Il Fornaio - Pasadena

Everything was delicious as usual

It was cold outside. There were heat lamps but none there is. We told the waiter and he had one moved a little closer but it didn’t help. That was the only issue

I remember why I stopped eating here. The food is good and priced fairly but the service is horrific. We waited 10 minutes before a server came to our table and when I approached a manager he looked at me as if I had lost my mind. A lovely lady heard my complaint and came running over to ask if we wanted something to drink. After we ordered I watched a runner bring our appetizers to the table next to ours and set them before two strangers who were not wearing masks. Then they were brought to us.

While we were eating our appetizers, another runner came with our dinner on two plates that were too large for the tiny table we were sitting at. She returned to the staging area and slammed the plates down while she waited for our server. When dinner arrived at our server assured us the these dinners were freshly made. She offered to buy us dessert.

Long story short we couldn’t wait to get out of there. We did not feel safe. We never received our dessert.

The ambiance and outdoor lights were beautiful. The food was delicious! The General Manager Diano was great. He made certain everything was perfect !

So happy we drove to Pasadena where the restaurants are open! Terrific date night and the restaurant was awesome in every respect. Will definitely go again!

Food and staff was amazing! Definitely going back!

Grateful to for them to be open but I think all of the ridiculous and idiotic rules and face diaper wearing has people on edge and not thinking clearly. They have no signage directing anyone on how to check in or where. If you can get someone’s attention, IF, they’re short and borderline rude. Once in the proper location to check in we had to wait until a young man who we couldn’t understand due to his accent (normally not so much of an issue) paired with the double mask face shield and it’s next to impossible to understand a word. The only thing we understood is when he barked at my husband to put a mask on (stupid and rude). Then once seated we had savage people with teenage girls who were more concerned with cheerleading to a vacant storefront and giving each other piggy back rides between tables than eating their dinner. Total savages. Wild raccoons. Then we couldn’t really understand our server due to the accent, mask, face shield combo. She apologized very frustrated and said “they make me wear this”. We felt horrible for her. Restaurants need to fight back. There is absolutely no reason for this nonsense and it’s putting your staff and patrons into confrontation situations for no reason. The staff shouldn’t be saying anything to anyone about a mask, distance...not a word. There are NO LAWS, just mandates put in place by a tyrannical criminal Governor. He’s NOT the President, no actual laws have been passed. Further, a better means of communication needs to be figured out so that your employees can actually be understood and lastly, the maître d’ needs to actually be in a specific location and people need to know where to go. We expected more, maybe we shouldn’t have? Again, grateful that they were open but it felt more like a night at The Olive Garden (I don’t eat at places like that) than Il Fornaio. I think they need to clean some logistical things up. You can do it if you have the right management in place. The food was average, nothing worth noting.

So glad Pasadena is open! Wonderful setting & very safe with distancing and precautions taken! Great service & food was very good. We will be back!

It was wonderful perfect social distancing professional ...memorable thank you!

We had an amazing night celebrating my parents 62nd wedding anniversary. The food was delicious and in this strange time of Covid, the outdoor seating was delightful. Santa Claus even showed up!!

just ok, perfect during covid times. lower your expectations. service was good.

The restaurant is beautiful, and the outdoor seating was relaxing.

The staff were friendly, and presentation was beautiful.

Service was very slow, with us waiting +5 minutes to order our food, and twice that for them to bring out the carpaccio.

The Carpaccio was delightful. Fantastic meat choice, and truly fresh arugula/rocket, and a near perfect amount of seasoning. Worth it every time.

Last time we were there was awesome, food, service, etc, however, the service and food was sub par, to say the least. When we got there, the host (young gentleman with glasses) did not acknowledge us whatsoever, and when he finally did he asked “what’s the name?”, to which I said, “well hello to you too!” He didn’t catch on and was oblivious. I ordered the seafood pasta, which is my go-to dish until the mussels and clams were cold and a bit “off” and the grilled chicken on was dry. Our server was very nice but no utensils, had to go inside to ask for my drink twice. They did bring water, just forgot my soda I guess. Overall, I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon.

Thanksgiving

Lovely place. Food is great. Will be returning. Very nice atmosphere.

My husband and I had Thanksgiving dinner there and it was superb! The food and wine is always great, but this day was a special menu and it was amazing that Pasadena stayed open for outdoor service. We appreciate the staff very much!

Lovely weather to dine al fresco for Thanksgiving. Great food and excellent service!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Lunch! Excellent food, service and great selection of wines.

The food was excellent, especially the fettuccine Alfredo. The staff was so kind and made sure we were taken care at all times. Highly recommended!!

Restaurant has a lovely outdoor patio, spacious and quiet. A wonderful setting in which to enjoy great food and service.

Everything was yummy.

They have a lovely outdoor dining patio with heaters that's in the courtyard off of Colorado in Old Town. There's no car noise since you're not on the street, so it was a lovely dining experience. And the food was very good.

Food was good.. service very good.... needs more heat lamps....

I have never wrote a review and I am sad that I am writing a bad one. I went to Il Fornaio and was seated at a table where the servers were not clear who was covering - so did not have anyone approach until I waived someone down. Requested ice water - received water with no ice. Asked for a bottle of wine and was brought the incorrect wine. Ordered the Linguine Seafood and the mussels were not cooked all the way. The food lacked flavor. It was so disappointing. I hope this is helpful to this restaurant and they make immediate changes to their service.

Limited menu, cold weather outside, rather sad experience; only our server was very pleasant and attentive.

Even during COVID times, this was a great dining experience!

The food was really good and the service was great.

They’ve decorated the walkway area very nicely with outdoor tables and heaters and sparkly chandelier type lights in the trees! Very pleasant atmosphere to dine in. The food and service was great, as always!

For Covid dining experience, about as good as it gets-

As always 5 star food

Chicken was dry and service was ok, but nothing to write home about. Due to Covid we sat outside, but we were placed in a lovely tree lined lane, so the ambiance was quite appealing and helped make up (somewhat) for the problems. Il Fornaio is a staple in Pasadena and I have had good meals there before, so will come again, but they could definitely improve as the service just felt perfunctory this evening.

Came for my husbands birthday. Love the ambiance and the food. Staff is polite. Been coming here for the past 8 years. Love it. Look forward to many more dining experiences with you.

Excellent service and food!

We like this place because of the patio and outdoor dining, waiters all wearing masks and face shields, food is good, and they only allow maximum of 6 per table to prevent large gatherings.

All quite good except that the waitperson, Savanah, short changed me (I discovered after leaving unfortunately). Always annoying when the wait staff doesn’t pay attention to the correct charges.

Lovely night out! They have a lot of outdoor spaces and the gluten free selections made it easy and spectacular to get out and have great pasta, wine and even g free dessert

Great service, nice setting outside.

This is our second visit and we are so happy we returned. The food was perfect the first visit, however, the service was not pleasant. Everything was perfect this time, and especially the service.

Just great food and service at a difficult time - will be back

This is during the pandemic- so outside was lovely, great area to sit. Service during the pandemic is generally slower, but they were still very personable and we love it there!