Al Forno in South Oxfordshire

The food and staff are amazing.

Surprise from my husband - the restaurant is small but comfortable. We hadn’t made a reservation but were seated . The staff were pleasant and efficient. We ordered a beer and water and then food …. Avocado & prawns then lemon sole with mixed veg and fresh sardines with veal in breadcrumbs and skinny fries. Very tasty. They have an oven in the restaurant that many things were being cooked in - including pizzas - the smell was amazing. Great place for some amazing food

Great Italian food in Henley. A bit cramped, but worth a visit. Staff super friendly.

"Disappointing" is the summary .... the restaurant looks the part, but sadly the food didn't match it I had the Garlic flatbread starter, very dry hard cracker, very hard to eat. My wife had the breaded Mozzarella ... didn't look like it was made on site... cold in the middle .. and served with a pot of Ketchup .. (I do not recall seeing Ketchup last time I was in Rome! ) My pizza was sadly the same as my starter, stiff dry base, hard to eat... no flavour in the tomato ... had supermarket pizza's tasting better. My wife had some Chicken with mushroom sauce .. again, didn't inspire at all .. the potatoes were frozen, we get the same from Sainsburys. Sadly, this might look Italian, but just didn't come close to an Italian experience... over £70 for two people, you can get better quality for less in Henley.

Wonderful Italian Restaurant in Henley on Thames. Had the wonderful experience of their food. Starters shared the Bruchetta Light refreshing and fresh. Both my wife and I had the Veal Lemone which was tender and perfectly sauced with the Spaghetti Olio Finished with the Teramisu. Also a take away Pizza. Good food make you hungry. Great birthday meal and excellent all round environment and meal. Authentic Home cooking in a restaurant .

We stopped in for dinner and it was excellent. We started with the bruschetta, then I had the carbonara and my daughter had the arrabiatta. Both were excellent. We finished things off with the tiramisu.

We had the most fabulous meal, perfect service, accommodating owner (we did not have a booking but I suggest you do), and tasteful decor. Real, hardworking people, honest food and a spot I would visit regularly if I lived here! If I am ever back in Henley, I would definitely visit again.

We found this restaurant while out walking and decided to try it as it looked inviting with tables covered in white tablecloths and set up with cutlery and wine glasses at 7 am. Very disappointing meal. I had asparagus starter which I enjoyed but my wife’s breaded mozzarella was obviously from a packet and was not heated through. The pasta dishes were large and the ravioli special was also clearly not made on the premises, was not cooked properly and consequently not edible. We would have sent it back but decided not to having witnessed the reaction when another table sent back their pizza due to the base being soggy. The asparagus saved this being a one star review.

I really like their pizzas. The wood fired oven is great. This is our local Italian restaurant and long may it thrive!

Tried to call to book a table- No answer, emailed- No reply! We decided to go after an 7 hr Joyner to our pit stop before travelling home! Lovely waitress very accommodating found us a table which was beautifully laid with a real cloth. I’m Dairy free and vegan Not much on the menu for me. Had the tricolour which is Avacardo mozzarella and tomato’s. I asked for No mozzarella please can you put extra on if other things. Half an avocado and half a tomato £9 My son had the soup which was delicious- No bread!? I had a vegetarian Pizza( no cheese) which when came, had no tomato sauce? Just lots and lots and LOTs of garlic oil And almost raw veg.. I asked for tomato save to be told when someone else wanted no cheese they didn’t want tomato saved so we left it off yours!?!? Lovely waitress bought tomato sauce which was icy cold out of fridge. I ate the pizza as we were so hungry after a bad journey from North wales ( I think it was a starter bread and not pizza base.. very hard to cut.. probably the worst pizza I’ve had!! Hubby was pleased with his chicken snd mushroom dish son happy with margarita pizza. Lovely place perhaps pour drinks instead of leaving can on table and waitress wore a smart top instead of a sports top? Shame

Spaghetti with mussels, no fresh parsley ( not acceptable). Pizza margharita very greasy, sour taste

Lovely family meal last night excellent food and service

I dined with friends and alone on many occasions. I would highly recommend the restaurant, everything is beautiful:food,atmosphere and service.

