Il Fornaio

My family and I had dinner here during our trip to Palo Alto last week and our server Jason was fantastic. Rather than just give us the menus, he told us about each dish. He helped customize to my son's requests and gave us information about the history of the restaurant and the area. He was wonderful and made it one of the best dinners of our 12 day long trip. We had from age 74 to 10 at the table and all of us had a great time and service from Jason.

Overall this was such a great place for lunch!! I loved the fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic. The crust is crunchy but the inside is super soft and warm.

There's a Yelp check in offer and we were able to enjoy the most decadent and refreshing burrata appetizer! It was very balanced, light, and flavorful -- I could eat that everyday!! There was a generous amount of burrata and arugula and the bread is toasted and offers a nice crunch. Prosciutto added the right amt of salty!

The rigatoni alla vodka is very very good. In my opinion, the thickness of the sauce was perfect and the bacon offered a nice umami salty flavor to balance the slightly sweet tomato. The noodle is cooked al dente and has a nice chew to it. I really like this dish and came back just for it!

The margarita pizza was solid but I think it isn't over the top incredible or mind blowing. It's simple and the crust is thin. I would have loved to have more basil.

The server is really friendly! We got seated immediately and were able to get our food pretty quickly. There seemed to be a lot happening as we were trying to get our take out boxes and check so we waited longer than usual but it allowed for good conversation.

There was a bridal shower party happening in the patio and this seemed like a great place for a date or other celebratory event. Lots of aesthetics!

I had an appointment at Apple and was looking for local restaurants that were still open. We saw that Il Fornaio was open still so we decided to walk over and as soon as I stepped in, I knew that I wasn't dressed properly for this restaurant. I felt really uncomfortable (not because of the staff), but just because everyone was dressed so well and I was in leggings and a sweatshirt. So if you're planning to come, I would suggest considering your attire, but it's not required.

Overall, the food was just ok and I don't think that it was worth the higher prices. The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough for me to want to come back (even if the prices were lower). At the end of the meal, we tried their blended gelato and didn't enjoy it unfortunately. We took a few bites and left the rest. The flavor wasn't for me and I didn't like the texture. It had the texture of ice cream that was left in the freezer for a long time.

I never carry a wallet on me (bad habit), but when I came in, I asked if they take apple pay and they do. It is a tad awkward because you have to go to the back to check out and pay if you use apple pay. A lot of restaurants use Toast now and have the machines they bring to the table which is extremely convenient. They don't do that here so if you're able to, I'd highly suggest bringing a credit card.

I came here for an early Valentine's day dinner and made a reservation via Open Table. The restaurant wasn't too busy when we came in and it had a more casual ambiance than I expected. We were seated immediately and also given a special Valentine's Day menu with drinks, dessert, the works.

What we got:
- Fried Squash Blossoms ($17): The fried squash blossoms come with three medium-sized squash blossoms and two dipping sauces. This was my first time trying squash blossoms and I absolutely loved it. They were crispy, filled with cheese, and the dipping sauces were phenomenal. However, it was pretty steep
- Vodka Pasta ($20ish): This was okay. The sauce was decent, but $20 for pasta with sauce is just kinda crazy.
- Short rib ravioli (30ish): this was disappointing. The plate just came with 5 raviolis and then some sauteed vegetables. Definitely expected more from a dish that was about 30 dollars.

They do give free bread, but it's nothing super special. Other thing about this place too is that parking can be hard to find since it's near University Avenue so your best bet is to park in the parking garage across from the restaurant. Service here was decent.

TLDR: expensive, meh food.

Overall, we had a good experience at Il Fornaio. We came in at about 7:30 on Saturday and were sat immediately. Kathleen was very sweet and attentive and Jonathan was a great helper. The fiori de zucca had great potential but was too heavily battered for our liking. The Rigatoni Vodka had a smoky flavor because of the bacon. My favorite thing we ordered by far was the Casarecce Al Pesto, if went to this restaurant again I'd definitely order that!

*3rd time here over the course of 7 years*

TLDR; everyone is miserable, the food was really middle road. Expensive and no taste-- for dropping $130, we were not happy and won't come back. Also realized other Yelpers said they got complimentary bread... we got charged $2. Kind of goofy

I came here tonight with my friend I haven't seen for awhile. We both drove 30 mins to meet in the middle in Palo Alto.

Everyone here is beyond miserable. No one smiled or had any energy. The lady (maybe manager?) who is at the front looked at us like we didn't exist. I almost told my friend I don't want to eat here because it was so off putting but it was pouring rain and we were both so hungry and didnt want to find something else. No one said hello, no smile, no "good evening"... terrible.

Ravioli di Brasato: my friend said it was ok. The presentation looked very off putting (take a look at the photo). Looks like when someone gets sick..

Fettuccini Alfredo with salmon: $33! Tiny little salmon filet and paper thin noodles with no taste. Maybe they forgot to salt the water (?)

The only good thing was the cheesecake. The waiter was depressed too and only filled our water when we asked which was every 15 mins. The water cups are quite small. We still tipped 20%.. fyi they charge 3% for health benefits to the employees.

Located in Palo Alto and part of a hotel, Il Fornaio offers a spacious dining experience with an open kitchen bustling with chefs. The restaurant has a welcoming ambiance reminiscent of a vibrant restaurant in an airport.

Arriving for my reservation on a Tuesday evening, I was promptly seated, and the bustling atmosphere hinted at its popularity for gatherings and events. A delightful surprise awaited a Yelp check-in: complimentary bruschetta or calamari with an entrée, which was a generous offer indeed.

The service was delightful; our waitress engaged us warmly, exuding authenticity. Though the pastas may not be Michelin-star caliber, they offer satisfying flavors reminiscent of a high-end Olive Garden. Coming to this restaurant, I wouldn't expect anything particularly fancy. And I would say that a 3 star rating accurately describes the OK-ness of the food.

Overall, I thought Il Fornaio was nice with its friendly service, bustling open kitchen ambiance, and satisfying dishes.

Good place for a work outing, they are able to accommodate groups and online reservations were a breeze since they had plenty of available times for a weekday. Food and service is not bad just average. Our server recommended a lot of his favorites and described the flavors of each thing we ordered. We started with a number of appetizers, standouts were the calamari and burrata con prosciutto, although I wish there ratio of bread and prosciutto was even with the huge ball of burrata. As for pasta, the linguine mare chiaro was exceptional. Plenty of seafood with a velvety white wine sauce.

Salmon was excellent and had a nice crisp on top. Potatoes were lovely and perfectly cooked. Great, attentive service especially with refills on wine and water. The private room was a tad cozy but overall it was a nice dinner.

We went on the thanksgiving day and the menu was different and limited. They have an outdoor seating available as well, but it was cold and we chose an indoor seating in a table for two near the bar.

We had to wait for a while to get our order placed. I did a Yelp checkin and got bruschetta for free. Thanks Yelp for that.

The bruschetta is good. Especially the eggplant version was fresh and was really tasty.

The complimentary bread showed their baking skills and the crust was very crunchy and to my liking. I had a problem with the olive oil and balsamic dressing which tasted like some cheap quality stuff, which isn't expected from such restaurants.

The cauliflower starter we ordered was nicely toasted but again came with loads of oil not distributed evenly. The oil wasn't seasoned well.

The ravioli was as bad choice at least for us. The sauce was thin and the ravioli was a little too less for the price. Also, the filling was the only tasty thing in the dish. The sauce was as tasteless as it could be except for the meaty mushrooms