Il Fornaio - Walnut Creek

Review summary

1. J

   Jennifer

   Greater Boston

   6 reviews

   4.0

   6 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food was great. Service was excellent. The only issue we had was that the lobster in the lobster/mussel pasta special was definitely frozen, not fresh, and was not worth the price. As east-coasters we have high expectations for lobster, so this didn't cut it at all.
   

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2. M

   Marcel

   Salt Lake City

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Went for late lunch on a Friday with friends. It was not busy so it was easy to make a reservation. I was able to be seated before the rest of my party of 4 arrived. Once my party arrived it took a while for the server to take our order. Service was slow or sporadic throughout the rest of our time there. We asked for warm bread, the server eventually gave us cold bread after having reminded them we asked for it. The server put the empty plate out for the olive oil and vinegar but did not bring them when they brought the bread. The server never came back to do so and we had to ask another staff member for it. When we got our order we realized she gave the appetizer portion as a meal and never put in the order for the full meal portion. The food itself was decent but poor service in a virtually empty restaurant made it a sub par experience.
   

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3. C

   Carolyn

   San Francisco

   29 reviews

   5.0

   29 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Perfect lunch! Service was excellent-we were greeted warmly and served immediately. Our server was friendly and attentive. The wine was great and the food delicious. We ended our lunch with my favorite—an affogato!
   

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4. A

   Anna

   VIP

   Orange County

   11 reviews

   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Very nice ambience for the Christmas time, the service is perfect. The food is great. I will definitely come back here with friends and family
   

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5. H

   Hallie

   San Francisco

   9 reviews

   5.0

   9 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our waitress was phenomenal! They were understaffed but still made it their mission to provide great service. The food was excellent and my family enjoyed everything
   

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6. V

   Virginia

   San Francisco

   5 reviews

   3.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 5

   Our server took a super long time more than 20 minutes to take our order. Seemed to disappear and then when we ordered after we felt rushed to leave. The food was fair not great. Disappointing
   

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7. P

   Pamela

   San Francisco

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always enjoy our dinners; it was a busy night - it was a challenge; but everyone was helpful and kept the holiday spirit!
   

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8. W

   William

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Excellent service. Superb authentic Italian food. Can be somewhat noisy due to carts on stone floors. Parking structure adjacent and connecting. Remember to have your parking ticket validated.
   

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9. J

   JOHN

   Palm Springs

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   The restaurant needs an upgrade to wear and tear on the decor and furniture....Have 40 years experience in restaurant management and it appears that this restaurant is not spending normal funds to maintain the operations to an acceptable level...............
   

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10. T

    Ted

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 22 December 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2

    We asked to be seated near a window was we were celebrating our anniversary. We were seated in the furthest corner of the restaurant near a closet. Our waiter greeted us and took our drink order. The closet we were seated next to stored silverware, plates and napkins that servers were constantly entering, and it was very distracting! We couldn't find our waiter, Charles, so we reached out to another server Lisa, and asked to be moved. Our drinks took 20 minutes to receive, and my drink was watered down by the time I received it. It took so long, I just decided to keep it. We had asked for water, and it just never came - I was ready to walk over to the stand which held the water pitchers so I could pour my own when the water finally arrived. We ordered an appetizer and salad for our first course. It seemed to arrive timely. We ordered our entrees at that time with our waiter, Charles, tenderloin for my husband and scallops & prawns for me. When the entrees arrived, the tenderloin was cold to the touch and my dish was pleasantly hot! We had to reach out to Lisa, a different server because Charles was nowhere to be found. When the runner brought out my meal, she didn't serve it correctly, which Lisa pointed out to us. We had Lisa take the tenderloin back to have it made satisfactorily. Lisa suggested to take my entree back to keep it warm while the tenderloin issue was being addressed. When the entrees were finally brought back the tenderloin was nice and hot, my dish was lukewarm. I decided to keep it and ended up taking it home to eat the following day. Due to all the mishaps, we encountered, Lisa informed the restaurant manager to come over and talk with us. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand her, and she did not offer any comp for all our troubles. At the end, Charles brought us the wrong bill and we had to bring it to his attention. We left him substandard tip which we never do, and I slipped Lisa a $20 for all her help. We will not be returning.
    

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