I am not sure which locations some of the reviewers ate at or the time frame they were there, but we were at The Mayor Street Lower Dublin location for a late dinner and everything was perfect! Granted, seating is a little on the tight side if you have more than 4 to your group, but it was just me and my husband. One review said the place was not inexpensive, but I disagree if you order an entree vs. a starter OR eat at a restaurant in The Temple Bar area. I had the Napoli pizza for 15.50 and my hubby the Ravioli Toscanini for 19.50. We both enjoyed our selections very much. All the staff was very friendly and we did not have to wait long for our order to come to our table. I liked it so much that I will suggest going back there tomorrow night for dinner with our group of 4. Be aware the location we were at closes at 9:00 pm. read more

It's actually the Liffey Street branch that I ate at but couldnt find it on here :-) I popped into on a Sunday afternoon just for a casual bite to eat. It's interior is pretty small but cosy and welcoming with shelves of wine and some typical Italian produce. The menu was slightly limiting regarding starters, as in I couldn't spot them. There was meat and cheese boards, then salads and pizzas but not smaller starters or bruschetta or anything. So we opted to share a pizza and share a cheese board - I am ALL about the cheese! We went for a veggie pizza with roasted peppers and mushroom. Being absolutely obsessed with pizza I had high hopes but it was just ok... too thick for my liking and a but sloppy on top. The cheese board was served with some warm bread and dips and was fab, really couldn't complain about it. Staff were also very helpful and friendly. Wine was good also, 3 options of red and 3 of white priced at approx 7.50. I did spot after ordering on a board that they offered bruschetta ... it just didn't appear on the menu for whatever reason! All in all, a nice enough spot if you are on that side of the bridge, maybe for a glass of wine and some cheese but not somewhere I would rush back to in a hurry for a full meal. read more

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Pretty authentic pizza and typical Italian service if you know what I mean! ;) Despite being a busy lunch hour crowd over the X'mas season, our group of 8 was served promptly and dishes all arrived at the same time. My pizza with DOC mozzarella, parma ham and cherry tomatoes was delish and massive, well priced at €15. It could easily be shared by 2 people! Can't comment on the wine as most of us were still hanging from the work X'mas party! read more

Il Fornaio - Parma ham, mozzarella and rocket pizza! - Italian Near Me - Dublin, D

Quaint version of a Southern Calif favorite! Everyone is so welcoming and friendly! The menu is just perfect. We had The lasagna, "oh my goodness, best ever" Perfect in every way- warmed our soul. Every bite just kept in giving! We also enjoyed the cheese & salami plate, so fresh, so flavorful. I know, I know- Italian in Ireland, but so worth a visit! read more

Il Fornaio - Lasagna and cheese/salami plate - Italian Near Me - Dublin, D

Looking for a decent Italian place in the neighbourhood, we popped in for dinner on a weeknight. This place looks promising on the outside, but the food was pretty unsatisfying. We ordered two dishes - a pizza and a pasta. The pasta was extremely salty, to the point that we could barely eat it. The pizza left much to be desired. It's supposed to be Italian-style but the soggy center and bland taste didn't really hit the spot. Thank goodness for good old cheese in Ireland, because that was all that gave it any flavour. Hope they improve soon, as the location is great! read more

Well I am Italian and I can say that, this place so far, is one of the best places for pizza in Dublin. The dough is fantastic, which is 50% of any pizza the other ingredients are top quality from the Mozzarella used and ham. The thing i love it is that they add a line of Extra Virgin olive oil which give that nice zest I really enjoy the pizza and I like to go there quite often because the pizza is really nice and the staff is very friendlily. A bite expensive. read more

I got a pizza to-go from here. Their diavola pizza is more like a lump of cheese and some nacho style peppers and chorizo. I was in the mood for greasy though, so I did enjoy about half of it. The second half I ate anyway (because I wouldn't throw my Euros in the trash now would I?) but then I felt fat. If I ever got back, and this is a giant if since I normally live several thousand miles away from Dublin, I would try their pasta. read more

The pizza's at Il Fornaio are very very tasty. I would strongly recommend their porcini mushroom pizza. Since I work from the IFSC we occasionally go there on a Friday for lunch. The main problem I have with Il Fornaio is the timing, I was left waiting on a pizza for 40 minutes. By the time it was ready we had to leave and had no time to enjoy the food. I believe that the IFSC branch especially should be more aware that the majority of their customers are on 1 hour lunch breaks. read more

A friend and I came here because I was craving spaghetti. We ordered spaghetti and pizza. For drinks we ordered milk and tea. The food was yum and the tea along with it was perfect. The staff at this place are welcoming and sweet. Loved it. read more

