This service here is terrible!!! I've been here at least five times and every time I have to wait forever to be seated. No one assist you or anything until I had to wait at five minutes (even they're slow). It seems like there is no hostess and there is no servers want to to this. Food was good but I rather go somewhere else with good food and definitely good service! read more

Just wrote a review but after getting the check I have to revise it. 2 adults, one child for lunch, no alcohol -$65.00! The waiter told us he would count the soup as a side but just brought more lukewarm soup Would not go back read more

Not so good experience for breakfast here. Waitress did not know what was going on, we got charged for potatoes that we never got, and the silverware was dirty. The eggs Benedict left a lot to be desired. The three stars goes to the lemon curd pancakes. They were fantastic! read more

Our food came out in a timely manner, so I'll give them 2 stars. Our waiter wasn't very friendly, probably had something to do with the mass amount of people who came in right after us and the fact he was one of two, maybe 3 waiters. He didn't check on us and we felt like we were being rushed out. A woman walked in who made a party reservation, but there must have been confusion and no tables were ready for her so they took the row of tables we were in, including ours and placed a reserve sign on it. All the while she stared at us waiting for us to leave. Apparently Clemenza's means a middle finger in Italian. read more

My wife and I had not visited this restaurant for several years. We were disappointed when we had lunch there about 1 month ago. We order a wood fired Pizza with sausage and prosuitto (so we thought). The sausage was poor quality and the ham was regular sliced American ham. Crust was reasonably good, sauce was OK, but toppings were below par. Would not eat there again. read more

2.5 stars. Went for lunch. Sign on reception podium reads wait to be seated. We were seated by the owner shortly after arriving. Good. Only problem was he did not mention sitting us to the waitstaff. Waiter arrived and wondered if we seated ourselves since we did not have menus. Waitstaff was great at helping one another. Our waiter was either a tad forgetful or I was drinking my coke too fast. This was a non-issue because the waitress working next to us refilled me soon as she would see me low. She refilled me twice and our waiter refilled me once during lunch. We ordered a Margherita pizza, the special of the day Rigatoni with Pancetta and Sun Dried Tomato in Cream Sauce, and the soup of the day Creamy Mushroom w/Leeks. The rigatoni dish had good (not great) flavor, but the pasta was chewy. Chewy pasta immediately sends your brain into the kitchen wondering what else is going on back there. The mushroom soup was bland. I added salt but it still was not working for me. The margherita pizza was underwhelming. I expected a wood fired oven pizza to taste much better and have a crispy crust. The dough was doughy (is that a word?) as if it was not cooked enough. The owner cruised the dining room meeting customers. Always a nice touch. The decor is nice. A little dark, but very Italian with classic black & white photos on the walls. read more

Clemenza's - Rigatoni with Pancetta and Sun Dried Tomato in Cream Sauce - Italian Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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Got takeout pizza from here once, and it was good. Had the European breakfast there for the first time yesterday. Our server was friendly, but the service was so slow and the restaurant was not really crowded. We waited for at least 10 minutes for our drink order to be taken and it was at least an additional 10 minutes after that when our drinks arrived (1 sprite and 1 bellini). The wait time for our food ended up being reasonable. We had lemon curd crepes and the frittata - both were excellent. The fritatta was under-seasoned, but a little salt took care of that. I will definitely get them another try and hopefully the wait time will be better. read more

We have never been treated so terribly by any staff member at Clemenza's, until tonight, since moving here to Ft Walton Beach many years ago. Before our bill arrived the manager hastily came to our table grabbing things off of it and said in a very ugly, rude voice "We have a reservation here ma'am!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing coming out of that woman's mouth....so I asked her to repeat what she had just said. The same rudeness, the same ugly tone of voice to me and my children at the table. I had to tell her that the bill hadn't arrived yet. Her response was... "Oh, I thought you had already paid your bill and we're just sitting here." At that point I was livid. I did speak to the owner of the restaurant, alongside the tall, German? manager with the short, silver hair. That rude manager was laughing while I was talking to her boss, the owner, about her haughty treatment of me and my kids. Apparently she thought all this ordeal was funny. Her feeble attempt at an apology was not well received. The owner, a seemingly kind man, assured me he would take care of it. As long as that manager is working there, I will not be frequenting this restaurant; nor will my local and remote friends or family. read more

