Forno Bistro — Restaurant in City of Saratoga Springs

We've been to Forno many times as we are locals. Forno has always been a family favorite. I was surprised we were able to get a last minute reservation at 545, but took it as a good sign! I was wrong. While the service was fantastic as always, the food was literally the worst food I've ever had, anywhere. Again, let me restate that Forno has always been a fail-safe for my whole family. Always reliably delicious. I dont know if they've recently gotten a new chef (the last time we visited was about a year ago) or if it was an "off"night, and I hesitate to use the word but if I am being honest, the food was disgusting. I had the filet/shrimp/scallops pasta special. There was zero flavor to anything except for an overabundance of pepper; possibly in the form of peppercorn bc there were actually chunks. The scallops and shrimp were rubbery and the filet flavorless, chewy and overdone. Even the pasta was...weird. Simultaneously al dente but ..chewy? My daughter had the swordfish special. Again, flavorless, rubbery and she could barely choke down a bite or two( and this is a young lady who loves all seafood!) My husband had clams over pasta (I've forgotten the name) and asked for added shrimp, and it was....ok. Edible at least but again, so little flavor-it was as though someone opened a can of chicken broth and threw a little extra salt, pepper and maybe some garlic powder and tossed it in some pasta and overcooked shrimp and clams. Not worth $45. My other two daughters had the barrata ravioli which they liked...but how can you mess up ravioli? I would have complained and sent it all back, but with three older teenaged/young twenty sum kids, they get very angry if mom makes a "scene" (no matter how politely and sensitively its done). Also I'm not usually one to send food back unless there's something gross in it (like a hair 🤢) because I dont like putting the wait staff in that position. When the bill came and it was over $300 (almost $400 with tip) I wished I had sent it back. We dont mind paying a good price for food thats delicious; but when I tell you this was inedible and I paid for food I did not eat, I'm not exaggerating. Again, very disappointing because Forno Bistro has ALWAYS been delicious and a fail safe for when family comes to visit or we want a nice, casual but upscale "feel" meal. If the wait staff were not as lovely and efficient as they were, I would have walked out. Safe and sad to say, we won't be returning any time soon.

UPDATE: After writing this review, the owner reached out to me personally, several times. She tried me by phone many times until we connected and truly wanted to hear why our experience was not good. She listened with the intent of understanding, not to rebut or deny or be defensive. She was very gracious and dare I say even "old school" and offered us a gift certificate to come back and give Forno another chance. This is classic, old-school business etiquette and it was refreshing to hear and honestly her approach made me want to try again. We went this Saturday evening (9/20) a little later (730) and had a wonderful experience. Two of us ordered the steak special and it was cooked *perfectly * One got the salmon special and it was fabulous. One got the osso bucco and it was delicious and my husband ordered a chicken dish with pasta and loved every bite. Keija (so sorry if I spelled your name wrong!) was our waitstaff and she was lovely and attentive. Came by many times to check on us and when our dinners ran a little late she came to assure us they were on the way. Honestly it was a fantastic meal beginning to end- the apps (arancini and calamari) were yummy, the service wonderful and even though we were sitting in the center which can sometimes feel crowded, the atmosphere was great. Thank you, Nancy, for allowing us this "make up" meal on you. It was fantastic and you were right- we just caught an off-night....

I booked a reservation at Forno for a special anniversary after viewing their menu online. Once arriving, we had to squeeze our way through to our table in the middle of the restaurant. The table next to us was less than a foot away, close enough that you felt like you were also having dinner with them. Not my favorite seating arrangement but it’s not a huge deal. Well… until the entire dinner you are listening to the table next to you complain the entire meal because the restaurant was simply busy and had made a small mistake. It appeared that maybe the table next to us had ordered the same appetizer as us and had been there first. However, we were given the appetizer before they were. I began to feel uncomfortable as the customer was glaring at me as if I was at fault. It was uncomfortable to eat and have a conversation with my partner. I hadn’t realized they were upset we got the appetizer first until a few minutes later when she was yelling at the waiter to take it back to the kitchen when it finally came out. She then started rudely point at customers, including myself, who were served prior despite her eating a salad and clearly had been waited on. Regardless, the waitstaff apologized to her and comped her meal. While I understand why the staff gave into her complaints to avoid a negative review, this left myself and my partner frustrated that we were celebrating and had our entire meal ruined by having to listen to this customer. If she was unhappy with the service, she should have be advised that this was a simple mistake and maybe comp the appetizer. If she was unhappy with that, there’s plenty of restaurants in Saratoga, I would have shown her the door. Don’t let rude customers impact the entire restaurant and treat your staff poorly. We definitely weren’t the only customers overhearing her and feeling...

Our first visit here Sat 3/12/22. We made a 5pm reservation so we weren't in a rush to walk to a concert @ UPH 7pm. Forno's has an Italian menu w/ modern interpretations. Snowy & windy earlier in the day, but fairly busy on Broadway in SS. We requested to sit at the bar. Young bartender (server #11) gave us very good service. No name given/no name tag. We had our first drinks while looking over the menu. Good selection on local craft beers on tap, excellent wine list also. This is the first place that we could recall that had happy hour on Saturdays. Happy Hour is Tue-Sat. 4:30pm-6:30pm. Beers $5. & wines $6. See their Allora HH menu on their website. A very good deal for upscale Saratoga Springs. Thank you. We decide that apps would be the way to go. I had the polpetto ($15) - 5 meatballs (beef, pork, & veal) cooked in wood fired oven w/ pomodoro sauce & shaved mozzarella. Excellent. My bride had the happy hour Pollo Panato ($10) which enjoyed and the portion was a perfect size for her. Oops! she noted that the crispy prosciuitto was missing. We shared dessert - cannoli ($10). We thought it was one cannolo to share, but it was two full size. Another happy surprise. Forno also offers other unique apps ($12-18 reg. price), salads, an antipasto for 2 ($18 per person, minimum 3 people). 6 wood-fired pizzas ($14-17), 7 entrees ($17-31), & desserts. Open Tue-Thu 5-9, Sat & Sun 5-10. Service & food are a cut above, not the same old ubiquitous red sauce Italian fare found at many other places. We had a very nice first experience here. We will be back and will recommend Forno Bistro to others. Thank you to the waitstaff & kitchen staff. Nick &...