June 9,
2004 -
Atmosphere is somewhat sterile and plain - what you
might expect in a small strip mall venue. It used to be very smoky; such
that we rarely visited. An addition to double the dining area last year
provided a non-smoking dining room making it now hospitable. Its too bad the
food isn't more inspiring and the service more attentive. Being the
restaurant closet to our home for the last eleven years, we would love to
love Clara's! Unfortunately, it consistently underwhelms rather than
ingratiates.
Atmosphere - 2.5/5
Food - Menu (Italian) selection is fairly broad but the
the selections tend to be uninspiring and rather bland and a bit
disappointing in portions (veal parmigiana).
Food - 3/5
Wine - Winelist, is predominantly Italian with some
well thought out and carefully selected Californians, Australians, and
Northwest wines. While limited the selection is imaginative and well done.
Their offer of half price wines for the evening could've made for an
imaginative and fun evening until they held firm to their $74 limit and
would'nt relax it for an $88 or even a $75 choice! I told them they won the
battle and lost the war. See wine journal
review.
Wine - 3/5
Service was slightly less than adequate, not quite
sufficiently personal or attentive to meet expectations.
Service - 3/5
Overall - 11.5/20 |