Stumbled on this place by mistake. This was by far the best restaurant we ate at during our vacation! Elizabeth was our waitress and couldn't have did a better job. Thanks so much, we will be back next year.... read more

Clemenza's has really good pizza! We went for the first time at about 7:30pm (they closed at 9) so it was toward the end of the night, we enjoyed the food and the customer service was decent... however, it was a little unprofessional how the staff spoke to each other in front of customers... we over heard multiple personal conversations about employee's and things taking place within the restaurant. I'd go back and give it another try because their food was definitely good but idk about anyone else, professionalism in the restaurant business is important to me. That could improve. read more

Had to say good bye to what had been one of only three local restaurants I would recommend to any one. Made a reservation for Mother's Day, when seated and the drink server showed up with a pitcher of ice water, I simply asked for room temp water and with an attitude was told no that I would drink what was served. After 4 years of patronage you made the list. read more

Had always been a favorite. It had been a year or so. We think the server may have been high. 3 drinks came one at a time and required asking where they were. Refills seemed a challenge and a Chardonnay came out as a Pinot Noir. We had calamari appetizer--bland at best. Entrees were mediocre, not what we recalled from last time. Cafe Italia seems better--who knows if they have slipped--or Ali's, if you want to be in FWB. read more

Food is amazing, been here a few times and everything is delicious and consistent. Pizza, pasta, chicken, meatballz... Doesn't matter, order anything and you won't be disappointed. read more

I've never left a review on Yelp. We've been long-time customers, even had our wedding reception there. We consider Clemenza's to be the best restaurant in FWB. Food and service is excellent but recently, prices have increased beyond reason. Recently, we ate in at an upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Chicago for considerably less. Great food but too expensive for a strip mall restaurant; where's the breaking point? read more

The goods: service and atmosphere excellent. 4 years ago the food was ill prepared food coming out of the kitchen. Tonight we tried this place again, again lasagna came out to us all cheese and pasta no meat. The owner even came over, we told him the issue and he admitted 3 people had complained. NO comp on my Lasagna, and still selling the inferior product to the customers? Better food for less so look elsewhere. read more

When the place opened up a while back. I was like "yaay,finally some real Italian cooking " I ordered pizza and I was disappointed . It was soggy read more

I'm so over this place! It's like being in an abusive relationship - they tell you they love you but treat you like shit. That is consistently how I feel about this restaurant and this morning settled it for me. Great ambiance, great sounding menu, managers/owners(?) helicoptering about the dining room. Everything "seems" great but it's just not! This morning's brunch was an excruciating experience for me. Restaurant not even half full, seated straight away. And then the wait. Everything is in slooooooow moootion! Like coma casual. Server doesn't have enough water in the pitcher to fill our five glasses, and it's like, "ohhhh, I might need to get some more water" dream sequence. Shuffle to the drink station ever.so.nonchalantly.... Takes our order, and something like seven minutes pass before orange juices and coffee get to the table. The server was holding the tray at my eye level and I notice a chip on the coffee cup. Apparently she sees it at the same time, and rather under her breath, mumbles, "ohhh, I might need to get another cup. Sorry." And the dead-slow-stop speed back to the bar to languidly get another cup, literally minutes pass. Anyhow, you get the idea. Zero pep, zero personality, seemingly indifferent to, oh, everything. We waited 45 minutes for our food. Pumpkin pancakes, french toast, cheese blintzes, chicken omelet, and eggs benedict. We were asked by 1 of 3 manager/owners if everything was all right before we even got our food. How do you even respond to that? Then assured again by another owner/manager that "Your food is coming and it's worth the wait!" The server inching her way with three of five plates from the kitchen to our table.... STOPS to have a "Hi, how are you, good to see you" conversation with another table. I'm about ready to scream at this point. She drops off the lukewarm food.... Three small pumpkin pancakes, no garnish. Heavy and wet texture, bland. Omelet was also on the small side. Chicken super salty. Strange part is that the description said caramelized onions, which it had, but also chopped onions, too. Husband said that the bites without chicken were pretty good. My benedict looked good, but also not hot. Popovers were too dry on the outside and eggs were overcooked. Prosciutto, which I know is supposed to be salty, was overboard. For the prices and the wait, I was hoping that this was going to be awesome, like I do just about every time we come here. Nope. Looks great, tastes not so great. (Very European!) Requested the check, charged for two coffees, only had one, which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal, but I wanted to leave!! Took FOR-FUCKING-EVER to pay for this experience. So long, in fact, that I left with my kids to get in the car while my husband waited to finish the transaction. Basically ruined our Saturday because by the time we got out of there, we didn't have enough time to go to the festival before my husband had to go to work. We're talking an hour and a half for breakfast?!?! Good God. Not to mention $$$. I feel deceived by this place because it SEEMS like such a great place, and I WANT it to be a great place, the food LOOKS good, but I have been more disappointed than satisfied and I am tired of trying to kid myself that it's worth it. With all of the "award-winning-best-in-Fort-Walton" all over the windows, I feel like there's something wrong with me or I am nuts, but today I didn't drink the koolaid. Put a fork in me - DONE. read more

