Forno Osteria+Bar — Restaurant in Cincinnati

UPDATED REVIEW: 4-30-25 Dining Experience

The traveling manager, Justin, reached out and invited me back in to try Forno again. This visit was spectacular from service (Maiya was amazing!) to the entire meal and after! We got the Burrata appetizer and a delicious saffron ball appetizer to start. Then, we got the half and half pasta bolognese and wild boar which were full of flavor! We also got a bottle of wine half off for ‘Wine Down Wednesday’! Thank you for reaching back out to make up for the prior birthday visit debacle. I would highly recommend Forno to anyone and also insist that you try their ‘Pope’s Chocolate Salame’ dessert because it is, without a doubt, the best dessert I’ve ever had. You won’t be disappointed!

Original review from my birthday dinner in November of 2024:

Dined with a party of 6 at Forno for my birthday (also noted on the reservation) and was very excited since it was my first time here and the reviews were anything short of wonderful!

I’ll start with what was slightly disappointing and end on a high note:

We were sat by a friendly host and were then introduced to our server. He did not ask if we were celebrating anything nor did he wish me a happy birthday. We were treated as any regular table (which is fine, I did not ask nor expect any “special” treatment). I suppose I was just hoping for a simple “happy birthday!!” enthusiastic verbal recognition or a candle in my dessert (that we were happy to and did pay for). I mean, hey, who doesn’t want a candle or someone to wish them happy birthday?

We had a pretty substantial bill so it wasn’t that we had hardly ordered anything. I will chalk it up to the restaurant being busy during this time. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit disappointing and my friends also commented that he didn’t even say happy birthday or give a candle.

The food was good. I liked my dish and my partner said his was decent. Other feedback from members in my party were “delicious! I want to try another dish now too but I am too full!” and “maybe a bit too salty for my tastes but otherwise good!”

The dessert salami was what blew me away, I wish I could order the entire thing (loaf?) of it, ha!

Not sure I would return to celebrate anniversary or anything, but maybe for a...

Starting with the dining area, we found the table to be uncomfortable. Way too many people crammed together. Reminded me of P.F. Chang's. It was also pretty loud. Next, the food - the best thing was the Veal meatball appetizer. The tripe was mediocre. We did order some bread with goat cheese and honey and that was good. On the entrée side of things, One of my friends had the pork chop. It was too thin for his liking. We all tried, and agreed. The only real flavor was the coating on the chop. I had the sword fish. It too was cut way too thin. The Sicilian sauce was tasty, but the fish was swimming in it. Too much for such a thin piece of fish. It too was mediocre. Another friend had the braised beef short rib. He liked it and it was cooked pretty well. Thumbs-up on that one. Another person in our party had meatball and spaghetti. He said the best part were the meatballs. He left most of the pasta. We did enjoy the wine list. Finally, the wait staff. We all thought our waiter was too laid-back. Not entirely knowledgeable about certain items on the menu. Could not answer some questions regarding menu items. I have found this to be a problem in too many restaurants around the country. Overall, I must differ from many of the reviews that have been posted. I and my friends found the restaurant and the food to be nothing extraordinary. It was average in all categories. Hence, the 3- Stars. We surmise that the thin pork chop and the thin sword fish is a product of the kitchen wishing to turn out such items as quickly as possible. Turnover is high, and they move fast. We may come back to try the pizza and order more of the...

Dined at Forno tonight. The service was terrible. Alexander was our server, he introduced himself, took our drink order, took our food order and we barely saw him after that. My drink was empty for a while, he never came to ask if I would like a refill. The food came, he didn’t ask whose dish was whose, just shoved the wrong food in front of us, took my empty glass and left without asking if I would like a refill. The entire dinner I tried to grab his attention to order another drink but was left ignored while he attended to everyone else around us. I finally got the attention of a different server and asked for a drink when our food was almost all done. He just came and dropped the drink in front of my fiancé (whose drink was also done at this point), and immediately left again without asking if he’d like a refill. After that he finally came to ask if we would like the check (which he put in front of my fiancé, even though I was paying - I am a woman) and left again. We are usually excellent tippers (30%+) for good service. We felt ignored all meal long and had to beg for service, which we do not think deserves a good tip. Alexander was in the kitchen for most of the dinner, chatting with other staff members instead of being attentive.

In addition to the terrible service, my fiancé got the Agnolotti and there was barely any pasta in his $25 dish.

We were excited to try out Forno, but sadly we will not be coming back and we will warn any of our friends from trying this...