Il Fornaio

We have always had dinner at the one at Sacramento, and it always is great food, this one however is the poorest quality we have had ever in a restaurant ever! Sorry!
The servers are pleasant but the rest do not know what to say. They sat us a party if four at the world’s smallest table, when the whole night there was a larger table for four just a few feet over, I am disabled so can’t figure that one either? And we did have dinner reservations also and were seated quickly, buy would have happy to wait a bit if the seating was larger for us instead of squeezing us in with other guests. Well we will not be returning to this location anytime soon.

The wait staff treated us like royalty here. I dropped my knife and within 30 seconds a guy appeared out of nowhere with a fresh one, presented on a clean linen napkin on a plate! I loved the service!
Food was good, but nothing made me gasp with excitement. The bruschetta is tasty and the tomatoes were plentiful and fresh.
Our meal was pretty expensive, which was expected. The service matched the price, but the food could have been served at a mid-​range restaurant.

Today I posted a less than favorable review on Il Fornaio in Walnut Creek based on our Father’s Day dining experience. Today I’m withdrawing my review. I was unhappy with the restaurant and said so, but today I received a phone call from Il Fornaio headquarters apologizing for any negative experiences both with service and food. They asked me to give them another chance.
I respect receiving such a phone call and particularly in so short a time after posting my review and sending them a letter. I look forward to dining with you again.

Completely disappointed by the restaurant on Father’s Day. The fishes and the cannelloni are overcooked to the point of toughness. Our waiter, who I’m sure is overworked due to the busy day, would disappear for long stretches. Won’t be back again due to the expensive price to low food quality.

I absolutely love this place and it has some authentic delicious Italian food. I love their bread, it comes out so warm and fresh. I enjoy trying different items on their menu and I’ve been pleased with everything. On our most recent visit our waiter recommended a pizza (I forgot the name of it!) which we tried and it was amazing. Will definitely be back soon!

Great place for a first date! Il Fornaio is not too crowded or noisy. The staff was very friendly and provided excellent service. I had the capellini al pomodoro, which was delicious – along with the tasty bread. My date had the pasta with vodka sauce, and he liked it. I was pleasantly surprised that we came on a Sunday and we did not have to wait to be seated or put up with noise.

This is my favorite platter! I always forget the name, but the servers know when I show them this photo! :) great for lunches as I work across the street and take clients from time to time.
The girls At the front desk are kind, but young. They could be more attentive.
Servers are always fantastic! My mom and I always attend!

Service was excellent; however, the inside of the cannelloni was cold. Restaurant is just not as good as it used to be. We won’t be back.

Can you believe that some Italian restaurants do not serve home-​made minestrone or even minestrone at all? And do not bake their bread on the premises? And finally, give their food servers such big stations that they are running $ 30 plates of pasta like they’re they’re in a coffee shop serving cheeeburgers at dinner rush?
Sadly, I have seen all the above at other restaurants claming to serve upper-​scale Italian food.
Go to Il Forniao, instead! HIghlights are outdoor patio seating and indoor seating available at the chef’s stations if you want, to watch the food experts at work. Gluten-​free pasta, is available too!
Il Fornaio is as authentic as going to an elegant, but comfortable Italian restaurant – in Italy!
Highly recommended. P. S. Parking is easy to find in an adjoining parking structure – and free for 2 hours – can’t get much better than this!

Came here with a bunch of girls for a dinner. They sat us in the big room off to the right once you entered the front doors. The servers were nice but weren’t that attentive
What I swallowed:
GNOCCHI with WABBIT: Yes, I said wabbit. I love gnocchi. It was really good here. I couldn’t get ove the mindset that i was eating Bambi. I had a couple bites (it wasn’t in big chunks, more like shredded) but i ended up scooting the meat to the side and just having the gnocchi. The sauce was just OK.
I think the wabbit was the star of the dish. If the wabbit was replaced with chicken, it still would have just been an Ok put-​together dish.
Nice ambiance and it was fun time with my girls but. eh. Not that impressed with the food.

Review for Brunch only.
I’m smitten with eggs!
Food: You gotta love the bread with olive oil/​balsamic vinegar. It’s hard to stop yourself from eating all of it and asking for more. It’s complementary but you have to tell your mouth to stop.
Ordered the eggs Benedict. The dice was creamy and flavorful. I told my mouth to finish the whole plate.
Ambiance: the restaurant had a lovely airy feel. Perfect for Brunch.
Service: it was good not necessarily stellar.

Nice Italian Restaurant. Easy to find amongst all the shopping centers. Seated quickly without a reservation. Menu had plenty of choices. Waitress was nice & helpful. Ordered the calamaretti Fritti,
linguine mare chiaro, and the piatto smeralda. The calamaretti was lightly coated & cooked just right. Loved the spiciness of the linguine & the clean crispy flavors of the piatto. Would return for another enjoyable late lunch.

