Il Forno - Santa Monica

One of our neighborhood favorites. Staff are always warm and friendly. Food is delicious and you feel at home here.

Good choice for the area if you don 't want junky food. My pasta and my husbands was on point. Definitely tasted homemade as advertised. The sauce was meh . Other tables had bread which we noticed as we were leaving but we weren 't offered any. My teenager didn 't like the pizza at all which was a waste of , it didn 't seem fully cooked through (my husband tried a piece). So I 'd say this is a solid 3.5 star stop but order pasta!

Il Forno is a delightful neighborhood Italian gem since 1985 located in a strip mall with plenty of parking in back or underground. They serve high quality modern northern Italian cuisine that is fresh and cooked close to perfection. To sample a lot of their menu, our group decided to dine family style. Fortunately, portion sizes were adequate to allow us to share. We started with the fresh Principessa salad which came with chianti poached pears and a wonderful lemon ginger dressing. The Melanzane appetizer was rolled eggplant strips stuffed with goat cheese in a tasty tomato sauce. For entrees, we had the black and white Tagliolini which came with perfectly cooked sea scallops and mushrooms in a truffle pesto sauce. The pasta was freshly homemade that you can definitely taste the difference. We also had the Gnocchi which came with homemade sundried tomato and shitake mushrooms that was quite nice in flavor. The special Pesce Bianco was a whole grilled branzino which was excellent. Fresh and perfectly grilled, the fish was served butterflied and deboned with fresh herbs, tomatoes and olives. For dessert, we shared the tiramisu and lemon meringue cake which I am glad we didn't pass on as they were perfect to end a remarkable and satisfying dinner. Service was very good. They offer comfortable both inside and outdoor seating in a pleasant atmosphere. The wait staff was friendly, attentive and accommodating. Prices were reasonable for the Westside and the serving portion size. I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience at Il Forno and highly recommend it for a cozy fresh neighborhood Italian dinner. I will definitely be back to try their specialty pizzas and osso buco.

Excellent! I loved the dinner and service. The bolognese is the best in LA. I highly recommend this as it is one of the best Italian restaurants in the area.

Came here for dinner for my mother's birthday and had a fantastic meal. The food is incredibly fresh and the portions are generous. The plentiful and accessible parking was so helpful for my grandmother who uses a walker that is not easy to find in many areas of the westside. We dined outside and it was a lovely setting with string lights once the sun set. The lemon hazelnut meringue cake is a MUST try! Everyone at the table loved it. The filet with the mushrooms was also fantastic the veggies and potatoes it came with were delicious, especially the snap peas.