Food nice (but variable - oven king prawns fantastic, veal escalope dry), service a little slow and haphazard (no cutlery for dessert until we finished).

Excellent food, warm and friendly service. My new favourite place to eat in Henley after chains and gastros swamped the town. Whole grilled sea bream is 10/10.

The BEST Pizzas in Henley! Lovely food and even better service! Thank you Maria and team for a great experience.

The worst Italian restaurant that’s I ever had in my life. Never go there again

Great food, great service great atmosphere, definitely a place to come back

Always look forward to going to this fine restaurant.. Great staff fantastic food and great ambience... Had my usual crab 🦀 tomatoes 🍅 chilli 🌶 linguine..... Just heavenly... Reasonably priced... Would eat there every night if I could.. The staff welcome you as if your one of their family... You just couldn't ask for any more ♥

The BEST Italian restaurant I've ever been to. Friendly, like eating in a huge kitchen in your own home and the most delicious and tasty food. We really love coming here, if you've not been to Al Forno yet, please try it - you will not be disappointed. They are lovely people, who love to cook great food.

Our second visit this year (December), the first was during Henley Royal Regatta. Both visits have been very welcoming and both the food and service were good. The drinks are a little pricey though.

The chef carried clean plates under his armpit which was frankly disgusting. We only noticed this after starting to eat. The food was really poor quality anyway, especially for what we paid. Very oily pizza, the tomato sauce was quite tasteless and the pizza was burned black at the crust. I thought it would be authentic Italian style pizza but seemed to be made with tomato sauce from ASDA, which is fine but I could have made better at home. Not a pleasant experience. Waitress spilled drinks on the table, took the clean cutlery away and left the used cutlery on the table. Table position was right up against the counter so we were awkwardly close to all of the staff which made making conversation awkward/difficult.

After waiting for quite awhile, the waitress forgetting that we needed to order , we chose a starter of bread to share with some spring onions on… the waitress recommended this. It was actually like a crispy pizza base with some half cooked onion sprinkled on and nothing else. It was dry and totally unappetising. Main course came and my date couldn’t eat his spaghetti. I had some spaghetti with prawns. I asked the waitress if I could have some Parmesan cheese and black pepper and she said she would return. She never did and I was unable to catch her eye to remind her. We didn’t order any pudding as it was hard work. We just paid the bill and left, disappointed.

3 of us visited for evening meal. 2 of us very pleased but I had spaghetti vongole which was nice at the time, however I started to vomit during the night. These things happen and it was possibly one rogue clam. However, I gave the restaurant a chance to respond as I felt they needed to know. I emailed a very reasonable communication, attaching no blame. I got no response and when I followed this up they again failed to reply. I like this restaurant and would have liked to continue going, however their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

We were expecting a great meal based off the reviews but by our surprise it wasn’t what we hoped for. Maybe they should reduce the menu and focus on cooking less dishes with more flavour. We could tell they meant well but the food just wasn’t up to scratch and we were disappointed we spent money on a meal here when there are plenty of other nice places to go to.

The perfect ever oven pizza👍 The service 👍

Simply amazing food and service. Highly recommended. Look forward to our next visit 😊

I phoned beforehand. They even fitted us in a bit before they opened which was excellent. The service was very fast, professional and friendly. The food was beautiful first class, piping hot, serviced quickly and well seasoned. Amazing.

A family dinner last Saturday and as always it was excellent, the service is always so good and so friendly, all the courses were great and the prices are always extremely reasonable. Many thx again.

We had a wonderful evening at Al Forno during the Henley Royal Regatta. It's a small restaurant, but they were able to accommodate our party of 10 (we did have a reservation) including 6 rowers, and everything was great. The staff was super friendly, too!

