Il Forno

General information

Why is Il Forno Liverpool’s most admired Italian restaurant? We know that delicious food should be at the heart of life - and we settle for nothing less. With outstanding modern and classic Italian dishes, we offer something for everyone. Our ingredients are sourced from the finest Italian growers. Our chefs prepare each dish using only authentic recipes and skills, fresh for you each day - and bursting with passion and flavour. From its sun-drenched farmhouses, fields and vineyards, we bring you a taste of the true Italy.

Why? Because you’re not just savouring the best fresh pasta, made in the restaurant that day. You’re not simply tasting our own brand of fine olive oil, drizzled over the perfect pizza crust or cured meats and hams. You’re enjoying the culture of real Italian cooking. Cooking that Italian families have shared with passion and joy for centuries.

We find that time, and love for authentic food, makes all the difference. It’s not about ‘prestige’. It’s about simple, rustic dishes, full of outstanding flavours, textures and scents. It’s about friendly, warm service, unpretentious and unobtrusive. And to eat as the Italians eat - to enjoy the warmth and life of their table - can only truly be achieved with patience. So, we cook for you with the care we cook for ourselves. If we don’t love a dish, we simply won’t serve it.

It takes time to find the best restaurant team from Italy, all of them as much in love with great food as you are. It takes time to find Italian chef Paolo Cillo. He breathes a lifetime of inspiration - and the culture of Italian home-cooking - into our dishes. So, these are recipes that are tasted, perfected and crafted over years. Recipes from Italian homes, and family dinner tables. They’re not recreations - they’re the life and soul of Italy itself.

It takes time to install traditional Italian equipment, like our gourmet homemade stone baked pizza ovens, perfect for our authentic stone-baked pizzas. Or our ice-cream maker, creating the smoothest Italian gelatos on the premises, to our private recipes - and only with fresh ingredients, like the ripest fruit and the purest cream.

It takes time to meet our suppliers in person, exploring their artisan produce and its provenance across Italy. And, to support dedicated British farmers from the surrounding region, finding quality beef and chicken in the UK. Tasting every ingredient, from peperone to parmesan. Rooting-out local delights, like Il Forno’s exclusive extra virgin olive oil or our southern Italian pasta flour. Like our beautiful anti-pasti, gorgeously prepared, and a revelation to eat.

It takes time waiting for every ingredient to grow, ripen, and reach its fullest flavour. Waiting for experts to prepare each cut of cured meat, and mature each cheese until it’s perfect. Because we only serve in-season food, fresh to your plate, we think it’s worth every single moment. It’s about honest, fresh ingredients - and you can taste the difference they make.

That’s why Il Forno is called one of the best Italian restaurants in the UK. Not just by ‘The Times’ or numerous award bodies, but by Italian chef Antonio Carluccio himself. They know that we offer a welcome as warm and hospitable as our dishes. With impressive service, and an ambiance our diners adore.

Because we take the time, you’ll be amazed.