Il Forno Italian Restaurant

Awesome experience! If I wasn't such a stickler for hold earning 5 stars, this would be it. I will call it 4.95 LOLIt started with our hostess being very pleasant and seating us promptly where we asked at an outside table. We were then greeted by a very pleasant server who introduced herself properly as Amanda. We ordered our drinks and looked over the menu. It all kind of looked like a classic menu so it was a difficult decision.. We kind of put our server on the spot and asked her recommendation... she covered to much to include here, but we settled on the classic lasagna and the special chicken rustica. The sun was setting and getting chilly and right on cue the manger pops by and turns on the patio heater for us to make our evening comfortable. The food arrive hot and in mass! lol the serving was very generous and the classic bread was fantastic. My wife, who is not typically a bread fan/eater, commented on its great taste and actually finished her bread. We added a small amount of parmigiana cheese and oregano to finish off the flavor profile and it was perfect. We ate our fill, had good conversation with Amanda and still had enough left to get take out boxes for a nice lunch the following day. Overall a very pleasant experience and we are already planning a trip back to try the pizza with baked oysters that caught my eye ASAP. It will be a hard act to follow. Overall great experience and I would highly recommend them and be sure to ask for Amanda. Note: we are not from this area and have never spoken to anyone there, so this is a legitimate review and recommendation. What the heck, I'm changing it to my rarely awarded 5 stars !

So I was in town for some training and just wanted to grab a pizza to take back to the room for the evening. Decided to try this place based on reviews. It was easy to find in a plaza and of course had plenty of parking to get in and out. The service friendly.I got a personal pizza bianca and added sausage to it. I also asked for a side of marinara sauce to dip my crust. When I got there to pick it up I paid and the girl went to get everything. There were many prefilled dipping cups made on top of the sauce tank but she moved the lid and proceeded to fill a 6 to 8 ounce cup of sauce for me. I am not sure where the confusion came in on how much sauce I was asking for, but it is what it is. The pizza was pretty good and hit the spot. The sausage topping was good, not great. The marinara was definitely fresh, but alright. I would of preferred so more flavor on both.Despite the mix up with the order and paying a little bit more than I needed to I enjoyed it. If you're in the area and a pie, I'd still say swing by and give them a try. Still a decent fresh pizza and better than a chain place.

ITALIAN FOOD ADVENTURE!!!The boy and I felt like some Italian and we were going to Lakeland. So what did I do. YELP it of course.Found II FORNO ITALIAN and decided to try this place out.It is a decent size place and has the stereotypical Italian decor.The service was excellent!!! We ordered a few things to split.First the app Mozzarella en Carrazzo, AKA cheese bread. It had 2 servings on the plate = 2 slices of bread and cheese per serving.We both enjoyed this, but it was a little disappointing as when we order this up north. It is a 3/4"slab of mozzarella, breaded with Italian bread crumbs and then deep fried to perfection. I searched online and found that this is another version of it. Never knew there were two versions. To me this was an Italian cheese sandwich. Like I said we enjoyed it, but Food to Value ratio = 11.99 not worth it. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5.For our mains we ordered the Calzone, always have to try one of these at a new place and the Veal Francese.The Calzone was very good nice and cheesy and it didn't lack the Ricotta very nice blend ratio of cheese. It was big enough for two, but it was so crispy cheesy and yummy that you might want to get your own. If you are not ordering anything else as it is filling!!!The Veal Francese was 21.99 and worth every penny. It was flavorful and the veal was battered & cooked to perfection. The pasta was a perfect al dente and there was plenty of sauce to mix and remix the pasta and Veal in order to keep the flavor poppin!!!Food to Value for both main dishes was excellent you got what you paid for on these two dishes.We don't eat Italian allot as I can cook almost everything that's Italian, my heritage you know I came up cooking Italian food so it's in my wheel house of dishes I can create. Cheaper to do it at home, but...I will say if the Fam ever feels like Italian food while we are in Lakeland this would be the place we would go.Especially over the chain Italian restaurants. It's a cozy place with great service and nice ambiance. I also saw pizzas at the other tables and they looked good. We will try this place for pizza next time we are in the mood and in the area. We usually go to Palace pizza, but definitely want to try this place out, after seeing the pizza at the other tables as they looked well cooked and yummy!!!AS ALWAYS TRY IT FOR YOURSELF!!!

