Such a great dining experience. The restaurant is beautiful and welcoming, and every dish tasted fresh and well-seasoned. The branzino, wagyu steak, and seafood starters were all standout plates. Cocktails were carefully crafted and balanced. A wonderful addition to San Clemente's dining scene. read more

Went to Ilya in San Clemente and absolutely loved it. The Ilya mezze platter was delicious and perfect for sharing, and the drinks were really well made, I got the clean vegan and an espresso martini as well! The dessert especially stood out, so good and the perfect way to end the meal. We also had the branzino, which had so much flavor and was cooked beautifully. Everything tasted fresh and thoughtfully prepared. The ambiance is great and the service was friendly and attentive. Definitely a spot I'd come back to and highly recommend! read more

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One of the best dining experiences I've had. Visited with my family for dinner and everything. From the staff and service to the food quality and overall ambience was outstanding. The Truffle Pasta is absolutely to die for, and the escargots were incredibly flavorful. Hands down my two favorite dishes. Highly recommend this place to anyone who truly appreciates great taste and quality. read more

Ilya Restaurant - Mediterranean Near Me - San Clemente, California

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The service was excellent, the staff went above and beyond. The restaurant is beautiful and serene. The food was delicious and impeccably prepared and served. The drinks were also unique and delicious. My favorite was the lemon tart dessert! read more

Ilya Restaurant - This is the lemon tart - Mediterranean Near Me - San Clemente, California

We were excited to try this new restaurant in San Clemente to celebrate a birthday, and it did not disappoint at all. The interior is stylish with a coastal vibe, and we were welcomed right as we walked in. The service was attentive, and our server was knowledgeable about the menu and full of recommendations. Even the GM came by to talk and make sure to answer any questions we had. Based on our servers' recommendations we had the goat cheese endive salad and breadbasket for starters. She even brought us a serving of hummus on the side. For the main entry we chose the Bevetta and Rack of Lamb with the Haricot vert and glazed carrots. Everything was delicious and we will being coming back again in the future either for dinner or to stop at the bar for drinks and appetizers. read more

San Clemente needed a restaurant like this. Food was excellent. I've had meat ball appetizers in many places, and this was by far the best I've ever had. The fish was excellent also. Beautiful buildout of the space. Service was professional and attentive. This will be our go to place when we have guests in town. read more

Just visited on December 27th. Although they recently opened early December. They are still working out the kinks. Definitely recommend the restaurant. Well heated! Food is superb. And service was amazing. Our server was Kate. She was absolutely phenomenal! read more

Amazing food. The freshest pasta and quality ingredients. The location was well done and classy. The music, staff and energy was a perfectly optimized for the experience. A bit pricey for what you get but you can tell the effort is there to justify premium experience. read more

New and needs more time to give to improve in the overall experience for the prices they are charging

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary last night at Ilya. From the moment we drove up, had our car parked and entered the restaurant, things were pleasantly different. From the reception desk, to our wonderful waitress Dania, her attitude and helpfulness created a wonderful evening. The food was superb. Will tell all our friends about this great restaurant and will be coming back soon!! Charlie & Nancy read more

My husband and I went here for our first date night since having a baby. We could not have had a better experience! The ambience, service, drinks, and food were incredible. We still talk about the grilled octopus, the branzino, and the lemon tart dessert. Do not skip on the dessert wine at the end! read more

Triple threat-- flavor, service, and ambiance! We will be back! The cocktails were fantastic too!

Ate here last night as we were excited to try the new restaurant in town. Added bonus when I found out it was a Chef Charbel owned restaurant. The restaurant itself is beautiful inside and I really liked the indoor/outdoor flow. Flavors were unique and with such a large menu, I am surprised that after eating there it may be the first time I'm still confused on how to build a meal here. With so many starters and a nice cocktail menu, I may only go back for drinks/apps if at all. There were many proteins available but so few sides. Be sure to ask your server on how to build a meal as we were disappointed with our selections by the end. Not because of the flavors, but because it didn't come together as well as we had hoped. What we ate: Mezze Platter - The dips were great! Especially enjoyed the muhammara and the hummus was top notch. Would have liked more vegetables or another piece of pita to be able to finish the dips. Tiger Prawns - These were a disappointment. Especially after being recommended by our server they lacked excitement. Goat Cheese Salad - This was great! Would recommend adding to the table and treat it as a shareable side dish. Glazed Carrots - Highly recommend! The za'atar seasoning was so unique that we kept going back for more. You've got to try these. Spicy Rigatoni - This might be the best pasta in town but served more as a side dish than an entree. Portion was smaller than a normal pasta bowl and there was no option to add a protein. Pork Chop - Probably my favorite item we ordered. The chimichurri was amazing and such a large pork chop was served. The only issue was for a boneless pork chop, I still found multiple bites with bones which I'm not sure was intentional. Lamb - Excellent! This recommendation from our server was great. Again, served more like a steakhouse with meat only but the flavor was worth it. Overall, it is definitely a place worth checking out as the flavors are unique and the food is cooked very well. I'm going to give them some grace as I believe we went on their second night, but they definitely have some things to work out if they're going to last in town. read more

