IL FORNELLO on Danforth

Really good casual Italian. Service is a bit distracted but you've got noodles and pizza pies and that's the main event.

They have a separate menu for vegans! I had ordered the vegan pappardelle and plant based crème brûlée as desert. The food was delicious! Highly recommend if you are traveling to Toronto.

The food was delicious and the service was quick and friendly. It's just a bit too noisy for my liking, hard to have a conversation. Would still go back, but maybe a different location may be less busy.

An overall great, not excellent, experience. Server was lovely and patient and informative. Food was quite tasty; garlic bread, three different pasta dishes and a pizza, all vegan.
The pizza was a little underdone; couldn’t pick it up without it collapsing on itself. Each pasta was unique but sadly mine was excessively oily – so much so that the next day, after having sat in the porous paper take-home container, it managed to leak oil all over my bag when it briefly became lopsided.
It started raining near the end of the night/close but no one put out the awning or any umbrellas. Luckily enough tables had cleared that we just moved to a still-dirty empty one.

The food is standard quality for an Il Fornello, but the prices are insulting. $18 for a $2 bowl of pasta with $1.50 worth of sauce, and $6.50 to add less than 1 oz.of chicken.

While it was a busy Friday, and they were full, service was not good. I had to ask our waitress THREE times for the bill. After waiting and waiting, I went inside from the patio and told her that we need the bill. After a while more I asked another waitress to tell OUR waitress that we need the bill. Eventually I had to go in and tell her that we are late for a show, at which point she said 'OH I didn't know hat you were late for a show, sorry" which basically means 'I felt comfortable de-prioritizing you while I serve my inside tables, and though I would get away with it. ' Meanwhile, a group of thee leaving the restaurant walked past us on the patio murmuring 'she didn't give us any attention, she barely came around etc. " I immediately felt sympathy for them.

Either the waitstaff need to be re-trained, or the management needs to have more staff on shift for the rush periods. Either way the manager of this location has a lot to answer for!

A sensational experience. I used to attend here years and years ago. This place was improved. It was obvious that Olivia was the right person for the front of house. She was detailed and knowledgable about the menu, add ons to the menu and what to pair as a drink. I left very pleased with the experience. Olvia's attention to every detail was so much more than expected. BRAVO

I definitely recommend this place! My partner and I went on a Tuesday and they have 12 dollar pizza deals! The staff were super nice.

We split the Pizza Diavola and Gnocchi Asiago, both delicious! The pizza was thinned crust and full of flavour. The gnocchi was super rich and creamy, I had enough for leftover the next day. The portions are a filling size.

Il Fornello is a wonderful restaurant. The food is very good and I love the energy and location on the Danforth. My server was cheery and attentive.

I would have loved for my gnocchi to be served hot. The gnocchi was delicious but not served warm enough to melt the parmesan cheese that was added right when the dish was delivered to the table.

My last visit reminded me how much I enjoy coming here.

Excellent food and service. As a vegetarian, it’s hard to find decent options sometimes. I applaud Il Fornellos extensive vegan menu!

This restaurant is amazing! Their Italian food is the best, very good quality food and good portions, of coarse the fettuccine Alfredo was to die for, the Asiago chicken was perfect, whatever u order u simply can’t go wrong still have to try their pizzas which I’m sure is delicious too, definitely recommend the place

Going to Il Fornello for us is like heading home to the family for a meal. The staff, especially Lisette, is welcoming and attentive. Their desire is for us to have a relaxing and satisfying experience and they never let us down. Whether it is the Chicken Parm, Chicken Asiago, Pollo Pesto or their steak we leave feeling content. I urge you to try it if you have yet to do so.

A very good example of Italian in a family friendly setting. Feels nice and clean with good space to enjoy a quick family dinner.

Food was good. Very well presented and the service was great! A little late to right this review but the patio and indoor settings was very nice. It was a nice crowd and very well laid out. The only downside was the food. I found the food a bit oily. I bought a pizza and the lady got herself some pasta. Now, the pizza I understand because I asked for extra cheese, but her pasta was swimming in it. Someone here posted a picture with a 1 star review, and her pasta looked similar to that. We said other than that, the flavour and presentation was amazing! Definitely will be coming back. Not a deal break at all!

