Il Fornaio - Coronado

Excellent food and great service!

Fabulous service, great ambiance and really fine food. our guests loved their meals, wine and views.

Food and waiter were wonderful. After appetizers and drinks and salads, we waited 50 minutes for our entrees. Our waiter was pleasant but unapologetic about it. Total time in restaurant was 3&1/2 hours. If this is the norm, we won’t be returning.

We sat sat by the window and had a magnificent view of the water! The food was great, moderately priced, wait staff okay. Drinks and Italian beer good as well. Went as part of my 70th birthday getaway in Coronado and throughly enjoyed ourselves. Will go back next time we are in Coronado.

We had terrible service. The place was empty but our waiter hardly paid us attention. He didn’t ask if we wanted drinks or an appetizer. He didn’t introduce himself or tell us about the specials. No grated cheese or pepper on pasta. The salmon my daughter and I ordered was cold, portion minuscule, and skin still on. It didn’t taste fresh either. My other daughter had the pasta. Same thing, small cold portion! This place has really gone downhill. I’ve been going here for over 20 years but never again!

Anniversary

The service was outstanding! We ate outside and that view in the evening is priceless. Great for a date.

Good morning...I am always delighted to give favorable words for such an occasion as was the case for this visit. We live locally and I am pleased to be able to frequent your restaurant for not only the food but the ambiance. Very, very first class. Our waiter George, was great.
Will see you very soon.

We sat on the cold outside patio under a tent with a very limited view of the bay. This is not what we expected for a meal with this price point. Very disappointing.

Came here for lunch before a play. Great idea yo have prix fix option. What a deal! Perfect amount of food, variety of choices. Also liked my Kick in Ads Old Fashion, made with good bourbon and the classic style. Very enjoyable meal with awesome service and view.

Nice dinner atmosphere

Fantastic service and great meals! The grilled seafood was amazing. Very kind and thoughtful service. Our son was deploying on a Navy cruise and he had one hour for dinner. The staff worked us in and really took care of us, with a great view of the bay!

The ravioli is supurb. House Italian wines are a good value. Happy hour during the week is also a great value.

One of my favorites. Always a great experience.

Our server was a pleasant, knowledgeable young man. We go to el Fornaio frequently. The menu is very good. We have been going to el Fornaio in Coronado for years 20+.

I love the this place! We have been here twice, once for brunch and the other when we got engaged. We decided to come back for my birthday... big mistake. Because we had a larger party, we had to do the banquet menu. Which didn't make sense for us. We weren't really informed of that and it threw us off. We were able to order from the brunch menu, so that was fine, but it wasn't as good as I remember. The service was extremely slow. Drinks came took forever, as well as food. When the food did come out, it was cold. We were so hungry it didn't matter. We also noticed that the smaller tables were getting frustrated with our server too. Since we were banquet priority, I feel the attention should've been better, since we had an automatic tip. When the check did come, we were not informed that we could not split the bill and pay separately, which we told them ahead of time. But again, since we were a large party, we were banquet style. Overall, the view is great, but this time around our experience was horrible and I would not recommend. Something has changed with the service and it was unfortunate.

A return venue .... view is awesome ...

Went for date night with my boyfriend and had an amazing time. The food was delicious, service was attentive and polite, and the view was beautiful.

Marco was very attentive and friendly!

Wonderful. Wait staff was very attentive. Best Italian Restaraunt we’ve dined at. Views by the window were great. A very large crowd came in the back room and with the doors closed to that room, we didn’t hear a thing.

We have been to this restaurant at least 20 times over the past 5 years. The views are amazing, the food is average to above average. The service is spotty.
The biggest problem is that, regardless of the time of your reservation, you will typically wait at least 20-30 minutes. Management is inconsistent and turnover appears to be high.
This could be an incredible restaurant if they paid more attention to the issues described above.

Excellent late lunch with a view of San Diego bay.
The lunch menu is a great value and the food was well prepared. Our waiter, Gavin, was very good...pleasant, helpful...

Great place for a date! I love the ambiance and the service is above and beyond

fantastic service and a beautiful view of the ocean and skyline complimented some excellent food and wine.

New Years Eve

Food was terrible. Especially for the price. Waiter forgot to give us an entire course and gave it at the end.

New Year’s Eve is to be avoided as it does not provide the expected level of food quality.

Two of us were here on New Year's Eve. It was a special menu, with a fixed price. The waiter did not understand that night's special menu. He could not explain the choices to us, and seemed confused about the menu. He misled (I think unintentionally) us in choosing. He definitely said that the dessert price was included in the price of the meal. We found out that it was not only when he brought the bill.

