Il Forno

Reviews

• Quentin C.

  star star star star star 11 June 2026

  The food at Il Forno was surprisingly delicious!  The service was friendly and warm, we were greeted with a smile, and seated promptly.
  
  We shared an exceptional chicken liver starter, as well as a beautifully presented bruschetta.  Our entrées were a sirloin steak and a ribeye, both huge portion of choice meat, perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned, were a feast for the eyes and our taste buds :-)
  
  The wine list is really good, and the desserts were heavenly - highly recommended!

• Ana B.

  star star star star star_border 6 June 2026

  Authentic classic Italian restaurant!
  
  Dont forget to try the risotto di mare (with seafood) or the tiramisu!

• David D.

  star star star star_border star_border 5 June 2026

  Reading the other reviews is very informative and partly the reason we chose to pre-book our table
  Myself and my wife finished off here during a shopping visit to Liverpool.
  
  A menu with an average price, although when you buy a Prawn starter for nearly £10 you expect more than THREE King prawns!!!  This prawn starter was spiced HOT and then menu did not mention such!
  I had the Scallops Starter, and again, you would expect more than THREE Scallops for nearly £10!!!
  A 175ml glass of red wine costs £6.50.
  So a moan about the quantity of food you get and the price you're made to pay, I do have to mention that the food was excellent,(when not spiced up without the menu saying!), and we did feel full at the end of the meal with a dessert.
  We were shocked at the price of the Bill when it arrived, we've never spent that much on a meal out for two before! The the whole experience was fantastic! The waiters are very responsive and the service was quick!
  
  The noise level in the restaurant was noisy, so it's not for those who want a very quiet meal out.
  There is a cloakroom facility and we were able to she'd the load of our coats and many shopping bags from us and concentrate on having a relaxing time with our meal.

• Jon P.

  star star star star star 19 May 2026

  Il Forno is a gorgeous Italian restaurant and easily one of the best that Liverpool has to offer. It is always very busy and it's easy to see (taste?) why.
  
  First off: book a table. It's packed on a regular basis, even popular with celebrities. Not that I care about that sort of thing, but it does mean you'll need to reserve your place. This doesn't mean it's cold and sterile though - the atmosphere is very welcoming, warm and relaxed.
  
  Now that that's out of the way and you're in the restaurant, the menu lights up your eyes. There is a wide range of delicious, authentic, Italian dishes to choose from. For starters, why not have Bruschetta Piselli e Mozzarella Parmigiano (Baked bread with garden peas, mozarella and parmesan), or Focaccia with salt, rosemary and extra virgin olive oil?
  
  The menu goes from strength to strength, featuring delicious soups and a HUGE range of antipasti. These are all an excellent choice and, in my eyes, they're so good that they're often one of the main highlights of the meal. I cannot stress enough just how nice the antipasti selections are - you could quite easily sit and just munch your way through these all evening.
  
  The main dishes are made up of winner after winner. Homemade pasta is combined with sun dried tomatoes, pine kernels and anchovies. Risotto accompanied with pumpkin, pancetta and parmesan. The Penne All'Arrabbiata is breathtaking and you can add tasty, fresh, Italian sausage.
  
  Even the pizzas here are phenomenal. Thin and cooked in a traditional oven, they have that Italian 'essence' that is often missing from pizzas elsewhere. A favourite of mine is the Pizza Il Forno, featuring buffalo mozzarella, spicy salami, porcini mushrooms, grated potato, parmesan and rosemary. The Calzones are equallly as good.
  
  There are lovely desserts too. The whole range seems good but I'm always drawn to one of my most favourite dishes of all - Tiramisu. Real, proper, tadty, Tiramisu. Unbeatable.
  
  I have no REAL negative points for this restaurant. It's expensive, so you could include that... but if you are aware of this beforehand and know what to expect, you'll soon realise that this place is well worth every extra penny you'll spend. It's a kind of posh-rustic restaurant, an interesting combination.
  
  The service here is great, everybody is friendly, chatty and helpful. They aren't too quick about things, which fits the Italian eating vibe perfectly. Don't come here for a quick bite, expect to stay quite a while... but you'll enjoy every second, every morsel. Highly recommended indeed.

• Robert H.

  star star star star star 19 May 2026

  Landed here by accident with the family waiting for a concert at the cathedral.  With no expectations I was hugely impressed by the quality and variety of the menu.
  I love more than anything to watch other peoples orders go past and wish I'd ordered every one of them. As a family we ordered starters to share an antipasti selection with olive bread. Easily enough for the four of us with so many lovely flavours and textures.
  Our mains were a bit of a rush order on our part as we knew we didn't have a lot of time. I was the only one who didn't order a pizza lol. I had braised veal shank on a base of risotto which was a delight. Everyone looked at dads dinner with envy but that said the pizzas were heaven too. Cooked in a wood fired pizza oven with top quality ingredients each was something very special. We all did swaps and mopped up the leftovers.
  Desserts were based around generous helpings of gelato with fruits amaretto etc with some cheese cakes and other delights available. Everything looked too good to eat and tasted even better.
  So that was the food, the restaurant is lovely too. Very smart with an incredible pizza oven with a face on its front. The deserts are displayed in a long bar as you enter. It feels very traditional, old fashioned in a good old days that never were kind of way. Top marks!
  Staff excellent. Loads of them our waiter was always close by and had his eye on us whenever we needed him. We blitzed through 3 courses in the limited time we had. We all had a great time. All fully stuffed for our short uphill walk to the concert.