I had a Pizza Salsiccia Italiana which was delicious, one of the best pizzas I've had in years. My server, Lake, was efficient and very friendly, and the pizza was served up quickly. I finished off my meal with an enormous and tasty piece of carrot cake. This was definitely an experience I'm looking forward to repeating!

Fornello has a great selection of personal sized pizzas on the menu but as well great dishes like the grilled salmon which was cooked perfection. Staff a fee e friendly and attentive and don't feel rushed when meeting with friends for dinner and drinks.

Wish I could write about the food, but I didn’t even have a server. I was seated with no server in sight for upwards of 25 minutes. No water offered. I let the hostess know, and she said she would assign one for me. But more than five minutes later, nada. Didn’t have anyone despite being a few tables away from guests seated after me with servers present.

I might as well have been a ghost!

Their vegan menu is delicious. We ordered the vegan smoked carrot pizza for delivery and had to go back to the restaurant for more a few days later because we couldn't stop thinking about it.

If you want to celebrate something special like in my case first year of marriage. Please DON'T come here.

I called days before to make a reservation for two people and I told them what we were celebrating and I asked for a special table; they told me they could arrange this for me. When we got there, it was very busy and our request was not arranged, we were offered tables is very busy areas and they basically told us we're full and this is all we've got.

So we left and this ruined my special day that I was waiting for a year to celebrate.

THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.

Only if it wasn't for the loudness that made me run away from this place every time, I would have given this restaurant 5 stars. They have an amazing vegan menu, pizza and pasta choices that I have not seen at any restaurants and the service is great. However, the speakers playing music is so loud that it encourages people not to speak but to yell. I couldn't carry on a decent conversation, but to consume the delicious food and ask for the bill. I hope if there is a next time that I return, I can enjoy the ambiance otherwise, I'd rather order food online.

Just visiting toronto and was very excited for a cute little restaurant experience, but our visit was very poor. We don’t even know who our server was because three different ladies helped us all night and we didnt get any names, i think one was the manager? They forgot to put our order in so they had to re-ask us what we got, messed up our order, got sat in the middle of the busy floor after they lost our reservation, got hung up on the phone when making the reservation, no servers came to check on us during our meal, and at the end we had boxes basically thrown at us with no apology from the server. Food wasn’t bad, service was unfortunately not what we were expecting…

First time dining here and loved it. Patio was private enough you couldn’t see much of the passerbys but still open enough you could see dogs of all sizes. Interior was cute.

Food was delicious and service was wonderful and friendly. The vegan menu is quite large and they can provide an ingredient list for these items which was super helpful! Didn’t try dessert this time but will next time!

Great experience for a Mother’s Day dinner! Food was excellent and the service was fantastic! We had to wait only a few minutes for our server to come over and the owner offered the price of house wine for a fancy bottle. It was such a great gesture but really not needed!

I had a special birthday family event planned. I had Il Fornello cater for the event. I had ordered lasagna both meat and vegetarian as well as meatballs, calamari, and salad. The food was delivered on time. The food was so delicious and plentiful. I would not hesitate to have them cater for me again.

We went to Il Fornello for dinner and it was amazing! We got the Vegan Meatballs for appetizers and then for mains got the: Penne Alla Norma, Eggplant Parmigiana, Margherita Pizza, Pizza Carciofi, and the Vegan Orecchiette Funghi. All were great but the Orecchiette was a bit undercooked and not as great as we expected. For dessert we got Tiramisu, Carrot Cake and Chocolate Soufflé Cake - all were very delicious. The service was fast and we can’t wait to come back!

My husband and I are both vegan. And we love this restaurant, as it has a quite a bit of plant based menu. Everytime we have been there the food has been delicious, service is friendly. Today was no different other than meeting Stacey (the owner - very friendly). We wanted to buy some vegan butter, she came and chatted with us, and was kind enough to give us some. We had vegan caesar salad, pizza pollo and coconut panacota, and latte - all were amazingly delicious. We would love to see some more non pasta vegan options added. Stacey, was a pleasure meeting you!

