Al Forno - Hong Kong

Unexpected, but really good pizza! I had heard claims that the pizza was better that you'd think and to not judge it based on the appearance of the restaurant, but I was still skeptical. Finally, I tried it and must admit, it was really tasty pizza. I would argue possibly the best in HK, except for the NYC style at Linguini Fini. The crust was damn near perfect: slightly crispy on the outside and light on the inside without being too chewy. We split a half mushroom and caramelized onion and half margarita. The hint of sweetness of the caramelized onions was nice even though I usually prefer fresh onions instead. Even the margarita was surprisingly good. Already looking forward to my next visit definitely my new place to satisfy any pizza craving!

Ate here for lunch today, and it was good, just not great. It was nice that when I walked in at 12:30 it was relatively empty and quiet (it subsequently filled up quite a bit). The lunch specials are a decent deal, pizzas ranging from 60 70 HKD including a free soft drink! The pizza itself was pretty small I'm glad that I ordered a small side salad otherwise it wouldn't have been enough. I also opted for a pizza special the caprese. It was literally just a flatbread with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and balsamic drizzle. It wasn't really a pizza in the traditional sense I was hoping for a tomato sauce base. But it was tasty enough. I asked about a special and the waiter didn't seem to know what came on the Mediterranean pizza, and seemed perplexed as to why I was asking...Other than that the service was relatively attentive. Overall a good value and a relatively quiet lunch option in the western part of central.

This place is just around the corner from my place so I thought I would give it a try. So I ordered the chorizo and potatoes and the 7 carnivorous pizza. Pizza was thin crust as I like and the chorizo with potatoes reminds me of the Spanish patatas bravas. Would have liked bigger chunks of chorizo but overall it was fine. The pizza was topped with just enough topping and the sausage meat was proper pork and fennel. Would have given it 3.5/5 but not sure how to give half stars. Would I come back? Well if I find another place that does thin crust pizza that is better then maybe not, so it will do for now.

Whenever I try a new pizza place in town, I always try their most basic pizza. Most of the time, this is where you 'll see how the restaurant handles their cheese, flour and meat. In short, it is the yardstick. Coming in early at this review, I have to commend the staff, they were courteous and cater to every whim, whether you want five glasses of water or a single napkin. The ambiance looked warm and inviting but from the outside, it really looks like a fast food joint, similar to a BonChon Chicken restaurant. The phrase don 't judge a book by its cover really comes into fruition here. Someone inadvertently skimped on the interior designer 's budget. I digress. All pizzas are cooked the classic way via brick oven at a minimum of 400 degrees Celsius using doppio zero flour. Pizzas are available in 7 or 12 inches. We ordered 2 pizzas; the gusti classici if you will, pepperoni and margherita. The freshness of the raw cherry tomatoes in the margherita were the most exceptional part of the pizza, along with the aroma of basil. However, it could use more tomatoes. The pepperoni was meaty with a slight hint of paprika. As for the mozzarella, it was definitely fresh and had the right amount to balance out with the pepperoni. The crust was leaning on the thicker side, so that 's one thing to note if you like thinner crusts. Even though the interior is nothing to write home about, I will be back for their New World pizzas as I found that they can create the classic pizza recipes with ease. I 've also heard from colleagues that their pastas were also good, so I 'll have something more than pizza to try next time.

Although I come here for lunch quite often, I still remember I was very impressed when I first visit here. From it's appearance and size of the restaurant I never expect anything serious (kind of expecting some reheated pizza but have been impressed by the seriousness of the food at the end. In fact my favourite here is the fresh tomato soup. To some people this maybe a bit sour, but the soup is so full of tomato that it is so plumy and fresh. As for the pizza, they are baked in brick oven (serious!! , and it's great that the size is just good for 1 person, so there's no constraint whether it's a loner or group meal. The spaghetti are great too, always al dante and they keep the standard quite constant. For simple meal sometimes you just hope that you get the same dish same quality every time, no corner cutting no degradation is a great plus sometime. The service is worth mentioning too. Not only the staff are cute and young (XD hubby dun kill me , they are very helpful and courteous too, much outstanding then a lot of the post-80s 90s (from an auntie's POV haha