IL FORNO RESTAURANT - HAMPTON VIC — Restaurant in Melbourne

Last time i reviewed: 5 stars with a perfect performance (pre covid) Today 4.6/5 : this review was difficult, since the quality of the food is fantastic, however as I'm reviewing the experience as a whole, there were some issues that tainted. Firstly, the pizza has improved a lot; it's great now and probably the best in Hampton street. The pizzaiolo is a master and a lovely gentleman. The quality of the mains is still very much the same; high standard all round. Everyone enjoyed their meal, with a couple exceptions. The portion size of certain plates has decreased, where the price has gone up. The ravioli main was tiny; In my opinion, embarrassingly small, reminiscent of ultra fine dining. The same cannot be said about other mains, much to my pleasure, albeit the price overall seems a bit high (probably corona tax), but I won't lament too much about that. Being an Italian restaurant, it is accustom to bring bread to the table, which il Forno doesn't do, but I recommend they do in future. In my opinion, they should balance their portions across the mains if possible. In summary, il Forno is still fantastic and I'm really impressed with the pizza. The pasta was great, the fish: brilliant, the service: good. I would recommend this restaurant but I think they need to solidify their identity. Do they wish to be an authentic Italian restaurant? I don't think so. A blend of Italian/Australian fine dining? Maybe,...

I ordered a Margherita pizza, bruschetta, chips, and tiramisu, but unfortunately, none of them lived up to expectations.

The service was welcoming and friendly, which was a positive start, but the food was quite disappointing. To make matters worse, the main meal—our pizza—arrived before the antipasto (bruschetta), which made no sense.

My friend and I chose the Margherita pizza, expecting something simple yet satisfying, but it fell short. The sauce was far too runny, almost like soup, and while the cheese was decent, it couldn’t make up for the overall sogginess. To top it off, the base was slightly burnt.

The bruschetta was the biggest letdown. Not only was it overpriced, but they only served two pieces, which felt like a rip-off. There was also an overload of tomatoes, making it impossible to pick up without everything falling apart, and the flavor was extremely bland. Honestly, I could’ve made a better version at home for a fraction of the price.

The tiramisu tasted pre-made rather than fresh, and the chips, which were supposed to have a special "oregano flavor," were just plain and lacked any seasoning. They felt like eating unseasoned potatoes. Wondering how this place got such high reviews in the first...

A couple of weeks ago I went for a meal with my family. We started off with a pizza and some appetisers to share. This was some of the most overrated and blland food I've had, yet it was so expensive. The arancini were bland, with the rice mushy in the middle. There was a hint of truffle oil. The calamari was the best dish as it was soft and came with a nice sauce. The sausage pizza was a sloppy wet mess. The blue cheese cauliflower was dry and had no sauce. The meatballs did not come to our table until late due to a mistake from the waiter and happened to be seasoned. This time, it was too much as the meatball tasted like the ocean, and the sauce was too acidic. For main, most people had the veal saltimbocca, where the veal was dry and lacked sauce and seasoning. The mash was also very dry and stogey, lacking the velvitness a mash should. For $45, it was a massive disappointment. My mother ordered the ravioli, which came in a pool of melted butter (not burnt butter, which it was meant to be). Again, the filling lacked seasoning. On the plus side, my uncles pasta gamberi with a prawn bisque was a delight. I ordered the pancetta pizza. It was much crispier and flavoursome than the one we all...