I will recommend that you reserve your table in advance because it was very busy, maybe because it was on Sunday. But the service was very good. We didn't wait long for our food to be served. The food was soon delicious. I forgot to take a picture of the chicken asiago; it was so good

Always look forward to going here! As someone who is gluten free and vegan, this restaurant has such wonderful options with a plant-based menu. Would highly recommend!

Attention vegans and WFPB peeps, this is the spot for us. A massive plant-based menu that is not comprised of just salads and flatbread. Everything from vegan Lasagna, to vegan pizza, vegan spaghetti and meatballs, and the list goes on and on. The vegan pasta pomodoro is what I had and it was delicious. A light but flavourful tomato sauce with perfectly al dented spaghetti noodles that hit the spot and satisfied my craving for pasta. The atmosphere is really nice inside and so it their outdoor patio. Customer service is also top notch. A great experience and I cannot wait to go back!

Two friends and I had lunch at Il Fornello today. I can’t say enough about how great the lunch was. Two of us are plant-based and couldn’t have enjoyed our meal more. I had a vegan pizza and my plant-based friend had a mushroom pasta. Our non-vegan friend really enjoyed her pizza. Their plant-based menu is awesome. Unfortunately we don’t live in Toronto or I’m sure we’d be back there often!

Great pizza and pasta. The crust was light and fluffy with a nice crunch on the thin crust. Very flavorful. I definitely recommend the meatball pizza.

Phenomenal experience at Il Fornello’s Danforth with 7 people, one vegan, one vegetarian, one celiac. Super menu options for all in our party, attentive and friendly service and all COVID precautions taken. We brought friends from out of town and we were able to hear each other and felt taken care of. Highly recommend.

Absolutely love how many delicious plant based options there are! The vegan lasagna was delicious.

Food is good. Good service from our waitress. Be forewarned the portions of the pasta plates are huge. I got the lasagna and only ate 1/4. I think $26 for salmon and veg is overpriced though.

Lovely lighting and food.wish there were more COVID precautions it seemed way too crowded and I was sat much closer than 2 meters from another table.

I came to try this place because I always past by and it’s always busy. We wanted a patio table that was away from the entrance, we waited a bit and the waitress asked if we wanted to be on the waitlist. So we did and we waited some more, then we asked if we could go down the street a bit to sit and if we could leave a number to call us if the table is ready. She took our number and we left, we came by after a while to check in and a table that could been given to us was given away because the waitress assumed we were not coming back. We asked to speak to the manager who informed us she was new and she was very sorry. She was very nice, gave us a table outside of the restaurant and the remainder of the service was pleasant. However I found the food too mediocre for the prices they ask for which is higher then most Italian places. Nevertheless I won’t be eating here again. There’s way better options. I am impressed with their vegan options though.

IL Fornello is an Italian kitchen and bar. They offer free wifi while you wait. I reserved a table at 3: 00 pm. They have beautiful marble tables to sit at. We were served right away with drinks. They’re currently busy and the only negative thing I have to say is that the food takes quite a while to arrive. We were offered more drinks while we wait for food. At 3: 47 food arrived. Food is good but I chose the best pasta dish on the menu.

Great Plant Based / Vegan menu in addition to the standard one. Deliscious food & really good service too.

Came because my husband and I are vegan but the couple we came with is not. The plant based pizza is good but the pepperoni pizza is actually sausage so that was a little disappointing. The lasagna was ok but the pasta was a little hard and the meat lasagna looked so much for filling and satisfying than the plant based one.

We had a great time eating on the patio. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable. The food was delicious. I especially like the awning that kept the area shaded from the sweltering sun and the plexiglass enclosure at the front that added privacy from the people walking on the street.

We just had family time and we ordered Chicken Parmigiana and it come frozen chicken with canned tomatoes sauce.

Service was very good and friendly, (Lizette).
Pizza was delicious. Grilled calamari with pesto was amazing.

Highly commend the owner for launching an extensive vegan menu. An absolutely delightful culinary experience. Service was great and the food was delicious and fresh. Visited today after my family recommended (some visited yesterday) and the others visited today. Will be back. Add their chilli oil for some heat to your pasta or pizza. Being Indian, life without spice is unimaginable, ha ha ha! But this place hits the right spot. Vegan, fresh, Italian and classy. Will spread the word and make this place famous.

