Reviews for Il Fornaio

07/13/2024 - Mady E.
good

05/25/2008 - MenuPix User
This restaurant has terrible and rude service. (Especially, their hostess Lindsey. What a terrible person to have as the first impression to a restaurant. I can not believe she has been there long enough to oversee every bad experience I have had there.)

1. Most recently, my parents had reserved a room for an important anniversary dinner. After a long phone conversation the day before and a terrible fight ten minutes before their guests arrived, they were not given a room, another table, or even an apology or an acknowledgement of the mistake that was made.

Basically, they had double booked and they just disregarded our reservation. Despite the fact that there was a room open, we were not given the room since there was another reservation for the room in an hour. We left after the lead hostess left for twenty minutes to "call the manager." During this whole ordeal, a table for four repeatedly asked Lindsey for their table. (Half the restaurant was empty). They were told each time that they had to wait, despite the evidence to the contrary.

We left and went to Mi Piace just a block down. The service was much better. The Bolognese pasta was excellent.

2. Two nights earlier, my boyfriend and I went to Il Fornaio. We were told there was a 25 minute wait for the patio. We waited 35 minutes and then went to Lindsey (yeah her again) and she said it would be another 5 minutes for a table on the patio. After another 10 minutes and threat to leave the restaurant, we were told our table was ready. We walked over to the table closest to the kitchen door, which was not on the patio. (And of course, the table had been empty the whole time we had been there.) When I complained and mentioned Lindsey's own acknowledgement of our request for a patio table, we were told that we had to wait to speak with “Queen” Lindsey. That was the limit. We walked out. The other hostess ran after us. What was her offer … an opportunity to speak with Lindsey right away. Honestly, we started laughing, because it was such a ridiculous offer. We went to Twin Palms and received great service. We were seated in a matter of seconds.

3. A few months earlier during the winter chill, I went to Il Fornaio with my girlfriends, two of whom have kids. We were rudely told that high chairs are not allowed inside. My girlfriends told me to lighten up and face the reality of eating out with kids, so I kept my mouth shut and sat outside on one of the coldest days of the year. The inside was never full during our long stay. The bread was good though. I have to give them that.

I have eaten at the Beverly Hills and Santa Monica branches of this restaurant. They have good food and good service, but the Pasadena branch suffers terribly from rude and disorganized management. Avoid it, especially, if you want to organize an event. There are several other Italian restaurants in Pasadena.