La Veranda

I've been enjoying this restaurant for years. Food is good, service is friendly. It's a real restaurant with tables, chairs, and tablecloths...the way life was before COVID. It's my #1 choice.

Solid Italian food, good service, and fair prices.

One of my favorite places to dine. Here as a couple you can have 2 drinks, Appetizer, 2 Dinners and share a desert for about $120-$135 including tip. We go back to this at least 1-2x per year

We decided to sit outside and were greeted and seated immediately. There was an appropriate amount of time they lect us alone in order for us to decide what we wanted. When the food arrived, it was hot and yummy! It was a nice place to eat and look at the downtown clayton area. If you get a chance you should enjoy sitting outside! I ordered minestrone soup and Eggplant Parmigiana

Celebrated our 7th anniversary here last month and enjoyed the atmosphere and food thoroughly. I got a pesto eggplant dish that was delicious, and my husband got a pizza that he thoroughly enjoyed, as well. Cute location with a nice ambiance.

We went to La Veranda on Sunday, June 15 2025 for a father’s day brunch. First a word about Clayton CA. This is an older town in the east bay, next to Concord and Walnut Creek. This is a town that hung on tenaciously to its small town charm and looks very much the way it did fifty years ago. They still have some wooden sidewalks, a saloon or two, a lovely tree shaded park where they hold small summer concerts. It has a small central downtown and feels very much like the old fashioned small town that it is. People are friendly and relaxed; traffic has been cleverly engineered out. This restaurant with its wooden entry steps fits right in. It has a veranda with outdoor tables along the side of the restaurant as well as a casual covered patio for outdoor dining. Upon entering we could see a big square dining room to our right and to our left was the other smaller rectangular dining room. We were greeted promptly and cordially and taken to our table in the room to our left. It was filled with black tables and chairs, the wall were tan and the ceiling tiles were a pleasant burnt red. The restaurant is surrounded by trees and bushes so the view from the many windows made us feel as though we were in an arboretum. The table was neatly set with two forks; a butter knife and side plate per seat as well as perfectly folded white linen pyramid napkin folds. Very quickly an attendant arrived to get us waters, coffee or tea. Shortly after that, our waiter Yousef appeared and took our orders. We had some substitutions and he took it all in stride. We ordered three eggs benedicts and food appeared in a very short time. The eggs were perfectly poached with firm whites and a hint of white vinegar and the yolks were perfectly runny. The muffins underneath were lightly toasted and easy to cut with a butter knife. I have been making fresh hollandaise for years in restaurants and at home and I am always suspicious of canned or powdered some restaurants resort to but this was definitely fresh and the real deal. The sauce was topped with a dusting of paprika and presentation was perfect. Yousef was an efficient and quick waiter, very professional. As is always a challenge my wife takes on we eventually got a big smile out of him. Overall I got the impression this was a tightly run restaurant that had taken pains to see to all the important touches. It was bright, sunny, and clean and the staff was friendly and attentive. I would not hesitate to go back for dinner and plan to.

Waiter was new but he did fantastic and if he didn't know the answer to our questions he asked someone for help.👏 3 different pizza for 3 different people. We ended all sharing to try something new and as always food was amazing, drinks were great. If you haven't tried this place...... you need to. 🥇🥇🍕🍕🍹🍸

Best restaurant in Clayton! And my favorite for 30 miles! The food is excellent, service is top notch, and the staff are amazing people!

Patrick Page

We went to La Veranda on Sunday, June 15 2025 for a father’s day brunch. First a word about Clayton CA. This is an older town in the east bay, next to Concord and Walnut Creek. This is a town that hung on tenaciously to its small town charm and looks very much the way it did fifty years ago. They still have some wooden sidewalks, a saloon or two, a lovely tree shaded park where they hold small summer concerts. It has a small central downtown and feels very much like the old fashioned small town that it is. People are friendly and relaxed; traffic has been cleverly engineered out. This restaurant with its wooden entry steps fits right in. It has a veranda with outdoor tables along the side of the restaurant as well as a casual covered patio for outdoor dining. Upon entering we could see a big square dining room to our right and to our left was the other smaller rectangular dining room. We were greeted promptly and cordially and taken to our table in the room to our left. It was filled with black tables and chairs, the wall were tan and the ceiling tiles were a pleasant burnt red. The restaurant is surrounded by trees and bushes so the view from the many windows made us feel as though we were in an arboretum. The table was neatly set with two forks; a butter knife and side plate per seat as well as perfectly folded white linen pyramid napkin folds. Very quickly an attendant arrived to get us waters, coffee or tea. Shortly after that, our waiter Yousef appeared and took our orders. We had some substitutions and he took it all in stride. We ordered three eggs benedicts and food appeared in a very short time. The eggs were perfectly poached with firm whites and a hint of white vinegar and the yolks were perfectly runny. The muffins underneath were lightly toasted and easy to cut with a butter knife. I have been making fresh hollandaise for years in restaurants and at home and I am always suspicious of canned or powdered some restaurants resort to but this was definitely fresh and the real deal. The sauce was topped with a dusting of paprika and presentation was perfect. Yousef was an efficient and quick waiter, very professional. As is always a challenge my wife takes on we eventually got a big smile out of him. Overall I got the impression this was a tightly run restaurant that had taken pains to see to all the important touches. It was bright, sunny, and clean and the staff was friendly and attentive. I would not hesitate to go back for dinner and plan to.

