Al Forno in Richmond upon Thames

It seems like there's a new management. It used to be a great place before. The service now is just OK. The food is below average.

I loved the carbonara and hazelnut ice cream!!!

Took my mother in law to this restaurant for a family meal out as she hadn’t been well, and we’d had enjoyable dining experiences here before. Unfortunately, the restaurant staff took an age to serve us, it seemed that there weren’t enough staff for a busy weekend service, and when they did come to the table they were quite standoffish. I ordered sardines to start, my husband ordered mussels. The sardines were under-seasoned, my husband described the mussels as gritty. We then waited almost an hour for main courses. My mother in law had to send her bolognese back to be reheated, and my risotto was refrigerator cold in parts - it seems that they just keep a refrigerated store of the stuff. On the other hand, my husband’s lamb shank was delicious, but we’d had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the food. We didn’t bother with dessert, given the amount of time we’d waited for everything else there. My brother in law asked to remove the optional service charge that was added to the menu, as we’d waited for so long and the service was laissez faire at best, but the restaurant manager started to argue with us that the restaurant was so busy that poor service could not be helped. We had to insist on the service charge being removed, and it unfortunately felt like the manager was making a scene out of it. We have decided that we won’t be having our family meals at Al Forno in future.

Had a great time at Al Forno (Putney). Amazing food, good prices and the staff very helpful and welcoming. We can’t wait to go again. Highly recommend

Great restaurant and lively atmosphere. Food is good although veg doesn't come with main courses.

Great as always. Best pizza in town. Grazie mille!!!

Hidden gem, Staff are amazing, very attentive, felt very welcomed, if you live local or even not definitely give this place a try, Authentic tasty best pizza in town

still the best Italian this side of Tuscany (well, at least this side of the West End). Where a bottle of Chianti will only set you back £23 and small pizzas (which are BIG) are south of a tenner, this little gem on the Upper Richmond Road is still a delightful value for money venue for a casual family dinner, like it has been for 30 years. It's lively, busy and offers a huge range of authentic Italian cuisine. The veal with sauteed potatoes is a winner, as is the pollo milanese, with a generous tomato bruschetta and garlic bread on the side, finished with their world-famous banoffee pie which is worth the admission fee alone. A shot of limoncello on the house closes another stellar visit. The only thing I would like to see is their calamari fritti crisped-up more: each time I have it, it's just a bit sad and limp, could do with a different batter recipe as it's current soft-on-soft.

Lovely Italian Restaurant in Putney. Staff were attentive but not intrusive. Food was beautifully cooked and therw was only a short wait after ordering. Recommend 🙂

Food is great, value for money definitely. It did take a while for the food to come out though. Our observation was that Pizzas are the fastest. It is pretty much like a pizza factory with plenty of delivery drivers coming in to pick up orders

Great food and service as always, well worth a visit.

Really slow service. Waiting over 30 mins before first drink brought to the table. Food ok ish

What a waste of time and money, another example of Italian restaurant run by everyone but not Italians. The food is very poor, small vegetarian pizza had kilo of green and red pepper on !? Why ? And after seafood pasta I spend all night awake because of stomach cramps. Seriously not recommended.

Way too expensive. Pizza didn’t taste of anything, seafood pasta was OK.. Music too loud and didn’t suit the vibe.

What a waste of time and money, another example of Italian restaurant run by everyone but not Italians. The food is very poor, small vegetarian pizza had kilo of green and red pepper on !? Why ? And after seafood pasta I spend all night awake because of stomach cramps. Seriously not recommended.

Way too expensive. Pizza didn’t taste of anything, seafood pasta was OK.. Music too loud and didn’t suit the vibe.

Crazy expensive for what it is, and food not at all good. Weird atmosphere, everyone seems too busy and almost annoyed with you.

We’ve been dining here regularly for the past couple of years. Never been disappointed. Highly recommended for pizza and primi, but in general anything in the menu is worth a try. Amazing value for money, especially when sharing a ‘medium’ pizza.

We visited recently for the much appreciated re-opening of Al Forno. I've never seen the restaurant so busy, every table was taken and a growing queue was building which shows how popular this restaurant is in the area. Given the popularity that night, there was a slight wait for food, but I think people understood why and the delicious food was worth the wait! The staff worked so hard that night, friendly and helpful as always - it was a delight to see them back open again. They had their usual singer on who was fantastic! He sang a variety of songs but it was perfect entertainment and a great way to kick off the re-opening. Thank you to the all the Al Forno team and the singer was amazing as usual. We will be back soon x

Absolutely great pizzas with a huge variety of toppings, freshly made in wood fired oven. Service is always friendly and attentive. If it’s your birthday expect trumpets and drums!

