SJ Reviewer

I loved the ambiance and decorations. We had in mind a fancy date night, and Il Fornaio delivered! However, I would say that the food was not as high-end as the ambiance suggested, although it was still great. The service was prompt, and again, great but not extremely friendly. Overall, I would suggest this place for a mid-fancy date dinner or celebratory group meal.

KEITH Q.

Sergio was our waiter and he was awesome. I watched him and other crew members (cooks too) work so well together it was nice to watch. The restaurant was neat, clean and well maintained. The service was excellent. The lasagna was very enjoyable with a large portion size. I would gladly return here again.

+9

Darius Wiles

Excellent food and good service. I ordered sea bass and it was truly amazing. I'm dropping a star purely because the restaurant engages in the tactic of adding a 3% charge to all meals, allegedly to cover inflation. They should just be honest and change the menus to show the true cost of each dish.

deepti savanur

The food is amazing and you don't feel heavy after eating cheese and pasta. The appetizers and entree portions are enough for 1 so order based on that. Very Italian and artsy ambience and vibe. It's in the the Westin hotel 1st floor in San Jose downtown so parking is not available readily. Staff 8s very friendly. Lot of vegetarian options.

+6

Minh Hua

A good Italian restaurant but a bit disappointing. First on the positives, it's in a historic building and a great location. It's also a very classic feeling Italian. The customer service is excellent. The staff is friendly and attentive. I couldn't give this five stars because my beef carpaccio was below average. The lemon sauce overpowered the taste of the beef. The cheese was not fresh- I'm guessing it was shaved but the block sat there and aired out too long. They say the pasta is homemade. The minestrone soup was delicious. The beef ragu sauce was good but unremarkable.

+6

A K

Locate inside the Westin Hotel. Came here for a team lunch. We made reservations, so we didn't have to wait. Our server was super nice. The food was delicious, we ordered multiple items to share. Would recommend ll Fornaio for date night, dinner with friends. Check it out

+6

Jeff Kao

We were invited by friends for dinner. It is in an historic building with a lot of characters. Service was excellent. We felt a bit cramped at the assigned table. They immediately moved us to a more desirable table. Food was great, but dessert was the highlight of the night. I must be getting old to like sweets? You could always valet park at the front, but we parked about a block away at the convention center parking. The area felt safe for the casual stroll back to the parking garage.

+6

Paul Vetrano

I ate breakfast here two times during my stay in San Jose. Both times I enjoyed my meals and the lattes were excellent. Most of all, the service was outstanding! I was greeted by a very friendly host named Abraham and was served by two wonderful people.....Alberto and Catalina! Both were extremely professional, personable and fantastic at their jobs. They truly made the dining experience terrific. I'm glad that I had a chance to enjoy this restaurant.

+1

Well, cute little place with a lot of trinkets, gifts and items off travel. The "Starbucks" here has minimal items on the menu. I ordered a hot matcha latte with coconut milk and it was ok. I wanted …

Saveana Shim

Had my birthday lunch at the place with mom and wish the experience was better than it actually was. I would probably give a 2-star rating if it were not for the fact that it is a holiday season and I feel guilty for having to leave such less than stellar feedback. Honestly, it really wasn’t up to all the hype I have seen online via Trip Advisor and Yelp reviews. Food was mediocre and service sub par - the filet ordered medium well was well done - not a single tint of pink and my seafood pasta was lumpy as I suppose it was waiting for the over-done steak to be ready beneath the warmer out in the open prior to being served. The restaurant management should make sure their staff is trained to be at least somewhat sufficient to be servicing customers and their food with more care, knowledge and pride. Case in point - 1) my server didn’t understand what Arancini that she had to refer to the menu itself, 2) she served salad at the same time as my main, without giving me an option or asking, after having already served aforementioned Arancini as an appetiser, 3) she served lemons for water, olive oil and vinegar for the bread, each separately - just not efficient or customer friendly overall. Paid nearly $140 for 2 without any alcohol or beverage. Did not want to wait longer for the food to be recooked or ruin the mood of the table by having to explain the situation to either the server or the manager. Will not return and most likely not even give other branches of the restaurant a try.

Nancy

For an Italian restaurant that supposedly makes their own pasta in-house, I did not expect that they would overcook the pasta on every dish. The best dishes were the appetizers. The sauces for the pastas were good but not particularly impressive. Service was friendly and food came out in a timely manner. Prices are not worth the quality.