Christina Castellon

Waiter was new but he did fantastic and if he didn't know the answer to our questions he asked someone for help.👏 3 different pizza for 3 different people. We ended all sharing to try something new and as always food was amazing, drinks were great. If you haven't tried this place...... you need to. 🥇🥇🍕🍕🍹🍸

Bobby Rogers

Best restaurant in Clayton! And my favorite for 30 miles! The food is excellent, service is top notch, and the staff are amazing people!

Every single meal and exchange I’ve had at La Veranda restaurant has been absolutely delicious and fresh with attentive service. My family and I enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal here this year then a leisurely walk along the towns many trails, a guest had even galloped with his horse to the restaurant. Gotta love Clayton Valley’s downtown.

Nick and his staff are awesome; great ambiance indoors and lovely outside dining options. Love their nightly happy hours with excellent food and full cocktail menu at a very reasonable price-- and quite ample servings of both. We love it! --Kelly & Bill & Amal and David

I ordered a Dungeness Crab Louie Salad and Smoked Salmon with Goat Cheese appetizer. They were both tasty, fresh, and packed perfectly in their take out containers. The gentleman who took my order was friendly and quick to answer my questions about the menu.

We really enjoyed our meal and the wonderful service. Highly recommend the cream of artichoke hearts soup and lobster ravioli. Can't wait to come back and try more delicious dishes.

My wife and I came here for the first time on a recommendation from our Italian friend. Friendly staff and the food was delicious! The bolognese is a must!!

We had a lovely dinner at La Veranda in Clayton. I had the Veal Picatta and and my companion had the salmon, both were incredibly delicious! I also had a peach martini which was great. We had no room for dessert, alas. Maybe next time. The service was also wonderful. Will definitely be back!

La Veranda is our home away from home. We had our wedding reception there and while we live in Florida, we crave our favorite La Veranda and eat there literally every day whenever we can!

Anne Langendorf

Every single meal and exchange I’ve had at La Veranda restaurant has been absolutely delicious and fresh with attentive service. My family and I enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal here this year then a leisurely walk along the towns many trails, a guest had even galloped with his horse to the restaurant. Gotta love Clayton Valley’s downtown.

Christine Jensen

La Veranda is our home away from home. We had our wedding reception there and while we live in Florida, we crave our favorite La Veranda and eat there literally every day whenever we can!

Luis Warrior

My wife and I came here for the first time on a recommendation from our Italian friend. Friendly staff and the food was delicious! The bolognese is a must!!

Chris Lingle

We really enjoyed our meal and the wonderful service. Highly recommend the cream of artichoke hearts soup and lobster ravioli. Can't wait to come back and try more delicious dishes.

Kelly Adams

Nick and his staff are awesome; great ambiance indoors and lovely outside dining options. Love their nightly happy hours with excellent food and full cocktail menu at a very reasonable price-- and quite ample servings of both. We love it! --Kelly & Bill & Amal and David

Kim Cortez

I ordered a Dungeness Crab Louie Salad and Smoked Salmon with Goat Cheese appetizer. They were both tasty, fresh, and packed perfectly in their take out containers. The gentleman who took my order was friendly and quick to answer my questions about the menu.

Pamela

We had a lovely dinner at La Veranda in Clayton. I had the Veal Picatta and and my companion had the salmon, both were incredibly delicious! I also had a peach martini which was great. We had no room for dessert, alas. Maybe next time. The service was also wonderful. Will definitely be back!

Nice outdoor seating, great service and food was good, but I do wish the guests took COVID protocols more seriously. Lots of people walking in and out without masks on, which is just unnecessary. I've been to plenty of other outdoor dining experiences where this was not the case.