PS: Fellow vegans give this place a shot and support their vegan menu. Its a must try. Other restaurants and their owners, buckle up, times have changed. Perform or perish as vegans and plant based eaters are growing slowly and steadily. Introduce healthy and tasty vegan options and eat that Beyond Meat burger yourself. Thanks, but no thanks.

The Ricotta Arancini was a little small but very tasty. The Pizza Hawaiiano was amazing! It came with a citrusy chilli oil that really complimented the pineapple. The Pinot Grigio was very light bodied and simple. The Montepulciano was more complex with strong notes of vanilla and molasses.

Went for brunch and the entree was great! But the food was cold.servers appear scattered and unfocused to their patrons. Took awhile to take our order, and had to ask for salt and pepper for one, which should be a common thing to ask when you bring out the entrees that we ordered. Hard to pinpoint but the staff seem to be focusing on other things versus making their clients feel welcome and attentive to their needs if anything. I didn't expect this and hopefully it's a one off.

We went yesterday with my bf to this Italian restaurant. Very interesting menu including vegan dishes. We took the fig pizza and calzone (adding chicken and extra cheese) and a Roma Salad to share. The quality was very good however they took 45mins to serve us! Which completely killed our experience. To apologize they offered the salad for free.

I reviewed this place because I had lots of hair in my food when ordered. The restaurant replied saying health is a top priority to them and I have not heard back. It is only a top priority where the public can see it

Always love it here. Great food. Attentive service. Amazing atmosphere with a real buzz. There is a reason why Il Fornello has lasted year in and year out.

You never know what you're going to get with delivery these days but I have had enough positive experiences (elsewhere) that I know it can be done well. Tonight's dinner wasn't great. For $45 + tax and tip I got a massive portion of noodles with almost no sauce (alfredo) and no cheese. I had to add some sauce and cheese at home. The salad was fine but the same as you would get in a grocery store. The tiramisu is watery/soggy and an extremely small portion for almost $10. For a meal without any meat and very little cheese, I'm disappointed.

The original gourmet pizza, and a staple in the Riverdale/Danforth area. They literally have a pizza for everyone. Want gluten-free, vegan? They've had it on their menu for a decade. I have three fussy children, and this place they can always agree on. Great for families.

Il Fornello is consistently good and always friendly. We're regular customers since the restaurant opened some years ago. Throughout the pandemic we have both takeout and delivery.

Terrible. I got the chicken capri a side of garlic bread. Way not worth what I paid for. Poor quality food at high price. Please do not order from them.

How many times will I fall for the same trick! I went online to order dinner, I see the menu for il fornello and on it is a beautiful looking meatball sub. However, what I received was 4 dry meatballs with next to no marinara. At least they were gracious enough to put a dandruffs worth of cheese on the sandwich, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to tell what type way applied to my meal. All in all, I give this sandwich 1 star because at least the meat was between the buns and he restaurant also gets a star for screwing me so fantastically.

I was very pleased with your Holiday meal. All was superb, I have not had a Bolognese lasagna in a long while, preferring the white sauce based ones instead, due to often find the tomato based tasting too acidic. This lasagna brought me back to red sauce, so tasteful! The Tiramisu was super amazing and so was the salad, which I tried to replicate at home with relative success. Thanks for the great work on offering plant based alternatives that are so good that I am certain I will see you turning full plant based before the end of my days. As for your patrons still stuck with the old ways of eating, when they try plant based meals they are going to be as amazed as I am.

Service was great. It was a perfect day to sit outside. Service was quick. Definitely worth coming back.

A stalwart business that has been on the Dan for 30 years (a longgggg time).
The service and food have never been exceptional but good and predictable. A good thing in my mind!

Great atmosphere. There was a large choice of food options including gluten free for our group of 25. Service was very good. Food was delivered on time and there was no mix up with anyone's order. Likewise when it came to paying our bills. Our server was professional and efficient. There were 4 birthdays celebrations in the restaurant last night and each time, everybody joined in with the singing.

I had such a good experiance here last year. The staff were great, so nice to my cousins kids. Very quick service for drinks and even food.

I had the fettuccini alfredo and it was amazing. Highly reccomend that dish!

