Review: With Forno, the DiPasquale’s Fam Reignites Their Old Space in Highlandtown

For more than a century, DiPasquale’s Italian Market served as an anchor in its thin slice of Highlandtown. When the beloved business moved about a mile away to Brewers Hill in 2021, the empty building left a noticeable void in the neighborhood.

Now, 3700 Gough Street is once again brimming with life—but you might not know it if you’re not an insider.

Fifteen hundred square feet of the building that once housed the market is now home to Forno, a speakeasy serving pizza, small plates, cocktails, beer, and wine. Save for a chalkboard near the front door, the exterior looks unchanged, and once you enter the building you might think you’re in the wrong place.

The front of the house gives the impression that the business moved out yesterday. There’s no host stand or employee to greet you. Other than a neon sign that says Forno—Italian for “oven”—and refrigerators filled with wine, the place looks abandoned. But behind a red curtain is a charming dining room with a smattering of tables and a few couches.

Forno is owned by the DiPasquale family, which won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s eaten here. The food, like most everything at the 110 year-old market (now found in the bottom floor of the Porter apartment building as well as two other locations), is fresh, authentic, and outstanding.

Small plates include arancini, meatballs, and porchetta sliders, which are served on a pillowy roll with melted provolone and a spicy tomato jam that takes them to the next level. Fried artichokes atop a cacio pepe sauce were terrific. After finishing them off we kept the plate to dip our pizza crust in the remaining sauce.

We’ll get to the pizza in a moment but first let’s talk pasta. Amalfi Coast gnocchi was a special when we visited in June. The dumplings were soft, and the herbed pesto sauce was so good we kept the plate to dip our pizza crust in the remains. See a pattern here?

Three types of tasconi, basically an Italian pocket sandwich, are available as well. Their pizza dough is cooked in the pizza oven then stuffed with cold fillings—capicola, soppressata, roasted ham, provolone, peppers, and arugula for the OG variety.

But pizzas are the star here. The same imported oven that churned out pies for DiPasquale’s dining room back in the day continues to serve admirably. The crust is a perfect combination of doughy and charred, and the toppings are first-rate. The Margherita and the Scooch—hot soppressata, capicola, roasted peppers, prima donna cheese, peppadews—are among the most popular, but we opted for the Goat, with garlic, mozzarella, arugula, Calabrian hot honey, pistachio dust, and, of course, goat cheese. We’ve never tasted that combination of ingredients, and they made each bite more interesting than the last.

Between the no-fuss fare and a cocktail list heavy on Italian favorites like wine, spritzes and negronis, it’s no wonder that 3700 Gough Street has quickly become a neighborhood gathering spot. Again.

FORNO: 3700 Gough St., Highlandtown, 410-617-0455. HOURS: Thurs. 4 p.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4 p.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 4 p.m.-9 p.m. PRICES: Small plates: $9-16; salads: $9-11; tasconi: $16-17; pizzas: $14-20.