Il Fornello

Reviews

• Elizabeth C.

  star star star star star_border 12 June 2026

  while trying to find a vegan friendly option online before leaving our hotel, we stumbled across this gem. We were thrilled to learn it actually had a seperate menu for vegan dishes! The food was amazing! Not one complaint other than I would have loved larger portions, but that's just me being a piggy ;)
  Our server was friendly however not very attentive at all. We didn't get our alcoholic beverages until well into our meal and only because the bartender realized they were still sitting on the counter so he had another server bring them over. All our food was delivered by other servers, she rarely came by. She seemed a bit overwhelmed to be honest.
  It was busy, I am guessing due to pre show rush hour.
  I would certainly go back next time I am in Toronto.

• Jonathan K.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 8 June 2026

  *** Posting from my husband's account ***
  
  I am writing to report an awful experience I had on Thursday, June 6th at Il Fornello on King St.  One of the servers was extremely cruel to us.  Here is what happened:
  
  My friend wanted to celebrate her birthday at Il Fornello and we were really excited to try the plant based menu.  We had a reservation for 8:15PM, but we were coming from a Jays game and there was traffic coming out of the stadium so we phoned and said we were running 5-10 minutes late.  They said it was fine, and we ended up getting there 8 minutes late.
  
  When we arrived, the restaurant was completely empty except for one table finishing up.  A man working lead us to our table, and a few minutes later our server greeted us.  She is a woman with blonde hair and looked to be older, perhaps late 30s or 40s.  We asked her if we could see the plant based menus, and she grabbed them and aggressively threw them on the table.
  
  When she was taking our drink order, she seemed dazed and had a rude tone.  She was mocking us when we ordered our drinks, and she wasn't listening and we would have to repeat orders over and over again.   She was very short with us and seemed cranky.  My friend, noticing this, asked her how her day was going. The server responded "Why...'cause I seem out of it?" We didn't say anything. She then mumbled under her breath something about her having a kid but then cut herself off, and said; "if you really must know...I'm pissed off because we had a reservation who showed up late, and we can't close the restaurant until they leave and now we have to keep the restaurant open to wait for them."
  
  My friend politely responded "oh. I'm sorry, it's my birthday today" to which the server rolled her eyes and rudely said sarcastically "And we are happy to serve you."  
  I said, "it doesn't seem like it"
  She sharply snapped "well thats too bad" and walked away.
  
  My friend was almost in tears and we were both shocked at this treatment.  We decided our money would be better spent elsewhere and got up to leave.  We apologized to the male server who had sat us, saying we are sorry but our server was too rude to us to enjoy ourselves.  Our server overheard and argued "how was I rude????"
  Instead of arguing, we just left and walked to Planta on Queen, where we were treated amazingly and ended up having a really great experience.
  
  Never in my life have I received such bad service. It was beyond rude, it was mean and cruel treatment.  My friend and I have both worked in the service industry for years.  We have had bad days, been in bad moods on the job but we have never let that show to our customers and only treat them with respect.  We came to the restaurant planning to spend a lot of money but were so turned off and felt so personally attacked we had to leave.
  
  It's a shame because we were so excited to eat there and were looking forward to it for weeks and it got ruined by that mean woman.  We will never return. I hope the business sees this review and hires better servers who are nicer and treat their guests respectfully.
  
  Also, the entire restaurant smells like poop and it's the first thing you notice upon walking in. Very unappetizing

• Max R.

  star star star star star 6 June 2026

  We had only 45 minutes to have dinner at the restaurant last night and asked the hostess if that was possible. We had a show at Roy Thompson Hall at 8:00 PM. At 7:05 PM, she said no problem provided that we ordered either pasta, pizza and I can't remember the last thing. She alerted our server Jazz (I think that was her name, female with purplish highlights). We ordered our pasta entrees, beer, coffee, tea AND were comfortably done by 7:40 PM. Food was excellent but the service from both the hostess, server AND the kitchen staff were great. They obviously know their location and the clients they serve. Well done.

• Sephora S.

  star star star star star_border 2 June 2026

  Great thin crust pizzas.  We ordered the Diavola and the Pizza Fichi were wonderful.  Great thin crust and ingredients.  I would definitely recommend any pizza there and they ask if your going to a show (which we were) which was positive as we had our dinner timely and made the play.

• Christina B.

  star star star star star 28 May 2026

  I was once quite the regular patron of il Fornello all around Toronto. My favourite location was at the Harbourfront Centre but it closed a few years ago. My second favourite location was at Yonge and St. Clair. I understand that it closed a few years ago to make way for the ubiquitous condo building.
  I received a gift card for my birthday a few years ago and sadly, didn't have the occasion to use it until recently when I met a few friends for dinner before they were attending a show. We went to the King St. W. theatre district location for dinner on a Friday night. We had excellent service! The food was amazing as well. I had a cheesy garlic bread to start, followed by spaghetti and meatballs and my favourite, tiramisu for dessert. Our server recommended cocktails, wine and dishes where we couldn't decide. They have a great menu and their pizzas look amazing too (I have had them in the past but I almost always have pasta when I go there for dinner).
  This location of il Fornello is quite spacious and so convenient to the theatres that I would highly recommend it for dinner. In fact, when taking our order, our server asked if we were seeing a show. They try to be mindful of the time so that you won't miss the start of your show. That is a really nice added touch.