42 Best Italian Restaurants near Clayton

“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.“

“10 stars! The best sandwiches in all of CC County are made here! The staff is very friendly and upbeat- you can tell the crew absolutely love their jobs and! the "decor" in the shop is pretty great! The sandwiches are pretty pricey, but absolutely worth the cost!Oh! And meatball parm.“

“Montecatini Restaurant is always a welcome evening for our family. We can always count on perfectly prepared meals every time whether it's a traditional pasta dish, seafood or house specialty item. Their service is friendly and efficient and our experiences there are consistently top-notch. We love to start with either the prawns wrapped in pancetta with pesto aioli appetizer or the bay shrimp on butter lettuce salad. The prawns are full of flavor and great to share, and the bay shrimp salad is a great portion, small meal-size with delicate balance of flavors. The carpaccio is also a favorite of our family, we order it with the arugula, red onion and dijon dressing. You cannot go wrong when ordering your favorite Italian entrees; we've literally never had even an average experience here! Pastas are perfectly cooked, well sauces and the portions are abundant. The Classics are authentic, delicious and the seafood entrees are always perfectly executed! They offer a full bar and a wonderful wine list! This restaurant gets my highest recommendation!“

“Wonderful staff, food is fresh and delicious. Consistent quality and warmth of environment. - Don Dikun“

“I went at 11:30am on a Wednesday. I ordered the pulpo twice and two glasses of a dry white wine recommended by my server, who is a delightful man with a charming accent. Though the restaurant was practically empty when I first walked in they had a relaxing vibe with a mostly pastel/white interior. I've had better pulpo, but not in walnut creek. If I wasn't able to go to oakland/San Francisco for octopus, I would come here.“

“Fabulous Food, Drinks and Ambiance! Love this place!!! Five Stars!!!“

“We had lunch today and it was amazing! Lovely atmosphere, great food, and excellent service! This was the first time we’ve been and we’ll definitely go back.“

“Wonderful food and great service!“

“I came here for happy hour and dinner. Decent selection on the HH menu which is from 3-5. We ordered the shrimp and fried ravioli which was $8 per appetizer. We considered ordering the Kobe sliders but opted for a $35 prime rib dinner which came with a loaded baked potato and sautéed veggies. I split this and 2 happy hour appetizers with my friend and it hit the spot! Just when I thought I didn’t have room for dessert I made room. The butter toffee cake was delicious and I highly recommend it!

It was slow on a Tuesday night. Service was friendly and attentive. Def worth a visit!“

“This is one of the only places in Antioch area where you can be seated for a nice meal at 9:30PM on a Sunday night. The service and food are excellent. I prefer the salmon fillet and my wife loves the ravioli carbonara. The six dollar entrees to go are great for feeding anyone left at home.“

“Just a wonderful local resturant. Owner is always warm and welcoming. Food is always wonderful. Fantastic atmosphere.“

“I write this review as I am getting ready to leave Walnut Creek for San Diego. I made it a point to stop by PanCoast one last time. Why?

Best sandwiches man. Simply put. Get the italian.

Thanks for everything PanCoast. I mean it“

“Forever fabulous. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“

“Wonderful dinner experience with wonderful friends“

“Great tasting food and excellent service…“

“the New England clam chowder was off the hook no longer do I have to drive all the way to San Francisco have a good piece of sourdough bread dipped in the delicious clam chowder thank you Great Impasta“

“love the food and the family“

“Excellent dining experience. Top notch food as well as a wonderful staff. Great ambiance too!“

“Food is great, loved the chicken fettuccine, the bread. the place is clean, the servers are friendly and the service is fast. The price is just right. It’s my first time to be here and loved it.“

“So good tried a classic & a square pizza Recommendation from our Genna server. Definitely be back soon.“

“Had a great meal, Chicken Parm was on point! Kid had Shrimp Pomodoro and loved it! The Peach hard lemonade was delicious!!“

“Excellent restaurant. The food was wonderful and the owners were very gracious. We love this little gem of a restaurant!“

“The best in whole area... love their veggie placido Domingo! Special mayo is perfect. The pastrami is tasty also. Never change... not sure if you can get any better?“

“The food at Isola is always amazing and this visit was no different. Wonderfully authentic Italian flavors. It's impossible to not enjoy every bite. The service was also incredible. We dined at the bar this time and Ben was fantastic! He did everything, including welcoming us, fixing our drinks, handling our meals and providing great conversation throughout the evening. Can't wait to go back!“

“Food was excellent but they appear to be understaffed. We were seated at 6 for our 6 o'clock reservation and didn't see a server for 15 minutes and had to wave over the busses to even get water. The server was good, but definitely stretched and stressed.“

“Good food and great service“

“The food was incredible. I wanted to order almost everything on the menu. So will have to come back at least couple more times to try everything to look good and we couldn’t order in one night. Our old fashion cocktail and blackberry Mojito were perfect. And I can’t say enough about considerate, professional service.“

“all I can say is wow!! the best Italian food I e ever ate!! and they were kind enough to add a half a loaf of bread and a extra slice of pizza to my order I definitely recommend this wonderful place when your around town , thank you for your food !!!“

“Walk in & you will know! Food is delicious“

“Really great pizza 🍕 the best“

“Charles was great! We will be back.“

“Decent Buffalo wings. Can order ahead for takeout.“

“So good and very pleasant stuff!!“

“Delicious pizza, great salad, and outdoor seating. Our favorite pizza place!“

“Tuna Antipasta Artichoke Torta Hot meatballs and sausage in sauce Pork & Beef Enchiladas Choc. Chip Canoli’s“

“Great Lunch Menu Specials!!!“

“These folks have been in business for a long time (since the 70's or 80's I think) and they make really good pizza. Like the name implies, it's take out or delivery only. We have a few pizza places (Sorentos and Melo's) we like to go for sit down dinner, but Strictly to Go makes pizza that is right up there with the best of them, and they are so much better than the chain locations nearby. They're family owned and operated, so money spent here is going back to the community. I typically make my own BBQ at home in my smoker, so I haven't tried the ribs. That said, I can fully imagine they're great too.“

“The first time you were able and you had to do something about the situation you had with your family you had a good relationship and I think that you had to do that with the kids because I know that you had a bad experience and you were trying and I think you had a great ? and you were right to say it but I don’t know what to tell him about it and you have a lot more than that and you know I’m“

“Just had a GREAT experience at Melo’s today! We had a large group (24+) where we pre-ordered pizza and salads. They set us up in an area perfect for our group. Our food was set up on one table…buffet style…and we had plenty of tables to sit and eat. Highly recommend Melo’s pizza and pasta in Danville!“

“Perfect birthday dinner thank you!!! Service excellent and food off the hook.. I’ve been trying to find a fish pizza forever and your Nrw Haven Clam with bacon was delicious!!!! And my birthday New York cheese cake omg!!! Thank you“