nhà hàng Il Forno Italian — Restaurant in Hà Nội

“Real hand-made Italian pasta” What a wonderful surprise, very reasonable, honest Italian home cooking in Hanoi. After going across town twice for faux mediocre pizza, ll Forno ( is a Italian for the oven) is a true godsend. Located around the corner from Vincom Center on an alley full of gaming centers, you come to this quant mom and pop restaurant, where the entire family works. Pop is a Roman chef, mom is Vietnamese, and the teenage children serve tables. First course was two appetizer size pizzas, one with Parma ham and arugula, the other 4 real Italian cheeses -( not 4 P's invented cheeses, but 4 delicious Italian cheeses from with the authentic Italian aroma of the real thing, over a crispy crust. I was in heaven from the first bite. Next came home-made beef and mushroom ravioli in a heavenly cream sauce. And lastly a beautiful tossed salad with red leaf lettuce, arugula, radicchio, cucumber and black olives with just the right amount of creamy vinaigrette barely coating the leaves, rather than swimming in the dressing, as is most frequently served in Vietnam. To accompany these dishes we had Heineken in cans - although I would have preferred bottled, I barely noticed the can taste after pouring it into a glass. There is no dessert on the menu, so we went to nearby Vinmart for an ice cream. I will be back often, there are many dishes I want to try. All in all, a very satisfying adventure, yummy and...

A few weeks ago I discovered Il Forni (The Oven) on the Canal Road off Troung Chinh, and its talkative Chef Antonio. The place right away gives a confusing 'this isn't Hanoi' feel despite its hole in the wall size. From the clattered up photos from Italy, hanging bottles or maybe its the pasta maker being used to dole out layer after layer of Lasagna. They will give you a menu that appears years out of date but simply ask, "Hey! What have you got going on today!?" And the Chef and his wife will choose their next concoction. After a few meals I decided to take my class from Kinder Adventure to eat at.

The Chef made a batch of Mini-Pizza's for my group of apprehensive students. At first no one wanted to try them except one of our more daring students who proclaimed, "Yummy!". Fancy and Elegant topped with single displayed ingredients but the students liked them anyways. We went through around 4 or five per students and even took a few road pizzas for the walk back.

To summarize Il Forno is a place full of delicious food and good vibes, located in a halfwaypoint between time city and royalcity Both the Adults and Children loved the food. Its best to go there with no particular (or a particular) dish in your head as their menu is more of a loose reference post like traffic...

The owner was rude to both his wife and myself. I have come to this restaurant several times, and he did this once before, although not at the same level. Today's attitude was just terrible, and this is why I will never come back to eat at this restaurant.

After reserving a table and driving there, I encountered the Italian man shouting at his wife, who went into their house. Then he came back out, and started also talking in a rude manner to me. Does this person really care about his business?

Honestly, I think he should stay in his room and let his wife run the restaurant. She has always been really welcoming and friendly. After this situation, she called me to apologize, as I left before even ordering anything. She has always treated me in a professional and friendly manner, and she is clearly not the one who...