il Fornetto Ristorante & Catering
“Very comfortable atmosphere, delicious food, amazing service and beautiful view of the water and swans out the window.”
“Food is delicious, desserts are fantastic(especially Tiramisu(the best I've ever eaten!!!)).”
“My favorite dishes are the soups,bruschetta, mozzarella and penne.”
il Fornetto Ristorante & Catering
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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We had Thanksgiving dinner here. The place was packed with couples and large parties celebrating the holiday. The view was gorgeous, of course, and the free valet parking was a nice touch. We could tell, from observing other tables, that there were a lot of regulars who knew the servers very well.
We ordered off the prix fixe Thanksgiving menu and, if we could do it again, would probably have ordered differently from one another to sample something else. The traditional turkey, sweet potato, cranberry sauce, and stuffing entree was great. Drinks were top notch. Dinner service was fast and efficient, but we ended up waiting quite a while for the check at the end. When we come back, it will be for a normal dinner service.
My boyfriend and I came for dinner after having a sudden craving for calamari.
The inside is extremely nice! We were blessed with a window table with a view of the waters. It was the best view I had to date at a restaurant in the states!
Our server Jose was extremely accommodating and amiable. He made us smile all night! He made sure all our dining needs were fulfilled. The excellent service was the highlight of the night.
I checked in on Yelp for free bruschetta (yay). We ordered calamari for starters, rigatoni mezze and linguini vongole.
The bruschetta was light and crisp. I enjoyed it very much 🙂
The calamari was lightly flavored, crispy, chewy, and when dipped in sauce, was just what we were looking for.
The linguine vongole was good – had to flip my pasta over a few times to get all the saucy goodness. The clams were perfect and clean! I've had a lot of bad experiences with sand in my clams…
I tried the rigatoni mezze and I must say it was the best dish of the night. I was a little jealous I didn't order that myself. The vodka sauce was very creamy and decadent – not bitter at all (compared to other places). The shrimp was so tender, juicy, and flavorful. Absolutely delicious. My pasta knowledge is very limited but I'm pretty sure that was not rigatoni noodles (lol) but they were perfectly cooked. Yummmm.
We were too full for dessert 🙂
Overall, great place! A little pricy but well worth it if you're looking for a great Italian dinner in the neighborhood.
**Big shout out to Jose for making the dinner that much better.
After living in Sheepshead Bay almost all my life, I finally got a chance to try this rustic Italian gem in the neighborhood.
What I love about this place is that it is located right by the waterfront making it very romantic and inviting. The restaurant also has free valet parking or parking across the street, big plus.
When you first walk in you will find a dining room behind the front desk for private events or other larger groups, followed by the dining room down the hall which has the beautiful waterfront view too.
We did not need a reservation on a busy Saturday night, they only take them if it is for 7 or more people, there was no wait at all when we arrived.
What I did enjoy about the service here is that even though majority of the staff were not Italian natives, they still knew the menu inside out and were able to explain all the ingredients for most dishes [like radicchio, I had no clue what that was but it was a nice touch to my penne].
There are various menus here from a pre fixe menu to a banquet type menu , along with brunch and their daily dinner menu.
The dinner menu had a great amount of appetizers from fresh mozzarella and tomato salads, antipasto salad, calamari, various soups and salads, shrimp cocktails or raw oysters and little baked clams. Since we got a deal from our yelp check in for free bruschetta we redeemed it with our waiter, I don't think he understood the deal because he still charged it to our bill anyway, but the appetizer was so tasty and fresh that I didn't bother to correct it. I like how light the bruschetta where it wasn't filled with too much onions, it went well on the flat toasted bread.
The menu for wine and drinks is very extensive, and the waiter was very knowledgeable about which wines pair well with entrees, and trust me they are not stingy on the glass either, mine was definitely full.
There was a great variety of pizzas, pastas, chicken and seafood dishes to choose from. I was tempted to order the whole menu, but I couldn't resist a pasta dish that has BACON!.
The penne fornetto was phenomenal, with baked penne, radicchio, bacon, fresh mozzarella, tomato cream sauce, it had the perfect amount of cheese [since I am a cheez lover they grated fresh cheese on top of all that goodness]. The sauce was out of this world, it had the perfect amount of cream, it is a bit heavy but you can tell it was made with love, all the ingredients worked so well together.
