Upmarket chain for Italian dining, including freshly made pasta & bread from an in-house bakery.
At a glance
#6 of 7 Italian restaurants in Carmel-By-The-SeaLocalGuideWorld score: 4.11
Rating breakdown
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5 ★53%
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4 ★24%
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3 ★9%
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2 ★5%
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1 ★8%
Quick facts
- What is the rating of Il Fornaio Carmel?
- Il Fornaio Carmel is rated 4.1 out of 5 based on 694 reviews.
- How does Il Fornaio Carmel rank in Carmel-By-The-Sea?
- Il Fornaio Carmel is #6 of 7 Italian restaurants in Carmel-By-The-Sea by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
- Where is Il Fornaio Carmel located?
- Ocean Avenue at, Monte Verde St, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921 — 0.1 km from the center of Carmel-By-The-Sea.
- How can I contact Il Fornaio Carmel?
- Phone: (831) 622-5100 · Website: ilfornaio.com
We recently dined at II Fornaio Carmel, and I must say it was an outstanding experience from start to finish. The ambiance was cozy and inviting, and the food was absolutely delicious. Every dish we tried was a masterpiece, rich in flavor and beautifully presented.
What truly made our evening special, though, was the exceptional service provided by Francisco. He was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu, offering great recommendations that perfectly suited our taste.
If you’re looking for authentic Italian cuisine and top-notch service, We highly recommend it. Make sure to ask for Francisco—he’ll make sure you have an unforgettable dining experience!
P.S. We were so hungry we forgot to take pictures ☺️
What truly made our evening special, though, was the exceptional service provided by Francisco. He was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu, offering great recommendations that perfectly suited our taste.
If you’re looking for authentic Italian cuisine and top-notch service, We highly recommend it. Make sure to ask for Francisco—he’ll make sure you have an unforgettable dining experience!
P.S. We were so hungry we forgot to take pictures ☺️
I've been to several Il Fornaio restaurants in the Bay Area and Sacramento have always had a positive experience. Today's visit to the Carmel location was so-so. When we sat at our table I noticed there was two other tables with patrons. A table of 5 and a table of 4, there was 3 in our party. Our waiter was good and took our order in a timely manner. 35 minutes later our food hasn't arrived but I noticed several patrons who sat down after us were getting there food. Our waiter apologized for the delay but could not provide an explanation of why others were eating when they sat down and ordered after us. Our food arrived and met our expectations. Food and atmosphere was good. Service from the kitchen was horrible. Makes me wonder if the back of the house was having an issue with our waiter to make him look bad.
Best prices for this caliber of restaurant in town (that we found). The food was top notch, atmosphere was pristine and the views were great. Would absolutely come back here again.
Excellent Italian cuisine. We tried the minestrone soup, the fardiavola pizza (without the sausage), and the ravioli zukka. There were all delicious. But the ravioli had only six pieces and was expensive. A comment about the service, we got the main dishes first and then the soup. Suggestions: 1. Reduce the price and increase the portion size of the pasta: the ravioli, the casaresse and the lasagna. 2. Bring the dishes to the customers in the right order. Overall, tasty Italian cuisine.
We had dinner here and it was absolutely delicious! As vegetarians, our options were very limited and chose to have the pesto pizza and the squash ravioli- both tasted amazing and the pizza literally melted in our mouths! Loved the ambience of the place and service was great. Also, the tiramisu tasted great too! It’s one of the best Italian dinners I have had.
Note- the portion sizes are small.
Note- the portion sizes are small.
My wife and I stopped for lunch/ wine on the patio - absolutely wonderful experience from ambiance to the delicious food (Zucchine alla Parmigiana and the Ravioli Zucca e Amaretto). Lastly, our server, Francisco, was also incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and attentive - easy 5 stars.
We had a very relaxed and enjoyable lunch here. So many places were bustling and had a wait, but this is slightly off the main busy streets so was very quiet. The service was friendly and attentive, and the food was fantastic. Charging for a bread basket is so silly at a restaurant like this, especially when you’ve ordered expensive pastas. The first should be complimentary and the server should be clear when asking if you’d like it that it’s not free. Family friendly. Did not see the outside seating open during any of our days walking past.
Do not go here if you aren’t a regular. Such a disappointing experience at a “highly rated” restaurant. The atmosphere is nice, but the service was honestly not up to standard. Our table got ignored except by the nice man who would fill our waters. The tables around us got served promptly to sitting down, but we had to wait an unreasonable time to get served. An older couple that was sat after us got appetizers before we even got water glasses. It took fifteen minutes after asking for the check the first time for our waitress to return and another five to get the check. The linguine ($32) tasted good, but half of the clams were empty and the ravioli ($31) only came with four ravioli. The bread basket ($2) came with five thin pieces that supposedly “serves 4” according to the menu. When exiting, a different male waiter rushed in front of me and almost made me trip. This was not the experience I was hoping for at a restaurant like this and it completely ruined my birthday dinner.
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