Dal Fornos Pizza

***CLOSED AS OF JUNE 2013*** Great pizza. Best pizza in Hilliard by far. Only downside is the time it takes for carryout… I understand that everything is prepared fresh and that i can take 30 — 45 minutes for carryout, but often times it takes 30 minutes over the quoted carryout time.

Dal Fornos took its turn on our Pizza Experience Tour this week. Dal Fornos operates a very cozy, family friendly restaurant in Hilliard. While this was a long hike for me, I did learn that seat warmers in cars also work great on pizza.
The service and facilities were fantastic. .. of course, for me, it’s all about the pizza. That said, continuing our recent trend of pizza supplements, we also fired up pepperoni rolls and some meatballs.
The pepperoni rolls absolutely stole the show! Five stars on those. These are as close to a WV pepperoni roll as I’ve encountered in the heart of Ohio. The pepperoni was of the long square stick variety — very soft with a wonderful spicy kick (and some good greasage for the bread)! The bread surrounding the pepperoni was also awesome — nice and soft, but chewy with a slight crisp on the outside. While I got the plain pepperoni roll with some sauce for dipping, I’ll definitely be back for the «deluxe» model with the peppers, cheese and sauce (the wife doesn’t like peppers, so I compromised on these).
The meatballs were a very healthy size and rather dense. They had a good herbal seasoning thing happening. The sauce was okay, but nothing remarkable about it.
As for the pizza. .. the crust was thin, but not cracker like or very crispy, more like a denser, crisp on the outside, dinner roll consistency with few air pockets. I would have preferred some more sauce on the pie. Other than that, the toppings were fine, but nothing to really Unilocal about. The cheese and topping rations were good. The pizza was square cut. What can I say, the pepperoni rolls were a very hard act to follow!
If you long for a good pepperoni roll, definitely check out Dal Fornos. On the pizza and meatball front, they are A-​OK, but it’s definitely the rolls that will bring us back.

I finally tasted a real pepperoni roll like they have in West Virginia/​Appalachian areas. The simple pepperoni roll is two sticks of pepperoni (who knew they came that way) in homemade bread around 6 – 8 inches ($ 3.25). A loaded Pepperoni roll has sauce, peppers, and cheese along with the pepperoni ($ 6ish). I wish they could have one in between with just cheese and pepperoni as the loaded was very loaded. And the pepperoni roll is just pepperoni and bread. I really liked the loaded roll but the quality of cheese and bread was lost in the sauce. These rolls were definitely better than the gas station pepperoni rolls I have tried.
The owner is super nice as my wife and I stood around talking to him for about 15 minutes about the business and their options. He is trying to replicate the pepperoni rolls of the Morgantown/​Fairmont areas of WV. They do not have alcohol, yet but he told us that he is hoping to get a beer and wine license. They have a very nice interior with one TV and a fireplace. It is one of the few indoor seating for Pizza places in Hilliard. I didn’t try their pasta or pizza but from talking to the owner, I am looking forward to trying their pizza. This is definitely a small family run business and from the other reviews, I know they are using the resources they have to make a go at it.
Stop in to try it out as it is supporting a local Hilliard family along with getting some good food. They make the sauce and bread in house along with quality cheese. The owner says he hopes to case his own sausage in time along with other aspects of their food. I like a place that seems to care about quality and enjoys good conversation with their customer base. The location is off the beaten path but close to many resident housing so hopefully they make it.

I used Dal Fornos for my husband’s Army coming home party and I could have been more pleased. I placed the order for pick-​up and everything was ready very quickly. I was impressed. The pizza was really great. The pepperoni rolls were SO good. I’ve never had them and heard that everything is from homemade recipes and hand made with quality products.
This is a family run business. The owner and his family are so nice. I love that family values are so prevalent. The parents are teaching their kids responsibility by letting them help out with small things like busing tables and rolling utensils. They were very sweet. I even heard that when the kids bus the tables, they are allowed to keep the tips! Very cool.
I’ll definitely be back! I love supporting small businesses.

We decided to try dal forno because we received a coupon in the mail and it is very close to our home. We went in and there was one other couple dining. We ordered at the counter and sat down. They did a great job decorating the building. It has sort of a city wine bar vibe. We ordered a pepperoni roll, a salad to share, and a classic pepperoni pizza. The salad came out almost immediately. It was delicious! We especially like their homemade italian dressing. The pepperoni roll came out next. It is similar to pepperoni bread, but without cheese. We had wished we ordered the supreme style as the plain pepperoni roll was a bit plain. Quite a bit later, the pizza came out and it was excellent although a little greasy (easily solved with a napkin blot).
Overall, we had a good experience. But we were lone diners in the restaurant the majority of our visit, and the TV sound kept cutting in and out, making it pin-​drop quiet some of the time, and deafeningly loud the other part of the time. Obviously the place is family owned because there are kids walking around, getting drinks, rolling silverware, etc. I am all for family and children, but felt it was a little unprofessional.
We will try dal forno again for sure, but next time we will carry out and eat at home.

Tried this place tonight because of the HOSA fundraiser. We carried out. The pizza was very good, we got half cheese, half pepperoni. I like to order just cheese so I can really taste the cheese and the sauce. Both were very good. I really like the pepperoni. I also got spaghetti, the sauce was very bland. Tasted more like plain tomatoes, I don’t think anyone will eat the leftovers. I’m pretty sure I won’t be ordering it again. The pepperoni roll was good, I really liked the spicy peppers in it. I’m not sure why they have children working in their establishment, maybe it’s a family business. Not sure. But I wouldn’t have been comfortable being served by children that appear to be ten to twelve years old.

We stopped by after meeting the owner’s mother at the Hilliard Street Festival. Our multi-​generational party of 5 ordered 2 different pizzas (7″ cheese and 18″ Massive Pepperoni) and pasta with red sauce.
The fresh-​made crust was delicious, the cheese fresh and the pepperoni traditional.
The house-​made red sauce had been slow simmered all day and rivaled many of the 5 star Italian restaurants in Columbus.
I would like to see Dal Fornos add fresh pasta. Drinks ranged from $ 1.00 for a kid’s milk and Dasani bottled water to $ 1.85 (ish) for fountain Coke.
I want to have a salad and maybe a pepperoni stick next time.
Dal Fornos is a welcome addition to Hilliard and a pleasant change to to old standby’s.

Great new independent, tough location. We’ve tried twice, once pizza for a group: 18″ pepperoni for $ 18.00 then sandwiches: meatball sub & sausage sub w/​peppers and mushrooms (extra$). Everyone loved the pizza! We decided the sandwiches were among the best we’ve ever had… seriously you have to try thiz place. They also have a nice dining room and pastas… maybe wine? We did carry-​out.