My boyfriend ordered the linguine vongole, with baby clams (cockles), garlic clove, fresh parsley, evoo, he literally licked the plate clean that's how good it was. The portions are very large for these dishes and very filling with a nice presentation.
and of course I couldn't say no to dessert ;]. I saw some really great options from crème brulee [espresso flavored, very interesting, tiramisu, some apple baked pastry, a fresh fruit platter, tartufo, various sorbets [even pistachio flavored!] or warm chocolate cake with ice cream and raspberry drizzle. Since I am obsessed with anything that has chocolate I couldn't resist the warm chocolate cake , and it was a slam dunk. I have to say I regret sharing this dessert, it was so good I wanted it all to myself. The oozing chocolate went really well with the syrup and the cold ice cream with the hot chocolate is a perfect combo. Even the little espresso that my boyfriend ordered was adorable and not too bitter.
Overall for an appetizer, two entrees and a dessert with two glasses of wine & tea + coffee, 80 bucks is a bargain!
They take cash and credit and truly appreciate your business.
P.S. they have great pre fixe Christmas and NYE dinners ahead, with a pre fixe price and a live dj , great idea for those who want to party and have a good time.
Located on the canal, the restaurant has a great view and romantic atmosphere. However, in my opinion the food is average and doesn't match the price. Will not be coming back there for sure
Dos and Don'ts of eating at a so-so restaurant with a spectacular view:
Do order the burrata for appetizer and the rigatoni with shrimp in a tomato cream sauce for your main course. The burrata could've used a bit more balsamic and the tomatoes could've been sweeter but it satisfied my craving. The rigatoni was fine but nothing to write home about.
Don't go there during a busy time Friday or Saturday nights. If you do, you won't get a table with the loveliest of views I've seen since being fortunate enough to dine at the River Cafe years ago.
Do go on a Sunday afternoon, the way we did the first time, with my LO. Il Fornetto is surprisingly family-friendly. Treated my sometimes shy LO like royalty, and unleashed the craziness in him. He was so well behaved until our fun-loving waiter Peter encouraged him to play, then couldn't stop him from running around the restaurant (and didn't really want to).
Don't order dessert. We both weren't truly impressed with it and I can't remember what we had.
Do finish your cappuccino before a buss staff takes it away. The fact that we didn't get a table with a view, or an attentive waiter that actually cared enough to ask us how we were doing during the meal, somehow made me think it'd be ok to linger. Apparently it wasn't ok, because this particular bus staffer that didn't do a damn thing for us the entire time felt like we were taking too long, or mistakenly thought I was done. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it but I think that service should always ask before taking away someone's plate, glass or cup.
Don't forget to pay the pricey check. You're really paying for the five-star worthy view and decent but boring food.
Very cozy Italian spot right by the water. They have window views of the bay, and the sight is even more romantic at night when you see the little sailboats sailing by and all the lights illuminated and reflected back by the water.
Its early summer now, when all of southern Brooklyn comes alive and everyone strolls down the pier staring out into the sea. IL Fornetto has all the makings of an Italian seaside restaurant, and the menu reflects that. There is so much fresh seafood here.
I just HAD TO order their Linguine Vongole. About maybe 10 minutes later, out came my friendly waiter with a large plate of linguine choked full of savory clams. The pasta was cooked at al dente with the perfect little bite left in it, seasoned and salted well and very garlicy. A+++++ all around!
I also ordered their specialty appetizer that they offer exclusively right here called the Mozzarella in Carrozza, which is a fresh mozzarella that's fried in egg batter! Yes, it tastes as good as it sounds!! It was sooo creamy cheesy good and the added fried egg coat made it even better!
To end the night, I ordered two different scoops of their house gelato, one scoop Pistachio and the other scoop Vanilla.
Definitely a beautiful and lovely warm night dining right by the sea.
I came to il Fornetto for a private party. The staff was courteous and accommodating throughout the event. Our event was earlier in the evening, so parking was not an issue; however, it seemed like their private lot was filled once the sun was down.
I tried their pasta, calamari, personal pizzas, and tiramisu. All of the food was good. The main draw of il Fornetto is the waterfront. For calamari, I prefer Randazzo's down the road.
I asked A to take me here for dinner after Star Wars (so good!) and we were super surprised to walk in to this dimly-lit restaurant with live music. We took our seats and ordered and soon after, many people hit the dance floor but everyone was of a much older demographic, which I really didn't expect. I enjoyed my margherita pizza a lot but A's pasta was ok only so we left once we were done without lingering since we didn't feel too comfortable there. I'm thinking there's a younger crowd for brunch but the elderly regularly come here on a Saturday night for dinner since everyone seemed to know each other.