La Fornarina

Everything was delicious, impressive and authentic. Great friendly staff. Take your own bottle of wine. Can’t wait to visit again.
From Garlic cheese bread and spaghetti, to great baked pastas and salads, we are always happy we chose this friendly place.

It is a blessing and a curse that this place has opened up just a couple minutes from my house. I absolutely adore the food! My new life goal is to sample every item on their menu and everything I have tried so far is absolutely amazing. The secret as far as I can tell is simple — fresh pasta and light sauces and don’t drown it all in cheese like an unfortunate amount of Italian places do.
The restaurant is located at the end of a shared building and has an unassuming air. The most expensive item on the menu rings in at $ 15 for the delicious lobster ravioli. This restaurant has introduced me to a new favorite food, arancino, which is a scrumptious fried ball with a rice and mozzarella base. The side of meatballs is probably the best item we have found on the menu so far. We all greedily forked them and dipped the fresh free bread that comes with the meals in the leftover sauce.
The restaurant delivers amazing food with friendly service at a reasonable price. My carb consumption is going to skyrocket with such a great place so close to my house.

La Fornarina serves up some great, authentic Italian food; the owner is from Sicily. The pasta and the bread are made from scratch and are very good. They use the bread to make pizza and it is light, focaccia bread. This definitely is not the Italian-​American greasy pizza and pasta joint. The lasagna I had was delicious and the cannoli were pretty good. They advertise that everything is made from scratch but unfortunately the cheese sticks were not and they use slimy, canned mushrooms on the pizza. If Dominos. Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s can use fresh mushrooms, there is no excuse for this place using canned ones. The chocolate sauce with the cannoli was Hershey’s syrup which was also a little disappointing.
The service was a little weird, but good. The location used to be a Donato’s and it kind of has that atmosphere. The soda fountain is out front despite waiter service and the kitchen seems larger than the dining area. You can hear everything going on the kitchen which is not always good. They do not serve alcohol, but bring your own.
The lasagna was excellent and inexpensive. The pizza was fresh except for the shrooms and the bread was awesome, plus they were generous with the toppings. The owner and the server were very nice and friendly. Really the only reason this place does not earn 5 stars is because of canned mushrooms and pre-​made cheese sticks.

Food and service was fantastic
Bring your own bottle of wine
Do not order the cannolis I need to make sure there’s still some left for me
They were awesome too

Excellent food and great service, owner is always there and friendly. All of the pasta dishes are unique and well made with good flavor. Pizza is Sicilian style but excellent dough. Definitely recommend nice to see a place like this in fort mill

My husband and I stopped in this evening for dinner. Place is small but cute. The 2 gentleman behind the counter were very attentive and it was very clear they wanted each and every customer to leave happy. We ordered the Penne Carbonara (American Style) and the Eggplant Parm and BOTH were DELICIOUS!!! We were impressed with the flavor of the meals and the size of each dish (fairly large!). Needless to say, we will be back. Thank you guys! (By the way — the Canoli’s were awesome and we truly appreciate the hospitality!)

This place is amazing! We ordered the penne Alfredo and it was the best I’ve ever had. I don’t know how they cook the chicken, but it was hands down the best! Please give this place a try

Excellent value– high end quality Italian food in casual atmosphere.
Great price at lunch. Fabulous eggplant parm, great marinara, good alfredo. Kids liked the foccaccio pizza. Italian rock music was pleasant. No wine but for the price food can’t be beat.

This storefront Italian Restaurant reminds me of the Mom and Pop Restaurants in Hoboken before gentrification. Simple dishes very well made with fresh ingredients. Not too fancy and no gimmicks. The staff is friendly and dedicated. We enjoyed the chicken parmigiana (my son says the eggplant parmigiana is even better). I had a perfectly prepared calzone and the pizza is fresh made on focaccia. BYOB of a nice red wine for a casual, relaxing meal.

Love this place. I kind of stumbled on it by accident, but so glad that I did. The employees are always warm and friendly and the dishes are superb! Keep doing what you do.

Finally got to try La Fornarina tonight for take out. The gnocchi was fantastic and I also got a chef salad. So excited to crack open the container and find it topped with fresh mozzarella, so good!
I’ll definitely be back with the family.

We decided to come here for lunch a couple of weeks ago during a weekday. It’s a small place but seems to serve authentic Italian. After a late night of drinking, we were looking for he heavy stuff. They offer a small lunch buffet but I wasn’t interested, it wasn’t too impressive with a dry tray of lasagna, some veggies, and fried potatoes. The cashier was very nice and helpful.
We ordered a fried calzone, gnocchi with butter sauce, and a chicken parmesan plate. The fried Calzone came out piping hot with complementary garlic focaccia, I would have never bought the Calzone had I known they provided carbs free of charge. I was pretty much full when the brought out the gnocchi and chicken parm. I sadly was not too impressed. I love gnocchi but this dish was drenched in sage butter. I couldn’t get through all of it without having a heart attack, I eventually had to drain out all of the butter to make the gnocchi somewhat edible. A marinara sauce or alfredo sauce would make the dish edible at the very least. I also didn’t like the chicken parm, the marinara sauce was soooo bland. I had to douse the dish with red pepper flakes, garlic and dried oregano which were provided near the drink dispenser. Basically, our meal wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.
The Calzone was my favorite part of the dish and the service was my favorite part of our visit to La Fornarina. I may try this place one more time for accuracy’s sake.

