Al Forno Restaurant

My husband and i have been a regular at al forno's in wimbledon for over 4 years now.

The food is spot on everytime. The waiters are amusing and friendly. The enitre atmosphere is excellent and its not pricey either.

People who say the staff are rude obviously just don't understand their sense of humour because in all the times i have been there i have not once felt that they were rude or arrogant.

If you are looking to go somewhere quite then its probably not the best of places because it has got a lively atmosphere but thats one of things that attract me and my husband to it.

If service is slow at times it is only down to the fact that it is so busy which surely points to it being a good restaurant.

Me and my husband are going there friday night to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversay and cant wait.

I advise that you try it, its fantastic! The fillet steaks are beautiful.
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Mrs Joanne Lawson
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Great restaurant, I'll go back again over and over...It's lively, buzzing, and good value for money. There is a restaurant for every occassion and this one will tick all boxes. If you want five start service, go to the Ritz. This is a place where you can have fun, and eat great food at great prices. All things go and we did have occassions where our starters didn't turn up and we waited quite long for the bill, but the restaurant's atmosphere make up for it and this is the kind of thing you have to expect when you go to this type of restaurant.
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Stella - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, April 19, 2008

I had dinner last night at the Wimbledon branch of Al Forno's and whilst the food was ok the service was quite the opposite. I ordered a fillet with chips and peppercorn sauce but ended up waiting nearly 15 minutes for the sauce to arrive, which then did in a massive soup plate and looked and tasted nothing like peppercorn sauce, no apology for the delay or anything like that. We waited ages for our drinks too. I found the waiters arrogant and what really annoyed me was that fact that we had a service charge slapped on regardless of the service we received.

Not going to be rushing back there anytime soon.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Friday, March 28, 2008

I've been to Al Forno on a number of occasions and it's quite a favourite now. Not the place to go if you want a quiet, intimate meal, but I've never had a bad meal there and the staff are lovely. On my birthday last year they gave me free dessert and then fed me with it. They also frequently give free liqueurs if you've been kept waiting for the bill.

I don't know if it helps that I'm female - maybe.

I like it there, anyway.
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Jane
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, March 02, 2008

Worst service I have ever received in London.

The waiters are rude, arrogant, nd are not attentive to a basic service.

I was shocked, will not be going back...
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, January 09, 2008

As we live in Wimbledon, we are also regulars at Al Forno.

My comments regarding the other reviews would be that I agree with parts of all of them.

The food there is outstanding, we have no complaints there at all. The only issue we do have is the service can be a bit hit and miss!

Whilst the waitstaff are always friendly (and often amusing!), they can be rather forgetful at times.

One night we have to ask 4 times for some drinks, another we had to wait 40 minutes to get the bill, and ask repeatedly to get it.

Ultimately though, the excellent pizzas and lasagne keep drawng us back - I do recommend that you go, just try and be patient!
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KT
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, December 27, 2007

This is a reply to the very first review about Al Forno.

Chris

I wonder at the timing of your ‘complaint’. Strikes me that it is 11 months late and made in the wrong place to the wrong audience.

Al Forno is a lively and vibrant venue patronised by a large and regular client base of all ages. If you’d been before, and knew its lively atmosphere yet wanted a quiet Christmas lunch why did you choose to go there ? Having been regular customers for years, I can say on behalf of my friends and myself that we have never once had cause to complain or even grumble amongst ourselves about the food or the friendly, lively and yet attentive service; on Christmas Day or any other occasion.

Suggest you give it another try, relax a little and enjoy the fun. Or of course, just stay at home and leave more table space available for people who don’t wait 11 months to complain about cheerful waiting staff.
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Victor - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

I have been to the al forno before and it was ok nice food at the time, but myself and my family had the unfortunate experience of going last Christmas day 2006 and i am not exaggerating but it was a Christmas diner to forget. The food was cheap and nasty, the service was absolutely appalling, you could not hear yourself speak most of the time because of the noise of the waiters continually shouting, and who were more Interested in the short skirted girls walking up the stairs. I have and will never go back into that restaurant again. we were in a party of 9 average age of 33.
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Chris W
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, December 02, 2007

Yum Yum Yum!

The best pizza's outside of Italy and one of the best restaurants in SW London
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, November 09, 2007

Having read all the reviews as yet, there are bits of most I’d agree with. Firstly the food is exceptional. The pizza’s really are something else. The price to is more that affordable. Having lived in Wimbledon for a few year it has become a regular eating spot… and a place to take my friends when I’d like to impress them with their monster size pizza’s. Admittedly it is very busy but that can only be testament to its quality. I have only been since the upper level section has been added and must say it dose not have the same feel upstairs as down, for this reason I only book downstairs but on the plus side whist being upstairs I’ve seen a table of 35 up there so if it’s a large party you have… they have the room. The waiters are fun and it may take a little time to get use to there strange ways (this my contribute to why few people say they are being rude. They are not)

Bank holidays are hard work as it may get to busy. In fact on a BH I had my first bad experience whist there for my birthday. I waited over a hour and twenty to get served food. Spent a fortune on beer whilst waiting and felt a bit of a t*t as I had invited friends. I received an apology as well as a 30% discount and two free rounds of drink. The party I was with felt the food was fantastic, in the end the price worked out great for us but some that have been before felt downstairs had a livelier atmosphere.

So… Book, ask to be downstairs, if you don’t like crowds go mid week and become a regular because the place gets better the more you go.

Ps. and order the pizza. (LARGE)
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Ian
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 04, 2007