Fornarelli’s Ristorante

This place is really one of those old school restaurants where you walk in and they literally treat you like family. I’ve come before for happy hour and I recently enjoyed a Father’s Day meal here too. Each time the owner always says hello and takes the time to chat for a few minutes. I really appreciate someone who takes pride in their business, has a personal connection to the recipes and actually cares if you are enjoying your meal. He pointed out the area in Italy he comes from on the map painted on the wall and informed us that the mural on the opposing wall is a painting of his hometown. He also pointed out the beautiful black and white photos of his parents on the wall, taking additional time to note that all the recipes are his mother’s. Now Olive Garden has nothing on that!
Okay, now for for the food. For Father’s day, we threw down! As per usual we ordered the fried mozzarella and the meatballs– of course we weren’t disappointed. I ordered lemon chicken for dinner with risotto and I am glad I did. The chicken was perfectly breaded. The lemon sauce was perfect for June, not to thick and the lemon flavor was incredible. Although I was busy stuffing my face with the lemon chicken, I noticed my dining companions went silent– a true testament that the food was good! We ordered dessert too, which are made by the owner’s wife (lovely woman who was also there). I had the lemoncello (yes I love lemon, keep reading) and I sampled the tiramisu and the homemade cannoli dipped in chocolate. All were fresh and delicious. I mean I was supposed to be sharing the lemoncello with my sister but I just kept eating and totally forgot about equal distribution. I would’ve ordered additional cannoli’s to go however I’m supposed to be watching calories (shameful I know).
When I’m home we come to Fornarelli’s. Why? They treat us well. The feed us well. The parking is free. The food is good. And honestly, that’s a hard combo to find in modern restaurants.

I was in town for a conference and checked out Fornarelli’s because I was in the mood for Italian. I sat at the bar and talked with the bartenders, who were friendly and very helpful – they gave me a great wine recommendation. The arancini appetizer was a bit too spicy for my liking, but I really liked the ravioli. They had a piano player later into the night. If I lived in New Haven, I’d go back!

Very good entrees and service. Worth stopping by if you’re in town and looking for a quiet meal.

I love Italian cuisine. Fornarilles doesn’t disappoint. Everytime I’ve been there the staff treat us like family. There’s always good suggestins, fresh food, and warm atmosphere. The décor is very sultry, dark wood, and a perfect atmosphere for an intimate date night or hanging with friends at the bar for happy hour. I look forward to going back soon.

Excellent service with caring and attentative owners. The food was fantastic and the prices were so reasonable. We had a large party (16!) and our experience was excellent. There are lots of choices in New Haven, but if I lived here, this would easily be my go to neighborhood restaurant. The lobster ravioli, piccata, salmon special and mama made tiramisu were wonderful. The cocktail selection was fun and yummy. Wine by the glass was reasonable. We had a private room, but the main dining room was cozy and comfy looking. Honestly, this place is a find and while still new (under 2 years) I hope it has a long run. Give it a try.

another very good meal: excellent food and service (from anthony who also made one of the best bourbon old fashions). our only complaint was that the music from the piano was a bit too loud for conversation. recommended: carciofi and veal saltimboca.
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Food was really good as well as the service. I look forward to going back. The Sunday Sause is a great meal

Waitstaff was incredibly nice and the wine selection was good but the food itself was okay at best especially for the price. The Ravioli sauce was amazing but you only got six small pieces. The Bolognese was watery and the sauce wasn’t great. The shrimp appetizer came with o my three pieces. Portions were small. My boyfriend and I went because we had a Living Social discount but I wouldn’t go back.