Clemenzas is my go to spot for anniversary night, girls' dinners, cooking class, and brunch. They have a lot to offer, and while this would spread some businesses too thin, Clemenzas excels in all areas. read more

If you want Italian , Clemenza's has it all. Great food, good service and a ver nice wine selection.

Absolutely horrible! Really long wait , over one hour, for poorly cooked food! There is absolutely no flavor! Had to send the clams back to be fully cooked. Don't go there. Tradewinds has much better food. read more

Absolutely amazing food. Catie was our bartender and she designed our entire meal along with the wine pairing. Absolutely wonderful experience! read more

Decent food but small quantity. Definitely not worth the money. Wait staff had the personality of a wet blanket. Owner was really awkward and would have been better if he stayed in the back. After a poor experience I asked around and found out this was the norm. I can't believe all these good reviews, won't be going back. read more

I will start by saying my first thought on entering Italian Red Sauce Joints like this one is, could Michael Corleone take out Sollozzo and McCluskey here and the patrons would not even care because they know those two had it coming and they were so into their salads..breads..meats..noodles and gravy anyway?..first impression was Clemenza's is not that type place...a little too neat in the space and customer base...Clemenza's is actually for FWB pretty classy inside and has a real nice bar right when you walk in with a good craft beer..wine..and booze selection...instead of a Coppola Movie for Clemenza's ,a more proper comparison would be to a Dickens Novel..A Tale of Two Restaurants..a couple lunch time visits were superb...great food and great service...Classic Hot Italian Sandwich was excellent as was the Waitress Recommendation to add Hot Giardiniera to it..on another lunch visit The Chicken Milano Panni along with the soup of the day ;Wild Mushroom were both quite good...on both occasions Ma and Pa Clemenza were around making sure the place was running well and personally checking on all tables to make sure everything was ok.. add in the fact prices at lunch were quite reasonable and it's easy to see why this is a favorite of The FWB Business Lunch Crowd...my great experiences at lunch are what makes my two dinner time visits so perplexingly bad...on one visit I got a Veal Saltimbocca...the Veal in this dish had been beaten like a rented mule to make it appear bigger than it was..the Prosciutto on it was thinner than Kate Moss after a 2 week coke binge...pasta side had that strange consistency you get when you microwave something..you know when one side is hot and cremated and the other side is cold?...at 25 dollars and not including a salad, I felt like I had really been hoodwinked..in fact when I walked out the door I went two doors down to 5 Guys and got an order of fries because I was still hungry...on another visit, I got the nightly special which was Chicken Sinatra...well you know how when Chicken gets overcooked it gets tough and stringy?...this Chicken was about 2 minutes more in the oven from disintegrating into dust it was so overcooked...if this dish had been served to Frank himself, he would not be singing Luck Be a Lady about Clemenza's cause this dish was certainly not lucky!!, more likely he would have been singing This Lady is a Tramp...again at 20+ dollars for this dish, it was a robbery so brazen I am not even sure Danny Ocean himself would have attempted it....both Dinner Visits it is also worth noting Ma and Pa Clemenza were NOT around, so maybe this is one of those Restaurants where when the Cats are away the Mice will play...hard review to leave because my Lunch Experiences are 5 Stars and my Dinner Experiences are a 1 Star, so I will just middle it with 3 Stars...would definitely recommend for Lunch..not so much at Dinner..If Ma and Pa are around you will be fine it appears..just like Fredo was read more

