Il Fornillo — Restaurant in Positano

If you are at all into food DO NOT eat here....

Let's begin with the positives, the location is excellent due to the exceptional view. The restaurant's setting is romantic.

The service was horrible. After being offered water we were not asked about wine or any other beverage. We had to ask fo wine when we recieved our appetizers. We ordered stuffed Zucca flowers with ricotta and lemon and this was well done, the ricotta cheese was very fresh. However the Cozze were stinky, outrageously salty (this coming from someone who loves salty foods). I just could not eat them at all, leaving 90% of my plate untouched. When my plate was taken away, I had to tell the server that I couldn't eat them, otherwise he wouldn't have notice. He offered to replace them...barely but not really...no apolgy, not an offer of something else, nothing. We also had a caprese salad with 2 ultra fresh rounds of cheese but the tomatoes were what I consider the worst flavourless tomatoes in all of Italy. The balsamic vingar was not balasmic and the olive oil of the lowest quality but looking on the brightside at least the basil was fresh! The veal scallopini was has tough as the bottom of a shoe...this is not an exageration. Veal scallopini should be tender enough to cut without a knife but this one required steak knife.

In addition the restaurant allows a 5 piece band in to "entertain" diners only to have the band leader try to sell a CD to everyone and they came to each table asking for donations...the also take credit card!

We paid 72 euros for 3 appetizers and one main. I would have gladly paid more than double had the food and service been decent but it was not.

If you don't care about the food and you just want a view go for it but if you are into decent food, this is...

I never do reviews, so understand that me giving out 5 stars isn’t over saturated. I stayed in Positano with my girlfriend in August of 2022. I know I’m posting this almost a year later, but I still think about this place. I finally decided to write a review because this restaurant deserves the love. For starters, they’re very tourist friendly. I don’t speak a lick of Italian and I have a nut allergy, so I am inherently an annoying patron. However, this wasn’t a problem for them and they were very accommodating. We started off with a couple apps and everything was tasty. For entrees my gf ordered the cacio e pepe, she said it was one of the best she’s ever had (cacio e pepe is literally the only pasta she orders at Italian restaurants). I ordered the Sea bass with orange and lemon sauce, this is my favorite fish entree of all time. The fish is flaky and the sauce is incredible! I’m from LA and I dine at many spots that have great seafood dishes, but none of their fish entrees compares to Il Fornillo’s sea bass with orange and lemon sauce. The meal was so great my gf and I booked a reservation for the following night when we paid the bill. The next night, they dropped off a complimentary pizza bread for us which was delicious! We ended up ordering the same thing to see if it was consistent, I also ordered the garlic lamb chops. Everything was perfect! It was just as good the second night. Can’t wait...

I have no idea how this place has had so many good reviews, so in an attempt to give them the benefit of the doubt, I can only assume that we had an isolated bad experience.

My wife and I had a vegetable pizza each. Not only were they completely burnt, but the somewhat large wedges of courgette on top were still raw in places, which made the entire thing about as appealing to eat as it sounds.

I’d like also like to add before I go any further that yes, I’m perfectly aware that Naples style pizza is meant to have a slight char, also known as “leopard spotting”, but this didn’t have that and was instead nearly cremated. In fact, if you pinched the crust it shattered like a breadstick. I’ve eaten pizza all over the world as it’s my favourite food and this was by far the worst I’ve ever had.

The waiting staff this evening were hit and miss. Some of them were polite and welcoming, others weren’t so much.

At the end of the meal, it wasn’t really questioned why we’d only eaten half of our food when it came to get the bill, nor were we asked if we’d like to take the rest with us (even though they offer take-away). Desserts weren’t offered either, nor was coffee.

We ate at several of the other restaurants along the same road during our stay in Positano and I don’t have a bad word to say about any of them, so I’d do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. Or just hope that you have a much better experience...