Il Forno — Restaurant in Siem Reap

I am not normally one to seek out Italian food while I am in Asia, however our hotel had recommended Il Forno in their little guide book so we decided to give it a try.

We got to the restaurant rather early so we were the first ones seated for the night - right under the giant fans, thank goodness! Being the only ones in the restaurant, it goes without saying that the staff were super attentive. Even when the restaurant started filling up (which didn't take long at all) they were still lovely and very accommodating.

I was so pleasantly surprised by the wine list. There were plenty of wines to choose from, and we ended up going for a bottle from Veneto in Italy. I swear we could have fit the whole bottle into the two glasses they gave us - they were huge!

Just as the wine list had plenty to choose from, so did the food menu; and it wasn't just pizza and pasta. After starters of prosciutto and rockmelon, I had the most delicious, decadent and gooey eggplant bake, while my friend went for a good old Italian sausage pizza. The pizza was absolutely massive for just one person, and even my dish was too big to finish. All the food was really good quality and the serves were huge.

After dinner, we treated ourselves to some tiramisu and a decadent chocolate pudding, all washed down with complimentary glasses of limoncello. All in all, it was a beautiful evening with fantastic food and service. I will definitely be back if I ever find myself in...

The food was absolutely delicious, if you're looking for a good Italian amidst the plethora offered, I would definitely recommend this one. We were four people and each had a glass of wine, a main dish and dessert and we would definitely come again. The wines were served in proper glasses, food was extremely fast to come although it told us there might be long waiting times for the lasagna and cannelloni - ended up being one of the first to arrive, the pizza sizes were more than reasonable and apparently very tasty. The desserts however, those deserve a special mention. We decided to all go for something different so we could try as many as possible and ended with the tiramisu (lovely), the passion fruit creme brulee (great presentation, even better taste), chocolate cheese cake and affogato. Suffice to say that although we were stuffed, we discovered ourselves to have second stomachs and ate the lot. They offer bread sticks free of charge as appetizers, staff is always happy to help and ready with a smile, so it's lovely to come there from the start. The place isn't big, but the menu offers plenty of options, there's a board with the specials, and the dessert menu is separate, so ask for that. All in all, get to this place,...

(1) I think they made wood fired pizzas. I am not sure because I didn't ask but my companion was so so so happy (he's half Italian) with the food, we ordered it in one afternoon when it was raining and he even finished up my portion of the pizza (when it was cold). He loved the "salame" (for those who don't know, "salami" is the plural of "salame") which has two options, spicy and non-spicy and you can ask for half and half.

(2) We also had the lasagna Il Forno and both of us loved it.

(3) The reason why I am giving a 4 out of 5 for the ambience has nothing to do with the service staff but more because the shops opposite Il Forno are shut so you see the shutters if you are sitting in, looking out. It's a lovely quiet alley - I am sure it's seen better days. There are also many many oily dust balls that have gathered in the sheltered pathways and when the fans were turned on for us, the breeze from the fans blew these little bits of dust on the surfaces, so I hope this feedback can help the owners make the experience better for customers who want to dine there.

I am really glad this place has survived the pandemic (many places did not) and I am so glad to visit it after 12...