All gtreat. Amazing food as always. Great value for money

Great food although the service can be a little slow at times

Best pizza and service in london

Had lunch there today Delicious food and great service, restaurant

Great local family Italian restaurant. Went for a girls night and their Tuesday deals are fab.

The food and service, as always, at this establishment was fantastic. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Fantastic food and staff! Love this place!

Fantastic local restaurant. Tuesday night special is a bargain. Food is delicious and such good value.

The food was amazing, but the restaurant was super short staffed. I waited almost 30m to order food and another 20m to order desert and another 20m to pay. There was a lot of time wasted on just waiting. It wasn’t the guys fault as you could see they were really busy running around. It would have been better if there were more people working so customers could be served with more care. The music was also really loud.

Never attend this restaurant on a Saturday night if you wish to be able to speak to fellow guests. Noise levels intolerable. Other nights are fine

After discovering this restaurant by recommendation last year, I wish we had found it sooner! Delicious food, great drinks, excellent value, and staff great fun!

Great food and great service. Need to visit here more often.

Amazing place and food. Quickly served and the staff there very polite

I already knew they have the best vegetarian pizza in London but didn't know they also make the best tagliatelle ai funghi too! :O

Would come here again! Really enjoyed the spaghetti bolognaise. Panna Cotta came with strawberry sauce which was great. Service was excellent.

Service was excellent and very fast. Salad I've ordered was a huge portion and delicious. Wine was delicious as well. In my opinion, this is a friendly, pleasant place I'm going to visit it again as soon as I can.

I am a repeat customer and decided to book a larger group of 7people for dinner at 7.30pm Saturday 4th May. We didn’t all arrive together and I explained that as one person had dropped out they could use the table for other customers. We were also happy to wait to order food. Once we were ready though, it seemed to take forever to get the waiters attention only to be told he could not take orders and only deliver them to tables. Once we were finally ready we ordered drinks. I was left to pour my own drink, and the bottle of water we asked for never arrived. We then needed to get the attention of one of the 3/4 waiters to order the food. Food arrived very quick (the pasta and pizza dishes for the already seated 5 people). For me the pizza was not up to the standards of previous pizza. The cheese was not melted enough and there was very little sausage slices. I am also not used to olives on a pizza with the stones still inside. I am not speaking on behalf of the other people about the food as they did not comment. We all commented about the poor service, waiting times and never once being asked if we were happy with our food, if we wanted anything else. We chose not to have dessert as we had already waiting a lot. Even trying to get our bill was difficult and the table who came after us was served their bill first. To get any of the staffs attention was unacceptable. We are not people who complain but I am not going recommend Al Forno in Putney. I was so disappointed by this visit as previous visits have been excellent. The usual staff were not present and this was my first visit at the weekend. Not all tables were full. It just made no sense to me!

This is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) place in the Barnes-Sheen-Putney area. Amazing Italian restaurant with some of the best pizza you'll ever have (either at the restaurant or take away) with a great atmosphere and friendly staff.

Wonderful authentic Italian cuisine in a rustic and atmospheric restaurant

This is a popular local restaurant. Food is average, but, disappointingly, mine was served on a cold plate, so that the food cooled very quickly. Service was friendly and pleasant, but the very loud music inhibited conversation.

Friendly service and lovely food. Will definitely be back

I love Italian food but This place is just amazing. 💥💫⭐️⭐️⭐️Lovely home cooked food, staff were just soo good and to top it off great music entertainment. Had a great evening. Highly recommended. Will definitely go back soon again with friends and family.

We’ve been going to this pizzeria for years. SO MUCH BETTER than any other pizzeria and good value for money. Beautiful garlic bread with cheese, olives, pizzas ( unless there’s 4 of you don’t get a be large pizza, they’re enormous!) If it’s a relative’s birthday let them know when you book and they sing in Italian with musical instruments! Great place … Book now!

Umberto makes everyone laugh always, very happy customers! Thank you!