Clemenza's - Clemenza's at Night - Italian Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

WARNING! Don't go there "off" hours, the servers are more interested in getting cut than serving a late table! I wish that my third visit wasn't such a huge fail, but it really was? We have gone for breakfast (awesome) dinner on a date night (great!!) and for a late lunch (utter disaster.) Breakfast we ate with our three kids under 10 and we loved just about everything. Dinner on a Friday night was bustling and busy but not overly so. We ended up enjoying a very good (though also very rich) meal. The Friday afternoon at 1:20 lunch was a pathetic excuse for a meal even though we arrived STARVING. I am SO glad that this visit wasn't our first, it would likely have been our last. We were seated right away to a half set table with dishwater and crumbs on the dishes, polished water glasses and no silverware at all. Waiters passed us and hovered and not a single one greeted us for the first 10 minutes. Finally with our menus set down a server finally asked if we had been helped. We ordered some drinks and a pizza and a few minutes later the drinks were served to us by our missing server. We ordered a soup to share and a couple of sandwiches. The pizza arrived and likely would have been excellent...except that it was warm at best. We also needed refills and weren't offered any. I even had to get up and find someone to fetch us silverware and they never offered any refills either. The dough in the middle of the pizza was very soggy and greasy and without much tomato sauce. The soup was delivered right on top of the pizza so we were left eating them both at the same time. The vichyssoise was flavorful but far too salty for my tastes.The sandwiches arrived and I ordered a beer and had to ask for a refill of water and teas. I told her that I thought that the soup was very salty and was indignantly told that I was the first one to complain about it, so it must be my tastes? She also commented that I had already eaten most of it (there was probably 2/3 of it left because I tried to "just eat it" but couldn't. I had my wife try it and she also remarked that it was very salty.) The sandwiches were average at best and she forgot my beer completely. Being of Italian descent I was probably spoiled by great cooking. The sausages were bland and taut, obviously boiled then quickly grilled to re-heat them and the bread was completely soggy. I was spoiled by slow-cooked sausages left for hours in a good gravy. We always froze them and even thawed they were far better than the ones on my sandwich as they practically dissolve into unctuous, spicy goodness right on your tongue. My wife's sandwich was very "pickly" tasting without explanation. It said that on the menu her sandwich was available "Gardienere" but we sure didn't order it that way. The fries once again? Would have been very good had they been hot. It's so terrible when restaurants this good fail so miserably but I guess that it happens? I'll be back but just a lot more careful and a little less trusting? Great spots can sure as hell be ruined by a server more interested in their sidework than their service. No manager was to be found. We saw the owner talk to several tables, but he never stopped by ours. read more

Good, not great. Super friendly and nice service. Place was caked but we waited for nothing. The fried calamari was very good, the seafood linguine was packed with seafood but at $25, just a square deal. The pizza was good, not good the next day though, not sure why that is at some places. I also had a cannoli which was awesome. One note, the bread on the table isn't good, it is super dense, don't bother with it. read more

Food pretty good, a little pricey. Wait was incredibly too long for everything. Especially considering we were the first table seated at a slow time. It was very difficult to get my water refilled. It finally was refilled once in an hour and a half. After I tracked another server that wasn't mine. Staff can really make or break a place. I don't easily drop over a $100 tab and can't get a glass of water. Sorry I won't be back. read more

OUTSTANDING! Came here on a Friday night and while the place was busy we were able to be seated right away. (I think it was due to the deluge of rain we had.) I noticed a gentleman walking to each table and ensuring everything was good. I was later told he was the owner. On Thursday evenings they have an Italian breaded ribeye that my meal mates have had in the past. Occasionally you can get it on Fridays too. It was phenomenal. I ordered the special of the night. Pan seared grouper with lemon butter sauce over saffron rice (that was perfectly seasoned) and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. It was $34 which was a bit steep I thought but it was probably the best grouper dish I have ever eaten. I would probably put it at more like $28. They also have a caramelized onion and mascarpone bruschetta that was excellent. Service was pretty good. Staff was friendly and pleasant. Good wine selection. I will be back next time I'm in town. read more

