A quiet cafe with terrific food and exceptional service. Try their brussels sprouts (I know, but just try them...you won't be sorry) and the Salmon Salad was equally as good. Top it iff with the lava cake for dessert. Fabulous at a great price. Lunch outdoors in the beautiful Carlsbad sunshine...what could be better!
Sahab Ali
My friend and I decided to try Clara for a late lunch. We were able to seat ourselves and given a menu. We both decided on the Clara burger. It came with pork belly and cheddar cheese. I asked if they could do goat cheese on my burger in lieu of cheddar, and they accommodated that change without any problem. The burger also came with fries.
Emily Bean
We loved the food! We had the One Night in Havana cocktails. Yum, yum. Also chipotle chicken flat bread. We are from Phx and came back for dinner a couple of days later.
Aaron Drobnick
The food is a 10!! Shrimp and grits were out of this world ?. The chicken tikka was phenomenal! Highly recommend this restaurant.
Joan Roberts
Great food! Great drinks! And, last but not last, the best server/ bartender, Sebastian! Highly recommend!
Jasmine Rivera
The food was amazing!!! I am obsessed. I’ve recommended a few people to this place and I receive good feedback every time.
849debbiew
I had received something on Facebook that said Clara’s was a favorite with locals, and the menu looked good, so we went with another couple. On the plus side, the drinks were good and generous pours of wine. The server was very pleasant but overwhelmed; she was the only one there. My friend ordered the scallops with risotto; only 4 scallops for $33. I ordered the appetizer of calamari and shrimp; 2 shrimp and a handful of extremely overcooked calamari. Our husbands each ordered the seared tuna salad, although my husband told the waitress he only wanted it if the tuna could be cooked more to a slight pink, otherwise he’d order something else. He was told it would be cooked, but it was not. The restaurant decor was very basic.
Olive
The night we went they were understaffed—only one server for the whole restaurant. She did the best she could and was very friendly. I ordered the scallops and risotto which was listed as a signature dish. It was such a disappointment. The scallops were small and overcooked and the risotto was bland. However, my husband loved his burger and my son's truffle flatbread was pretty good. Maybe they were just having an off night in some areas.
DeborahW
Four of us dined there...each of us was disappointed. My friend ordered the scallops and risotto for $33 and was surprised to only get 4 medium scallops. I ordered the calamari and shrimp appetizer, with only 2 shrimp and several extremely overcooked calamari (barely edible). Our husbands both ordered the seared ahi tuna salad on the condition that the chef could cook the tuna to medium rare, otherwise they wanted the burgers. They were served the salads with raw tuna. The server was very nice, but the only one for the entire restaurant. There was a very loud, angry argument at one of the tables in the bar, and a manager never appeared to deal with the situation; not sure a manager was even present. We would never go there again.
Mary L
Great food, friendly people, bartender Oliver was fantastic. Go her.. you're going to love it!
I took a friend there for her birthday and as always,!it was very enjoyable with good food and service. We had a wonderful mezzo trio; she had shrimp and grits and I had salmon. She loved hers but my salmon was a bit overcooked. Since I manage to overcook it at home, I know it's easy to do! If only Clara was not above noisy Coyote!
PDCarolyn
Excellent food in a strange setting. Lots going on in the bar area plus noise from the bar next door but fairly quiet in the very plain indoor dining area. However, we really enjoyed the food and wine, so it was a good evening.
Sat in Bar area, 7pm, Friday, sep 9. Not too busy. Plus: Attentive, friendly waitstaff. And drinks came promptly so A+ from the start. Food is really good, like some of the fine restaurants nearby. Food came promptly. Blonde draught beer was light and crisp. Calamari included shrimp, a good addition. Minus: Ambiance is a little plain. Improved when they lowered the light level around 7:15. Seemed kind of loud, despite not being too crowded. But its in a fun area of downtown.
Nicki
The food was very poorly put together. The meals came at separate times. The chicken was dry. The brussels sprouts had way too much sugar on them. The steak was overcooked. Even the kale salad was not cut very cautiously and it just seemed like they were in a hurry and couldn't care less about the quality of food
CarlaS
I had a reservation for Monday evening, drove an hour to get there and find that they aren't open on Mondays. They shouldn't be making reservations on days they aren't open!!!
