Il Fornaio Corte Madera

Three for dinner, all residents of Marin, and for years regular in Il Fornaio Corte Madera (IFCM). IFCM has long been on the ropes before the Covid-19 Pest. But a real cook is now on board, after several years without one. What this absence meant was that the staff suffered from lack of support and leadership, and the quality control that had left the kitchen for Diners’ tables was missing. IFCM now shows signs of improvement. It recently offered a special menu with dishes of central Italy, a welcome change from what on a one-sided menu of moderate, pedestrian dishes. We ordered four dishes. (1) As an antipasto we shared a sequence of Calamaretti fritti, which has long been a recording on the IFCM menu. Lightly seasoned and coated, short enough cooked to turn it into rubber, and served hot with marinara sauce, it has few equal in the San Francisco Bay Area. (2) We ordered Caesar salads. IFCM has long been offering a credible Caesar Dressing. (3) One person had rigatoni alla norcina, Pasta sautéed with white truffle oil, porcini, and mushrooms, and grana padano cream sauce. The shell leaned far too strongly on the truffle oil, which, as truffle can, exaggerated other elements of the shell. It is the job of the cook to see that the kitchen reaches an appropriate balance of the elements of the plate. (4) Two diners had Cacciuco, a light Tuscan fish soup. It was loaded with seafood in a well seasoned broth. However, the soup had added much too much olive oil, probably as a finish. We never had Cacciuco in Toscana who drowned in oil as it was. Maybe we should have sent it back to the kitchen. But looking at all things; this was the best experience we had at IFCM well before the Covid-19 plague. Only fine pizzas and salads let us return to the Dark Days. There is still much to do, so we hope that improvements and additions to the menu will be continued. Thank you, boss. Welcome back IFCM!

Excellent food and service as always. Love seafood and pasta.

A reliable place to meet friends for lunch. Food is good and service is excellent.

Cold rainy night, greeted with warm smiling faces by young staff. Calm, charming waiter took our orders and the food came very timely. And good food was it, the ravioli filled with butternut squash and a tagliatelle with Bolognese were delicious!

Il Fornaio is one of our favorite places to dine. Great bread and wonderful pasta.