+3

Vivian Du

Food was really yummy, but felt like we were being rushed to leave the whole time we were there. Our waiter gave us the bill while serving our dessert, which was okay, but what was not ok was when he came back with the card reader WHILE we were still having our dessert and did not leave until my partner put his spoon down to pull his wallet out and pay. This was also a Saturday night at 8PM, and the place doesn't close until 9PM, so I wasn't sure what the rush was for. There were also plenty of other people still enjoying their food. Either way the experience was uncomfortable enough that I'll go elsewhere for good Italian food

Resa P

Hosted a birthday party for approximately 70 people. The only positive experience was the waitstaff, especially the bartender and porter. The food was not up to the reputation of the restaurant, and as an event planner who holds food service licenses, I question the temperature of the food served. The catering manager I worked with originally was wonderful, but Ms. Mendoza, the new catering manager, and Sergio Lopez, the GM, were defensive and argumentative, something professionals in customer service industries should never be. When trying to discuss issues, they interrupted me multiple times, to the point where I had to ask them to let me finish. Needless to say, they failed to meet my customer service expectations. Here is the list of concerns presented after my event: *Numerous emails communicating expectations to catering manager, but expectations not met *Communicated via writing, so all expectations were documented *Venue's lack of continuity of communications internally affected service (change in staffing) *Had to repeat requests multiple times, and when attempting to confirm requests, would discover they were not implemented or were not documented in the contract *Requested food be available throughout the event - hot food not available until 3:00 *Hot in the room, to the point that guests complained - requested it be adjusted twice *No gift table set up *No cocktail table set up *No easel set up *No speakers for playlist *Bartender not clear on full bar, asked if serving only beer and wine, after a list of specific alcohol was submitted *Waitstaff was wonderful, especially the bartender and Mohamed, the porter *Food was subpar at best and did not rise to the reputation of the restaurant - tasted like frozen, precooked items you could purchase at Costco *Presentation of cold items was nice at set up, but was not serviced during event so table was messy *Cold items were out approximately two hours prior to event, without temperature control (ice) *Pizza station became messy and wasn't serviced during event *Cold food was warm, and cheese was sweating - code/health issue *Warm appetizers were cold *Pizza was very bland *Line at bar was too long, although I inquired about having two bartenders *Pie was not "delicate" as described, and worse, tasted like a cheap, frozen brand - crust was hard, served in an aluminum tin, and worst of all the guest of honor complained about the flavor *Requested Pie be served uncut - it was cut, and cold *No desserts were served, after lengthy discussions about them (a loss of approximately $1400 in sales to the venue) *Valet parking employees were wonderful *Trash cart at elevator exit to room - aesthetics were not good *Hallway to room was hot; the bathrooom temperature was sauna-like in nature I requested a 20% refund based on these issues, but was only granted a 10% for "inconvenience". I will not plan another event at this venue.

They stick a Starbucks sign on themselves but their drinks don't taste anywhere near the same quality. I ordered a white mocha but it was so bad, I couldn't finish it. They don't take the apps so I c…

They stick a Starbucks sign on themselves but their drinks don't taste anywhere near the same quality. I ordered a white mocha but it was so bad, I couldn't finish it. They don't take the apps so I…

B. MIchael McFarland

Sadly disappointing and not worth the price. As a frequent customer of the former Palo Alto location, I came to this one expecting a similar experience. That was not the case. 1) The most flavorless olive oil I have ever tasted to accompany bland bread. Might as well have been light green colored water. 2) The special soup of the day, a variation on potato leek, also flavorless. The only bright spot on the soup was the crouton. The bowl is so shallow it was tantamount to a cup rather than a bowl. Not worth the price. 3) The Insalara Cesarina (Caeser salad) was swimming in unbalanced dressing with too much tanginess. I don't think there were more than four small shavings of grana padano cheese on the salad. 4) I added the salmon to the salad. The sliver of salmon was no bigger than my middle finger, tasteless, and dry. Not worth the additional $15, which was the same price as the salad on its own. 5) At least the anchovies were flavorful. Perhaps the only flavor of the entire night. 6) My friend ordered the Petto di Pollo al Peperoncino, and didn't finish half of it before asking for the plate to be taken away and not boxed for take home. 7) The service was adequate but not what I expect for a "white linen" restaurant at this price point. Perhaps they expect most of their guests to come from those staying at the Westin who are unlikely to be repeat customers. I, for one, won't be going back.