Al Forno Restaurant — Restaurant in Providence

Since opening in 1980, Al Forno has regularly and consistently topped the Providence "best restaurant" lists of local critics and publications. Al Forno is popular for good reason: it innovated many dishes now common in Rhode Island's micro-regional Italian-American cuisine, and continues to provide the best version available of these dishes.

Most people come here for the famous grilled pizzas, an accidental invention of Al Forno's late co-founder George Germon. Based on a confused employee's retelling of how pizza is made in Tuscany, Germon experimented with a process where pizza dough is placed on a grill, then flipped, then topped with toppings and finished on the grill. The resulting thin crust of the pizza has the consistency and slight crunch of good naan bread. I order mine topped with tender Calamari, lightly battered and fried, with patches of spicy arrabbiata sauce. This is a style of pizza replicated in various restaurants throughout Providence, but none seem to do as well of a job at it as Al Forno. My tip to all who order this is to eat it while hot, as the crust softens as it sits.

Another signature dish of Al Forno is their "Clams Al Forno" appetizer, essentially clams in their shells cooked in a garlicky butter-wine sauce that is similar to the azafran-based Portuguese "Moçambique-style" sauces you'll find at restaurants in nearby East Providence, no doubt the inspiration behind this. This is another often-imitated dish around Providence, with "variations" offered at popular Federal Hill restaurants Siena and Massimo among others. Here, freshly-shredded scallions provide a nice touch of freshness to the bowl. The spicy broth is best mopped up with the house's spongy focaccia bread.

Al Forno's "Baked Pasta with Tomato, Cream, and Five Cheeses" dish is also a Rhode Island classic -- a bowl of shell pasta in a mild creamy tomato sauce baked in an oven until the shell pasta becomes awesomely crispy on its edges, blanketed with melted cheese. The crispy baked (almost burnt, but not) pasta provides a unique texture and taste that is complemented by the rich but subdued sauce. Out of all of the dishes that Al Forno serves, this is the one that I am perhaps the most fond of, and keeps me coming back.

If I have one complaint, it is the lack of a reservation system. This is a busy, popular place, and a long wait is inevitable if you choose to come here during peak dinner hours. As a result, I don't frequent Al Forno as much as I'd like. That said, if there is any restaurant in Providence worth the wait, it...

My recent dinner at Al Forno, a long-standing Providence establishment I'd heard so much about, left me with mixed feelings. After securing a coveted reservation and bringing out-of-town friends, my high hopes were met with some culinary delights but significantly marred by subpar service.

The Highlights The appetizers were a definite win. The arancini special was delicious, and the fried zucchini, shaped like fries, were absolutely amazing. Another positive was the pricing, which I found to be quite reasonable, especially considering the generous portion sizes.

The Entrees and Minor Glitches Our table exclusively ordered pasta dishes, which were decent but ultimately nothing special. While the portions remained large, the flavors didn't particularly stand out. We also noticed a few small errors: some of my fettuccine ended up in my girlfriend's rigatoni dish, and one friend's pasta unexpectedly contained peas, possibly from my or my girlfriend’s dish.

Service: The Major Letdown Unfortunately, the service was the biggest disappointment of the evening. While our server was genuinely nice, the overall experience was frustratingly slow and inattentive. It took a full 30 minutes after being seated just to order our food, as our server initially only checked on us for drinks and specials. After ordering, our server was rarely seen. We had to actively seek him out to get our water refilled. There were also several concerning moments with the bus staff, who almost dropped dishes on my friends multiple times. We also found it odd that bread was brought to our table only five minutes before our entrees arrived, after a 45-50 minute wait after ordering appetizers and main courses. While a slower pace can be acceptable, a group of eight definitely benefits from more frequent check-ins. We also had a 7:30 reservation but weren't seated until 7:50, which, while potentially out of the restaurant's control, added to the overall waiting time. Final Thoughts I felt genuinely embarrassed bringing my friends to Al Forno, primarily due to the inconsistent and frustrating service. While I've heard wonderful things about the restaurant for years and hope this was an isolated incident, I likely won't be returning. Providence is full of fantastic Italian restaurants where I won't have to wonder if the service will overshadow the meal. Therefore, there is no need to return...

I don’t live under a rock and had obviously heard of Al Forno. Since opening in 1980, it’s been a staple of the Rhode Island dining scene. It’s claim to fame: A grilled pizza/flatbread situation. Anywhoo, the wife and I were in need of dinner and we showed up without a reservation, deciding to tempt lady fate instead at one of the two bars in Al Forno. And after a round of Aviation cocktails, bam, we got seated at the lower bar, in a small room with a few tables and a fireplace. Decor is quirky and they are busy. Like insanely busy but we get taken care of and they take their time. They list all six daily specials and I am just drooling. To our left and right are other couples eating away and the food looks amazing. Everyone has pizza on their tables - clearly a must-order.

Our order wasn’t huge but was plenty of food - we split a fennel salad which features sliced oranges, some pomagranate seeds and a lot of delicious olive oil. It was scrumptious and one of the best salads I’ve had quite possibly ever. To follow, we had their Pizza Duxelle, which as its name suggest featured small duxelles dollops across the grilled dough as well as razor thin mushroom slices. It was so incredibly creatives and so deep in flavor and umami. The grilled pizza style was a first for me and while the shape of the pizza was undeniable wacky, it was awesome. We got a side of Brussels sprous to round everything out and they were pretty good but some had way more char than others. Pretty good but nothing special.

To round everything off was a special they had, which was a chestnut flour and olive oil cake served with a creme Anglaise. It had the texture of a skillet cornbread and wasn’t too sweet. T’was pretty good.

All in all the place is great and the service at the bar was wonderful. They get absolutely hammered so I do recommend trying to get a reservation instead of showing up spontaneously trying to get bar spots. It’s not impossible but it took a bit of patience. The prices are a tad high for the dishes but I’d say that it’s definitely worth the occasional splurge. The Duxelle on the pizza blew my mind. May steal that next time we want to make some at home. Looking forward...