Il Fornaio — Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Great atmosphere. We were a bit behind on our dinner reservation, but they accommodated us smoothly. The food was really good (albeit, pasta is always better the next day). I had the shell pasta with chicken. Dessert was amazeballs... Sofiato cioccolata... Mmm. Ramon and Darwin were on it... Great hospitality... Kudos Ramon and Darwin, your service was stellar. We will dine here again! 2019 Dinner. 4 stars old review

5/29/23 Lunch 1 star new review Outside dining with heater. Been saying for years this is my favorite Carmel restaurant. I've Sent so many people here because of it. Yesterday, I was thoroughly disheartened. We requested outside seating since it was a nice enough day to get some fresh air. There was only one other couple dining outside. Tables were all dirty and trash on the ground. Saw a straw, several paper napkins, food bits, and other debris all around us. We were a party of 3. We sat at the cleanest looking tabletop with 6 seats. We ordered INSALATA DI PERE. Leaves stems were browned and grapes were old because the bases were puckered/shriveled. 5 small slices of pear. We live in the most premium, plentiful region for produce... why did this get served to us? We were hungry so we ate it. Our server forgot it, so a kind woman named Kathy went to remind him. We finally received it half way through our pasta meals. I Ordered CASARECCE PESTO E POLLO. Pasta was al dente and had good flavor! Chicken was little and a few pieces had fat on them. There was no additional sauce. It was almost - dry. There was nothing for me to dip my bread in... literally a finger swipe made it disappear on the plate. LINGUINE MARE CHIARO - this was ordered gluten free. We were told the only pasta they had for that was penne. So, we had no choice, although they tout this as a reason gf people can eat here. The pasta was al dente! Good flavor. The seafood was a very little portion of each. One mussel was missing from the shell, nowhere in the food. The sauce was also scarce. The pasta was pink because of it. We need to see red sauce! RIGATONI ALLA VODKA. The pasta, again... al dente! Good flavor. The bacon was in little tiny bits, nothing hearty to grasp. Our child liked it. The sauce, again - scarce. Is there a sauce crisis? What really is going on! CESTINO DEL PANE was very fresh... crispy crust, soft center. Olive oil and vinegar were quality.

We waited a long time (almost 30 min.) for our food for it to have been so poorly executed. Also, we asked for lots of fresh parmesan when we ordered. I had to ask again when they brought the food. So 2 of us sat for 5 min waiting.... so we could fully enjoy our dishes. Kathy brought it out for us. The container was dirty but there was parmesan inside! Our server was busy inside making coffees at the bar. The whole time he checked on us once. When he did, we asked for 3 small to go packs and the bill. We waited almost 20 minutes! Finally my other went inside to pay and get our to go packs. Our server saw him and said, "sorry, I'm stuck back here"! Very unprofessional. Our bill was $129. We started a conversation with other customers on the way out. Our server standing near my other for 4 min. with bill in hand. Thinking we did not pay he made his way past my other and over to me showing me the bill and asking me to pay it. I advised we already did. Did he not remember seeing my husband inside. It was not busy when we arrived. I live here and I will not go here again. I cannot recommend Il Fornaio anymore to anyone. I am almost embarrassed that I had. I am also sad I will not experience the food and service I once had back in 2019. The one star is for Kathy, the bread, and the pasta atleast...

Made a reservation for a table outside. Upon arrival was informed that section was closed so we got a table way in the back, far away from the view I had expected to have. It happens, no biggie.

After being sat for 15 mins the hostess indicated it would be a few more minutes until service, as the server who was supposed to take our table didn’t want it. Later the GM indicated this particular server couldn’t take us because he had another table to focus on. This table was a 8 or 10-top, which had been sat roughly 30 minutes after we had finally received a different server. I indicated the discrepancy in what he said & that was breezed over. Why tell me the server was busy with a table when I clearly stated I made note of the time they had been seated?

Tiffany so graciously took my table. She was amazing throughout. Once she had been informed of our table, she quickly arrived & offered apologies for the delay and waters in the meantime. Very polite & knowledgeable of menu items.

My guest loved her dish - some pasta with pesto & chicken; I can’t recall the name. I had ordered one of the specials. Again, name wasn’t important to me at the time. It was a long pasta filled with chicken & topped with béchamel & marinara. This came out with the cheese bubbling. Tiffany kindly offered a warning to be careful regarding the temperature. I’d call this dish average. Heavy on the black pepper, lacking in salt & garlic.

Dessert I had gotten a small chocolate cake with hazelnut. The hazelnut flavor was nonexistent. This was disappointing.

Spoke with someone by the name of Don who claimed he was the GM at the conclusion of my meal. If you haven’t already picked up on it from earlier points in this review, he seemed to be king BSer. He asked my opinion regarded my experience and had an excuse for everything. In part of the conversation he had mentioned living in San Francisco, NYC, DC. Some of the details he had given about those cities were incorrect and it was very apparent that he was just trying to shmooz me & my guest. I found it quite funny and played along for my entertainment rather than calling him out.

When I mentioned the muted flavors of the food, he replied “our food comes from northern Italy where they don’t use as much garlic”. As someone who visits northern Italy several times per year, I can attest that he is incorrect. He had some smart retort regarding the lack of hazelnut flavor too. I don’t recall.

I casually mentioned that I very much loved leaving reviews on restaurants & he seemed concerned when I indicated...

Chain restaurants, in fact chain anything in general is frown upon in Carmel, which is definitely part of its charm and uniqueness. That is why it is a pity that the Pine Inn Restaurant closed in favor of a chain restaurant. Il Fornaio opened at this location in 1995? (not 100% sure about the year). I was there recently for Thanks Giving Dinner. The place was full, the maitre d was gracious enough to get us a table even though we did not have a reservation. The service was friendly, the dinning room was elegant and comfortable, the layout was not crowded, the food was very good, and so was my red wine. Over all a very pleasant experience. However it is a pity that they had to replace the Pine Inn Restaurant, where I dined several times in the past. It was a very elegant restaurant, and the Gazebo Room had small tables dressed with white table cloth and candles. This room has been destroyed, they now have a huge round table in the middle of the room, some tables against the wall, and is looks barren and cold, no decor or charm whatsoever. There was a great sound effect at the Gazebo Room, if you were siting with a group of people in one table, each person at the table could hear very clearly the voice of another person somewhere in the room, as if the person was talking in your ear. Now they have destroyed this feature by putting large pieces of canvas on the ceiling that ruin the sound effect, the most interesting feature of the place, what a total lack of imagination! You can access Il Fornaio from the street or through the lobby of the Pine Inn Hotel, the first hotel in Carmel. The Pine Inn is a very elegant hotel, with a small but very tastefully decorated, boutique like lobby. It is so unfortunate that the carpet at the entrance of the hotel and up the stairs is in such poor condition, and in desperate need of a replacement. This showcase jewell of a Hotel deserves a carpet worth of a grand entrance, not a worn out rag. I had to put aside all my personal misgivings about this place being a chain etc. to be objective and ranked them according to what my dinning experience was. The food was very good and the staff did a great job, it is not their fault that they are replacing the Pine Inn Restaurant, so they...