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This place is good. Proper Italian style zza with a light base is pleasant. They do an 18'' pepperoni pizza for 17€, which ain't cheap, but good value given that it's tasty. Nothing more to be said, if you're in the area, this is a good pizzeria to visit! read more

I loved this place. My friend and I came here two days before the Rock 'n' Roll Dublin Half Marathon and we each ordered a pasta dish for ourselves and a potato dish to share. We were stuffed! I ordered the pomodoro pasta and it was among the best I've ever had. I love pomodoro pasta sauce and I'm bummed that it's not more common, so when I saw a pomodoro pasta on the menu, I had to order it. The potato dish was simple, but filling and hit the spot. It was really hot, so be careful not to burn your mouth if you order this delicious dish! Also, if it weren't for the half marathon a few days later, we would've definitely had dessert. They all looked so yummy in the display case! Prices were good for the amount of food that we got. I think per person, it was about 15 Euro. Environment was okay. It looks nice from the outside, and almost each seat is a window seat. It's not air conditioned inside, so it can get stuffy. Overall, I give it five stars! I promised myself never to go back to the same restaurant or food place whenever I'm traveling, but I seriously wanted to come back here a few days later, but the wait was too long and they were about to close anyway. Not like the Il Foranio that I see in the U.S., which was a pleasant surprise. I wonder if it's the same chain. If so, then I will be frequenting the ones in the U.S. more often! read more

From the outside, Il Fornaio presents as a small cafe. However, it serves a full menu of Italian cuisine and is perfect for both lunch and dinner. We've been several times and it's quickly become our favourite place for Saturday lunch and our favourite Italian place in Dublin. My g/f is Italian and is generally not impressed with the Italian fare in Ireland. Il Fornaio is one of the rare places she's enthusiastic about. The staff are attentive, the service is fast (even when it's quite busy) the prices are reasonable and we've yet to order a dish that wasn't delicious and presented well. Personal recommends: Bruschetta Parma starter, Saltimbocca Alla Romana Di Vitello Irlandese main and a side of the Patate al Rosmarino. Her recommends : The Calzone! read more

Awesome food! Nothing like the typical "Italian" food that you get at restaurants. Clearly made fresh and unique menu choices made this the best food we've had in ages at an Italian restaurant! Note: prices reflect the quality and originality of the food. Hope to have an opportunity to go back and try one of their pizzas before leaving Dublin! read more

I thought this restaurant was pretty ok until yesterday. I ordered salad with grilled shrimps. Sounds delicious, doesn't it. However what they served me instead of shrimps was several surimi shrimps - imitation made of the same meat as crab sticks. It's usually sold marinated, and tastes quite disgusting. I don't know why, but they indeed grilled them, but served cold. I asked for the chef to explain themselves. He told me it was king shrimps, brought from Italy. He suggested to show me the package. I of course agreed. 2 minutes later he came back and said they're out of them. How convenient! I told him several times, that it wasn't prawns, and he kept looking at me like I'm an idiot and saying that I'm wrong. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would have stayed, argued and wouldn't pay. However I had to run, and my boyfriend paid for it. I found an exact brand they served me, it was Vici surimi shrimps, and I'm so outraged that they lied to my eyes, that I'm going to come back to them tomorrow, and ask for my money back. And they call themselves Italians. Shame. read more

I popped in here the other night to grab some dinner and it was really good. The prices are a bit dear compared to some of the other Italian places around town, especially considering the size of this place, but the food was lovely. the staff are friendly and even with the small size they are very good with getting food out so you won't have to wait long if you arrive and the place is filled. Pizza was good, but the price could have been a bit better. read more

Il Fornaio - Anchovies, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives. - Italian Near Me - Dublin, D

The lasagna I ordered was very sloppy. There was hardly any pasta layers, and it had the texture of a bowl of melted cheese and pasta sauce. I couldn't eat it. The waitress noticed and asked did I want something else. I actually didn't, and just had some of my partners pizza. The lasagna was not added to our bill. My partner got a pizza. It was ok, but there was too much cheese. It was just so so. Expensive for what it is. Early bird menu ends quite early indeed. Even though we were just a few minutes past the deadline, and the only people there, we were not allowed to order from it. Not impressed at all. Note: this may have just been an off day. Myself and my sister had pasta and salad dishes here before for lunch, with a glass of wine each, and it was much nicer. read more

The pizza is the best in Dublin. Highly recommend it. The whole staff is Italian and the space was just renovated. A large pizza can easily be shared by two people read more

