Like its sister restaurant, Chianti, located at the other end of downtown Saratoga’s Broadway, Forno Toscano is a triumph of style. The name means “Tuscan oven,” and refers to the wood-fired model you can see in the back of the restaurant. According to owner David Zecchini, it’s where much of the traditional Tuscan meal is fired.

With the city of Florence as its cultural center, Tuscany boasts a high appreciation of art, so there’s also a kinship with the highly artistic mise en scène in the new Saratoga restaurant. What’s regarded as simple farmhouse cookery is served in a busy ambiance of sculptured metal and low-level lighting. Plate presentation is simple to the point of starkness, but there’s plenty elsewhere on which to feast the eyes.

Meanwhile, the food itself is the stuff of a hearty feast. Pasta! Meat! Plenty of wine! Not to mention tasty personal pizzas with whisper-thin crusts, and an assortment of salads with a variety of enhancements. If you visit for lunch, panini—those ubiquitous grilled sandwiches—populate the menu.

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