Forno 500 — Restaurant in Dublin

The service was awful due to the fact that there was new staff. We ordered ravioli with garlic bread and calamari with a pizza (to share between 2 people). There was 3 of us. We ordered a cocktail and a bottle of wine. The cocktail arrived and we were asked if we ordered more drinks. Finally the wine arrived. The staff poured our first glass and we had to serve ourselves the rest of the night. The calamari arrived and it was a was a very small portion and was overcooked. It was more like onion rings it was so over fried. There was not enough to share so it was mainly eaten by one person. The garlic bread also arrived not with the pasta but before the pasta. So either you eat it right away or it is cold when the pasta arrives. We drink the wine waiting for the main courses and most of it is gone by the time our mains arrive. The pasta arrives and there are 5 raviolis and there is a tiny little stuffing in them. More garlic bread was ordered but it did not arrive with the pasta and had to be ordered again. The pizza arrives and it is not cut. We are sharing and have been given 2 plates. So there is no way we can eat the pizza without cutting it. We are given a cutter and told to cut our own pizza. We eat some of the pizza and ask for the manager. He comes over and everything is explained to him. He asks if we have ever been to italy. We say yes. He says the pizza is not cut in Italy so it is not cut here. He admits that the pasta should have more stuff in it so the kitchen may have been an error. In the end we are offered to remove the cost of one garlic bread and give us free coffee. There is no arguing as we have had a lot of wine and very little food. The rest of the pizza is cold now. No there is no more food that is edible. We ask for the bill. It is over priced but we are going to pay it. The manager comes over and offers us coffee. Told him we are going to eat dinner as we are hungry as we had very little to eat. He removes the cost of one of the garlic breads and reduces the pizza by half. The bill was still 95 euros. It was not acceptable, overpriced and the staff just wanted to say how wrong we were. It was not comfortable but as we are tourists it does not matter as we most likely won't be back so the staff is not concerned. We were told they gave 5 stars on Trip advisor. So essentially our opinion does not matter. So if you want to get overcharged in Dublin for food eat here. If you want to be treated properly eat anywhere else. We are here several times a year and would never...

Forno 500 began with the idea of bringing true Neopolitan pizza to Ireland. It took 9 months for the Forno 500 team to convince the Ferrera family - a family of generational wood fired oven manufacturers - to come to Ireland and build the first authentic wood fired oven in the country. 5 months after opening, Forno received a surprise visit from the Verace Pizza Neapolitan Association (AVPN) and was awarded the certificate for having “true” Neapolitan pizza in the eyes of the organisation.

I’m sad to say I only found out this information after my visit. However, I did by chance order the garlic pizza bread which gave me a taste of what the pizza would be like. It was delicious! The crust had just enough char on the outside and the right texture that allowed it to pull apart which I love in a pizza dough. It was a tiny bit too salty but was still palatable.

I also got the egg pasta, porcini mushroom, Italian sausage and truffle cream and it was delectable. The pasta was perfectly ‘al dente’ and all the ingredients paired well together. It was probably just a bit too rich and again had too much salt.

My guest ordered the spaghetti bolognese and it was almost perfect. Spaghetti perfectly cooked, and the tomato meat ragu was balanced with the right amount of sweetness and acidity. Sometimes tomato based sauces can be too much one or the other I find. Again the only criticism was too much salt.

The servers were really nice but just a bit slow and inefficient. We were placed at a dirty table originally but the server addressed it straight away and cleaned it. It should really be cleaned before hand though. No customer should ever be sat at a dirty table. It took 10 minutes just to order drinks and a further 5 for the food. But in fairness the food came out so fast and I was impressed. Another issue arose with the service when we asked for the bill. Again I was waiting 10-15 minutes and eventually had to go up to pay myself. There was only 5 tables between 2 servers so there was no real excuse for the slow pace.

I would go again for sure to try the pizza and definitely another pasta dish for sure. Could have possibly been 5 stars only for the...

It was the worst experience I ever had in a restaurant!! I made a booking at the place for 4 people, and was shocked with the disorganization and the treatment of some of the staff. The experience was bad from the start. There was no sign whatsoever to where people should wait to be seated and because of the shape of the restaurant we were waiting literally on the middle of the way. When the manager came to talk to us, several minutes after the time of the actual booking, instead of helping and guiding us, he was very rude and unprofessional. In his words “you have to wait to get your table, you are on the middle of the way”, and when I asked where we should wait because there was no indication or space, he simply turned his back and left. When we finally got our table, the restaurant only had one option of menu (a 3 course meal), my friends that don’t eat much did not want the 3 course so they decided to share, what was immediately denied by the manager, as every person would have to buy their own 3 course meal. We then asked if they could order only one dish each instead of sharing, which was also immediately denied, which made everybody uncomfortable and we decided to leave. A table of 4 people that was excited to try the food, and would leave at least 120€ at the restaurant (based on the 3 course menu price), left to eat somewhere else because of the treatment since entering the front door. The only person that actually treated us well was the waitress that came to take our order.

Definitely will never...