il fornaio

great aura, taste doesn't match price. agreatatmosphere, but a tad pricey for the quality of meal. the food was similar to olive garden or maccaroni grill. i guess you pay double the price for the neat setting.

good not great. i come to il fornaio every month with friends. we come late in the evening, when it isn't so crowded, and we always order from the regional tasting menu (fixed price, 3 courses, about $40). i've done this for 2 years now. now and then, i have agreatmeal. there is usually one very good course on the tasting menu. one month, it was just meh all around. that's not bad over a 2-year period.
i do not eat here otherwise; it is too crowded and expensive. the kitchen can be slow when the restaurant is busy.

expensive, but agreatplace for a party or dinner with friends. classy and clean.

disappointed. we love italian and look forward to trying new new places as we are new to the area. we went to il fornaio based on the urbspn reviews. no one in our party of five had a good experience, we ranged from just ok to awful. we started with the calamari (under cooked) and carpaccio (good) appetizers. our entrees included a homemade flat pasta with seafood special which was absolutely horrible, the pasta was cooked down to the consistency of mashed potatoes and the seafood was fishy tasting (not fresh). the spinach ravioli with italian sausage was underwhelming and left you wishing you ordered something else. the best of the five entrees was the ravioli filled with butternut squash which we agreed was pretty good. we were seated right away and we were initially well attended to with drinks and bread. we did not see our waitress again after our food was served so the service was poor. if you are looking forgreatitalian i would recommend looking elsewhere.