Fornino- Greenpoint

Introducing Mondays with Michael (and his wood burning oven) - a unique 5-course tasting menu, available on the 2nd Monday of every month. (Reservations required.)Michael Ayoub (Chef & Owner) is a Brooklyn native and chef for over 45 years. He's going back to his roots and creating new dishes in the kitchen for this monthly series. I came here for the January 2025 Monday event with a large group. Saw afterwards on social media that it was sold out! Thank you to my friends who made the reservation in time!As we walked past the front pizza counter/oven to get to our seats, Michael was there standing in front of the oven helping get out pizza orders. It smelled amazingly delicious and the pizzas looked great. I couldn't wait to eat!The Monday tasting menu comes with an optional wine pairing. Most of our table purchased the wine pairing. I shared a single bottle of wine with others instead. We did get a bonus taste of the dessert wine pairing at the end, which was super generous of them to keep the rest of us from having FOMO!Note for those who need it that there are gluten free options on the regular menu! We were asked about dietary restrictions before we were served, but we all said we were good with the tasting menu as-is. There is a note on the menu "While the crust and ingredients are all gluten-free, it is baked int eh same oven as our traditional pizza. It is not to be considered certified gluten-free."We were also given a fig bacon gorgonzola amuse bouche before the courses came out. What a delicious bite of food!Our tasting menu:mushrooms, cauliflower and sunchokeblack & white pizza"11 layer" pastachicken and polentaslightly burnt alaskaI was satisfied/satiated before the dessert course, and tried to leave some room but the "slightly burnt alaska" was massive, even to share! The more you got into the layers, the more yummy surprises you found inside, down to the ice cream center. Great staff, food and location.I would definitely come back for another tasting night, or simply for pizza and wine.

Came here for the lunch special today. I got the grilled chicken sandwich with Calabrian chilis, avocado, romaine and balsamic on freshly made bread. This sandwich was substantial and delicious and came with Parmesan smashed potatoes.Server and chef here were super nice and did a great service. Will definitely come back.

I found myself in Fornino unexpectedly one afternoon in Greenpoint. Normally, I obsessively pre-plan my meals out in NYC because I'm terrified of being disappointed from a meal that I spent a ridiculous amount of money on. But today, I was hungry, without a plan, and Fornino seemed good enough.It was far more than good enough. The interior is very inviting, with high ceilings, plenty of seating, and an open kitchen that includes the promised brick oven. The overall decor and ambiance puts you somewhere between nice, sit-down restaurant and casual bite-to-eat -- perfect for the perennially undecided, such as myself. The service was impeccable, although it was hardly a challenge as we were the only table at noon on a Saturday. Nevertheless, our food was brought out quickly and subsequently eaten even quicker because - omg - this lunch was mind-blowing. We split a crispy eggplant sandwich of sorts, which included fried breaded eggplant (something you never want to do at home), some well dressed veggies, and dollop of burrata all wrapped in a repurposed (thin) pizza crust. Believe me, you want to eat this sandwich. For dessert, we split the brick oven French toast with a dollop of ricotta and some fresh blueberries scattered around the plate. Delightful. We devoured the food in silence, paid the check, and thanked the waiter and chefs as we walked out the door, resuming our day with big smiles and full bellies.

Great little Italian restaurant with fantastic pizzas, fresh from the wood fired oven. The dough is chewy and I even love their crusts. And their salads are better than SweetGreen. Came on a Sunday early evening so it wasn't crowded and the service was pretty fast. Reasonably priced too!

Our go-to brunch restaurant for the weekends! The pizzas and salads are amazing. You really get a taste of authentic Italian pizza here and the servers are kind. I Recommend to anyone in the area as it's a neighborhood staple!

The good is excellent and unique. Nice ambiance for a date night. Prices are reasonable

An unexpected work lunch with colleagues had me back at this place after my hiatus for 4 years with my work mom. I was pretty excited to come back and give this place another go and see if they upped their game at all. My overall experience was just on the A-Ok side, and here's why.One star removed for how long it actually takes to get your pizza. We ordered right away, starting with two large pizzas and one small. We all noticed it was taking an unusually long time, especially since it was just us and one other table in the whole establishment. I remembered from eating here last time it took a while, but decided I guess you can't rush perfection.We opted to order this time the Funghi Misti, with my boss's suggestion of extra cheese for one of the large pies, and the other was the Bonassola. The clear winner was the Funghi Misti for me. It tasted far superior to the other pies we ate, and the flavors were a balanced, perfect blend. The pizza crust is worth eating and that's exactly what I did. The Bonassola was a bit too salty for me, due to the olives on top, and the spicy kick at the end wasn't really doing it for me. It was overall pretty to look at, but just too much happening in one bite. The small pie was got was the Al Roker, and that was just to me an oily spicy mess. This was just not what I was expecting when naming this after the famous weatherman, although this did cloud my senses. Too much meat and grease; the bottom of the three.For dessert we shared a $14 slice of Michael's Tiramisu that was generous for two people or more in my opinion. This was tasty, but not the best I've ever had. Definitely has an Americanized twist to it, so keep that in mind.The overall vibe in here is very casual and light. The tables are spacious and it's a good place to meet up with friends if you're not in a rush. They do have an outdoor space with wooden tables and umbrellas, so I can see this being packed on a Thirsty Thursday.

First time and I'll def come back!! Pizza was orgasmic and the service was amazing!! If ya around come here!!

I've been here a few times for lunch pre pandemic and really enjoy their pizzas. I believe they are now only open in the evenings (maybe lunch at weekends?) so on the rare occasion that we found ourselves in Greenpoint in the evening it was an easy pick for us for a quick dinner.The menu has a selection of appetizers, salads and pizzas ranging from very basic to original creations. They also do calzones and have gluten free and vegan options. The room is very pleasant, service is attentive, prices are reasonable, pies are tasty. It's a good solid option if you're in the area and fancy a casual dinner. It's also a good place for larger parties and family groups.

Service was slow but kind. Service probably took this from a 4.5 to a 4 :(Broccolini (8/10): very good, I liked the flavor combos, especially the unique addition of the hazelnut with the citrus vinegrette. Could've used a smidge of heat and was generally too expensive for what it was. But all together, tasty. Margherita DOC (9.3/10): I don't remember a marg this hood. Good god. The bitterness from the char worked perfect. My only criticism was my pizza sat there on the counter waiting to be picked up, for about 8 min, so the basil wilted :) also it could've used a bit more cheese, but this is nitpicking. Ultimately, come for the margherita pizza. Good god.