Al Forno in Middlesbrough

Lovely place to eat. Food was nice and hot, big portions, well presented. Staff very friendly. Also do gluten free yehhh!!. Would definitely go again

Never had a bad meal here. The food is always absolutely delicous and the service is fantastic. I hope if new owners take over they keep the kitchen and waiting staff .

Lovely setting,great vibes,staff were attentive and the food was delicious, would definitely return for more,only criticism was the rice was slightly chewy,and the stroganoff was different to our last visit,but still nice and tasty

Lovely looking place, but terrible knowledge of the allergens that they advertise as a selling point. Meal arrived without the side as it was advertised, told it was because the fryers are used to cook gluten foods. Asked about having some gluten free chips off the menu to be told that they were also not available because of potential gluten. Why on earth are you advertising a food as gluten free when it isn't? The meal I was going to order would have literally poisoned me. I cancelled the next day's activities because I was then concerned that I may have been glutened (I started eating whilst they checked where my side was). So I was charged full price for half a meal and a server that could only come up with "you should have been told by the person who took the order". Genuinely didn't care. This isn't a choice, it's a health issue with potentially fatal consequences over a long period of time. You really need to get yourself sorted if you are going to claim to be able to cater for someone you aren't competent to do so. Sorry, it's a no return for me.

Lovely food. Staff great. Only downside was waiting an hour before any food came😖

Where do I even begin with this place, we decided to visit as we were huge fans of Al Fornos and after realising it was closed and had been reoccupied by a very similar business we decided to visit with our 3 children.When we first approached the building we noticed large groups of males occupying their outdoor seating area, smoking and drinking coffee, this albeit an innocent gathering was still very intimidating and very off-putting.When we were seated I immediately seen stark differences between 'Al Fornos' and 'Aroma', the tables were cheap, some staff weren't wearing uniform and didn't even look like they worked there, the place had a very bad vibe, had no music and and was very unprofessional.As a business owner myself I know the pride and care I take to make sure my business is successful, this was completely absent from this place.The food took over an hour to arrive, with an excuse 50 minutes in that they had no lasagne and had to make it from scratch, again reiterating the 3 children scenario and the fact nobody had made us aware of this or even asked if we would like to substitute the lasagne for something else that wouldn't take over an hour to arrive is very disappointing.As guests at the restaurant I would say we were very accommodating and we eat out regularly so are very forgiving especially when things are out of the control of the staff. That being said this was completely in the hands of the staff, the baby changing facility (something the waitress didn't even know they had when asked) was disgusting and clearly hadn't been cleaned recently, the delay on the food wasn't explained at all, and frankly speaking barring one member of staff (a young lady who was actually in uniform) the staff were very unprofessional and that includes the manager.The food finally arrived after over an hour wait and the steak (medium rare) was not only half the size of a normal fillet steak (especially when they charge £26) but was far from medium rare, it was well done and somehow cold, the meat also tasted under seasoned and wasn't the usually taste I'm used to from a steak. They have a picture of spaghetti bolognese on their kids menu although bolognese from the kids menu actually comes with pasta and the lasagne we waiting such a long time for was undercooked. We aired our disappointment with the manger and another member of staff dressed down in his normal clothes and puffa jacket, as I was taking to the manager, the guy dressed down was smirking (more on that shortly), the manager kindly offered a free round of drinks only after we expressed our disappointment in the wait times and the food quality.We weren't the only table with a complaint, several other tables were complaining around us regarding the quality of the food etc.As we were leaving the restaurant and thankful to be out of there, the guy in the puffa jacket was sat with 2 other males at a table outside the restaurant, all three males stared at us leaving and they were clearly talking about us, I stared at them, they looked down, as we passed and I looked back they were all looking back smirking, like it's funny that customers have had to complain regarding their bad service.This place is ran by clowns and I would highly recommend you do not waste your time and money visiting.

Was brilliant, great staff, very friendly, large portions of food that are absolutely delicious , the cocktails were gorgeous, 100% will be going back there again 👍

Fantastic restaurant with a great atmosphere and delicious food. The staff were also very polite and pleasant.

Excellent food, generous portions and courteous staff. They went to the extent of making a mock tail for me that was not in the menu. Will definitely visit here again.

Elegant and calm environment. The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful and always smiling. And the food has always been amazing every time we go there. 10/10. Would highly recommend!