ANTICO FORNO 老烤箱義式披薩餐酒

Overall Review: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘
Dixon's foodie update is here #201
#dixon.local.foodie

This time, I'll be reviewing a well-known Italian pizza bistro!
This Old Oven Italian Pizza is a small but somewhat famous restaurant in Taipei, as its name suggests, specializing in pizza.

In addition to pizza, they also offer a variety of Italian dishes, including pasta and other European cuisine.

Indeed, after dining here, I can see why it has gained popularity and is difficult to book a table. Each dish is distinctive and doesn’t quite resemble the typical flavors found in Taiwan.

Of course, whether the food is delicious is subjective, but I can say that every dish leaves a memorable impression. Apart from that, the atmosphere of this place is quite pleasant, making it suitable for both romantic dates for two or gatherings with friends!

Additionally, the owners and staff are very warm-hearted. Even if their Chinese is not very good, they enthusiastically introduce each dish to us!

Although there was a bit of a miscommunication at times, you can really feel the owner's passion for each dish and their desire to share the history behind each meal!

As a pizza bistro, they also offer various drinks on the menu, including white and red wines and cocktails. Guests can mix and match as they like! The menu is rich with different dishes, making it quite challenging to try a bit of everything in one visit! 🤣🤣

So if you’re very interested in Italian cuisine and flavors from diverse countries like pizza, I personally highly recommend coming here to give it a try!

Food: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Drinks: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
Atmosphere: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
Service: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖
Price: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Location: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

⭐️Food Section
The menu here offers a wide variety of flavors, from appetizers to main courses, including pasta and various side dishes. You can find almost everything on the menu.

On the day I visited with my friends, we ordered several different categories of dishes, starting with appetizers:
👉 Blue cheese with figs and prosciutto $550
This was the first appetizer served. The flavors of blue cheese and figs intertwine very complexly, but the prosciutto brings a strong meaty flavor. Together, these three create a new taste experience! 🤣🤣

👉 Venetian milk cod mousse with crispy corn cake $450
The name itself indicates its complexity, but simply put, it’s a corn cake topped with milk cod mousse. The portion is quite small, just enough for one bite.

The mousse is predominantly milky in flavor, and when paired with the corn cake, it’s also quite complex!

👉 Slow-cooked traditional duck leg ragu with handmade flat pasta $580
When this pasta dish arrived, it looked somewhat like a standard meat sauce pasta. However, the handmade flat pasta is quite wide!

The shredded duck is quite tender and not overwhelmingly flavorful. Personally, I found this pasta just okay. 🤣🤣

👉 Special chestnut sauce with pumpkin gnocchi and fresh truffle $650
This dish surprised me with its green hue when served! The gnocchi's shape is unique, and visually, it stands out!

In terms of flavor, since the gnocchi is primarily made from pumpkin, the overall taste is quite pumpkin-flavored. Although it mentions fresh truffles, the taste is not very strong. There are many spices involved, and you might even find bits of almonds and chestnuts, giving the dish a nutty flavor. 🤣🤣

👉 Tender seared duck breast with asparagus and candy beet with roselle truffle sauce $1100
This time, we ordered duck breast as our main dish, and the menu items are quite lengthy. I think the duck breast is handled very well.

However, the downside is that for its price, the portion is a bit too small. Besides the duck breast, it comes with asparagus and beets, paired with truffle sauce. The duck itself is well-prepared and delicious, while the beets and asparagus provide a complementary texture. If you’re looking to order a main dish, I definitely recommend the duck breast.

Now moving on to pizzas:
👉 Devil Pizza $440
Since we’re already here, how could we not order pizza? The pizzas come in various flavors, and the menu details the ingredients and contents, allowing everyone to see if there’s anything specific they want to try or avoid.

On that day, we ordered only one pizza, the Devil, which primarily consists of tomato red sauce, cheese, and salami. It’s a very basic, conservative choice.

When the pizza was served, it indeed looked like what you’d expect — a red tomato base topped with some salami.

As for the flavor of this pizza, I found it very okay. Since we chose a more common flavor, I didn't find anything particularly memorable about it, just that it was tasty and easy to eat.

