Al Forno [Providence, RI]

I don’t live under a rock and had obviously heard of Al Forno. Since opening in 1980, it’s been a staple of the Rhode Island dining scene. It’s claim to fame: A grilled pizza/flatbread situation. Anywhoo, the wife and I were in need of dinner and we showed up without a reservation, deciding to tempt lady fate instead at one of the two bars in Al Forno. And after a round of Aviation cocktails, bam, we got seated at the lower bar, in a small room with a few tables and a fireplace. Decor is quirky and they are busy. Like insanely busy but we get taken care of and they take their time. They list all six daily specials and I am just drooling. To our left and right are other couples eating away and the food looks amazing. Everyone has pizza on their tables - clearly a must-order.




Our order wasn’t huge but was plenty of food - we split a fennel salad which features sliced oranges, some pomagranate seeds and a lot of delicious olive oil. It was scrumptious and one of the best salads I’ve had quite possibly ever. To follow we had their Pizza Duxelle, which as its name suggest featured duxelle dollops across the grilled dough as well as razor thin mushroom slices. It was so incredibly creatives and so deep in flavor and umami. The grilled pizza style was a first for me and while the shape of the pizza was undeniable wacky, it was awesome. We got a side of Brussels sprouts to round everything out and they were pretty good but some had way more char than others. Pretty good but nothing special.

To round everything off was a special they had, which was a chestnut flour and olive oil cake served with a creme Anglaise. It had the texture of a skillet cornbread and wasn’t too sweet. T’was pretty good.

All in all the place is great and the service at the bar was wonderful. They get absolutely hammered so I do recommend trying to get a reservation instead of showing up spontaneously trying to get bar spots. It’s not impossible but it took a bit of patience. The prices are a tad high for the dishes but I’d say that it’s definitely worth the occasional splurge. The Duxelle on the pizza blew my mind. May steal that next time we want to make some at home. Looking forward to returning.

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Glad you had a great experience. Al Forno continues to fire on all cylinders. It’s especially remarkable since the co-founder George Germon died in 2015. Not sure how involved his co-founder and spouse, Johanne Killeen, is at this stage, but it’s a testament to them both that the ethos is intact.

We try to make it at least once a year. The margarita pizza alone is worth the trip. I still remember a special years ago of pasta with a green tomato sauce, and keep hoping I’ll catch it again.

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Yeah the history is cool and they deserve all of their success. In a very weird way, it almost reminded me of an experience I’d get at a more laid back Peter Lugers. Super busy but flawless execution. A very well oiled machine.

It was also refreshing to hear specials - it totally caught me off guard. Not sure if because we don’t ball out much these days or because it’s just not the norm. Having grown up in Europe, it was rarer than not to hear at least one special no matter where we dined so I raise my chapeau to them for that alone.

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Al Forno was the first—maybe the second—fancy-ish place I ate at as an almost-adult. I read about it and told my parents we needed to go immediately, I still remember that first bite of pizza, with the tendrils of scallions blanketing the pie. Good stuff!

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The scallions on there were awesome but - and I cannot stress this enough - the Duxelle on there was genius. Absolute genius.

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