Amazing experience! I had diner with a couple of friends and was absolutely delighted. The food was incredible, and we shared everything. We ordered the bronzino, New York steak, sole meuniere and lemon tart. The waiters were very friendly and took great care of us. We also ordered their signature cocktail. I highly recommend this new spot, the chef is French, very talented and sexy! read more

Couldn't wait to try this place. First impression, $10 to park...ridiculous! Nice ambiance and decor, but it was very loud. Service was good, everyone is friendly and attentive, even though one of us had to ask 3 times for the drink we ordered. The Mezze plate was good, but $20 seemed high for hummus and crudite. The mussels were incredibly tiny compared to PEI MUSSELS I have had but the Thai curry broth was delicious. The lobster spaghetti was okay, not much visible lobster and not worth $50. The pork chop was very well prepared and tender. I will give this place maybe one more try, there is potential. I will start by parking on the street. read more

We had the best experience at Ilya in San Clemente! From the moment we walked in everything felt warm, welcoming, and thoughtfully done. The ambiance is beautiful yet relaxed ..perfect for a date night or a special dinner with family. Every dish we ordered was absolutely delicious, full of flavor and beautifully presented. You can truly tell how much care goes into the ingredients and preparation. The service was attentive without feeling rushed and the staff was BEYOND INCREDIBLE ..they made us feel genuinely taken care of throughout the entire meal. Ilya is the kind of place you leave already planning your next visit. Such a great addition in San Clemente highly recommend! read more

We celebrated a birthday for this occasion. The wait staff and omvionce was exceptional. The food in my opinion was lacking in portion compared to price. We had the chicken and sole entrees Maza plate Feta dish along with spinach and mushrooms . Flavor was decent but woke up at 3:30 AM with Montezuma Revenge. The restaurant is beautiful though. read more

Amazing! Great food, service, and atmosphere. Highly recommend the lobster spaghetti and baked feta

What an amazing evening we had at ILYA! Beautifully decorated, comfortable and welcoming! Service was spot on! Friendly, attentive and knowledgeable from start to finish. Meatball appetizers, four different entrees, and lemon tart and Tiramisu for dessert. (Party of four!) The Lobster spaghetti was my favorite, but the pork chop and Salmon dishes definitely were running a very close second! So much flavor, perfectly cooked and extremely satisfying. We ended our evening with the lemon tart and tiramisu! I have not stopped thinking about each of those since I left the restaurant! Perfection!!! Cannot wait to go back to ILYA!! read more

The food was extraordinary and atmosphere warm and inviting. I highly recommend it!!!

We went here for the first time with friends on Friday night. The restaurant itself is beautiful, but we were seated at the outer edge so did not get to feel much of the esthetic. The food was tasty, but not delicious. Our main dishes were served after they cleared our plates and before they put new plates and silverware out. Not ok at this price point. They even missed serving utensils - we had to ask for them. My friends brought a bottle of wine which they had to ask to be uncorked several times before the waiter did it (we purchased several pricey cocktails and wanted the wine to breath before the mains. They emphasized family style and that sides are ordered separately--- this would have been ok if the sides were sharing size, but they were definitely single serve! One of the "family" sides even came on a side dish plate. So - although pretty, the food was lackluster and FAR too expensive for what is. Won't be dropping $600+ again there for a meal for 4 that left us all wanting to hit fast food on the way home! read more

First time here!!! Our waiter Timothy was so nice and very helpful with suggestions. Drinks were amazing and the food was varied and very good!! Beautiful restaurant which I highly recommend. read more

Wow This was our first time here and it was so amazing. We had the salmon and the truffle pasta it was outstanding We met Zack, Hanna ,Sanjay, kelin,and Kacie there were so nice and attentive, we had the best time here tonight Thank you read more

Ambiance was pretty. The service was OK. The food is not worth the high prices. The food runners bringing out our dishes felt like they were on the go and couldn't stop at our table to thoroughly explain the dishes like when they dropped us off our octopus starter, he should have told us the plate was extremely hot. He placed the octopus at the edge of the table, far away from us so I went to grab the plate to bring it closer to us and I burnt my finger. $4.00 extra for pita for the Mezze plate is a little ridiculous I must say for a Mediterranean restaurant... that should be no extra cost for a $20 hummus starter plate. Our server didn't even tell us that it would cost extra either. We found out when we got the check at the end of the night. The truffle salad had hardly any truffle flavor. Pasta bolognese was fine but for a $32 pasta this should have tasted super delicious!! It was just okay. The $68 rack of lambs should say, "marinated with Moroccan-spiced yogurt". The reason we know it's marinated in it instead of having the yogurt on the plate is because we asked. The plating of this dish specifically was very underwhelming. For the price point of Iyla, our expectations were very high and after our experience it was just okay. The flavor we had in our dishes were certainly not up to the price point. read more

