Forenza

Nice food, delicious wine. That it what you need.

Pretty good food. I visited this place several times, it is great for a quiet evening. You can sit outside, relax, enjoy a nice glass of wine. Probably the only place in Maidenhead which deserves a title of an Italian restaurant, all the others are pizza baking fast food joints.

BUONA SERA!

My wife, brother and I stumbled across this place in the summer of 2007 and have been returning regularly since with appreciative guests (including one from Italy). The family that runs it so well is from near the Puglia region: see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_...

Very charming staff creating delectable food,

including plenty of daily special dishes, to the extent of “Can you run through the first five again please”? (as I once asked manager Michael to do in Italian as well for the benefit of our Italian guest).

The amiable proprietor Salvatore is proud to remind people that Italy is by far Europe’s largest wine producer and has an encyclopædic knowledge thereof.

The excellent and wide wine selection runs from comfortably below £20 per bottle up to an extravagant £300 for the benefit of the odd hedge fund manager.

Bustlingly busy but not at the expense of being kept waiting as there is a sensible number of attentive staff.

They also have special events such as wine tastings with a set menu, and are also involved in charitable work.

A sister restaurant is here: http://www.bel-vedere.com/ which I have yet to check out.

Best to book at weekends, I guess.

It’s good to have a ‘real’ Italian in Maidenhead.

The large open dining room is fairly plush but struggles to hold a buzzing atmosphere unless full. The food and service are good, and the prices top-end. I would stick to the lunchtime deal unless out for a special occasion, and book in at Mama Rosa's

I first visited Forenza about 3 years ago with my boyfriend and family. It is his parent's favourite restaurant, and I soon saw why! We tend to visit on special occassions, and did so again this weekend for a Birthday meal.

Immediately upon entering, the immaculate and attentive staff took our coats and we were greeted by Michael the manager who offered us drinks on the big leather sofas at the bar before showing us to the table.

Upon sitting, Michael ran through the specials, which consisted of locally sourced ingredients where possible, and a fantastic variety of fish, shellfish and meat. We chose various starters; wild mushrooms with polenta, bruscetta with crab and smoked salmon, king prawns with sundried tomatoes and freshly made tagliatelle with wild mushrooms, parmesan and truffle oil. My starter was to die for - I eat pasta a lot but nothing like this.

For mains we had sliced rump of lamb with rosemary and jus, rump steak with gorgonzola (a special) and dover sole (again a special). The staff (all of whom seem to know the menu and wine list inside and out) recommended a variety of seasonal vegetables to accompany the main, all of which, when the arrived, were absolutely perfectly cooked - the garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes were to die for!

Although none of us could find any room for desert, we made a valiant effort! The chocolate torte was beautiful, and the tiramisu absolutely authentic. Even the little biscuits that accompany the coffee are made in house, delicately flavoured with orange essence and almond. Simply beautiful!

The food looked and tasted gorgeous. The wine (off menu, recommended by Michael - definitely worth asking for his recommendation) was the perfect accompaniment, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

I can't say enough about the staff who were wonderful - I popped to the loo just before mains arrived and when I got back to the table my fellow diners had been served, but the waiter had taken my dish back into the kitchen until I arrived back at my seat so that he could lay my napkin on my knee for me and serve my meal. Fantastic! My wine glass was always full, in the way of good restaurants where the staff spot an emptying glass and rush to rectify the situation! For the non-drinkers, it was the same with their water.

The attention to detail is fantastic, the staff welcoming and friendly, yet discrete. Whilst it is slightly too pricey for a weekly "lets pop out for dinner", it is definitely worth visiting on any special occasion. We have visited many times over the past 3 years we've been together and will continue to do so. We love it, and Michael and Salvatore (Michael's father) are a delight and always make us feel special.

A reasonably authentic Italian place in Maidenhead. It’s large, properly lit, though it can be pretty dead on a weeknight.

A group of work mates went here for a Christmas party dinner, and they treated us well despite our rambunctiousness.

The meat courses were tasty - my lamb cutlets were especially nice. There was plenty of decent wine on the list.

The service was very good throughout the night, from the moment I arrived early (“Would you like a glass of wine while you wait for your party, sir?”) to the moment we walked out. They were prompt, attentive and thorough.

Very good food and service, although the location isn’t great being at one end of the High Street.

It’s refreshing to go into a “real” Italian restaurant rather than a place that sells italian food - there is a difference - although it’s more expensive.

I’ll definitely be going back.

This is simply one of the worst places i have ever eaten, the food isbelow average and the service is something else, the whole evening was something i would expect to find in a tourist area in central london, along with the bill. I would not recommend this place to anyone. i should have walked out the moment i saw the “free chilli olives” already on the table, and to top it all the waiter tried to give us someone else’s tap water, which was the funniest part of the eveing as it had been sat on an empty table for our whole visit.