08/31/07

So far, not so good

by ryhno

All I've done is made a reservation at Al Forno's and I'm already not too happy about it. The first two times I tried to call last night I got what sounded like a fax machine. The third time I actually got through and no one took my call and I had to leave a message to place a reservation with the promise that someone would be calling me back to confirm. I left the message at around 7:00pm thinking that they check their messages and call people when they close but alas, no one called me back. I had to call back today at 12:30pm since my reservation is for tonight but I still had to call three more times to even talk to anyone (no one should have to call a restaurant 6 times just to make and confirm a reservation)! The first time was the fax machine noise, the second time no one answered, and when I finally got to talk to someone they put me on hold and forgot about me for nearly 15 minutes! All the while I could hear everything going on in the kitchen, lots of jokes and casual talk. How do I know they forgot about me and I wasn't being legitimately put on hold? Because someone near the phone said "Do you have someone on hold?" I was almost certain she was going to hang up and luckily she didn't or I'd be online right now looking for a different restaurant instead of writing this review. Then I had to explain twice the reason I was calling as if this was the first time anyone had made a reservation and when she asked if I would hold while she checked my reservation I seriously had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something not nice. I'd give them one star but I haven't tried the food. This place really needs to work on their customer service.

[UPDATE] I'll give it an extra star for the food. But even while I was there the service was bad. How loud do I have to say "Excuse me" to get my passing waitress to hear me instead of just walking past me?

06/01/07

Your new favorite

by aurorapandora

Al Forno?s is real Italian. We started out with a bruschetta combination. Instead of tomato and cheeses on a traditional thin, dry slice of bread, this bruschetta comes on a thick chewy half roll, warm and fresh. It?s absolutely delicious and the stuff that you find yourself craving days after you?ve last tasted it.

Our dinners were the linguini fradiavolo and the lasagna verde. The linguini fradiavolo is made with ?Prawns, garlic & herbs in a spicy tomato sauce? and has just the right balance of garlic and tomato on top of linguini cooked to the perfect consistency: not hard and crunchy, not soft and mushy. In most Italian restaurants, the tomato based sauces rest on the tomato to carry the flavor. But the sauce on the linguini fradiavolo is thin (in a good way) and full of flavor, the tomato simply adding to the nutty garlic and spices, rather than overpowering it.

The lasagna verde is a traditional vegeterian lasagna with layers of firm pasta and cheeses with thin bits of spinach, smothered in a homemade tomato sauce. Again, the pasta was well cooked and the balance of cheeses was just right, the flavor overall mild and perfectly complimentary. I prefer my lasagna a little more unusual (lasanga bolognese anyone?) because most traditional lasagna?s have no imagination at all and the flavor suffers, but Al Forno?s follows the old adage of using the best ingredients in order to carry a traditional recipe, and the lasagna shines because of it.

Al Forno?s has a small, simple wine menu with a few selections to perfectly compliment the food. The chianti that we selected added just the right flavor to the overall experience. The staff is very attentive and knowledgeable and is a lot of fun to talk to, the food brought out in a clean, simple presentation. The atmosphere is very low key and relaxed, but surprisingly classy given the strip-mall exterior.

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