Moving on to desserts, we ordered tiramisu that day. However, this tiramisu is primarily focused on the alcohol flavor. Such a flavor profile can be hit or miss for people, but personally, I really enjoy this boozy version. However, I think some people may find it hard to accept this authentic Italian soft and boozy tiramisu. 🤣🤣🤣

In the food section, the two types of pasta we ordered were quite distinct from what I had previously tasted – definitely special!

Regarding the pizza, this place primarily uses a thinner crust, with fillings depending on what customers order.

I believe the pizza here is quite good; however, since we were fewer in number that day and had ordered quite a few main dishes and pastas, we only chose one flavor of pizza. In terms of flavor, I think it’s above average, but perhaps because of the choices we made, there wasn’t anything too shocking.

However, the prices for various dishes are on the higher side. I think ordering pizza seems to be a better value for the money. The prices for pasta and entrees are slightly elevated, with smaller portions. Although the flavors are special, it depends on whether everyone can accept these more authentic European flavors.

I still highly recommend it for a visit! After all, these tastes and textures may not be commonly found elsewhere!

⭐️Drinks Section
When ordering at the beginning, the staff inquires whether you would like sparkling or regular water.

Of course, sparkling water incurs an extra charge, and that day they also opened a bottle of wine for everyone to share: Etna Rosso $1950. It was a very pleasant experience!

If you’re unsure about which wine pairs best with your meal, you can also consult the staff at the time, and I believe they will recommend suitable options!

⭐️Atmosphere Section
I found the atmosphere inside the restaurant quite great. The table and chair layout is spacious, and the distance between tables is not too close.

The ambiance leans towards an elegant and tranquil dimness, making it quite suitable for dates!

From outside, you can sense a foreign exotic flair, and upon entering, the decorations contribute to a high-quality atmosphere!

⭐️Service Section
Due to the fact that the owner is mainly a foreigner, sometimes during ordering or discussing dishes, they might not use Chinese effectively, leading to some miscommunication.

Nonetheless, you can see that the owner is very passionate and eager to introduce every dish and how to enjoy it, so in this aspect, I find the service quite excellent!

⭐️Price Section
I feel that each dish's portion in relation to its price is somewhat on the high side. Although it’s truly international cuisine, I think it’s acceptable to indulge in some different flavors occasionally. Still, I suggest checking the prices on the menu before deciding what to order.

Personally, I think the best value on the menu is the pizza.

If you’re coming here with a few friends, you can order two or three pizzas to share since each pizza’s portion is quite generous, similar to the usual sizes found in other pizza places.

For main courses or appetizers, you might need to consider the portion sizes shown in pictures online to get an idea.

As for the pasta, the portions are average, not overly large. For an adult male, one serving might not be enough. You'd likely need to order an appetizer and a main course, plus a few pizzas to feel satisfied.

Thus, dining here can turn out to be quite pricey! Especially since if you're in a good mood, you might also indulge in some drinks, the overall cost at this place can be considerable!

⭐️Location Section
This restaurant is located near the nearest MRT stations, Technology Building and Da’an Forest Park. So whether you’re using public transport or not, you will need to walk a bit to reach it. There isn't much special around the area.

Therefore, in terms of location, I think it’s just fairly okay.

⭐️Overall
I feel that this Italian pizza bistro resembles a European-style small restaurant. The variety of dishes is quite unique and each dish is above average and worth trying.

Given its extensive menu, I feel that you could visit multiple times to try everything!

Thus, I personally highly recommend coming here and would definitely consider returning! However, the challenging part might be to book a table! 🤣🤣🤣

🤪 Dixon's Foodie Chat 🤪
I’m sure many girls enjoy pizza or pasta! I also believe many have dreams of visiting Europe and want to travel there.

So why not take her to this Old Oven Italian Pizza Bistro? Since we can't visit Europe lately, at least we can enjoy pizza and European cuisine here!

Plus, the lighting and atmosphere are great! I believe the girls will be very happy coming here!

Just imagine: bringing a girl here for delicious pizza and pasta—doesn’t that enhance your relationship even more?! 😍😍😍😍

Catch you next time on Dixon's Foodie Chronicles! 🤪