Following the success of their Italian restaurant Al Duca in St. James’s, Claudio Pulze and Raj Sharma of the restaurant group ‘Cuisine Collection’, opened a sister restaurant called
Il Forno in Soho, London, on the 27 March 2000.

Il Forno took over the site of another of the group’s restaurants – Frith Street Restaurant.

“Soho is an ideal location for Il Forno and I believe the restaurant will appeal to the people who live and work in the area”, comments Claudio. “Based on the same concept as Al Duca, Il Forno will be accessible and offer good, uncomplicated and extremely affordable food”.

Heading the team in the kitchen will be Marco Stucchi, formerly sous chef at Al Duca. He and Executive Chef and co-owner of Al Duca and Il Forno, Michele Franzolin, put together a menu that includes some of the most popular dishes at Al Duca, such as hand-made pasta with peas and Italian bacon and roasted cod with white beans and spring onions. Alongside these are a range of pizzas and an interesting selection of organic polenta with various toppings – for example: four cheeses; sausage and tomato; and chicken livers with Balsamic vinegar.

Prices range from £3.25 to £4.50 for starters, £7.50 to £9 for main courses, £5 to £7.50 for pizzas and £3.50 to £7.50 for polenta. All desserts are priced at £3.25.

Il Forno is open for lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday. Reservations: 020 7734 4545.