Il Forno, Liverpool

This was not a cheap night out at £82 for a 2 course meal for 2 and a house bottle of wine. The steak which I asked for medium rare came out with very little pink, so I would have hated to ask for well done! The chicken my partner had was in breadcrumbs and was very dry, served with tomato spaghetti. I am not a chef but can definitely make better meals than what was served. A member of staff appeared to be constantly walking around, checking tables. I got the feeling that if we were taking too long we may be asked to hurry up! In my opinion this is an over-rated restaurant which is more concerned with getting maximum people in and out. Won't be returning.

I ordered Penne all'arrabbiata and received some pasta with tomato. Probably they were without the main chef because lunch and not dinner.

I order a juice for my son and they delivered an alcoholic one.... it doesn't look good.

I'm sure real Italian restaurant can do better.

I'm sure they are not the most professional. Be aware!

Staff very friendly! Delicous food and dessert! Clean place with exellent,friendly service. Delicous food and desserts with tables and chairs which are not at all sticky!

Il Forno in Liverpool was chosen as the location for our office Christmas meal. We ate from the set price Christmas menu, which was 3 courses for £28 (excluding drinks). There was a nice mixture of food to pick from on the set menu: Starters included tomato and roasted pepper soup, garlic and tomato focaccia, gargellini with porcini mushrooms; Mains included sirloin steak with buttered spinach, roast corn fed chicken, with seasonal vegetables and stuffed saddle of lamb. The dessert menu offered less choice however, with only ice cream, tiramisu and a panna cotta type choice.

On arriving at the restaurant it was noticeably busy, but the bright and well directed lighting, coupled with the fact the tables aren't placed too close together, meant that once seated, we didn't "feel" how busy it was. We were seated in a booth, and I do recommend you try to get one of these if you can. They feel really cosy and private, and the plump leather seats are really comfy. The booths easily seat 6 people without any awkward elbow moments! The restaurant itself is clean and spacious, though some of the decor is an 'acquired taste'!

We noticed early on that there might be too few staff for the number of customers that night. Though we were seated quickly (having booked this table a month earlier) our request to have a few more minutes to look at the wine list seemed to leave the waiter a little put out. Also, when we gave our drinks order, he promised to return to collect our coats (which had not been taken from us as we entered the restaurant), but he failed to do so until we asked a second time.

The starters were really generously sized, particularly the soup, which looked deep enough to take a swim in! Everyone said their starter was tasty, but a couple of us were disappointed that they were not a little more adventurous. For example, my garlic and tomato focaccia was simply a flat garlic bread with sliced cold cherry tomatoes on top and some (in fact probably a little too much) rocket piled on to it. My initial reaction to my friend's laughter when they saw me trying to find the garlic bread under the mass of green was to suggest I should have brought my guinea-pig to 'mow' it.

The mains were perhaps, with the exception of the chicken meal, less generous, and again a little less imaginative than the descriptions on the menu would have led us to believe. But the food was hot, there were plenty of vegetables on the side (served in separate dishes for us to 'help ourselves'), and the only gripe I had of any real substance is that my steak, which I asked to be cooked 'well done' came to me still rather pink and more medium than well done - my friend who asked for 'medium' considered his to be on the medium-rare side.

When we had finished eating, the waiter made it clear he wanted us to leave sooner rather than later, and we felt a bit rushed out. We are aware in the run up to Christmas they are going to be busy, but it was quite badly handled, and it did feel a bit like 'we've had your money, now get out'.

The total bill for 6 people came to just below £300. If you remove the £28 x 6 for the set meals, that leaves £132 spent on 5 bottles of wine and 2 medium bottles of water. I'll leave you to decide for yourselves if you think this is good value drinks-wise.

I've put that I would recommend this place, but I want to just say that I mean I think this restaurant is worth a first visit, to say you have been and give it a try - but I would probably not make a return visit. It's great that the menu extends beyond the pasta and pizza you'd normally associate with an 'Italian' restaurant, but the food could be a bit more 'interesting', and it's kind of hit and miss whether you get something really worth the money you are spending on it.