Excellent staff, really nice food. We will definitely be going back

Excellent! Properly good food. Also excellent Gluten Free. My daughter likes watching the Pizza being made

Great evening! It was my birthday and the staff surprised me with music and singing Happy Birthday to me. I loved it! Thank you do much! 🥰

They were able to accommodate all my family (14) of us including 2 babies the staff were amazing, the food was perfect plenty of it and well worth the money. Not overly expensive, the atmosphere was nice the staff very attentive even with our large family. The staff all came over and sang happy birthday to my husband even finding a small cake and candle for him. Will definitely be back. Thank you Al Forno for helping us make my husband’s birthday special

The place is so vibrant with good live music; I passed by with my husband and ended up having a bottle of wine and a delicious four cheese pizza.

The best deal in town on a Tuesday evening. The service from start to finish is excellent. They staff is very efficient. The food is freshly prepared and delicious.

Fantastic food and service, as usual! Highly recommend!

Great place to be. Food was great. Live music and staff was really friendly. Wil come back soon 😉🤗

Lovely meal and very attentive service by friendly staff, made us feel very welcome and looked after. The sea bass was delicious.

Good food, excellent service. The staff are just so kind and always happy to help. Would recommend

Consistently one of the best pizzas in London... came back after the period they were closed and I'm happy to say that both food and service are just as fantastic as before, plus it's difficult to find good authentic Italian food for that price range. Will be back for sure!

had to wait for over abhor after sitting down for any service at all. Not good enough with two small hungry children. If insufficient staff to cope, don't allow so many bookings .

Excellent service and food. Staff very friendly. Best pizza I've had in a long time. Highly recommended.

The pizzas are very good. I wasn’t overly impressed with the meat dishes as there was too much Rosemary herb in them and the sauces were not particularly that good. Calamari starter was just ok. Haven’t tried the pasta dishes so I can’t leave a comment. Lemoncilli drink is gorgeous. Waiters are very good and friendly.

Best meal I have had out for a long time. 10/10…..

Always fantastic! Sometimes music a bit loud. Food is the best! Like the new special evenings!

I just love this place. It's only my second tinlme here, but the food is so tasty and freshly made. It's a family run restaurant. The ambiance is grear. You can easily have a conversation without shouting or overhearing conversations from other tables. The service is quick and very friendly. I highly recommend this place and I'll be back for sure.

The staff were very friendly snd very busy but very efficient. The singer was so loud we could not really hold a conversation and gave us a bit of a headache with people trying to talk over the singer.

I have really tried to like this restaurant. It's lovely inside, it's not a huge chain, it's local to me. But we've given it 5 tries and they've let us down every single time. Three dine-ins. One had us waiting almost an hour for food on a relatively quiet Wednesday. We tried again a month later, when i brought my work group. The waiter spent more time complaining about our table size (of eight) than the did actually serving us. Twice we have attempted to order a takeaway, and twice they have forgotten to start making our order, leaving us waiting for over an hour the first time and 45 minutes the second. The chef's attitude yesterday was appalling and his suggestion that I "try some of the many other restaurants around here" was an excellent idea; if your waiter takes my order and then waits 20 minutes to put it through the till, do not *shout* at me that I am impatient. That is not my fault. The restaurant is disorganised and communication is poor. It seems everyone is busy and rushing around, but on observation, little is actually being done. We overheard a dine-in table say they have been waiting half an hour to order, and the waiter's response was "I need to clean a table, I am busy". This could be a brilliant restaurant, but I think it desperately needs a competent manager. PS: The food is good, except for the Lasagne which needs more beef and far less tomato in it.

We were impressed by prompt service on a very busy night. The food was excellent and well presented. When we arrived the volume of the background (??) music was annoying and inhibited conversation. It was turned down as the restaurant filled but it should never be that intrusive. Perhaps another guest was better at persuading the waiter to oblige

First time ever coming to this place, when I was young my friend got a pizza delivered from them now I've been in. I'll have to go again

absolutely terrible i have been going here for 10 years and have loved it for so long recently had a fire and reopened in 2024 Jan and the first time back it was horrible no taste in the food the calamari taste like batter no flavor what so ever and the PIZZA which i prided them on has gone down to being worse than a frozen tesco pizza better off not wasting your money! went again for the second time today to give them another chance as i have been going for so long but only this time it was worse took 1 hour and 30 minute for starters and forgot about half the tables drinks i hope as you're reading this you know who wrote it POOR SERVICE AND TASTELESS FOOD you are not the alforno i have been going to all these years... never wasting my money again

Glad I didn’t waste £80 in petrol to drive down for a dinner with my mates… Ps. Yes, he is still waiting for his rose

Absolutely terrible experience! The staff was incredibly rude, and we felt constantly ignored. Waiting 45 minutes for basic drinks like coke, apple juice, peach juice, and a mojito was absurd. The food took an agonizingly long 1 hour and 45 minutes, only to be disappointingly plain and bland. Our table felt invisible to the staff, exacerbating the frustration. The pizza was a joke – just tomato sauce with a minuscule amount of cheese. When we spoke to a manager about these issues, instead of addressing them, he blamed us. It's safe to say we won't be subjecting ourselves to such incompetence again. Never going back – steer clear of this place!