A nice Italian restaurant with some quality food options right in the heart of Walnut Creek.
Inside, the restaurant is broken up into a bunch of smaller dining rooms for a more intimate feeling. The menu has most of your popular modern Italian options. I recommend the Christina pizza and the linguini Mare. All the pasta and breads are made fresh. Seafood and meats are quality. Sooo… Why only 4 starts?
It’s the customer service or service in general. It’s a tall task to meet expectations in this area. Lots of foot traffic and a customer base that expects perfection especially when you’re paying for it… It’s really hit and mis. On our last visit we ordered our drinks and before they came the waiter was asking us what we wanted to eat (10min later) He didn’t offer up any specials or recommendations. He did not introduce him self and just seemed overwhelmed. Was he new? Was it busy? Couldn’t tell but once I asked him to slow down and tell us about the menu… The service picked up and he made some great recommendations. It has been similar in our past experiences with this place with the service slow to pickup or never at all…

Went there this evening for happy hour with a friend. We ordered 2 pizzas and calamari. All the food was very tasty. The pizza had wonderful chewiness to it and the happy hour prices are great.
So why 3 stars? The service. I met my friend there after work and I had to flag down the server to ask for water after being seated for awhile. I also asked for a drink menu at that time, but that never arrived. We had to ask for our check to be taken after waiting for it to be picked up. The service was lacking in engagement and attention. The restaurant seemed adequately staffed and there were not many full tables, so it seemed like an overall unawareness or care of the customer.

My husband and I eat here about once a month. Their calamari, pasta bolognese, and pancakes are delicious. The staff is also very attentive and friendly. I like the open and bright atmosphere. This location is very clean. I had my wedding rehearsal brunch here.

I have so many things to say about this place.
My friends and I went to Il Fornaio to celebrate a 18^th birthday. And it became a mess real quick.
First of all, we were greeted with a rude hostess who kept rushing us. And our waitress definitely made things worse. At the first glance I can tell she was very unhappy to have received a large group of people, her bad attitude was extremely noticeable which was irritating because she was carrying her personal problems into her work place.
First incident happened when she was taking drink orders. She was trying to get my friend’s attention to ask what drink he wanted, and instead of politely asking him like a normal waitress would do, she continuously poked him with the sharp end of her pen on his shoulder which left him in a great deal of pain. Did she not know how to use her words??? We were all extremely baffled and couldn’t believe what was going on. On top of that, It took her an excessive amount of time to get drinks– which was mostly water and even longer to get our food. I ordered a half order of pasta, for about $ 22 and was really excited but was let down at the first bite. My plate was cold, and the cheese was extremely dry along with the pasta. The pasta was definitely under cooked which added to my stress.
We also wanted to split the check, and she explained how ridiculous the request was. She discriminated against us because we are younger that their usual customers, and kept exaggerating and excessively mentioning how stressed she was because of the request and acted like it was a favor she was doing for us.
It was a nightmare that no one should experience on their birthday, and I felt very bad for my friend who has to get such a treatment on her big day.

We are back again!
My husband likes to frequent restaurants where he is known and we can chat with the same staff members. I tend to like to explore new places. Il Fornaio is one of his favorite hang outs. I must say it is consistently good, the wait staff are congenial and efficient, and people do know us. I continue to rave about the beet salad as it really is one of the best beet salads from any establishment. It’s satisfying and large boasting red and yellow beets, arugula, goat cheese, and walnuts with a light vinaigrette dressing. I eat a one alone, but it is big enough to share. We did share a pappardelle with funghi and it was delicious. For dessert we split an order of the cannolli which were an almond hard cookie will creamy filling, candied fruits, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Always make a reservation as Il Fornaio is always packed. Buon appetito.

Overpriced pasta, pizzas and salads. I would classify it as a below than average Olive Garden.
There is an open kitchen where I do see «chefs» dicing, mincing and sauteing, however the food doesn’t reflect such preparations. The pasta we ordered was tasteless & unoriginal and the pizza was cold & soggy. The only bright side was the staff was extremely friendly and the ambiance is inviting. The food however was lacking at best.
Unilocalers: Don’t forget to check in for a FREE appetizer! In our case we got bruschetta which was easily the best part of our meal!

Located right next to H&M in the middle of downtown Walnut Creek. The restaurant is nicely decorated and the atmosphere is very intimate. We were seated inside facing the patio next to the fireplace.
The service was cordial — our server was quick and thorough. She helped us select everything from the wine we got to the entrée.
We checked in here and got a free appetizer which happened to be the bruschetta. It was alright, I’ve definitely had better.
My partner ordered the caprese salad and by sight, I could tell the tomatoes were a bit soggy. Not your typical caprese salad, the mozzarella was on top of three tomatoes that were cut in halves and topped with fresh basil.
I ordered the red and gold beet salad that was on top of a fresh bed of arugula and Parmesan cheese as well as walnuts. The dressing was a nice lemon vinegarette.
As for the entrée — meh. I already forgot the name of it. But next time I will definitely check out heir ravioli!
I would come back here again and try something different.

Really good– worth the parking hassle but great eats! Walnut creek is great. The parking is a bit difficult. We ended up finding a meter across the street after a few minutes and that worked out fine if you don’t mind a short walk. The staff was friendly and welcoming. The food was really interesting in presentation, and great. We split several things to try more and enjoyed this type of family styling eating. The cocktails were very good and the choices were many. My only criticism if any was that the restaurant could use some upkeep. For example they have these strings of light bulbs for ambiance, but many of the bulbs are burned out. The extra seats for children are thrown every which way on the floor under a bar and a general dusting of the art would be good.
Again, this place was great, and I will make it appoint to go there again when visiting Walnut Creek.

Restaurant Italien, on y mange trés bien.
Le decort est joly, les pizza et les plats gratinés cuit au feu de bois (apparement)
Il y a meme le tourne broches pour les poulet dans le restaurant.
Les desserts sont presentés sur un chariot et tous donnent envi. (et c’est plus sympa qu’une carte)
On y a passé une tres bon moment.