Food was definitely above average, but the experience was, to say the least, bizarre!
We bought a Groupon and had high hopes for this place, which is in a location that has had a very uneven history. My wife and I arrived late on a Thursday night, and there was only one other table occupied when we arrived. A server came over and brought the menus and promptly disappeared. Several minutes later, another server came over and asked it we wanted to order drinks. We ordered 2 glasses of wine and then waited 15 minutes for them to arrive. Keep in mind that at this point, we were the only table that required attention! Another lapse in time, and our original waiter returned to take our order. We both ordered Caesar salads and entrees. About 10 minutes later, our entrees arrived. Ummm… where are the Caesar salads? He forgot… It could not have possibly been that he was overwhelmed, as we were his sole responsibility. The entrees (a chicken dish for my wife and braciole with pasta for me) were both very competently prepared, but certainly not anything more than what you would expect from a good Italian restaurant in New Haven (and New Haven is loaded with Italian restaurants!). What was more than a bit surprising was:
1 — nobody ever inquired as to how we were enjoying our dinners
2 — Given the totally unprofessional, botched service and having already told our server that we were «townies’ and it was our first time at the restaurant, a manager did not come over and at least attempt to apologize for the screw ups.
One other note: The regular menu items were very fairly priced, but the prices on the specials were what you would expect to pay at a high end New Haven restaurant — in some cases, 50% higher than the menu items. In my opinion, this is absurd and really does inhibit a diner from ordering what could be interesting and unusual dishes.
The final analysis: Food definitely more than acceptable, the overall experience was decidedly subpar and I cannot think of a compelling reason to return.

First time for dinner tonight and we had a fabulous meal. The Meatballs appetiser was so good we ordered another one. My wife had the veal saltimbocca and I had the pollo saltimbocca. Both dishes were excellent. The tirimisu for dessert was fantastic. Staff was very attentive to us and the owner who is very friendly came to our table twice to make sure everything was OK and to socialize with us. We will definitely recommend this restaurant to our friends and will be returning soon.

Food ⁴⁄₅ | Ambiance ⁴⁄₅ | Service ⁴⁄₅ | Return Likelihood ⁴⁄₅
One-​liner: Homey.
Multi-​liner: Came here one evening with my partner Groupon in hand, ready to check out the new iteration of this spot on Orange St. We were very impressed by the décor on the first floor, though were led to a corner table at the very back of the lower level beside a bar that seemed abandoned. Oh well, privacy I guess. Ultimately, we left satisfied, but a little puzzled on the disconnect between the taste of the food (+) and the level of presentation (-).
Food:
We made our own antipasta for appetizer, which was good though unremarkable.
Veal osso bucco: Definitely the highlight of the night. It was fall-​off-​bone tender and so well seasoned.
Butternut squash ravioli: Creamy, savory, delicious. Just how a ravioli should be.
For both mains, the plating left much to be desired which is really unfortunate given the quality of the cooking itself. There was an unnecessary sprinkling of some herb over the veal that was obviously an attempt at class but just made it look like the window was left open and some leaf carnage blew in. The ravioli. there was only 6 pieces and yet they were placed on a square plate that immediately made me think leftovers. Definitely work to be done here.
Service: Our server was fun and friendly. Probably because of another event going on upstairs, he was not as attentive as a restaurant of this caliber should have their servers be (had to ask for water from different servers), but his personality made up for it.
Ambiance: Did not get to see what the upper floor is like given that there was some event (seems like they host a lot of events) but the bottom was nicely decorated and spacious.

Great environment, décor and flavors!
Fornarelli’s hosted a pianist this Saturday that played from 6 to 830 ish, when a few jazz players took over for the remainder of the evening.
The rollitini was great as was the caprese.
Also strong meats & cheese menu!
I don’t partake in the eating of swine but the cheeses with a variety of vegetables was a great dish!
Another review was correct in saying to definitely get the grilled zucchini, that was abnormally more delicious than I find the average zucchini to be.
Handmade pasta?
What! what!
Got the artichoke with cream sauce ravioli because Fornarelli’s seemed to put an emphasis on their ravioli.
Or maybe it was other Unilocalers?
Either way Vito the bartender agreed and all were in the favor of truth on the topic because the handmade ravioli was exactly the decadent texture that I look for when ordering a pasta that was made with love.
They did offer steak au poivre that I look forward to trying the next time I visit.

Stopped by here for a drink and app and was yet again impressed. The fried artichoke was delicious, the staff was very friendly, and the pianist was a beautiful added bonus. I hope this place sticks around because it is a delicious Italian restaurant that far surpasses others around here!!!