Tonight was probably the worst night at the Al Forno Putney chain and one I probably won't forget (not for good reasons). The service was dreadful from the start we waited ages for our order to be taken and for drinks to arrive (I'm still waiting for my glass of rose wine) we was then asked what we wanted for our starters and I had asked for my glass of rose again (I'm still waiting for my glass of rose wine). At some point the starters came and some starters was missing items or the portions was different even though everyone ordered the same or similar stuff. A waiter came by after 2 or so attempts of going up to ask for our drinks and said sorry we lost your drinks order and we was waiting for 20+ minutes and at this point I had ordered my rose again (I'm still waiting for my glass of rose wine) The mains came, and they had brought out some correct items, and some that definitely wasn't ordered so they decided to go through our order list again to make sure everything else was correct and I had tried to order my drink again (I'm still waiting for my glass of rose wine). The rest of the mains came and they still managed to bring us the wrong pizza after ordering it the first time and then checking the list the second time. They came and spoke with us giving us all the excuses on how busy they was and service was chaotic and slow because they had online orders as well but if you know you are struggling to handle table service maybe focus of the customers in your restaurant (stay to the end to find out if I got my glass of rose) we was then offered free desert which none of us wanted and we wasn't the only tables affected by this we saw small groups of 2 to 4 asking where their drinks was as well. After having a disappointing meal and practical servering ourself by getting our own cutlery, parmesan and pepper we wasn't offered offered a discount in any sort and we then asked if we was getting service charge and they said yes its included in the bill so I'm expecting my share at the end of the month as I had to help myself to stuff and my friends. (I never got my glass of rose wine) AFTER LEAVING 3 BAD REVIEWS THE OWNER CALLED MY FRIENDS PERSONAL NUMBER FROM THE BOOKING AND STARTED HARRASSING HER AND WE RECORDED THE WHOLE COVERSATION AND WILL BE POSTING IT!!!

Updated review; following the below. The owner called me on my personal number at 11.30pm to say our group was rude and I was banned from booking with them again, for that to effect me I’d need to actually want to return. How inappropriate to call a customer on a personal phone number to tell them they’re rude, and continue to lie - 12 people yet they bought out 2 extra mains? We weren’t rude - is it rude to ask for your drinks / food, apologise for the inconvenience - as stated by the owner, I told them I’ve worked in restaurants so I know it’s stressful, yet that doesn’t excuse poor service. If you can’t handle big groups don’t let them book. Terrible. Video is attached in parts. What kind of sick person calls a customer past 11pm! Pretty sure that’s illegal and will be reporting this to open table, as you aren’t supposed to take customer numbers and call them from your personal mobile! Honestly, should’ve taken the insurance payout and closed shop. Original review; Been a regular for years, and since the place had a fire and reopened, food is terrible in comparison to what it used to be. Service is also shocking, takes forever to get someone’s attention. Clearly overbooking to make up for losses. By the time the food finally came, we were all starving so just ate the bland shocking excuse for food. Orders were wrong, took 45 mins for drinks, no flavour on anything, carbonara missing bacon, pizza with ‘buffalo mozzarella’ which was evidently 4 tiny pearls, soggy unsalted calamari, olive cheese & meat board with no olives, extra pizzas added to order. When discussed with a manager, a plethora of excuses and arguments, we were told ‘we’re not McDonald’s’ ‘we’re busy’ ‘if you didn’t like the food you shouldn’t have eaten it’ ‘you’re a large group, you should have pre ordered’ (no one told us to) ‘you’re a large group, expect slow service’ ‘we are shorter staffed so you need to be understanding’ Overall, never coming back, stay away. Should’ve stayed closed down! Offered measly free desserts, but a total of 3hrs later we were all desperate to leave, we asked if we could get the starters off instead and were told ‘we don’t do exchanges’… shocking. And expected us to pay service charge… lucky we didn’t all walk out without paying it was that terrible. We were better off getting frozen food from sainsburys!

