Da Claudio

My husband and I decided that we would go to Da Claudio for our anniversary meal after reading the reviews on Qype. Whilst we had some positive things to say about the food after our meal, we left the restaurant itself with a bitter taste in our mouths due to the service and general atmosphere.
We came into the restaurant at about 8:30 on a mid-​week evening. There was one group of four, the rest of the dining room held about three other couples. In short it wasn’t busy. We waited for a few minutes to be noticed, and then were shuffled into the bar area to see the menu and order. We weren’t really bothered by this, it must just be policy to take the order at the bar and then seat the customers, but it was a little strange to walk all the way through the dining area to get to the bar, just to come back again.
Our starters were lovely my husband’s prosciutto and melon salad was delicious, and my mozzarella and tomato ‘lasagne’ was excellent and the mains were not bad. My ‘pork medallions’ at £13 provided value for money in the sheer volume of the dish (I took half of it home!), and my husband quite liked his steak and pasta dish (he kept it for leftovers as well).
The real issue that we had with the restaurant began and ended with the staff. They seemed rushed, inattentive (mostly), and unfriendly (more on this later). Part of this feeling was created by the staff’s rushing backwards and forwards and re-​setting all the dishes on the empty tables instead of speaking to the customers. At one point, the waitress began sorting silverware at the side of the dining room, with no regard to the amount of noise that she was making! Surely this task could have been done in the kitchen? Where there weren’t 14 paying customers trying to enjoy a quiet meal? Not to mention, this same waitress made a habit of stacking the plates, one on top of the other, and carrying them back to the kitchens as if they were stacks of books. Not quite the service that one would expect when paying more than £7 for a main.
At the end of the meal, we were asked if we wanted pudding. I ordered the chocolate torte, and my husband ordered the cheesecake. We had been told that there was one pudding that wasn’t available, so we made our decisions and told the waiter who, on balance, was the best part of the service overall, in that he did ask us more than once if everything was okay. Anyway, after about five minutes, the waitress came back and told me that they were out of chocolate torte. I was disappointed, and didn’t order anything else, and didn’t really think anything of it until a woman on the other side of the dining room ordered the same thing and was told that they weren’t going to cook it because it was too late. She said it was fine, but because she was a regular, Claudio himself came out to apologise to her that she couldn’t get her pudding.
We aren’t overly fussy when it comes to the kind of attention we desire from waitstaff. My husband and I just expect that we are treated with the same attention and courtesy as any other paying customer. As we left the restaurant, with Claudio and the waiters and the regulars all still in the dining room, we left without anyone taking the time to say ‘Thank you’, or ‘Have a nice night’, or anything else. It was a fitting way to leave a restaurant that made us feel less than welcome, and one that we won’t be visiting again.

Lovely food would go again. The lady who served us was very friendly an nothing was too much trouble. They do an early evening £13.95 3 course special. I had Spinach and Ricotta filled pancake which was huge, follwed by steak which was served with side salad and a sauce which was tomatoes, wild mushrooms, pancetta and olives (don’t worry if you dont like olives they are big enough for you to take off) then for desert I had cheesecake which was a massive slice well worth a visit.

Good food served by nervous and ill informed staff. I’m not sure whether this place just has a high turnover of staff or whether the chef changes his menu everyday. The staff do not seem to know the menu and the waitress returned to our table 3 times to double check the order, claiming the menu wasn’t one she was used to!
The food itself however was very good, I could not fault it. Had the restaurant been full I think the staff would have leapt through the window to escape, they were always friendly but all of them seemed edgy and nervous.
I’m not sure why they are like this, they offer decent food in a nicely presented restaurant, learn to relax!

This place used to be spectacular before Claudio changed premises. I have been three times since he moved. On one of these occasions the waiter was a nervous English guy who had very little knowledge of the menu so when I asked him questions he just went red and said he would ask the chef.
Ah the chef, Claudio is well known in the local Italian community for trying to do it all himself. Hence the sometimes incredibly slow service. I once waited an hour between starter and main course then I walked out. Yes it is good to see a chef that cares but get some help in there ! The food is generally good but is too expensive. The general ambiance is fine for romantic meal for two but I would not bring children here. Décor is fine and modern with a good waiting area. No pizza which is a slight detraction. Staff ever changing. If they could get consistency there then they could recapture that atmosphere they once had. Wine list is good but expensive. UPDATE I have been here about ten times in the last six months. I cannot get enough of the place. He has reined in the menu a bit and stuck at what he is good at. The risotto and pasta dishes are simply wonderful and the meat is still meltingly beautiful. He has just changed menu to reflect seasonal availability and has added some exciting variations such as salmon, swordfish etc. meal deal still on and well worth it. If you come to eat in Scarborough just once, come here. UPDATE JUNE 2012Its great to find a decent restaurant open on a monday night in Scarborough. For starter I had asparagus wrapped in Parma ham, stuffed with ricotta and baked in the oven. It was brilliant. A superb use of the ingredients. Claudios menu reflects spring and what is available locally. His Summer menu I am assured will be even better. My partner had baked goats cheese on pears and that too was lovely. For mains I had a fist sized fillet steak in a sage and garlic sauce wrapped in parma ham served on crostini with veg. It was so good I wanted to cry. It was simply awesome in the true sense of the word. I asked for it rare and it was just perfect, simply perfect. I did not need a knife to slice it as it was so tender. (SEE PHOTO) My partner had Risotto Reale which comes with a steak on it. She loved it, even though she had it murdered to well done it was still soft and tender. Service as always was great, attentive and friendly. I have raved in recent reviews about steak at other establishments in the town. They are superb. However the fillet steak served here is not just the best I have had in this town, it is the best I have had anywhere. Pure magic. You must try it.

Located quite centrally in Scarborough town centre, this is a solid if unspectacular three and a half star restaurant. better than a three, but not good enough for a four star.
The food they serve is quite nice, even if occasionally it can be a little too pretentious for its own good — sometimes I feel that a little less time spent on being concerned with the presentaion could lead to more effort being spent on cooking the food. Starters, main courses and desserts are all as you might expect at an Italian place — the common dishes such as bruschetta through to the more original house specials. The prices are reasonable if perhaps a little on the expensive side in some cases, but its usually tasty and always fresh. The wine list is pretty good, if, again, a bit on the pricey side in some cases.
The inside is clean and modern, service has always been commendable and occasionally the special offers they do (such as reserve a table via the website and get 10% off) are welcome.
Open at lunchtimes and evening times, its worth a visit for you to make your own mind up.