We went here for NYE and we had a wonderful evening. The fixed menu was very reasonable and the wait staff had a great attitude. The ambiance was festive and memorable.

We went to Il Fornaio for New Year’s Eve and were very disappointed with our experience. The food was luke warm with small portions and we expected more considering the price we paid (our bill was nearly $400 with three children and minimal alcohol). Our server was average at best and he forgot two items we asked for. My husband asked for red wine with his steak and by the time he brought it to him his steak was cold, even after prompting him. The only bright spot of the evening was the scenery. We were in the back room (we had a party of 10) right along the water and could see the beautiful night San Diego skyline. Overall we left this restaurant displeased and feeling like we didn’t get what we paid for.

Party of 8 and half were disappointed with food. Service was very slow.

We came to the restaurant for a 7pm reservation, had to wait for our table for about 20 minutes only to have a manager come up to us and asked us to sit in an open table in the back bar area. We had just got back from a day of tourist activities in San Diego and apparently being dressed as tourists, we were banished from sitting in the main dining area. Two of my guests happened to be a same-sex couple and were holding hands in the waiting area so it is also possible this is the reason we were sent to an undesirable table but I will try not to think the worst of the manager and will leave it at the fact that we were not dressed in formal attire. Being a tourist area, we did not think we would needed to be dressed formally.

At that point we were starving and reluctantly agreed to sit in the back bar area. We had to wait yet another 20 minutes for our drink order. I had order an Old Fashioned and it was the worst tasting drink I have ever experienced, the whiskey tasted rancid. Luckily the waitress allowed me to change it out for a glass of wine and did not charge us for it. Things only got worse from there. The food we ordered took another 40 minutes to reach our table and when it did, it was lukewarm as if it had been sitting out for several minutes. We had an amazing trip overall to San Diego/Coronado and this restaurant experience turned out to be the worst thing about the trip. I have dined at Il Fornaio in their Beverly Hills location and the food and service has always been good (but not exceptional). I had looked to book a reservation in their Beverly Hills location about a month ago only to read online at LA Eater that the restaurant had been temporarily closed for rat infestation. That should have been a warning to us not to dine at their Coronado location. It goes without saying that we will no longer be dining at any of their locations. Would give this restaurant zero stars if possible.

This place is amazing! you wanna impress her well say no more .it is a no brainer.the food comes out right from the kitchen, and oh did I mention it is an open kitchen! 🤯🤯 this place will take you to Italy if you've never been. enough said not mention Juan Carlos was excellent server with great recommendations. only down side there's a little wait time .

Great view of the San Diego Downtown skyline, delicious entrees and attentive service. We will return for a special occasion again.

Great food, wonderful view just a little too quick food service for my liking.

Good morning. It is an honor to write a note of praise for a restaurant that I have wanted to dine in for many years. We are locals and for the past 24 years we have walked our dogs past the restaurant and every-time I would Express to my wife “ we have got to eat there “..well, finally on December 26 that moment occurred. Why did we procrastinate so long, the food, service m hospitality host, and the very accommodating waiter, Anthony, He was fantastic. His pairing with Rosa made a delightful team. We both had lobster and I ask if the restaurant had wet wipes, he responded that they did not but he created some for the two of us...are you ready for this; he return with two heated dampened napkins. (Cloth)..Now how do you top that. His service was great and appreciated.
Now, for the purpose of it all, the food beginning with The bruschetta, all I can say is the chefs must have their own vegetable garden in the kitchen. The plate was delicious. The Insalata di Bietole a very well balanced plate. Then the Spaghetti all’Aragosta, cooked to perfection and a very ample portion.
Should I dare indulge in the Spumante Gelato which was delightful. My wife chose the Affogato al Caffe, without the espresso pour. The expression on her face and the joy we both shared in finally being able to experience such perfectly prepared food will always be remembered. Mr. Cessna (Manager) assured my wife and I that anytime we are in any need of special accommodations he and his staff are there. I have already told many people, even other restaurants we have eaten at since our experience there.
Thank you! Happy New Year! Blessings! You are First Class!
Bon Appetit

Cena con familia

Everyone in my family had an upset stomach after eating there :(

My husband and I had an amazing Christmas Eve dinner here. He had oso bucolic; I had sea bass. Both were fantastic. And the view of downtown is spectacular.

Christmas Eve Dinner