Very good happy hour for drinks & food.very cozy atmosphere & upscale experience. I would recommend this place for a date. The customer service is on point, quick & friendly. A favorite among the locals here they all know each other. Also there is a small river that runs right along the back parking lot & by the out door balcony.

7/26/15 My husband and I went to La Veranda Cafe for dinner a couple of months ago after watching our friend's kids play a little league game at Clayton Community Park up the road. The Warriors game was on and we'd already missed the first half to watch the Littles play, so we cozied up to the bar where a small, silent TV sat in front of us. But it was better than nothing. Delicious, delicious bread soon came out. I think one of the types was rosemary - it was my favorite. I ordered the calamari appetizer and Casey had a personal pizza. My calamari was served with warm marinara sauce and it was really flavorful. The pieces themselves were tender and good but the sauce was especially memorable. I'd definitely return for more food. Service was good I guess - employees were friendly but probably could have made a little more effort to interact with us since we were already sitting so close to them (and there was some food prep going on in front of us since the kitchen isn't far from the bar either), and it's not like we had volume on the TV. Hostess was pleasant but not especially warm or welcoming.

This is a wonderful restaurant to have lunch or dinner. Menu has a variety of delicious entrees to choose from to enjoy. The chocolate ganache & cheesecake desserts are fabulous! Friendly & helpful staff. Small parking lot next to it but can usually find a parking spot. Can walk in to sit down usually but in the evening reservations are probably best. It's a popular restaurant in downtown Clayton!! 😊👍💗

Nice little restaurant. My family and I came in on a Sunday evening. The place was pretty empty except for a private group function in the back room and maybe one or two other couples. There were plenty of employees around. Service was pretty good, but since it was a slow night, I expected it to be a little faster. The food was good. Kids enjoyed it and finished off their plates. We had veal picatta, chicken picatta, veal parmesan and chicken saltimbocca (and a kid's pizza). I'd say it was a little expensive, but overall pretty good.

I have been taking my sweetheart for years to dinner here and have never had a bad experience. The last time was last Saturday and we walked in and I was asked it we had a reservation. I relied do I need one.. We were seated and had a great dinner.. Thank you La Veranda.. The chop house turned us away, we like to be spontaneous at times but it can be difficult.

Sea bass a little under seasoned. Potatoes were to die for.

James Hefley

Sea bass a little under seasoned. Potatoes were to die for.

Quaint little restaurant with a nice vibe. Second time here, good food both times. Nice wine list. Gets very busy on weekends. A little outdoor seating available on porch. Waiter was friendly, but not very attentive. Lots of customers and regulars to tend to it appeared. Good place for date night or getting together with friends. Nice ambiance.

I came down for the celebration of life for my good buddy Skip Burns. After driving 3.5 hours, the atmosphere, service and especially the food was more than welcome. Next time I come to the Bay I will make a point of stopping in to grab some grub.

S B

Quaint little restaurant with a nice vibe. Second time here, good food both times. Nice wine list. Gets very busy on weekends. A little outdoor seating available on porch. Waiter was friendly, but not very attentive. Lots of customers and regulars to tend to it appeared. Good place for date night or getting together with friends. Nice ambiance.

moe martines

I came down for the celebration of life for my good buddy Skip Burns. After driving 3.5 hours, the atmosphere, service and especially the food was more than welcome. Next time I come to the Bay I will make a point of stopping in to grab some grub.

Overpriced for basic Italian food. Pasta dishes were good, but all I got was pasta, no veg, no sides, all rxtras were Ala carte. Basic dinner salad would have been $9.00 more

Picked up a salad to go, You would think that dressing would be on the side. Salad was wilted when I got home. I walked in the door no one was there, except a man making up tables, he couldn't even smile. They also took their time getting it together even though I ordered ahead. That was my favorite place to go for my salad. I will not be back

Very nice quiet and peaceful restaurant. Selection is nice but they burnt my pizza after a long wait time didn't even apologize for it. Waiters were not interested in their customers whatsoever. Food was really good customer service wasn't.

Nice ambiance, okay pricing, but not quality. The breakfast dishes "come with potatoes, fruit, and toast" I ordered the eggs Benedict and I specifically asked if it would come with toast like it said because it already has the English muffins. Waiter said, yes. I received one slice of watermelon, 5 potato pieces, and no toast. It looked very meager. The Benedict itself was very good & the staff friendly. Latte was burnt and messy.

I have to say we are very disappointed. I ordered the spaghetti Alla Carbonara and the Fettuccine Al Pesto Genovese and order of garlic bread. The garlic bread was cold & undercooked, the Carbonara tasted blah flavorless with a fishy aftertaste and I couldn't taste any flavor in the panchetta either. I couldn't eat bu a few bites.☹️The Pesto dish was just ok. Not something I would recommend. The ordering and servicer was great as well as the atmosphere. Maybe spend more effort with the food quality control.