A quiet cafe with terrific food and exceptional service. Try their brussels sprouts (I know, but just try them...you won't be sorry) and the Salmon Salad was equally as good. Top it iff with the lava cake for dessert. Fabulous at a great price. Lunch outdoors in the beautiful Carlsbad sunshine...what could be better!
My friend and I decided to try Clara for a late lunch. We were able to seat ourselves and given a menu. We both decided on the Clara burger. It came with pork belly and cheddar cheese. I asked if they could do goat cheese on my burger in lieu of cheddar, and they accommodated that change without any problem. The burger also came with fries.
We loved the food! We had the One Night in Havana cocktails. Yum, yum. Also chipotle chicken flat bread. We are from Phx and came back for dinner a couple of days later.
The food is a 10!! Shrimp and grits were out of this world ?. The chicken tikka was phenomenal! Highly recommend this restaurant.
Great food! Great drinks! And, last but not last, the best server/ bartender, Sebastian! Highly recommend!
The food was amazing!!! I am obsessed. I’ve recommended a few people to this place and I receive good feedback every time.
I had received something on Facebook that said Clara’s was a favorite with locals, and the menu looked good, so we went with another couple. On the plus side, the drinks were good and generous pours of wine. The server was very pleasant but overwhelmed; she was the only one there. My friend ordered the scallops with risotto; only 4 scallops for $33. I ordered the appetizer of calamari and shrimp; 2 shrimp and a handful of extremely overcooked calamari. Our husbands each ordered the seared tuna salad, although my husband told the waitress he only wanted it if the tuna could be cooked more to a slight pink, otherwise he’d order something else. He was told it would be cooked, but it was not. The restaurant decor was very basic.
The night we went they were understaffed—only one server for the whole restaurant. She did the best she could and was very friendly. I ordered the scallops and risotto which was listed as a signature dish. It was such a disappointment. The scallops were small and overcooked and the risotto was bland. However, my husband loved his burger and my son's truffle flatbread was pretty good. Maybe they were just having an off night in some areas.
Four of us dined there...each of us was disappointed. My friend ordered the scallops and risotto for $33 and was surprised to only get 4 medium scallops. I ordered the calamari and shrimp appetizer, with only 2 shrimp and several extremely overcooked calamari (barely edible). Our husbands both ordered the seared ahi tuna salad on the condition that the chef could cook the tuna to medium rare, otherwise they wanted the burgers. They were served the salads with raw tuna. The server was very nice, but the only one for the entire restaurant. There was a very loud, angry argument at one of the tables in the bar, and a manager never appeared to deal with the situation; not sure a manager was even present. We would never go there again.
Great food, friendly people, bartender Oliver was fantastic. Go her.. you're going to love it!
Restaurantji Recommends
I took a friend there for her birthday and as always,!it was very enjoyable with good food and service. We had a wonderful mezzo trio; she had shrimp and grits and I had salmon. She loved hers but my salmon was a bit overcooked. Since I manage to overcook it at home, I know it's easy to do! If only Clara was not above noisy Coyote!
Excellent food in a strange setting. Lots going on in the bar area plus noise from the bar next door but fairly quiet in the very plain indoor dining area. However, we really enjoyed the food and wine, so it was a good evening.
Sat in Bar area, 7pm, Friday, sep 9. Not too busy. Plus: Attentive, friendly waitstaff. And drinks came promptly so A+ from the start. Food is really good, like some of the fine restaurants nearby. Food came promptly. Blonde draught beer was light and crisp. Calamari included shrimp, a good addition. Minus: Ambiance is a little plain. Improved when they lowered the light level around 7:15. Seemed kind of loud, despite not being too crowded. But its in a fun area of downtown.
The food was very poorly put together. The meals came at separate times. The chicken was dry. The brussels sprouts had way too much sugar on them. The steak was overcooked. Even the kale salad was not cut very cautiously and it just seemed like they were in a hurry and couldn't care less about the quality of food
I had a reservation for Monday evening, drove an hour to get there and find that they aren't open on Mondays. They shouldn't be making reservations on days they aren't open!!!