Forno

Delightful ambience and food at the "Speakeasy" style restaurant Forno. Walk through the curtains to the main dining area. If you're early, sit on one of the couches or the side table. The pizzas are amazing and the drinks are fun and tasty.

Vibey, low light, cozy atmosphere. Food was amazing. The pizza is so good. We had the Goat pizza and the Fennel pizza. We loved both. We had the fried artichoke appetizer, which we absolutely loved. We took additional pizzas to go home with. The co-owner was very friendly and chatty and made us feel very welcome. Excellent service. They have legit Italian sodas and very authentic flavors. Absolutely will be back. *When you walk in it looks like the abandoned lab of a mad scientist but just keep walking straight, move the red curtain and you'll find the "speakeasy".

My wife and I went to Forno early in the night and put in our complete order once seated prior to 6pm. Our drinks, salad, and appetizer were brought out promptly. After this, we were ignored for about an hour. My visibly pregnant wife got up to use the restroom and on her way mentioned to a member of the staff who appeared to be the manager that we had been waiting over 45 minutes for our entree to which he was impolite and said “yeah, I get it.” We sat and waited for another 15 minutes before I had to flag this same member of the staff down who seemed to be ignoring us despite checking the table across from us no less then 4 times in this time period. When I flagged him down, I told him we’d like the check and we no longer want our entree since it had been an hour late. He then sent the chef out with the entree to go. The chef was extremely lovely and apologetic but made it clear that this entree was never sent through. We let him know the food quality was not the issue. When the manager came back, he asked if the chef had come out to talk to us yet which left a bad taste in our mouth because this seemed more a front of the house issue, then an error in the chef. I get mistakes happen but this was straight up terrible service. They comped the pasta dish but made no other efforts to improve our experience. Will not be returning.

Warning. I think they're going for a speakeasy vibe? So when you walk in and its dark and looks closed, keep walking and go through the curtain. We almost left. But keep going! We had the meatball appetizer which was absolutely delicious. I'm super picky about meatballs and marinara but this was very good. The mushroom pizza was also great. The vibe was a little like the modern version of Good Fellas and super dark/lounge-like. Too dark for me, but I get it. Food was enough to get us to come back. It seems like they maybe just opened recently so it was very quiet for a Saturday around dinner time. Maybe it picks up later in the day.

If you haven't had the chance to visit Forno yet, do yourself a favor and check it out! My partner and I have been known to travel far and wide for a good pie, and are excited there's another top notch pizza spot in Baltimore. Our server was super friendly and very attentive, and we really dug the overall vibe. Most importantly, the food and drinks were excellent - we both walked away saying we'll definitely be back!

We went there to experience the new speakeasy atmosphere, and it was fantastic. The waiting area featured live music, and the dining space was cozy with low lighting and fireplaces. My favorite part, of course, was the food! The pizza, arancini, and salad were all of excellent quality. I also loved the Italian beer "Birra Moretti."

Cute and fancy spot in highlandtown. This is in the old D’Pasquale’s location so there’s a combo deli restaurant aesthetic. It’s very dark in there and honestly I had trouble reading the menu at first but my eyes adjusted. The bathroom is a vibe. I was on a date so I felt awkward taking photos but this is what I have. I’m not a fancy lady but this was a really nice spot for a date! I saw they have gluten free crust and vegan cheese, so I’ll hopefully go back for that. We got 2 appetizers and both were excellent!

I LOVE making my lil walk to Forno. Whether it’s a date night with my man, the girls, or a solo dolo night it’s always a vibe. Vibe and ambience is dark (sexy and mysterious not evil and odd!). I always get to something diff. The artichokes, arincini, and meatballs are LIT. The GOAT pizza and arugula pizza are my fav. If you’re a mushroom girlie like me, get the agnolotti pasta. And if you didn’t know, they legit have an award for best made espresso martinis! 10/10 must go gem in Highlandtown.

I'm so excited for this new speakeasy like concept in the old DiPasquales location. The entrance isn't too hard to find, but it's fun to open the door and find yourself in this cute vibey Italian restaurant in the back. Parking around the area is not bad. Our server had great recommendations on what we should get. We really enjoyed their cocktails and got some spritzes and espresso martinis! We ended up getting the Cacio e Pepe ravioli to start which we really enjoyed. We got the mushroom pizza and the goat which were both amazing! Ended up having some leftovers for 3.