Good tasty food, good portions, lovely old Italian feel to the restaurant. 6 of us went last night and had a great time.

Great to be back! Lovely food, good atmosphere and great service.

My sister and brother-in-law first walked into Al Forno 20 something years ago, when they were just starting their journey together. Since then, Al Forno has remained a consistent family refuge. With a lovely staff and great food; this warm, comforting and familiar place is one in which we all come together to eat, laugh and love.

Went on a Wednesday night - perhaps a theme night as there was live music. The music itself wasn't bad, but way too loud (no need for loudspeaker) so that it was very , very difficult to converse.

So pleased to find this place. Great service, quality food. The layout for the restaurant is great. You can have a proper conversation. One of the best pizzas in West London, and they were also able to cater to my partner, who's a celiac. Perfectly cooked gluten-free pasta. 😋

Great to be back - great food and service - have missed Al Fornos!

Pizzas and pasta were great, meat meal only okay, had to wait 30 minutes for starters even though not that busy, which also affected the ambience which was not as buzzy as we’ve experienced there before. A little pricey for what you get.

Lovely food and atmosphere. We are so happy that Al Forno has reopened again.

ONE OF our favourite places to eat. The food is always fabulous. Authentic Italian food, great prices, the wine is good and the service always with a smile. Its a fun place to go - feels a bit like your on holiday. I would love to for ask the lighting to be looked at as it seems to have got a bit bright and I have a thing about lighting, Its simple but so effective when its good..Makes the world of difference. Great restaurant !!

First time back for a while and food and service were great as ever

Good solid Italian food at a reasonable price with friendly service

We were there 40 minutes before being given a menu. Did not receive out drink order for an hour and still no food ordered so we walked

Over £20pp even on kids' menu Way too expensive Audacious luxury prices made me think it would be a nice atmosphere but Waiting for ages Food way too salty Had to close as several years' worth of dirty grease built up in the pipes and caused a fire

Great pizza, a medium size is plenty for 2 hungry men. (The picture is two medium sized). Update: We went on Saturday night for dinner at 18:30. It took 45m for our starter to arrive and another 30m for the main course. The place was full of families with kids eating pizza/having b'day parties with the singing etc, which might have contributed to the long wait. But a total of 2h for a 2 course meal is too much. Food was ok, liver excellent, the rest just ok. The prices are medium/high, dinner for two with 2 glasses of wine was £69 including 10% service. Lots of staff, but a bit disorganized. Also there was a live singer which added to the very loud noise level. Certainly lively, but I won't be back for food on a weekend evening. 2nd Update: They had a fire in the kitchen and are currently closed. I will update again when a re-opening date is announced.

We love Al Forno! Food is amazing, staff are so fun and friendly. There is a great buzz and lively atmopshere, without it being "too" noisy. The Tuesday deal (main and a drink for £12) is a firm favorite and we would highly recommend.

Delicious Italian food delivered by very friendly waiters. The music was a bit loud but we were in an Italian Restaurant!!!

This has always been a great place...lovely food...lovely staff .....great atmosphere..

Always reliable and a pleasure to go to. Good service, good food, great ambience.

Great little Italian spot. We went for the Tuesday deal of £10 for pizza/pasta and a drink. Amazing value. We got the Carbonara which is 10/10. We also got the vegetarian Penne. This was a bit bland but still nice.

Amazing food amazing taste place

Delicious food and excellent service. Thanks to all staff and to the manger Umberto

Delicious food , excellent service. Thanks to the manager umberto

Very friendly staff, excellent food, we really enjoyed our lunch and will return.

We will return soon, great food and value for money!!

Delicious food and lovely environment. Staff are really friendly and helpful.

Great little Italian spot. More on the cheap and cheerful side. The Tuesday 10 quid pizza/pasta and drink deals are amazing value. We had the carbonara 10/10, and the penne vegetariana which was a little too bland.

Very busy. Nice food, mussels were superb, as was the seafood spaghetti. V friendly staff, energetic place.

Found the restaurant when looking for somewhere close to where we were staying. Didn’t expect it to be as busy for a Tuesday evening, but having eaten there now realise why it was so busy. The food, the service and the atmosphere were all great. We had a really enjoyable evening.

Ate at this place for the first time and the STAFF and OWNER were absolutely lovely when it comes to customer service. They made us feel like we were celebrities! The wine and food was sooooo good. Will definitely be heading back !!

Excellent food, warm welcome and great service as always. We will see you again soon