Italian Food Anyone?

I have always been a huge fan of Italian food. As a kid growing up in America, I LOVED when they had spaghetti day at the cafeteria (even though it was literally like, canned-food quality). My mom used to take my brother and I to Olive Garden on certain Sundays of the month, where we would order a healthy amount of food, favorites being Eggplant Parmesan, classic spaghetti and meatballs, and of course, lasagna.

After coming to Taiwan, I have been searching constantly for some American-style Italian food. I love Taiwanese food, but sometimes I feel like they tend to sweeten a lot of their recipes (sugar in pizza dough) and lighten the sauces (more watery versions of tomato marinara sauce) in order to cater to the taste buds of the local Taiwanese. I have grown to enjoy the Italian food here, but sometimes, I crave the heavy, cheesy, fatty goodness of the American Italian food.

Anyways, I guess the point of the last two paragraphs was just to demonstrate how rare it is to find an Italian restaurant that serves not-so Taiwanese style Italian food. I was fortunate to have someone take me a really decent Italian place last night.

Welcome to Antico Forno (which means "Old Oven" in Italian)!!

 The entrance to Antico Forno (right next to The Diner)

Right when you enter through the door, you can see the "pizza guy" baking fresh pizzas in a huge oven. It definitely has the novelty of a genuine Italian restaurant, and you know you're getting fresh pizza! The owner is a young guy who used to be a model (you can tell), but he's also very hard-working and has kept this restaurant open for the past 5 years. He's the one pictured below, making the pizzas.

The actual interior decor of the restaurant is quite cozy. Nothing too flashy, but definitely is cozy and comfortable. There are several small tables, suitable for small parties, and also two/three large party tables that can hold large gatherings. If you ever want to get some friends together and have some pizza, family style, this is a good restaurant to choose.

I've never been to Italy, mind you, but I can tell that this restaurant and its chefs really do take a lot of care and detail into the taste of their food. I can't be a judge to tell you if it's traditional Italian, but I can tell you as a person who's eaten A LOT of Italian food, this place makes really decent Italian. 

I came at dinner time, but the owner said that their afternoon tea time menu (pictured below) is worth checking out. You can read the details below if you're interested:

 Honestly, to the tell you the truth, I don't really know the names of the dishes we ordered, cuz I basically walked in and told my friend, "it's up to you, I eat anything." So he ordered a pizza and a pasta.

Pictured below is the 12" pizza we ordered. I believe it was called the Pine Nut Pizza, or something along those lines (sorry guys, I didn't even look at the menu, but in Chinese it's 松露帕切達） It had pine nuts, ham, and mushrooms, baked on top of a medium layer of cheese, and chewy dough. It was divine. You have the choice of choosing pizzas at 8" or 12".

The pasta was just as delicious as the pizza. We ordered the "Napoleon Tomato Pasta" which consisted of noodles that were cooked al dente (just right, not too hard, not too chewy), fresh cherry tomatoes, fresh tomato sauce, sprinkled with powdered cheese and the taste of something truffle-y, and egg white on top. I'm not quite sure what the "truffle" tasting component was, but it added an extra dimension of pleasantness to the noodles. I really enjoyed this pasta as well. I would also recommend using their hot oil to sprinkle on the food, if you are into that sorta thing. The spice of the fresh chili really blended well with the food. I'm telling you, the owner really takes his food seriously!~

All in all, I highly recommend "Antico Forno" to everyone who has a liking to Italian food. It's tasty, savory, and made with care. The staff is friendly, and honestly, it's really nice to see a young boss who really knows what he's doing. You can tell he really takes his profession seriously, which is highly reflective in his food. Also, if you're an ABC or expat or foreign student living in Taipei and are looking for a more "heavy" tasting Italian restaurant amongst the other Taiwanese-style Italian places, you should definitely considering having a meal here. 

Antico Forno

MRT: Da An Forest Park MRT 大安森林公園 (about 20 minute walk south east of station)

Address: 106台北市大安區瑞安街141號 

Taipei City, Da An District, Ruei An Street, No. 141

Phone: 02 2706 3322

Price: 300-600 range per dish

Hours: Weekdays 11:00-15:00/ 17:30-22:00

Weekends: 11:00-22:00

Rating: ********* 1/2 (9.5)

Nice service, savory Italian food, decent price