Great speakeasy if you don't pay attention you will get lost. My friend and I were hungry after playing pickleball and decided to give forno a try. Located at a run down di Pasquale's building If you're not paying attention you could easier Miss It. You'll get greeted by the mannequin lady that will scare you but after you walk past the curtains you're welcomed to a low lighting pick your spot dining area. Our waiter was friendly and offered our menu immediately. My friend and I both ordered the espresso martini to start. For $12 It was decent. It's not the best I've had in Baltimore. Next was the sweet and spicy Calabrian pizza. This was actually very spicy and the peppers are a bit overwhelming the fig does add a nice sweetness to It but honestly that's all you taste. I also ordered an old fashioned that I wasn't a fan of. Overall I'll be back

Everything here was delicious! The restaurant is behind the red curtain when you walk inside the deli shop. It's dimly lit creating an intimate setting. We ordered cocktails to start - a Sicilian Mai Tai for me and Spicy Margarita for my partner. They were both very good. For food, we shared everything we ordered - Arancini, Broccolini, Fried Artichokes, and the Wild Mushroom & Arugula pizza. The pizza was full of veggies and I loved the caramelized onions in it. All the dishes we had were really good. We also ended up sharing the Affogato with pistachio ice cream and an Amaro Nonino. It was my first time trying both. I enjoyed the Affogato and the Amaro Nonino was ok to me but at least my friend enjoyed it. All around, the food and drinks were pretty top notch. Service was good too and attentive. I'm so glad we checked out this fun pizza speakeasy!

Worth the hype and very intimate. Great for lowkey dates or seeing your ex. High Life and pizza can never go wrong. The real spotlight was the meatballs. Whoa! The service is very attentive.

I'm so glad to have something going on in the old Dipasquale's space! I walked over to Forno on a recent Thursday and once inside I was greeted by an empty room. The space that was formally used for cashier checkout now has a vespa and a mannequin. You have to proceed through a curtain to enter the dining room. It's a cozy, casual, and dimly lit space with an open kitchen and bistro tables and high tops. The menu includes appetizers and pizza. They also have cocktails, wine, and beer. I had the burrata salad (excellent!) and the scootch pizza (also good). The burrata was fresh as was the arugula and the balsamic dressing was flavorful. Looking forward to trying more from the menu!

This place is a great addition to the Baltimore Italian food scene! We came for just cocktails since we heard it was a speakeasy theme. But we quickly got talked into some food. Cocktails were great. My husband for a limoncello spritz and I got the Nergoni. Both wonderful! We got the fried artichokes with Cacio e peppe sauce. Holy moly it was good and sorry not photo since we devoured them. Then we did a pizza we got the fennel pizza with impossible sausage. Again 10 out of 10. I'm so happy we stayed for dinner. The staff were all fantastic. Jackie the bartender/mixologist was great! Love this place and we will continue to come back.

The vibe in the restaurant was very upbeat, the live music was fun and the lighting set a good mood (if you can't already tell from the photos). The staff were all very friendly and had great recommendations for us! The entrance was simple to find but still had a fun vibe walking through the deli, so I wouldn't worry about having to search around for a door or anything. We heard great things about the fried artichokes and can confirm they lived up to the hype, the Cacio e Pepe sauce was paired perfectly with them and was a great first time trying fried artichoke! The pizzas were creative, we got the goat and blueberry brie, I would never have thought of either combo but they went so well! The arincini was delicious as well, I don't have much to go off of with these as they were also new to me. The drinks were also delicious and reasonably priced for how good they were!

Visited this charming spot, formerly DiPasquale's, which has now transformed into a speakeasy. I really enjoyed everything I had! It was quite packed, but we got lucky--there was one table left, so no wait for us. They offer a great variety of cocktails. My husband had the Old Fashioned, which was delicious, and I opted for something bubbly. They also have an excellent wine selection, so we'll definitely be back to explore that next time! For appetizers, we shared the meatballs, which were fantastic with the ricotta underneath. The only downside was that they came out a bit cold, but the flavor was outstanding, so no big deal--they're likely still working out a few quirks. We also had the Caesar salad, which was well-proportioned and delicious. Next, we shared the Scooch pizza, and I loved the authentic brick oven taste. The only thing I would have changed? Adding tomato sauce--it would have taken it to the next level! For dessert, we shared the vanilla gelato, which was tasty. The only issue I noticed was the ventilation; we sat near the open kitchen, and I found myself coughing a bit from the smoke. Service was good overall, though a bit slow at times, especially between finishing our meal and ordering dessert. It seemed like there was some confusion, so I imagine they're still ironing out the details. Overall, I'm thrilled to welcome Frono to the neighborhood--such a great use of the space! I can't wait to come back and try their arancini.