Nice buffet, I I love the food, I would like to visit this place again
Decent price, good service, nice people

We had a really nice visit to La Fornarina. Manicotti and Carbonara were very good, as was the complimentary focaccia. The star though, was probably my son’s simple spaghetti with marinara. Yum! The marinara was perfect!
We love supporting a local business, so we will be back.
The only thing I fear will hurt them is the physical environment. The place is completely unchanged from the previous tenant. The set up is strange and you feel a tad awkward when you walk in — just unsure of whether you should order at the counter or sit. There are signs about a buffet, but I didn’t see one. Someone was quick to navigate us to a table, but it just feels… well, awkward, as I said before.
In short, you are coming here for the food — not the atmosphere. But come here. You won’t regret it!

Tried for the first time. A bit confusing when you walk in, looks like a place you order at the counter and then grab a seat but if you are eating in they will take your order at a table. Maybe a sign at the front to seat yourself would help. There is a buffet that is reasonable but not a lot on it. I opted for the calzone and it was very good. Their marinara sauce was really good to go with it. Service was good, looked like only one guy taking care of the dining room, it worked as it is not very big and it was lunch so not too many large groups.
Overall, good food at a reasonable price, and a place I would return to.

First, let me state that I really, REALLY wanted to like La Fornarina. I love supporting local businesses and based on the reviews I was expecting an outstanding meal. I think from our experience, La Fornarina is a victim of their early success and our visit reflected this.
My wife and I were looking to try some local Italian as we don’t want to have to drive uptown or to South Park every time we want quality food. Based on the Y! reviews, La Fornarina seemed like a no brainer.
The restaurant itself is a little wonky in how it’s laid out. When you walk in, you’re in front of the counter area where there’s a table or two. Then, in an L shape around the kitchen, there are tables along the outside wall and into the back. This means that a big part of the restaurant has tables lined up along the wall/​windows down a corridor. A couple of the tables are offset/​positioned weirdly due to pillars.
We were seated when we arrived and the waitress took our drink orders. What’s a little unusual is that while the waitress brought us our drinks, she retrieved them from the soda fountain which is in the middle of the floor. Not sure if it’s supposed to be self service? It’s a little confusing. Also, due to how close the soda machine is to the tables, I found myself having to talk over the roar of the ice maker.
After about 10 minutes waiting after our drinks were delivered, we placed our order. As with a first visit to any new restaurant, my wife and I try and order a cross section of what the menu has to offer. We ordered a Chef’s Salad (which is La Fornarina’s closest offering to an Antipasto Salad), my wife had the baked Penne and I ordered a Pizza.
Twice before our actual food arrived, we were brought the incorrect order which was intended for another table. Eventually our Salad arrived. While served on one giant plate, we were not given salad plates and my wife and I had to lean in and try and share the one plate. The Italian Dressing that came with the salad tasted like something from a bottle. I found it odd they didn’t offer a red Italian house dressing?
The Baked Penne was a bit of a let down. Most «baked» pasta meals come served in the ramekin they were baked in as to preserve the cheese crust and the heat. The presentation at La Fornarina was a HUGE portion (a positive for some, but it was a bit much) with the crusted cheese slumped over to one side.
The pizza that was originally brought to the table was only a slice, which I had to clarify to the waiter that we ordered a full Pizza. They corrected the issue and let us keep the slice on the house to make right. The pizza itself I actually like, but for a specific reason. The crust reminded a LOT of Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza that I used to make all the time growing up. Good or bad, this is EXACTLY what it tasted like to my wife and I.
We were brought our to-​go containers (white styrofoam containers for pizza? no pizza boxes?) and we waited. After asking for our check we were told we needed to go up to the counter to pay. Thank god we asked or we might have been sitting there for a while!
All that being said, this wasn’t BAD food. It was good (but not outstanding) and the wait staff was very friendly and attentive when we could grab their attention.
The reason I’m giving La Fornarina two stars is that this wasn’t a five star experience and I expected better from a place with such a rating. I feel it was due to how busy they were. As I said in my opening, they seem to be a victim of their own success. They were under staffed for a full house and seemed disorganized for a Saturday night crowd. I feel because of the rush, food quality probably suffered.
The items that disappointed us, I feel, are correctable. Perhaps we’ll give it another go in a couple months when they find their groove.

Ordered take out, staff was very friendly. True Sicilian accents a plus!
Chicken parm and cheesy garlic focaccia… Chicken was juicy and tender, homemade marinara, bread was fresh and a nice change from the standard French loaf.
Kids loved the pizza on focaccia and mozzarella sticks.
Dessert… Cannoli was average but Tiramisu was the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot!).
This is a new family favorite!!!

If I could give ten stars I would. Just finished an enjoyable dinner with my family of authentic Italian food. The owners are extremely friendly and accommodating. The food is incredible, you could taste the freshness in every bite. please support these folks. I can’t wait to try the pizza.

Don’t let the ambiance fool you. It looks like a regular take out pizza joint, but the food and service is top notch. It looks like you order at the counter, but they waited on us at our table of choice. I had the Penne Carbonara which was fresh, flavorful and seasoned perfectly. Wife had spaghetti and meatballs which was just like grandma from the old country use to make. Had to try a piece of pizza to see what everyone was talking about. It was delicious. Just like I use to get in Palermo. The portions are large so be prepared to get stuffed or take home for another meal tomorrow. We’ll be back!

Got take out for myself and the wife. It’s pizza parlor quality Italian. Not great but not terrible. We got Spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parm. Portions were very generous and the price was fair. Would have liked it to come with salad but I could have ordered it if I really wanted it. Staff was friendly especially the owner.
For the price it’s a decent meal, but it is not the exceptional Italian restaurant that my wife and I are still looking for in this area.