Parlor, Woodfire Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in San Clemente

TOP MARKS ! This was our very first dinner visit to this classy restaurant. To say our expectations were exceeded would be an understatement. From the moment we walked in the door the staff here hit the bullseye with a very warm welcome, fabulous service, excellent craft beer and sensational food. On Friday my wife and I arrived here virtually on time for our 6pm dinner reservation. Breana the sweet hostess showed us to our table not far from the kitchen ( which is what I requested when I booked our table online ). And it was good thing we made a reservation....there was not an empty table in sight. Within seconds of sitting down at our table Joe the Manager & Operating Partner gave us huge welcome...even sat down with us for a couple of minutes to tell us about his restaurant. Pretty soon a tall server named Sebastian dropped to see what we would like. FIRST UP ! A couple of iced waters and a beer...an Artifex "Orange You Different" Hazy IPA. Meantime Jimmy the Execute Chef brought us some complimentary Tomato & Burrata Bruschetta which was totally delicious. My ice cold can of Artifex Hazy IPA and a tall chilled glass arrived fast....what a delicious beer ! We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to order for dinner having checked out their dinner menu online. When our server Sebastian returned we ordered a Starter....Sugar Pumpkin Crispy Arancini ( whipped goat cheese, crispy sage leaves, pepitas ). As I said earlier the place was packed out....it was a little rowdy. Our Arancini Starter arrived within a couple of minutes and tasted delicately divine. In fact Jimmy the Executive Chef dropped by for our thoughts on it...we loved it. GOOD TIP ! Of course we had our eyes on pizza and pasta entrees. Jimmy suggested the Meat Lovers Pizza ( tomato sauce, pepperoni, fennel sausage, soppressata salami, pistachio mortadella, aged provolone ) and the Spaghetti Carbonara ( crispy guanciale, egg yolk, cracked pepper, pecorino romano )..a perfect selection. WHOO HOO ! Our delectable looking Meat Lovers Pizza and Spaghetti Cabonara hit the table courtesy of Garan the smiling food runner. Joe the manager dropped by with grated parmigiana, chili flakes and warmed up honey ( for the pizza crust ). We tried the pizza first....perfect texture sourdough base and the toppings tasted crazy good. The Spaghetti Cabonara was rich and very creamy...a total delight. MORE BEER ! Our sharp eyed server Sebastian came along at just the right time...I ordered another beer. In fact Sebastian suggested I try a Rom Beer Co 'Unknown Territory" West Coast IPA...something new. So we managed to polish off half the pizza and half the pasta...boxed the rest. My ice cold can of Rom West Coast IPA and a tall chilled glass arrived promptly....what a delicious beer. DESSERT ! We love to have the big sweet finish...the Dark Chocolate A La Mode ( hot fudge, French vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, hazelnut crumble ) looked a winner. AND IT WAS ! Our huge serve of Dark Chocolate A La Mode tasted fabulous. We had a very enjoyable dinner experience here..can't thank all the staff enough for their kindness. YOU WILL...

THIS PLACE ROCKS ! Our first dinner visit here was 2 weeks ago and I have to tell you it was pretty fabulous. From the moment we walked in the door at 6pm til when we left over 2 hours later the staff here ticked every box you would want for an exceptional evening. The warm welcome, amazing service, fabulous food & drinks plus the X factor....these people want you to have a great time. And to be honest they totally exceeded our expectations. Could it be this good on our 2nd visit ? I managed to nail a dinner reservation for 6.45pm on Friday night. We did have a tough time finding a street parking spot but that's touristy San Clemente. Gianna and Grace the lookalike hostesses gave us a smiling welcome. Joe the Operating Partner ( manager ) gave us big hugs and showed us to a booth table against the wall as we requested in our reservation. We said hi to Jimmy the talented Executive chef and Sebastian the super server. Meantime I ran into lovely server Laura ( remember that special moment photo ) from our first visit. Our server Brynn took my order for an Artifex Brewing "Orange You Different" Hazy IPA and we asked for glasses of water. My ice cold can of beer and a tall chilled glass arrived promptly courtesy of Aidan the food runner. DARN ! What a delicious hazy IPA ! Our server Brynn returned to take our dinner order....1 x Prime Beef & Pork Meatballs Starter ( marinara sauce, garden herb ricotta, aged parmesan ), 1 x Tagliatelle Bolognese ( prime short rib & brisket, berkshire pork, spicy tomato ragu, pecorino romano ) and 1 x White Shrimp Scampi Bucatini ( meyer lemon, roasted garlic, cherry tomato, gremolata ). BUSY BUSY ! There were groups of people outside and just inside the entrance waiting for a table. This classy restaurant may well be the best ticket in town ! Our meatballs starter arrived quickly thanks to Joshua the food runner and tasted very good. BRING IT ON ! Our stunning looking pasta dishes arrived courtesy of Aidan the food runner. OMG ! My wife went nuts enjoying her sensational Tagliatelle Bolognese....simply incredible flavor and texture. Not to be outdone my White Shrimp Scampi Bucatini knocked it clean outa the ball park. Of course we gave our compliments to Jimmy the Executive Chef. DESSERT ! We had our hearts set on something extra special and our good mate Joe the manager did not let us down. BEYOND DECADENT....we loved every morsel of our Dark Chocolate Belgian Cheesecake. After our first sensational dinner visit here our expectations were very high...and yet they were exceeded again. WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BEST RESTAURANT IN...

I can't speak highly enough of this place. The service was outstanding---from checking in with our reservation to getting the check, no notes. My type of service where they always happened to be there when needed and gone when not. The friendliness of the employees and owner stood out. Even if the food sucked, the people alone would almost make me want to come back.

Speaking of the food, A+. We tried the meatballs, grilled ciabatta, margherita pizza, and the El Camino Real cocktail. Each item was fabulous. The meatballs were tender and flavorful served with a tasty sauce with a slight kick on the back end, the ciabatta was everything ciabatta bread should be, and the pizza was perfect. The most important note on the pizza: the crust is the star. After taking the normal first bite I thought it was great, then I took a corner bite of the crust and my eyes rolled back. The perfect texture and flavor. It doesn't re-heat especially well (woodfired pizzas generally don't) so eat it all. The cocktail was also well balanced and quite refreshing.

The location is solid---less of a pain to find parking than anticipated and also along the route of the free trolley in San Clemente.

If you're in South County, this establishment needs to be on your list. For my personal preferences, their menu hits a lot of notes, and I cannot wait to return another 4 or 5 times to be able to try...