Forno Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Columbus

I was just recently in there this evening for some apps and drinks. I am not from the area and was so excited to try your restaurant, as an out of towner!

However, I did not have a great experience at all.

The first set of drinks that came out were an old fashioned and the kiwi Moscow mule.

The old fashioned was covered in syrup (the glass) and the drink itself was all syrup, barely Any alcohol and was thrown together and brought to the table within a couple minutes of ordering. The kiwi Moscow mule was soo syrupy I couldn’t even take a sip without chugging water right after.

We told our server that we were sorry and I’m the most genuine and respectful way that we did not love our drinks and requested them to be remade.

Our server was a female named Haneen. (The short north location). She was very sweet and kind (at first) with getting us the drinks remade.

The second round of drinks to come out were honestly worse than the first two so those also got sent back. She said no problem and we ordered a third set of drinks.

Those drinks unfortunately were (better than the first two but also filled with syrup and made very poorly). We took a few sips and we’re just wanting the food to come out so we could cash out and leave.

The apps we ordered were fine and we ate them. But could honestly not finish our drinks.

When I informed our server we needed the check, she brought it over and I said very nicely and respectfully that the drinks were still Not great and we’re still filled to the top, as we couldn’t drink them. Unfortunately at this point we were over the drinks and getting them remade snd ate our food and just wanted to leave and go get a cocktail somewhere else.

I was still nothing but nice to the server and apologetic but asked for the drinks to be removed from our tab, as we didn’t drink these either due to the taste. She was extremely upset and angry and grabbed the check and my card and stormed off.

She returned and threw the check on the table and I said again “I am so sorry that we didn’t like the drinks, we know it’s not your fault ya know and I hope you have a really Good night” all she replied with (in the rudest tone) was “next time let me know before” I’m such a rude tone. And stormed off.

Although, I was super upset that she acted that way-I still tipped her 22% of the bill. I wanted to so badly ask for a manager but she never returned to the table or anything so we just left extremely disappointed, as we are heading back home tonight and that was our experience of Columbus for the night.

I’ve worked in the bar and restaurant industry for over 12 years and even when customers are unhappy with something or whatever the issue might be, I always always treat them with respect and give them great service. I did not appreciate the way her bad attitude ruined our overall experience for the night.

It isn’t okay and sadly I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

If someone could reach out about this issue, that would be...

It was my first time going here. A friend of mine recommended it a a good place to eat. The food and drink were slightly above par (or below, if you're a true golf fan). The 3 stars come in because, 1... they don't have on site parking. I had to pay $7 to get out of a local parking garage after walking a block to get there. 2... the atmosphere on a Sunday early afternoon was busy and LOOOUUUDD!!! There was so much buzz that I had to shout the entire time to converse with my friend who was a mere inches away from me, which gave me a headache after 30 minutes (but hey, if they're busy, maybe that's indicative of good food/service..?!?!)... 3... the food/cocktails were so expensive!! $12 for a cocktail that was 4-6oz and $14 for a BLT sandwich, but the kicker was the service fee. On the receipt, it clearly said that the service fee was for non-cash transactions. If you were to pay in cash the service fee would be removed. I opted to pay in cash (because I'm cheap and save any which way I can, especially if I can forward that money towards my server as a tip). However, my server, whether it was lack of insight or observation, did NOT take the service fee off and also did a big no no (giving me only "big" bills in change) and so I was "forced" to leave a much lower than usual tip because I refused to be screwed over by this (inadvertent..??) mishap. She was a decent server and maybe just tired of the end of the week/shift but I was not a fan of having to incur the price of that mistake. To the restaurant... DO BETTER!!! Incorporate these service fees into menu prices, instead of advertising them as "free" if you pay cash because no one likes to be screwed! ...Not the people who work hard to pay for the meal and especially not your hard...

Wow! My experience today was absolutely unacceptable. I’m a regular customer here, typically coming in every other weekend for breakfast on my own. However, this time I decided to bring my girlfriend with me. We ordered the same meal, but the server forgot one of our orders, thinking only one of us had ordered it. This wasn’t a big deal—just a small mistake.

After the server returned about 12 minutes later, we explained the situation and gave my girlfriend some time to look over the menu to pick a substitute. Instead of another meal, she decided to order a coffee.

Another 12 minutes passed before the coffee was brought to us, but by then, my girlfriend had changed her mind and decided she didn’t want it anymore. She politely asked for the check and told the server to cancel the coffee.

The server responded, “Seriously? I just made it. Why don’t you want it?”

My girlfriend explained that she simply didn’t want it anymore. Shockingly, the server walked away with the coffee and replied, “You guys weren’t going to tip me anyway…” as she was walking away.

While I understand my girlfriend can be a bit particular at times, this response was completely out of line. It was disrespectful, unprofessional, and frankly, uncalled for. The customer is always right, and making assumptions about us based on appearances, race, or ethnicity is unacceptable.

When I visit alone, I usually sit at the bar and order from a male server who’s always polite, and I’ve never had issues. I also always tip. But today’s experience was beyond disappointing.

The manager did come out and try to make things right, but I felt it was important to share this review to warn others about the type of service...