We ordered a take away over the phone, the lady could not have been any more stressful or rude to us as we were just simply trying to order. When we collected the pizzas, the chef handed them to us without even a hello or a thank you. He couldn’t have been more rude if he tried. He just put the card machine in front of us and took our payment. They clearly felt they were very busy, but they shouldn’t project their stress on to a customer. If you didn’t want to make takeaway pizzas, don’t offer that service! Simple.

Food was great, 3 of us all really enjoyed and we had different dishes, good all round.

Great food. Unfortunately, I was served the wrong pizza and when I asked, the waitress said it was the correct one. Didn't want to fuss so had it anyway but think the waitress was new or in training and didnt understand English too well. I later checked the menu and confirmed that it was the incorrect pizza after all. Luckily it tasted nice anyway. So lost a couple of stars for service from me!

Wonderful food and good selection. Decently priced and lovely service with friendly staff

Great food. Nice menu with good grilled fish and very fresh. Friendly service. Reasonable prices. Will go back.

I absolutely love Al Forno. Great food, beautiful atmosphere and really good service. Highly recommended

dont need to be a chef to put a fish on the grill. i can do that at home as well. i expect more from a restaurant when ordering the most expensive fish on the menu. was very disappointed when i told the chef i expected my Turbot to be prepared a little bit more sophisticated and he replied we dont do that here…. having said this…the shrimps as starter are consistently fabulous and their pizzas are also good. check the bill as mistakes have happened on two visits now.

An authentic, delicious meal and great value!

Never had a bad meal here. Haven't been for ages but had baked chilli prawns, a gorgeous fish dish (whole turbot). All served with friendly service and a nice bottle of red. Good wholesome Italian value.

Food is very good Simple Italian style Sardines and Crab linguine deserve a special mention Wine is reasonably priced cheeky chappie staff very relaxed and easy going. A restaurant of the Barrio

Once again another great dinner for the family - always reliable, always good value and everyone enjoyed all courses. If you haven’t been, go ……. You wont be disappointed.

Excellent service food was delicious 😋 well worth the money 💰 10 star one of best in Henley

You just need one visit to feel obsessed to visit over and over again! Friendly, very good value for money, healthy sized portions and excellent seafood. Unpretentious but a treat evening out!

Always have a warm welcome here. The pizzas are simple but delicious and the roasted vegetables are tasty and a generous portion. The morreti beer is served in ice cold glasses could not be better. Friendly staff and and all round lovely experience. Reasonably priced

Had a wonderful meal with my wife in Al Forno tonight, took a chance as we are not from the area and we’re glad we did, food was great, reasonably priced as well, love the £5 desserts!

Tasty Italian pasta and great steak, lovely place and very polite staff. Highly recommend 👍

We ate early, around 6.30pm so it was very quiet with only one other table occupied. The bruschetta was amazing! (Very heavy on the garlic) and the pizza’s were also good… Wd found the drinks to be very reasonably priced. The server was pleasant but seemed very distracted. Would definitely go again, great authentic Italian food.

Lovely food. So much to choose from.

Ideal pre race meal before Henley Classic swim. The food was delicious - possibly the best Italian meal we have ever eaten. Portions very generous & dishes so tasty - bursting with flavour. Nothing too much trouble for the staff. Perfect - thank you.

The owner of this place (Lady ) is very rude, I asked 2 portion of skewer sea food, we didn’t realised comes with pork and she didn’t explain the name , when we realised there is pork on it asked the guy who worked there and he said he will bring us a new portion with out pork but the lady owner came and he said we throw it away and don’t bring new portion which make us fell treat it us badly and did not respect our requirements, we were happily prepare to have the same portion without pork and pay for it but she only brought 4 prawns which we didn’t ask for, basically she was trying to push us out in her way, I think she need to know how to treat people with good manners next time.

Amazing, great service - food very well executed. Felt looked after and custom very much appreciated. I believe this is a family run busines - good to support them

Delicious food and service I will back again soon lovely wine list

Pizza’s and pastas are nice. My go to Italian place in Henley!