Love cannoli, but not these. The shell was thick, the ricotta wasn't very flavorful. I shoulda guessed when I saw they were already filled -- the chocolate lining helped avoid some sogginess, though. read more

I visited around 8pm on a week night and ordered take-away items, all were disappointing: 1) The anti-pasto plate came with several types of meats and cheeses- the meats were not anything special and didn't seem fresh, they were served on a bed of very old, wilted rocket (inedible), the cheeses were a very stingy portion and there was fuzzy blue-gray mold on one piece. 2) Grilled vegetables were drowning in a pool of oil, so much oil that it spilled into the paper bag and by the time I got back to my hotel which was a 5 minute walk from Il Fornaio, the bottom half of the bag was soaked in oil. I ate only 1/5 of these oily vegetables before sending it to the bin. 3) Tiramisu, the worst I've ever had- consisting mostly of chocolate cream, no trace of mascarpone at all and barely any lady fingers or equivalent at the bottom. Last notes: -the bun/ piece of bread they included with my order was rock hard and stale -they did not have mozzarella and could not make a caprese salad -take away menu is very limited compared to the menu they have posted outside their store Not welcoming or authentic at all, this meal left me totally unsatisfied and hungry. read more

Great little Italian place in IFSC. Been living here for a year and had never gone before Saturday: what a mistake!!!!!! This is one of the best Italian places in dublin for sure (and its not that expensive, compared to others). All dishes have affordable prices and the ones we had, were definitely great value for money! We had the bruschettas (romana & mozzarella), the Ai Funghi Porcini Pizza & spaghetti carbonara. The carbonara was made with fresh pasta, which is always a plus, but it was a bit too salty (Im guessing from the extra parmesan cheese we added to the already salty pancetta in the dish). We had the 13' pizza which is HUGE btw! and it was delicious, the crust was thin and crispy as it should be! But the best thing ever were the bruschettas. A huge slice of toasted homemade bread with garlic butter, mozzarella & parma ham (special order) & one with fresh cherry tomatoes and olive oil! Both to die for! Had a GREAT meal and it didn't break the bank! Our Saturdays pizza cravings have a new name on them and its Il Fornaio! read more

Il Fornaio - Bruschettas: Romana & Mozarrella - Italian Near Me - Dublin, D

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Very underwhelmed by this place I expected better in an authenic Italian firstly it wasnt even that busy on a bank holiday Monday so figured would be grand for a spot of lunch. First off I just wanted brushetta with mozzerella and tomato they only did the brushetta with ham which I didnt want like surely all they would have to do is make up the brushetta the same and put chopped tomato on instead all they said I could have was the cheese board. My friend ask for the vege risotto which they didnt have?? so she got the vege ravoli in gorgonzola sauce with me the pasta was burnt and black underneath I've had far nicer dishes. At the start we were going to get a wine but with no dishes available, bad pasta and a waitress who took a families order who came in way after us and was surly to us we just got tap water and left no tip I defo wont be back read more

The food here was good, though the lasagna was a bit too salty. The bruschetta was tasty, but the combo plate was not properly described on the menu. I assumed it would contain 2 of each of the varieties mentioned on the menu, but in fact it contained 6 different kinds - two of which I would not have ordered had I known better. The pizza was excellent. read more

Really good pizza!!! Dropped in today(Sunday) for dinner and couldn't get a table. Restaurant was packed and there were a few people waiting so we ordered takeaway, we ordered an 18" Montana pizza and boy it was massive!!! Extremely stuffed now, going to go back soon. read more

We ordered a salad and their homemade rigatoni. The rigatoni was cooked to the perfect extent to chew. What a pleasant meal! I loved the sauce as well. The salad was very fresh and went well with the rigatoni as well. We paired our meal with a red blend of Syrah. The service was very friendly and kept with our eating speed. :) If I would make one suggestion, I hope they can at least show the bottle and pour it to our glasses in front of us instead of bringing the poured glasses to us. I will definitely visit this place again. We enjoyed the dinner here! read more

Wonderful little Italian place - though the yelp map has it in not quite the actual location. Fantastic dinner, nice staff, affordable price! read more

Small but charming Italian eatery with a number of pizza selections and a bunch of Italian classics. We split a large salad to start with which had lots of olives and a nice mix of sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. My wife then had a basic called The Fornaio (cheese pizza with cherry tomatoes and basil), and it was very good. Nice crisp crust contrasting beautifully with the chewy cheese. I had a glass of the house red (montepulchiano), and a great pasta dish with mushrooms. The pasta was perfectly cooked. All in all an unexpectedly good meal. read more