The server told us that he did not have a lunch menu, only a dinner menu which was very overpriced for lunch. We chose a salad with chicken the lettuce was limp not enough dressing never offered us bread. Very disappointing.

Have been ordering from them for a long time as Door Dash is super quick since we only live 1/2 mile from restaurant. Unfortunately the food has progressively gotten worse. Our salads and pasta dishes were coming with very little dressing and sauce necessitating asking for extra which happens maybe 40% of the time. This last time good was plain awful. I ordered the Spaghetti Fruitti di Mare with extra sauce on side. My order came dry as a bone, no extra sauce and the small amount of prawns and calamari were so overdone it was inedible. Pasta was mushy and basically dinner was a throw away for me. Luckily, my wife ordered their pizza which are very good. Stick with pizza and you will do great but avoid pasta unless you get the lasagna which is usually good.

I wanted to love this place, but the food was really bad. I ordered the petrale sole with polenta and veggies. The fish tasted like it was cooked in egg and had the strangest texture. My husband ordered a pasta dish and it had a few too many cloves of garlic for it to be enjoyable. When we got the bill, I was even more disappointed at how much it was per person. The redeeming quality was the service. Our waiter was incredibly friendly, responsive, and had great humor.

It shouldn't be this much work to just want to be a customer. I don't plan to try again.

Better at half the price. The food had good flavor, but seemed lacking in quality - the steak was tough and gristly, the prawns were small and the lettuce was on the wilted side. The employees were extremely friendly and the food was prepared quickly for pick-up. Because it was take-out and after 8:30PM, there really wasn’t a way to do something about it. Like I said, good flavor, but not good quality. Expensive, but not worth it.

We ordered a takeout meal for a family of four yesterday. The food was good, but the treatment by the owner at pick up was shockingly bad. My husband ordered by phone at 5:50pm. The restaurant said it would be an hour, so hubs and father-in-law arrived at 6:53. Owner doesn't acknowledge them, and continues to talk to the staff and look at his phone. When hubs asks for help, owner says the meal will be ready at 7pm. When our two bags were brought out, hubs counts the items and notices one item is missing. Owner scoffs that it'll be out shortly and then turns to my father-in-law to comment...."Is he your son? You need to teach him more patience." Rather than apologizing for super slow and late service, the owner chose to simultaneously insult my husband and father-in-law in a single backhanded blow for expecting better customer service. Further, when paying the bill, we learned that the prices on the restaurant's online menu are far lower than reality (e.g., Veal Tre-Funghi published at $29, but billed at $36 for a 24% price difference). We will never be back, but will certainly share the story with others. It's no wonder that La Veranda is not flourishing as the single midscale Italian restaurant in Claycord.

Bram Warrick

It shouldn't be this much work to just want to be a customer. I don't plan to try again.

Erin Azevedo

I wanted to love this place, but the food was really bad. I ordered the petrale sole with polenta and veggies. The fish tasted like it was cooked in egg and had the strangest texture. My husband ordered a pasta dish and it had a few too many cloves of garlic for it to be enjoyable. When we got the bill, I was even more disappointed at how much it was per person. The redeeming quality was the service. Our waiter was incredibly friendly, responsive, and had great humor.

Priscilla

We ordered a takeout meal for a family of four yesterday. The food was good, but the treatment by the owner at pick up was shockingly bad. My husband ordered by phone at 5:50pm. The restaurant said it would be an hour, so hubs and father-in-law arrived at 6:53. Owner doesn't acknowledge them, and continues to talk to the staff and look at his phone. When hubs asks for help, owner says the meal will be ready at 7pm. When our two bags were brought out, hubs counts the items and notices one item is missing. Owner scoffs that it'll be out shortly and then turns to my father-in-law to comment...."Is he your son? You need to teach him more patience." Rather than apologizing for super slow and late service, the owner chose to simultaneously insult my husband and father-in-law in a single backhanded blow for expecting better customer service. Further, when paying the bill, we learned that the prices on the restaurant's online menu are far lower than reality (e.g., Veal Tre-Funghi published at $29, but billed at $36 for a 24% price difference). We will never be back, but will certainly share the story with others. It's no wonder that La Veranda is not flourishing as the single midscale Italian restaurant in Claycord.

Rob Strickland

Better at half the price. The food had good flavor, but seemed lacking in quality - the steak was tough and gristly, the prawns were small and the lettuce was on the wilted side. The employees were extremely friendly and the food was prepared quickly for pick-up. Because it was take-out and after 8:30PM, there really wasn’t a way to do something about it. Like I said, good flavor, but not good quality. Expensive, but not worth it.

