Al Forno
Dave and I were regular visitors to Al Forno when it was owned by an Italian. He understood that pizzas should be thin based and pasta dishes should be all about the pasta, and less about the sauce. It was taken over by someone who changed the ethos of the trattoria. When the regular pasta dishes were served with thin, watery sauces we stopped going. Al Forno has recently been sold to a group of young triplets and so we decided to give them a try.
Our Meal
Dave and I chose to share the MistoItaliono (R95) to start. It came with good quality mozzarella fior di latter and cured meats. (spelling as per menu!) The side salad was freshly made which was a good thing as it contained raw onions which we don’t eat. In order to compare the standard of the dishes now to what they used to be, Dave and I ordered our usual pasta dishes for the mains. I had the contadina (R80) and the sauce albeit tasty, was a bit thin. After I had eaten all the pasta with about as much sauce as I would expect a dish to have in Italy, I sent back the bowl half full. What a waste! Dave’s arrabiata was spicy but the sauce was not reduced enough. I had the tiramisu (R50) for dessert and it was good as any I have had locally.
Service
Our waiter was excellent and engaging making sure we were well looked after. I am not sure if the owner on duty was made aware of my comments regarding the sauce but if so, she did not come over to discuss it with us. One of the other owners was engaged with talking to one table and had I not been told after the fact that he was not on duty I would not have known this. As he could see us, I was most surprised he didn’t come over when I was trying to get someone’s attention to have something brought to our table.
Overview
Don’t expect anything fancy. The tables are covered with a durable material, that is easy to clean. You will get paper serviettes and the non smoking section is at the entrance. There is a fireplace to keep the cold at bay during winter months, and in summer you can eat al fresco.
Contact them on +27 83 284 4476
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime August 9:
- 2015 – Prodigal Son
- 2013 – Scented Geranium
- 2011 – Italian Cipollini Onion Pasta
- 2010 – Thai Inspired Sirloin Stir Fry
Thank you for the information about this restaurant. South African Italian food is very different from Italy Italian food and is much richer, as you have noted. I have seen this with the pizza too.
We are lucky to have some authentic Italian places here that know how to make a pizza 🙂
good review Tandy, interesting about the non-smoking section being in the front of the restaurant, I don’t think smoking is allowed in any public places anymore in the US.
We have very strict rules, but people can still smoke in restaurants as long as the section is closed off 🙂
Thanks for sharing your viwe Tandy.
Thanks for reading Anu 🙂
The sauce is really unusual! I’ve never seen that much with a pasta dish!
It was more like sauce with pasta instead of pasta with sauce!
That was like a bowl of soup…with pasta! Crazy!
Totally!