Posted by Athena Scalzi
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/09/pizza-drinks-at-forno-kitchen-bar/
https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=57705
If you saw my post earlier this week over my friend and my’s spa experience, I’m sure you’ve been asking yourself, “but where did you guys go eat after having such an amazing, relaxing spa experience?” I’m so glad you asked, dear reader! My friend and I went to Forno Kitchen + Bar in the Short North area of Columbus. Open daily for dinner, lunch Tuesday through Thursday, and brunch Friday through Sunday, this stone-fired pizza joint won #1 best restaurant in the Short North and best happy hour in Columbus from ColumBEST in 2024, and made OpenTable’s Top 100 Brunch Restaurants in America 2024.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Forno other than pizzas and draft beers, but I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into an inviting space with tons of natural light pouring in. I was greeted immediately by friendly hostesses, and we were sat at a four-top table where one side was the booth against the wall and the other side was two chairs.
Our waiter came out with water and menus and was incredibly friendly right off the bat. He asked us if we wanted drinks, which was obviously a yes, so I got their Pear-Amore and she got the Strawberry Rose.

My Pear-Amore had Belvedere Vodka, pear, green chile, yuzu, orgeat, Fino Sherry, and lemon juice. I tend to love any cocktail that is pear-focused, plus I think pear is an underutilized flavor anyway. My drink came with two gummy candies which was kind of an interesting choice. I really liked my drink, it wasn’t too sweet and had some nice acidity from the lemon juice.
For the Strawberry Rose, it consisted of Noble Cut Vodka, strawberry cordial, St. Germain Elderflower, lemon juice, and Anna de Codorníu. On the menu it says you can get it with cotton candy for no extra charge, which my friend wanted, but forgot to ask for. I told her she should just ask for it on a plate since she forgot to ask earlier, but she didn’t, and she totally missed out on that cottony goodness.
For our appetizers, my friend said she was for sure doing the arancini. It was much harder for me to decide, as so many of them sounded totally bombski. I ended up choosing the seared scallops.

The arancini was nice and hot with plenty of sauce to go around. I’m pretty sure this was my first time trying arancini and I have no complaints!

The scallops were seared perfectly with a fantastic texture, and had just the right amount of capers in the sauce. I will say my friend and I agreed they were just a little bit on the salty side, but it wasn’t detrimental or anything. The scallops are their most expensive appetizer, and they were pretty sizeable, not huge or anything but pretty good overall!
We also got a caprese salad to split:

I am a huge caprese fan, as it is one of the best examples of how simplicity can be truly delicious. For this caprese, the flavors were all well and good, but I really did not like the presentation. I have never had a caprese before where the tomatoes come in huge chunks like this, and I much prefer thinner, round slices. I did like the addition of the toasted breadcrumbs for some contrast of texture, but it was otherwise a completely standard caprese.
Normally when I’m at pizza places that are known for their pizza, I don’t get their pizza. I don’t know why, I do the same thing with wing places or burger places or anything like that. I basically always end up asking myself, what else they got? In Forno’s case, I actually tried their pizza, and only because my friend recommended it so much and I trust her judgement.
So, I went for their pesto pizza, with balsamic onion jam, ricotta, heirloom cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil pesto vinaigrette.

This pizza was seriously fantastic, and I’m so glad I tried out one of their pies. It was loaded with cherry tomatoes, perfectly cheesy, and had plenty of pesto. I don’t normally like stone-fired pizza, wood-fired, etc., because I don’t like a “rustic char” on my food or an ashy crust. However I didn’t feel that way about this pizza. I thought it was very well done and not too burned or crisp or ashy at all. I would absolutely recommend this pie to any pesto lovers out there. And it’s a great vegetarian option!
My friend got their prosciutto pizza, which comes with ricotta, fontina, arugula, onion, olive oil, and a white balsamic reduction.

Though most of what you see is just arugula, there is a decent amount of crisped up prosciutto under there. As my friend was eating her first slice, she noticed that there wasn’t any balsamic on it, which she said was what really made it so good. So she asked for balsamic on the side, which the waiter brought out, but it is odd that it seemingly wasn’t on there in the first place.
As we were eating our ‘za, we decided to refill our glasses with their Kiwi Mule. I asked the waiter if it was pretty good and he said he liked it and it’s a big seller, so we figured we’d give it a try.

Since it was listed as a mule, I was surprised it came in a glass and not a copper mug. It’s made with Ketel One Citroen (which I was particularly excited for because I adore Ketel One), kiwi puree, lemon, and ginger beer. My friend and I agreed we really did not taste any kiwi at all, like even a little bit. It mostly tasted like a very citrusy mule, which was fine enough. I think I would’ve preferred a fresh lime garnish instead of dehydrated, but that’s just personal preference, really.
My friend said that they didn’t have any dessert, so we were kind of bummed about that, but then the waiter came and asked if we wanted dessert! We were very happy to learn that they do, in fact, have a dessert menu. I picked the buttermilk panna cotta, and she picked the chocolate fudge cake.

I didn’t try this cake myself but my friend seemed to really enjoy it!
And here was mine:

I loved that this came in a coupe glass, I thought that was such a cute idea. The panna cotta itself was good, but I think what I appreciated most about the dish was the fresh fruit, making it feel much lighter and sort of summery. The strawberry compote was really good, and the fresh strawberry slices make the dish look extra elevated. The pistachios were actually spiced with cayenne, which totally surprised me. They had quite the kick to them, which was an interesting contrast to the creamy and sweet panna cotta. It was a really unique dessert, I liked it a lot!
Overall, I quite enjoyed Forno Kitchen + Bar, and would love to revisit. I don’t know if I can bring myself to select a different pizza next time, though, as the pesto was pretty dang good. For four cocktails, two appetizers, one salad, two pizzas, and two desserts, it was $150 before tip. Honestly not too bad! I think that’s pretty reasonable, all things considered.
I think the most standout thing about Forno, besides the ‘za, was the service. Our waiter checked on us often, cleared dishes consistently, and was very friendly and conversational. Cool guy, really.
What I really want, truth be told, is to visit Forno’s speakeasy, The Marmont. They are only open Thursday through Saturday, but I’m determined to get in there before their Halloween specialty cocktail menu ends. Pizza joint by day, classy speakeasy by night. The perfect combo, really.
What looks the best to you? What’s your favorite pizza topping? Let me know in the comments, be sure to check out Forno Kitchen + Bar on Instagram, and have a great day!
-AMS
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/10/09/pizza-drinks-at-forno-kitchen-bar/
https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=57705