The service was great. We made a reservation since we had a large party (9) and it was Christmas Eve. We had 2 kids and 7 adults (technically 4 kids but two teenage boys eat like adults). Everyone got the same menu so I guess they didn't have menus for the kids to color. Our kids were all hungry so they were not as worried about coloring as they normally are. They were more excited about the garlic knots and pasta they were going to get.We got some bread but everyone had already eaten garlic knots and fried zucchini. I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and the gnocchi for myself and my girls to split. We really liked the gnocchi and the Alfredo sauce but the red sauce was not very flavorful. It tasted like tomato paste more than tomato sauce. We had to mix it with the Alfredo to enjoy it. Everyone else thought their food was delicious so overall I would give it 4 stars but if you get the gnocchi or other pasta with red sauce, just go ahead and substitute Alfredo. It was the best sauce and it is made in house and delicious. I think if we had done that (I almost did but it was my first time there so I wanted to try the red sauce too) it would have been five stars for sure.

Il Forno Italian Restaurant in Lakeland is a great, low-key spot for classic Italian fare at reasonable prices.My wife and I joined family at Il Forno for dinner on a Friday night. I made a reservation over the phone earlier that day. It's only needed for larger groups. I anticipated we would be 6. We ended up only being a group of 4. No worries, there was plenty of room. The restaurant is on the small side. Booths line the walls with an array of tables and chairs filling the room for various sized groups from 2-8 people. They even have outdoor dining.Our server was around quick and welcomed us. She went over some things on the menu and left us pressure free to decide what we wanted for dinner. The family we joined had been here before and this is one of their favorite spots. They knew what they were getting and had a system for how they do things. My wife was talked into a chicken caesar salad by the server and I went with a pizza. The supreme. Italian food isn't always our go-to for dinner out but you can't go wrong with some good old-fashioned Italian inspired comfort food.Our appetizers were bruschetta, garlic knots and fried calamari.The bruschetta as fresh and tangy. Tomatoes and balsamic over top of crunchy bread. The garlic knots were soft, warm and had a good, strong garlic taste to them. The fried calamari was as expected, crunchy, well seasoned and the great calamari taste.The food didn't take long. My pizza was ordered as a personal size. Fresh veggies smothered the top. My buddy Blaine looked at it called it a "garden". Bright green peppers, crispy and crunchy. Onions and mushrooms. There were bits of bacon and pepperoni. I wish there had been been more meat on this. The crust was really good though. It had a great bready taste, slightly crispy with a light char on the bottom. The salad my wife got was a good size as well and looked fresh and tasty. While this salad wasn't as good as the beloved chain restaurant chicken Caesar, it fit the bill for a decent salad.Our family, Blaine and Chelsea split a fettuccine Alfredo and each got a side of meatballs. The meatballs were well seasoned, well cooked, not dried out and were covered in melty cheese and swimming in sauce. The Alfredo was rich and creamy and was one of the better ones I've had.All the staff we encountered were friendly and attentive and reasonable accommodations were made for our daughter in a car seat. She even slept almost the entire time, which was nice.If you're looking for a quaint Italian meal in a laid back setting with authentic and tasty Italian dishes, check out Il Forno.

Wonderful food... pizza.. calzones..pasta and great service!!! Definitely will be returning!!!

This place is amazing! We've visited a few times and everything is incredible. You much try the lasagna!! The portions are super large and you will have food for a few days. Service is top notch.

It was my first time here and I was impress. All I could say is, that sauce! This restaurant is not fancy location. Owner stated they have been open for 20 years. It has a cozy traditional feeling to it. The waitress was friendly and attentive. The owner was engaging with customers as well. I tried the fried calamari and lasagna which came with 2 garlic bread. The food taste fresh with the right amount of seasoning, and the sauce was delicious. Will definitely return to try something else off the menu.

To start, as always the food was delicious! Our waitress was so kind and compassionate. You see this was a lunch years in the making, unfortunately it happened 5 mths after I lost my only sister, and my lunch companions lost a friend. Our waitress quick to notice my tears and to ask me if I was okay. After our meal she handed me a container with what she said was a canolli, but want was actually the following sweet note that truly made my heart lift. Thank you for being so kind!

No drink refills, missed items from order but I understand the staffing shortage! However the food was not so tasty. I was disappointed because I heard great things in the past about this place! Since it was full than I was really excited for some good Italian food, however everything lacked flavor and taste like last weeks leftovers!