Great service and lively Italian food. Sure this place will do Pizza but it’s not it’s primary purpose - it’s a proper Italian restaurant unlike Pizza Express so go for the real Italian food like veal or pan fried calf livers

Fantastic Friday Evening meal. Pan fried livers and veal with breadcrumbs. Nice Italian deserts and good service. Only list of 5 stars was inexplainable delay in getting the bill and paying.

Can't say enough about how good our experience was. Brilliant team with both front and back of house working well together. When a chef refills a bucket of ice for the front of house you know they're a good bunch. Food was great, wine was great, service excellent.

A very lovely place: excellent food, wonderful service, incredibly nice atmosphere. Highly recommend!

I found this little place whilst looking for a restaurant in Henley with a table available. Fortunately they’d had a cancellation and was able to let me have a table for two. The place was crowded, which is always a good indication of the quality and popularity of a place. We both had mains, which were very tasty. The service was friendly and efficient. Having our meal there was a good start to our weekend break in Henley.

Not just a good restaurant but a great restaurant. Superb food and a lovely cosy Italian feel. Highly recommended and great value for money.

The food is mainly deep fried and not very well…Mozzarella was a slab and sauté potatoes hard! Below average in my opinion and would not be returning.

They do lots of other dishes as well but their thin crust Pizza's taste really good. Great service from friendly staff.

This place used to a reliable fall back for an easy, if uninspired, meal in the that culinary vacuum that’s Henley on Thames. However our last visit was a crushing disappointment. The pizzas were horrendous (the taste and consistency of both the base and toppings...

We had been regulars here pre-Covid and hadn't been for a while. We went with friends and are pleased that it continues to be good value, family Italian food. Would recommend!

We visited last year (2020) so we decided to the same this year (2021), however unfortunately it was nothing alike the previous visit. The veal had no flavour and or seasoning and in addition was under cooked to the order of medium. The Milanese was...

Went here for an evening meal on a weekend away in Henley. We visits based on other Trip advisor reviews and weren’t disappointed. Lovely place with a nice atmosphere and great food. Especially loved the pizzas made fresh in the front of the restaurant.

A fair meal but avoided pizzas as they looked terrible. Various things not available on the menu.

Great Italian with, nice decor, good service and outstanding pizza ! All the staters and mains were good, but the pizza’s were incredible. The desert was a bit of a let down (tub ice cream and cakey timarisu) but the pizza carried it.

Food was lovely, we had the gnocchi and a pizza. The gnocchi was delicious and the pizza was nice but there is room for improvement. Service was very attentive and good however, we felt very rushed throughout our entire meal by the female manager. She...

Lovely intimate Italian restaurant. We had the lasagne with side salad and chips plus foccacia bread. Attentive service not overpriced either.

Great food and service. Good arrived really quickly!

Chic decor and a cozy environment. Gluten free pasta was fresh and authentic. The baked pasta was delicious and hearty and a sizable portion. Fresh asparagus starter is recommended. The female manager was most gracious and moved tables for my daughter and I. We did...

We were on a mini holiday and after some bad experiences previously during the week we decided for a meal at Al Forno. What an inspired choice, by far the best we had all week. The service and hospitality from the owner was excellent and...

Excellent service and lovely food

Lasagne was nice but I would of liked it with more taste. Partner had scallops on skewer slightly undercooked decided not to eat them shame at 9 pounds !! Rustic garlic Good service lovely staff

Stumbled across Al Forno wandering around Henley on a sunny summers evening. The restaurant was a little quite but enough people to give atmosphere. The tables are very nicely spaced and the decor clean and crisp. Excellent menu with lots of fish offerings. I had...

Always great ! Consistent quality. Fabulous food & staff . Just try it !

The food was awful, we were really looking forward to a proper Italian meal. The spaghetti bolognaise was tasteless, the pasta over cooked. Chilli prawns were ok. Service was lacking. I wouldn’t go there again. Huge disappointment.

Went here tonight with my family for a celebratory meal- the service, atmosphere, and food was just beautiful. The restaurant is small, cosy and nicely decorated, with lovely music, and the menus (including the wine selection) are excellent, let alone the authentic and delicious food! This is the sister restaurant to the Portuguese seafood place The Square also in Henley, and both are flawless.