Ilya instantly became one of my new favorite spots in San Clemente. The modern Mediterranean design, the warm coastal ambiance, and the incredible food all come together so perfectly. My top picks? The grilled octopus -- tender, smoky, and full of flavor -- and the meatballs, which were so good I could've ordered a second round. And their margarita? Absolutely the bomb -- perfectly balanced and dangerously easy to sip. Such a beautiful space, amazing dishes, and an experience I'd go back for again and again. Highly recommend! read more

Finally the resteruant San Clemente needs! Higher end Mediteranean cuisine with a modern vibe. Grilled octopus, salmon, sol, steak. Everything but the fries were great! Dry aged meats, Curated menu. read more

Beautiful decor. Top notch service from our server Micah. Guided us through wine pairings and his favorite dishes. Definitely try the meatball appetizer. So good! read more

Came in for the first time on a Saturday night. Our waitress Hanna was extremely accommodating, food came out quick, and the energy in the restaurant was amazing! It was so packed but still felt intimate. My family and I will definitely be back. Thank you Hanna! read more

Wonderful restaurant. Had a great experience last week. Server Micah was great and actually made the experience with my boyfriend more than romantic The patio area by the fire place was perfect. Recommend the octopus! Very good! read more

Amazing food and service was great. The whole environment actually mimicked the Mediterranean coast vibe very well.

4 Foodies expecting a great dinner but food is so disappointing that no one comments on any of 4 different dinners. Way over priced. Supremely poor. Final insult a valet parking fee and tip. Service fine but sent home at 0:15, light come up and by 9:30 they shut it down. Weekend! Something beyond food is lousy. This won't survive and if you go expect ring great. You'll be sorry. We were. read more

We decided to try this new restaurant because of the reviews and it was disappointing. The best part of the meal was the fries! The shrimp where not cooked completed and had no flavor. We had sole and it had no flavor and was fishy, which was surprising due to the fact that sole is a very mild fish. The brevette also had no flavor inspite of the chimichurri sauce. read more

We had a wonderful experience at Ilya. All of the starters our table tried were terrific. My favorites were grilled octopus, grilled prawns and the mezze plate. I loved the beef tartare and branzino. The lemon tarte topped it all off. We also loved the pace of the meal. Service was just right for a terrific night. San Clemente is lucky to have this new addition! read more

Obsessed with this place!! Such a good date night spot in San Clemente Everything we ordered was insanely fresh and flavorful, and you can truly taste the quality in every dish. Hands down a new favorite and a must go read more

Our whole table had fish for dinner. The Dover Sole was excellent. A very large portion. Appetizers were great as were the specially designed drinks. The restaurant is beautiful It has open windows around but lots of heaters. It was also a bit noisy but that is not unusual. I will definitely return read more

Amazing experience. The food was literally an experienc, they made it a journey not just a dinner. I couldn't have asked for better service, Dania was the best server and was so attentive that I felt like I was the only customer there. read more

The service was attentive and top notch. I had the Australian rack of lamb and fries and wife had the branzino and side of mushrooms. Then the lemon tart for dessert. The decor was beautiful and the vibes were high end. The food was good, but nothing special exceptional so I'll give it a 4 out of 5. read more

Hallelujah - San Clemente finally has a grown up restaurant with excellent food and real ambiance. We loved almost everything we ate, but the fish entrees really shined the most. Don't miss the sole and the branzino. Steak was good (sauce was excellent) but the pork chop was a sleeper hit. Our server was very sweet. Good service for main courses was a little spotty - think they may have forgotten to fire our dishes but they made up for it quickly once the mistake was realized. Come with at least 4 people as all dishes are meant to be shared. We will be back, often read more

Of chef Charbel's three concepts in Southern CA, I would say Ilya was the best. Dish after dish was perfection. I especially loved the patatas bravas and branzino. The lamb chops were good but the au jus didn't do much for them. Nice setting except the booths really were not made for more than 3 guests. We were a party of 4 and felt extremely crammed. read more

Just the vibes outside of the restaurant before you even park seems very clicky and popular club only. The valet parking situation is almost mandatory and its not even a busy area. The prices of just about everything on the menu is astronomically high, much higher prices than anywhere else in town for the same quality, service, and ambience at the dinner table. Being placed almost right under the 5fwy and at a cross of a busy intersection and off ramp it doesn't help that the large doors and windows are open to let in lots of noise. Not sure why this place try's to come off so prestigious amd high end, but I can assure you this is not the upper echelon dining experience you're looking for... the vibe is a way better bang for ya buck imo(: read more