I use to come here at least once a month but the last time I was there was just disappointing. Owner was very rude after my boyfriend asked if we could sit at a different part of the restaurant due to the noise level and overall cumbersome seating arrangement. We were more than ready to wait awhile for it to simmer down but owner had a nonchalant attitude and basically pushed us to the side when asked if we could wait awhile . Took our business elsewhere and found a cute spot in downtown concord Luna Ristorante. 4.5 stars. Friendly atmosphere, delicious northern Italian cuisine. Sad to post this since I was referred to this restaurant by owner's wife who was my college professor at the time . 1 star ....

It's Sunday the 11th. We were told the food was better than Pittsburgh La Veranda. Meeting another couple, we arrived and sat ourselves. We were sitting for a good 10 to 15 and didn't receive water until I asked the busboy. They did have a large party and a few other tables but not that busy. When we did have the waitress come to the table we felt like we were putting her out by being there and wanting to place a drink order. Bottom line poor service , food was tasteless and no apology for the service. They need to hirer quality servers and work on customer service. The food isn't as good as the La Veranda in Pittsburgh. Beautiful restaurant outside, but going inside your taking a chance. Good luck.

Stopped in for a first time lunch here. One of us ordered a crab Louie. The crab was not fresh and had a very funny taste. One of us had a small house salad. It was a plate of greens (sticks and weeds) thrown on a plate with nothing else, not even one cherry tomatoe. The crab Louie was gladly exchanged for another food choice no questions asked. Not sure why they served this to their customer to begin with knowing the crab was not fresh. The crab was gray in color. We brought along a guest which was their first time experiencing this establishment and they unfortunately are the one that ended up with the unpleasant crab Louie. Was very disappointed and very embarrassed that we suggested this place.. We had many other restaurant choices that we could have gone to that day. Our choice for this day turned out to be the wrong choice.

We've heard great reviews, but sadly we did not have a good experience. We waited 45 minutes for our appetizer and had to ask several times for bread. Our entrées were over cooked, dry, and over priced. Their meats are frozen without a doubt and meat portions are subpar for quantity. I would not dine again.

Very expensive for extremely small amount of very subpar food. Good staff (would have given 3 stars because of them), & great location, but food is terrible. An elderly, thin, pot-bellied man who appeared to be either owner or manager, was extremely rude and completely focused on money, not great service, or a superb dining experience. So very sad to see, since this great location presents so many benefits, but obviously greed creating horrible food quality, and over stressing of staff, as well as the poorest management ever witnessed. Evidence to why so many low ratings posted, for a business with real potential. This person does not belong in the hospitality industry and should sell immediately to allow someone who knows how to create a superior restaurant experience serve the good people of Clayton! FYI…Fiore Italian Restaurant is 1m away and much better in every aspect.👍🏽

Jim Cornelius

Stopped in for a first time lunch here. One of us ordered a crab Louie. The crab was not fresh and had a very funny taste. One of us had a small house salad. It was a plate of greens (sticks and weeds) thrown on a plate with nothing else, not even one cherry tomatoe. The crab Louie was gladly exchanged for another food choice no questions asked. Not sure why they served this to their customer to begin with knowing the crab was not fresh. The crab was gray in color. We brought along a guest which was their first time experiencing this establishment and they unfortunately are the one that ended up with the unpleasant crab Louie. Was very disappointed and very embarrassed that we suggested this place.. We had many other restaurant choices that we could have gone to that day. Our choice for this day turned out to be the wrong choice.

M W

Very expensive for extremely small amount of very subpar food. Good staff (would have given 3 stars because of them), & great location, but food is terrible. An elderly, thin, pot-bellied man who appeared to be either owner or manager, was extremely rude and completely focused on money, not great service, or a superb dining experience. So very sad to see, since this great location presents so many benefits, but obviously greed creating horrible food quality, and over stressing of staff, as well as the poorest management ever witnessed. Evidence to why so many low ratings posted, for a business with real potential. This person does not belong in the hospitality industry and should sell immediately to allow someone who knows how to create a superior restaurant experience serve the good people of Clayton! FYI…Fiore Italian Restaurant is 1m away and much better in every aspect.👍🏽

Rachel A

We've heard great reviews, but sadly we did not have a good experience. We waited 45 minutes for our appetizer and had to ask several times for bread. Our entrées were over cooked, dry, and over priced. Their meats are frozen without a doubt and meat portions are subpar for quantity. I would not dine again.