The food was very good. They have a lot of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. The service was excellent. It is a bit expensive.

My boss is a regular in here. We were having casual late lunch meeting. And the server had been back and forth waiting to take the order. But we were focusing on talking, rather than checking on the menu. They never gave up on coming back. Even after the food came, they kept on asking if the food was fine, if we need to refill drinks, etc. Excellent customer service! They have vegan dishes. I admire their salad. Definitely will go back.

Very nice staff, nice to know they have 20+ vegan Pizzas. Restaurant should highlight Vegan-menu so Halal-eating Muslims & Vegetarians can come frequently:)

It’s a great family restaurant which now features vegan friendly eats. The hostess I’ve had a few times particularly on top of things.

Wood-burning brick oven specialty pizza and pasta!

This place is terrific for 3 reasons:

(1) The food is top quality.
You know why I can eat most of a Pizza Pizza medium by myself, but had a hard time finishing Il Fornello’s? One is fast food, one is gourmet. When you actually savour each bite, a little goes a long way.

(2) The atmosphere makes you feel like you’re doing something significant.
Their decor is beautiful - tiled Art Deco entranceway outside and marble table tops inside. The brick oven tops it off.

(3) Reasonably priced.
$12 pizzas for lunch and dinner (check times/days). Their pasta is worth it too - I loved the gnocchi. And I plan on coming back for their winter Prix Fixe menu.

The pizzas are terrific. Spaghetti Carbonara was a decadent treat. If you get seated near the open kitchen, don't expect to hear much of your table's conversation.

I've been coming here off and on for decades.food always top notch.the service was hit or miss.the staff working now are the best ever.

I visited Il fornello for the first time with a mid-size group for a Saturday morning brunch. Overall very impressed with the restaurant and experience. Brunch menu was excellent and inspired (e.g, I had tofu scramble and avocado toast). Dinner menu looked excellent as well; given their large stone oven I expect excellent pizzas and other baked fare. Service could have been slightly faster, but in general great value and I would recommend to anyone looking for a venue to host larger groups.

Came here for my dad’s birthday and was kind of embarrassed for picking this spot after the service we received. Slow the whole night. It wasn’t packed in the restaurant while we were there, so we were confused. Our apps came out 35 min after ordering. After finishing we waited another 30 for our mains. My dad’s dinner arrived at the table without an added protein option that he ordered, and a waitstaff took it away before we could ask to leave it and just bring the side protein. So I sat there waiting for his dinner to return correct while mine got cold. Didn’t see the waitress much. As someone who works in the industry, I expected more attentive service from this place.

I had previously dined at the King St.location and had great customer service, so I was expecting the same here. Nope.
Came here during a lunch period and it wasn't too busy. The staff were not attentive to us but looked after others with care, it took forever to even receive water, and to have it refilled. I don't think it's asking for much to receive equal attention.
We ordered the calamari, which was straight from the freezer and the batter was not good at all, it was even uncooked in some parts.
Pasta and pizza were alright, you can't really mess those up.

Very lively atmosphere and amiable staff. Food was tasty and the price was consistent with the quality level. Nice place for a date!

A good balance between fine dining and family-friendly atmosphere. They didn't have kid-friendly cups (ie.plastic) but staff were friendly and very accommodating. The open kitchen and pizza oven are fascinating for kids too. It wasn't too noisy despite how busy it was and all the happy families.

Outstanding 5-Star customer service thanks to Stacey the owner and the smiling face of Olivia. Highly recommend you eat at Il Fornello on The Danforth especially if you have a vegan in your family as they have an excellent vegan menu. Wish more restaurants were like I. F.on The Danforth.

Excellent restaurant! Italian inspired cuisine, great friendly and diverse staff. Vegetarian and vegan friendly. They have a special vegan menu with various options

First time there and it was absolutely amazing. Great atmosphere great service and of course amazing food.

Came to try the new whole wheat multi grain pizza dough and love it! And the avocado cashew caesar salad as always.

Friendly, attentive servers. They seem to all be experts with kids. Our server put our 3 yr old son on her shoulders and took him to meet the chef and see the wood fire oven, while my partner and I enjoyed a little kid-free dinner time. Oh, and the food is also very tasty. Will definitely go back again.