Fantastic take out Pizza this evening. Can’t wait to get back here and eat in again (pareceletti a favourite). It may be lockdown 3 but at least the team here keep cooking beautiful food to take home. Thank you

Just what you want as an Italian, great food, great staff and the owner behind the bar. Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friendly an educated staff, very tidy and delicious authentic Italian food!

Ate here with friends this week . We all had something different and everyone was very impressed. Nice surroundings and great staff. Would definitely recommend

Birthday dinner and it was lovely. Food very fresh and tasty and service very good. The only negative was that it didn’t have much ventilation and it got very stuffy as it is not a very big restaurant.

Superb pizzas, very nice people.

Simply superb!! Service second to none and exquisite food. Give this restaurant a try you won't be disappointed!!

Very good food and lovely staff very nice diner tanks a lot see you shortly

Lovely little place in Henley. Definitely would go there again. The staff were friendly and the food was good. We went one weekday evening and it was still full so seems very popular.

Great local Italian restaurant - friendly service and good food

We visited last night just for a quick family meal. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming although the background music could do with an update. My daughter tells me the calamari aren’t as good as giggling squid but she enjoyed them. I had a scallop/prawn/ chorizo skewer which was delicious if small. The main courses of lamb cutlets, pizza and clam spaghetti were much better. The clam pasta was totally fab and I’ll definitely be back just for this.

Very nice restaurant, small and cosy. Staff friendly, excellent service and good selection on menu

Well, Al Forno’s does nice food...pasta dishes are to die for and I would recommend this place for a good Italian meal. Atmosphere is nice and restaurant is clean and well presented. The Staff are a little over attentive if anything, I found them to be a little bit hovering around too much such that it makes you hurry your food, and as such you lose a little of the whole experience. I know they want to get as many covers as possible but I think they could tone it down a little...so nice overall experience and would return but next time I will tell them straight to allow us to relax.

Got a great takeaway pizza. I'll be going back here.

Quite simply the best Italian meal I have ever had. Carbonara was especially delicious. Staff friendly and welcoming. Owned and run by husband and wife team.

Had supper here a couple of weeks ago for the first time and knew I needed to take the family to try it out.Service fabulous but please do pre book, menu wonderful variety with wine to complement. Main courses were each superb. Booked our son's birthday meal here for next month.Just a delight to go to a family run restaurant with an amazing chef who is passionate about his cuisine and a team who help make your evening so relaxed and enjoyable. Thank you

Unfortunately we didn’t get to eat here. I had booked for a birthday meal, but on arrival we saw that some members of the staff were not wearing PPE. I appreciate this is not mandatory, but upon reflection I wonder why would you have some of your staff wearing face masks and not others, including those working in the kitchen/ chef. I appreciate this may not be a problem for some people, but some may feel uncomfortable with this situation, in the current COVID Pandemic. If I had known staff would not be wearing PPE I would not have booked. It may have been helpful to put this in the website as many other restaurants are doing at the moment, enabling people to make an informed decision prior to booking.

Keep this short. Great food ( pizzas excellent ) Great service and great value for the location. Will be returning

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perfect for date night, it has a beautiful restaurant with wonderful food and an excellent wine list. Very welcoming hosts managed to fit us in without a booking.

Saved Us in Lockdown! Everyone at Al Forno has made lockdown bearable for us. BRILLIANT AND VARIED FOOD. We are struggling cooking for a family of 5 and there is such a variety of good food here it’s our “go to” place at least twice a week. And thank you to the very friendly chef for a fantastic and completely unexpected birthday dinner including cake. (A before photo is attached. It didn’t last more than a night...). Delicious steaks, pasta, fish, salads and pizza. Take your pick - it’s all delicious.

Great authentic pizzeria, good wine and fresh ingredients. One of the best in henley.

Our first take away from Al Forno was a great success, with telephoned orders and timed collections. My crab spaghetti was to die do for and the pizza was delicious. When we picked it up, it was piping hot and no need to re heat. Looking forward to our next take away :)