Food: Apps - arancini (feel like every Italian rice ball I've ever tried is dry - this is not! served with a delicious sauce, and nicely sliced for easy sharing), broccolini (nicely charred), and polpette (giant meatballs). Pizzas - scooch (tasty) and goat (LIFE CHANGING). Desserts - zeppole (I'd describe this as a croissant with a little cream and few strawberries; not my fave), affogato (espresso over a scoop of ice cream, simple and delicious), flourless chocolate cake (delicious, though small). Service: Friendly, attentive, recommended the wine based on our preferences. Ambiance: You walk through the old DiPasquale's store front and behind the curtain is an intimate, dimly lit speakasy. Bottles of wine displayed on the wall.

I feel like a shit for breaking the five star review streak. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time at Forno, but I feel like some improvements could be made. Jeremy and I visited DiPasquali's back when this was their ONLY location. I loved it then, even though it was a little tight for my wheelchair. This is when I started drooling over the food items in their deli case. Back then they had a small back dining area that I never used, but which reminded me of some old nonna's kitchen in the 70s. Like my own grandmother's kitchen with the linoleum floors in those autumn colors, if my grandmother had been Italian (She was Polish, though, so same "Didja eat?" and food as a love language). The back room has been converted into this cute dining area, with the wood-fire pizza oven where you can watch your pizza being made. There was plenty of seating available when we arrived around 6:30pm on Sunday. It was really filling up as we were leaving. We were afraid to park in the lot next door, as there are all kinds of signs about it being property of the funeral home, and while it has been a bit since Jeremy and I stopped at DiPasquali's to pick up a few things for carry-out and had several gentlemen yell at us and basically chase us off the lot (even though it was completely empty at the time), I didn't want that kind of hostile energy damping my enthusiasm for the evening. We met with friends, who enjoy pizza. Chris likes to keep it simple with pepperoni (he finished the whole pie himself, which I think says a lot about how tasty it was), but his wife doesn't like marinara/red sauce so she got the Wild Mushroom & Arugula Pizza, which was fresh, pretty to behold and delicious. Both couples got the meatball appetizers, but I don't think any of us were all that impressed. This confused me because I've had that meatball sub at Dipasquali's, where they fill the loaf of bread with meatballs and that's usually amazing, but personally I was put off by the COLD whipped ricotta beneath the meatballs. The different temperatures didn't bring anything positive to the dish. Our friends also ordered the truffle fries but they were not fries. They were soft chips. And I'm pretty sure the chef uses truffle OIL which can be over-powering in flavor and nothing like actual truffle. They did not finish them. Jeremy and I shared a Scooch pizza, which leaned toward spicy without blowing your tastebuds away. The crust was amazing. Our waitress was really lovely, explaining menu items when we needed. I feel like she would have sold more cocktails if she had checked on us more often, but that's okay because those "Sicilian/Italian mai tais" are DANGEROUS. I had two and was feeling pretty good by the time we left. I love our city, and patronizing these unique restaurants that do their best to give customers a fun evening out that they'll tell their friends about. We had a great time. Would recommend.

Forno speakeasy was such a treat! The front is a rendition of the original di pasquales grocery store. While we waited to be seated, we were greeted by the servers and served drinks. Once our table was ready, we were seated in the back which was so cutely decorated! We ordered drinks and pizza which were both equally delicious! Our favorite part of the night, however, was our server Marco. Marco provided the most excellent service, always made sure our glasses were full and kept us laughing and entertained all night! Make sure to ask for Marco next time you visit Forno and you will not be disappointed! Overall, Forno was a huge hit and we can't wait to go back!

Tried to get in on Friday night and the line was almost out the door so we tried again early on Sunday and got seated immediately in the cute speakeasy area. The service was quick and attentive. We ordered drinks, pizza, and zeppole (fried dough with cream and strawberries!) The spicy Brie and Blueberry pizza was soooooo yummy. The margarita pizza was decent. Nice to see the DiPasquale family spot being used for this new venture. We need more places like this in Highlandtown and I'm glad to see them having success so far!

A fun night out. The wait staff was engaging, the interior is loft chic but very approachable. Huge props for plenty of parking and seating availability on a Friday night. The meal was excellent but the highlights were the chicken wings appetizer. Would return just for those.

The pizza oven is as good as it ever was with a new, trendy vibe and excellent cocktails. Terrific.

A speakeasy with delicious food, especially their pizza! Everything is made in house and you can see the pizza oven and your pizza being made from where you sit! We ordered the goat pizza and it was delicious. Our server Marco was one of a kind! Definitely will be back.

Such a great experience. The food was incredible, very cool vibe, and everyone was super nice. Would definitely recommend!

Atmosphere and pizza are both fantastic! Love to see the old DiPasquales location getting new life like this!

Awesome food, cocktails, and atmosphere. The pizza is out of this world. Domenico is the man