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Il Fornaio - Palo Alto, Palo Alto, CA

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto

4.5 (2790)
$30 and under
Italian
520 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Make a reservation

2 people
11:30 PM
Booked 18 times today

About this restaurant

  • Neighborhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
  • Good for groups
Step inside Il Fornaio and take an award-winning culinary journey through Italy. Specialties include house made pastas, wood-fired pizza, grilled fish, authentic risotto, and rotisserie meats. Using the freshest ingredients and traditional cooking techniques, Il Fornaio offers a wide variety of premium-quality Italian food paired with great cocktails and a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Unspecified
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Wed 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Thu–Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (650) 853-3888
  • Website
    https://www.ilfornaio.com/location/il-fornaio-palo-alto/
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Catering
    Off-site catering available. Please contact Event Coordinator for more details.
  • Private party facilities
    Celebrating 30 years in downtown Palo Alto, Il Fornaio offers 2 private dining rooms and a heated, covered, garden Piazza. Banquet menus for large parties features the best of Il Fornaio's authentic Italian cuisine and Chef Maurizio's signature dishes.
  • Private party contact
    Juli Calderon: (650) 853-3720
  • Location
    520 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
  • Neighborhood
    Palo Alto
  • Cross street
    University
  • Parking details
    Valet parking is available for $20. In addition, there is also the hotel parking lot, as well as a public lot available.
  • Public transit
    Cal Train
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Featured in

Private dining

Menu

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto's menu was last updated on 10/5/2023.

View menu on restaurant's website

What 2,790 people are saying

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.2Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Il Fornaio in Palo Alto offers a delightful Italian dining experience with "excellent food and exceptional service," highlighted by friendly staff like Jason and Gilberto. Guests appreciate the "warm atmosphere," diverse menu, and outdoor seating. Despite occasional noise and service hiccups, the overall experience remains "consistently good and highly recommended."
2,790 Reviews

  1. Paul VIP

    Hawaii1 review

    5.0

    Dined on June 20, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was delicious and it had a great atmosphere and reasonably priced for the food we had. The waiter was the best we ever had. He was terrific and a reason to come back. !

    Is this helpful?

  2. john

    Anchorage / Alaska10 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 19, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Wonderful good and service. I reccomend sitting outside. All the appetizer were wonderful and desserts were bid enough to be shared

    Is this helpful?

  3. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco Bay Area1 review

    2.0

    Dined on June 18, 2025

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

    Is this helpful?

  4. Heidi

    San Francisco Bay Area7 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on June 18, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    My husband and I went to Il Fornaio to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary. We got married at the Garden Court Hotel and then Il Fornaio catered our reception. Typically these restaurants have better atmosphere. The Walnut Creek and Sacramento locations have beautiful restaurants. I felt like I was eating at a diner. The table wasn't very exciting and our service was terrible. We had a very young and arrogant waiter who didn't even give us the time of day. I wasn't sure if he knew what a special occasion we were celebrating but he did. The food was decent but I'll never go back to this location which is sad for me to say. Needless to say, it wasn't special at all.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Lisa

    San Francisco Bay Area12 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on June 17, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The service and food were very good. Clean dining room. The staff was very friendly. Also, they have Valet parking which is great since trying to find parking in downtown Palo Alto is difficult.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Michael VIP

    San Francisco Bay Area66 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on June 15, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Very festive atmosphere as it was a Fathers Day and birthday celebration for us and Stanford graduation weekend for many others.

    Is this helpful?

  7. Susan VIP

    San Francisco Bay Area28 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on June 12, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was excellent, the service exceptional, but I wasn’t given the chance to use the dining reward I had signed up for.

    Is this helpful?

  8. john VIP

    San Francisco Bay Area91 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on May 31, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Nice carpaccio (tender beef, lots of cheese). Ok wines by the glass, although a surprising number are from California. The pappardelle was tasty, but the texture was disappointingly gloopy. The bread used to be included, but is now a $4 addition (it's great, though). Service was friendly, albeit not rushed. Annoyingly, there's a 3% surcharge that just goes to the restaurant, not the staff. It should be included in the prices.

    Is this helpful?

  9. Cynthia

    San Francisco Bay Area4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 30, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I took daughter there to celebrate the end of the school year. We had calamari, roasted cauliflower, and pasta with vodka sauce. Everything was delicious. The service was excellent. This is a great place for a family celebration.

    Is this helpful?

  10. Mary Ellen VIP

    San Francisco Bay Area4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 17, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The veal piccata was absolutely delicious-one of the very best I have ever had. Kudos to the chef!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 853-3888.

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto is rated 4.5 stars by 2790 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. San Francisco Bay Area
  4. Peninsula
  5. Palo Alto

Make a reservation

2 people
11:30 PM
Booked 18 times today
Google Map for Il Fornaio - Palo Alto

520 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Additional information

  • Cross street
    University
  • Neighborhood
    Palo Alto
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Wed 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Thu–Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Unspecified
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Valet parking is available for $20. In addition, there is also the hotel parking lot, as well as a public lot available.
  • Public transit
    Cal Train
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Website
    https://www.ilfornaio.com/location/il-fornaio-palo-alto/
  • Phone number
    (650) 853-3888
  • Catering
    Off-site catering available. Please contact Event Coordinator for more details.
  • Private party facilities
    Celebrating 30 years in downtown Palo Alto, Il Fornaio offers 2 private dining rooms and a heated, covered, garden Piazza. Banquet menus for large parties features the best of Il Fornaio's authentic Italian cuisine and Chef Maurizio's signature dishes.
  • Private party contact
    Juli Calderon: (650) 853-3720

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