We ordered to go because our lunch time is limited. They will not take an order ahead if we eat it there. The charges for each order 75 cents for packaging and $1 for tip. The food was ok not great. We will not be back. Too bad our office is close by and have over 100 people I guess they don't need our business. read more

Had a business lunch with 6 colleagues today. We had reservations that were made weeks ago. We waited at every stage of our dining experience. After an hourly waiting for our food, we asked for bread because we were starving and were flatly told they don't offer bread at lunch. We weren't offered any alternative, even though others had been served ahead of us who came in after we did. The place admittedly was packed, but we were never offered an apology or any explanation for the wait. We ended up being there over two hours. My friends all liked their food, but my panini was dry and tasteless. My family has had nice dinners here with good service in the past, so I don't know what was going on today. Never again for lunch! read more

This spot was highly recommended by a friend, so we were super excited to go for our anniversary. Sadly, we ended the evening with nothing but a deep feeling of disappointment. My entree was prepared incorrectly and had to be sent back. It took so long for them to correct my meal, that my husband was done with his entree by the time mine was served as ordered. We were both disappointed to eat "alone" considering that we were there to celebrate our anniversary. The server barely acknowledged the error ... no manager came by to apologize ... nothing. The food tasted fine, but the circumstances ruined the evening. read more

Nope. Nope. Nile. Nook. Moor. Nooe. No thanks. Is this enough letters yet? No. Try hard swanky. No.

Best Italian restaurant outside Italy. Probably even in Italy. Truly authentic Italian.

Clemenza's is located in Uptown Station. I didn't know what to expect from the place because I haven't been a ton of Italian food places. When I walked in, people everywhere -it was great. I am always happy to see places getting business, and this made everything look promising. To my right was a bar with a woman behind it who was smiling. I felt like this was going to be a good use of my time. We were seated rather quickly, which was great, because it was packed, and were taken to a rather seculded area that was off to the side -which was GREAT! I loved the private feel of it all. It was so classy, loved the decor, and the service was PHENOMENAL! We were given bread while we were waiting for our food, and I asked our waiter if it was homemade. He said, "yes, we make it, then let it rise over night." The bread is absolutely mouth-watering. Then we got our pizza. Delicious. Delicious. Delicious. Service, again, was great. Servers who weren't even at our table were super nice. I would LOVE to go back here and try other things on the menu! read more

I had REALLY high hopes for this placed based on the yelp reviews and my first impressions when we sat down. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The spaghetti carbonara was downright embarrassing. Definitely not restaurant worthy at all. Portion was also very small. The pizza was good, but lacked flavor and texture. For what we got, I thought it was quite overpriced. I think I'll go back and give it another shot based on the high reviews, but they already have a strike one on my book. read more

Be aware the eggplant parm is not a traditional recipe and you don't get pasta with it.

The service here was amazing! Waiters and waitresses were phenomenal. I honestly don't know which was BETTER the food or the service? I had chicken Parmesan and it was so so good. My dad had the calzone and he loved it (it's huge!!). It was a very family friendly restaurant and I will definitely be coming back. Only downside is that the food is overpriced. But it's not so bad for the value for good food, great service, a clean restaurant, and delightful ambience. read more

The service was alright. Staff was friendly. The bread was pretty good. Tasted fresh and it was still warm. For the meal I ordered a "house special" but it was very bland. My girlfriend ordered a different "house special" that was supposed to have vodka sauce but tasted like bland macaroni and cheese. The food definitely wasn't worth the price. Won't be eating here again. read more

First. Pizza is ok. Thats it. Nothing else realty lives up to a true Italian standard. Eggplant disappointing. Pasta disappointed. Sauce not good..portions small. Atmosphere bland. read more

Was really looking forward to enjoying dinner here. I'll spare the details and just get to the point....do not waste your time or money. The calamari was bland and marinara tasted like it was straight from a jar. The overpriced entrees lacked flavor...I was really expecting more. read more

I like the atmosphere, but the service is not stellar. It needs improvement. I did take a cooking class there. That was nice. They have nice wine and there is a bartender there that makes the best lemon-drop martinis. Mama Clamenza's Sunday breakfast is nice, but don't go there hungry because you'll wait a long time. Make reservations. read more