Definitely not the dining experience I was expecting based on the prices and ambiance. The pros — they had a pianist which was lovely, and the décor was very nice. Staff was very friendly. Cons — waiter forgot my wine order, then my dinner order (had to come back to check both times). It didn’t seem that busy? And I understand the air is upper scale — but maybe write down the orders. I think guests would feel that was less off putting than worrying that their orders might be incorrect. It took almost 40 minutes to get appetizers because the waiter said the kitchen backed up — checking on the guests for more drinks/​maybe bringing more bread with a wait like that seems appropriate but not what occurred. The wine we had was delicious (I had a Malbec, my dinner partner a Cabernet) but the food was lackluster. I got the New York strip, medium rare. The grilled zucchini was the star of the dish. The steak had a sauce I cannot recall the name of but it was overwhelmingly peppery. My dinner mate got the Pappardelle Bolognese, and though I will 100% give props for what appeared to be homemade noodles, the sauce had chunks of carrots in it that were completely raw. It made for a very strange taste — beautiful pasta with what appeared to be a hearty vegetable and meat filled sauce but was very crunchy. For the prices I was expecting the dishes to be a bit more refined. Again — staff was really pleasant, and I know it was a Saturday night. We may try again on our next trip to New Haven — I was really surprised especially with all the positive reviews.

Beautiful décor. Came on a Friday night, it wasn’t overly busy. Only one waiter working the down stairs, three tables. The owners son, Vito. Very nice. Though as it got a bit busier, the service became slow. Water wasn’t filled, didn’t offer coffee, we had to ask. That’s the negative side. The positive the food was delicious and the downstairs wine cellar was beautiful. We had the salmon, chicken piccatta, and fresh arugula pasta in a cream sauce. Meatballs, caprese salad, and scicillian calamari for apps. Delicious! Definitely want to come back and explore more of the menu.

Went there for restaurant week. Great atmosphere. Their grilled calamari was semi flavorless nonetheless well prepared. The ravioli de agrosta was delicious but needs better presentation/​a little less sauce or include bread with it so we can enjoy the sauce. Tiramisu was average. I did not taste the alcohol nor the espresso that much. House white (grisio) tasted watered down. I’m giving it 3 stars because the waiter spilled a sauce on my dinner date, was apologetic but didn’t even give direction to the restroom. Not completely impressed with the experience, especially if I’m paying for restaurant week quality.

Had high hopes for this place given the other reviews, alas they led my wife and I astray.
For the most part everything was average. Average bread, average décor, average service average veal picatta… Then my entrée came. THE WORST bowl of BOLOGNESE I’ve ever had.
It wasn’t reduced, the vegetables weren’t fully cooked, there was nearly no meat in it, and it was’t seasoned. Think cafeteria pasta.
There are much better options in New Haven than this place.

Great place as always. Delicious and FRESH always. John is the BEST. He makes you feel like you’re part of his family when you’re there.
He makes sure the quality stays on top. Warm comfortable atmosphere. You’ll enjoy yourself.
The panzerotti is a must try. Lightly fried dough with sauce inside with cheese & capers. Amazing. So light.
You won’t be disappointed.
They will modify just about anything if they have the ingredients in house.

Meh.
Beautiful space. Friendly staff. But the food, for an Italian place in an Italian city with a ton of other Italian places that have been here for decades, is meh. My dinner — which came recommended by the server — tasted like the pasta was cooked previously and reheated — that telltale sticky quality. The sauce was in need of salt. Not altogether bad, but nothing special and nothing that excited me.
If you want to succeed on a tough block in a city dense with outstanding Italian food, break a sweat and differentiate somehow. I’m just not feeling it here.

Such delicious food from the appetizers to the dessert, everything is top notch at Fornarellis. Choose any item on the menu and you won’t be disappointed. John chose our wines, white and red, for us and they accented the meals perfectly. I understand John’s wife handmakes the cannolis, so we took two to go.
Next time it’s the tiramisu. Can’t say enough, only that we will be back