Italian Cravings — Restaurant in San Clemente

Having owned and operated a few service - retail businesses in the past, I know that regardless of how hard you try, you cannot please everybody. Which is the reason why I decided to edit my review, after reading the few negative reviews that have been posted.

After all the years of my wife and I, as well as visiting family and friends going to Italian Cravings, we have yet to have an unpleasant experience. Every single time we have been greeted either by Tony the owner, or Carlos the manager, as if we were family. Even Carlos the Chef peeks out of the kitchen window to pleasantly greet us. In spite of the high turn over that restaurants have with servers, all along we have been served promptly, friendly and cheerfully. Even for home delivery, which we order at least once per month, the food has arrived within the 45 minutes promised, and hot as if had just come out of the kitchen.

Having given credit, where credit is due, allow me to recommend a few real tasty items. The Sauteed Shrimp Cajun appetizer is to die for. So is the Chicken Tequila, and my wife's favorite Shrimp Scampi, is definitely a cut above. The lunch specials for $8.95 are a real bargain. The entrees are the same great quality as in dinner time, with a soup or salad choice, and portions that will find you taking some home. All and all, Italian Cravings is one of our favorite spots in downtown...

We’re in San Clemente visiting and we’re looking for a little Italian place to have dinner. We choose this place due to the good reviews and the pictures of the food and menu. I just want people to know that the menus you see in the pictures online are not up to date. They do not offer entrees such as shrimp scampi .. which is what my husband was looking forward to. We ended up ordering a small garlic chicken pizza, mozzarella sticks, side of meatballs and the capellini with added shrimp. The meatballs and mozzarella sticks are from frozen. You can taste the freezer and the mozzarella sticks had bake marks and the breading was very dry. The pizza was bla and the pasta with shrimp was lacking flavor. I’m leaving a 4 star review because I don’t believe in hurting business but I felt I had to give an updated honest opinion of the food. Then what was there when we were on the hunt. If you plan to eat out so you can experience food in a way you don’t experience it from home then try back when they hopefully revamp their menu. Otherwise it tastes like I could have thrown this together at home with some freezer items from Costco and boxed noodles and canned tomatoes, for way less money. Service was okay and the place was...

Vegetarian spot ; This was the first time visiting this charming Italian restaurant after living in San Clemente for several months. Nestled in the heart of town, it’s a small eatery with a convenient parking lot. We visited on a Sunday afternoon, enjoying a quiet meal as we had the restaurant to ourselves.

The food arrived promptly—within about 20 minutes—and it was delicious, especially considering the reasonable prices. We ordered a Cheese Garlic Bread, Greek Salad, with 2 large pizzas, which was pretty good for 5-6 people. Service was attentive; everything we ordered was brought out correctly, and the refillable drinks were a nice touch.

The atmosphere added to the experience, with soothing instrumental music playing softly in the background. Just as we were leaving, the place started to fill up, which shows its popularity. Overall, it was a delightful meal with great service and a welcoming vibe. Definitely looking forward to...