Fresh off the heels of my trip to Vice Versa, I sampled another of Roermond’s wonderful restaurants, Il Forno, just a few doors down. Now, I like Italian food. A lot. And I like fish. Even more. In this restaurant I had fish cooked in an Italian style. Winner.
For me the quintessential Italian restaurant should have several qualities - free flowing, cheap but wonderful wine, an atmosphere where you are at home laughing your ass off with friends or family round the table not worrying if the waiter will tell you off, and above all absolutely no menu. Just give me what you have that is fresh. Il Forno does all of these things and much, much more.
From the outside, Il Forno doesn’t really give the impression of being a good restaurant or a bad restaurant, just somewhere you might get some grub. Inside, there are maybe 20 tables catering for parties of two or ten with a small bar on the right had side and kitchens through the back. The first thing I like about this restaurant is that it is run by a bona fide Italian chap called Leo who loves his football (as testified by the Inter Milan shirt proudly hanging in the back), and his wonderful Dutch wife Frances. There is nothing worse than going into an Italian and having some ned moaning “boanjoorno” at you - I demand authenticity!
After being seated, my Dad, my wife and I ordered drinks (a beer for me, and wine for them) and waited for our waitress. We were asked only one question - would we like meat, fish or a combination? Fantastic! We all plumped for the fish. About ten minutes later appeared three small dishes on which sat a huge mussel generously smothered in a tangy tomato and basil sauce and covered in parmesan, grilled in the oven. Seriously, a little bite of heaven. As an amuse bouche (wait, think Italian....amusio bouchio) it was unrivaled. Next up came a seafood bisque. I am yet to find out what was in it as every mouthful was different but equally scrumptious. There was definitely calamari, tuna, some form of white fish (haddock maybe), mussels, clams and an array of herbs all mixed in with fresh tomatoes. I was truly sad to finish this dish and would have been happy to finish my meal with another bowl of the same! For main course came two pieces of expertly grilled fish - we reckon they were sea bass and sea bream, served plain with a wedge of lemon and a drizzle of garlic and parsley sauce and a side dish of pasta with jumbo prawns for us to share. It was wonderful in both its simplicity and tastiness.
We followed it up with a cappuccino for me and espresso for Dad and the wife. It was proper Italian stuff - rich and with an aroma which reminded me of a wonderful afternoon spent in Roman cafe’s with the wife last year. After a cheeky complimentary limoncello (Dad went straight for the grappa) we headed for home, suitably full and ready for an afternoon snooze.
I should add that I have been to this restaurant many times, probably thirty, and every time I have had the fish, every time it has been completely different and every time it has been wonderfully tasty. You can phone ahead to request something special, a whole lobster or a dozen oysters, and Leo and Frances will do their utmost to find them for you. I can’t vouch for the meat as the fish is so good I have never gotten around to trying it, but the diners around us did and they looked suitably impressed.
I love this place, and so should you. If you like fresh fish, expertly cooked it an authentic Italian atmosphere then this is your place. The only problem is that it is in the south of Holland. If it was in Istanbul, I would be there every week.
Food 5/5 - fishy goodness
Presentation 4/5 - simple rustic Italian
Service 4/5 - no hassle, very relaxed
Setting 4/5 - damn you for being in Holland!
Overall 17/20
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