Went here with my cousin right before the dinner rush. We were starving and dashed in. We were told to sit anywhere by the bartender who was also our server. So we grabbed a table outside with a good view.
We ordered a salad and pizza. We were worried that the food would arrive after we passed out from starvation. But they reassured us that it would be a quick 10 minutes because of their food prep and fast cooking.
Since it was our first visit our server was glad to give us the low down on their Farmers Market bought ingredients and in-restaurant made dough. Very informative and he was very proud to be working for a place that caters to people's health and helps with the local economy.
I'll be returning just for the exceptional food...and the smiling, proud staff.
Tried Brick with our friends on recommendation from locals. Â Terribly disappointing! Â I sent back my tagliatelle order. Â It was tasteless and the "local" pork was indelible ( By the way, where do they raise pigs in San Clemente). Â My friends sent two entrees back. Â One was cold and served an hour and fifteen minutes after order. Â Dishes came one at a time. Â One the "bright " side, salads were good, and pizza was ok.
The servers were apologizing all night during the service and offered to take my dish off of the bill.  I declined that offer and the offer for free deserts.  I like to dine slowly but usually with the food in front of me instead of worrying what they were going to screw up next.   This was  the first time I have ever sent a dish back.  Oh, the first order of squash blossoms were delicious.  The second order was soggy and greasy.  A candidate for  Kitchen Nightmares if there ever was one!
Thing we had were overcooked. Â I have to agree w/ the twilight zone ambiance. Â We walked in the front door, and there was a guys standing there who looked like the host, but wasn't. Â We stood there for several minutes before an employee noticed us and seated us. Â It was just a weird vibe. Â We wanted it to be good, but the food wasn't very good, and the service was just out and out trippy.
Review Source:My friends and I gave Brick a try last night. Â No bueno!! Â
Our table was from the Twilight Zone, half dark, half in a blinding spotlight.  We received bad service from the start.  Let's just say when my AWFUL steamed clams arrived I had to sit, looking at them for almost twenty minutes before I could get someone to even look in our direction.  The hostesses were talking up front, the bartender (our server) had ONE customer  but was still too busy to do a "Two minute or Two bite" check on us after our long-awaited food arrived. Â
The steamed clams were rubbery, in brine - not broth. Â It tasted like the white wine they used to steam the clams had been opened in 2012. Â The noodles were unseasoned and plopped on top of the clams and broth. Â This meal did not come with cheese, bread of any kind. Â So it was mostly clams in terrible briny water-broth served with flavorless fat spaghetti... with no way of getting them in your mouth together without both the noodles and the clams being dry. Â Gross. Â I passed my plate around to be sure I wasn't just being a jerk. Â Everyone gave me a horrified look once they tasted the broth.
Since I sent mine back, my friend felt that she couldn't really mention her terrible carbonara. Â There was chicken in it! Â Who does that? Â Not lovely seasoned, cubed chicken either, it was literally like they pulled some shreds of meat off a roasted bird and tossed it in. Â It was stringy chewy, and disturbing.
No one came out to ask about my experience. Â I'm not even sure there was a manager in the restaurant. Â The bussboy was clearly bored, he wanted to snap up my friends' plates while we were still eating and I was still waiting for my replacement dinner. Â He kept walking over to check, to be honest it looked like he was lost in the mall, looking for his mom.
The music was at that weird volume where you can only hear the snare and the beat, but you can't distinguish what song is playing. Â We drank lukewarm tap water, our drinks were not refilled. Â
I won't be back, neither will my friends.
Wife and I decided to have a quick bite on Sunday eve. Â Restaurant was half full, yet we were escorted to the back room, Siberia perhaps? Perhaps we weren't dressed the part to make the front? On a warm spring or summer day the back area would be fine, but even with the heavy canvas wind breaks, it was pretty chilly.. After requesting one of the portable heaters be moved closer, all was ok.
Had heard good things about the Akorn squash app, and was not disappointed. Great to slather the buttery squash on toasted bread along with the melted burratta contained in the roasted shell of the squash. Delicious! Â Beer selection small, but good, wine selection same. Thought the wine pour somewhat small for the price. Brick's specializes in brick fired pizza's, and they are quite good. We had the Margherita which has great crispy crust, good cheese. The carbonara pasta with big chunks of pork belly and good bits of pancetta was also very good. Very good, lighter creamy sauce than the thick glop usually found on this rendition in other places. The pasta was nicely done al dente and definitely home made!
Didn't have time or room for dessert so didn't even look at the menu.
For the food, will definitely go back and see if we can ran a place up front!
Went in for dinner on a Wednesday night, not crowded so we decided to sit at the bar. bartender was cool, knew his beer fairly well. We started out having the small Cesar salads, which were $12.00 each, but even though that's pretty pricey, they were very good. All three of us were drinking there on tap craft beers and were excellent! We decided to have a pizza, we choose their meat, can't remember the name. It was requested to be well done because I hate soggy limp crust; it came out cooked perfect on top, but what a crappy crust, totally soggy and wet. Needless to say, I guarantee this place will be gone next year, great concept, but when you spent $85.00 for three salads, one small pizza and five beers, it needs to be great. The staff was friendly, but the whole staff excluding the bartender was texting nonstop, which I cannot stand. Good luck to the owner!
Review Source:I'm hoping ours was just a one-off very bad day. We had to wait 10 mins just to get a menu, and then I had to ask for them. It then took another 10 mins or so to get our order taken. Another 10 mins until the beers arrived. Â The kids pizza was burned and had to be re-done. Â The rest of our food was not on the table until more than an hour after we entered. No one made apologies until the meal was over, and then it was just a 'sorry.' Â
My ravioli was under-cooked, but I ate it cuz I had no idea when I might get a replacement. Â The rest of the food was ok, but given other reviews, this was a major, and expensive, disappointment.
I can't recommend this place, and though I'm scheduled to join a large group for dinner there in February, I'm not sure I will do so.
"Wow my three year old made a pizza!!"
yeah and I had to sit next to you guys and all your kids! WOW what a drag. Seriously, screaming kids, one with his hands on the table and feet walking up the wall? For all our sakes please go to pizza port next time!!!!!!
So anyway here we are third time around this place. Food can be quite good. Everything our group of six shared tonight was absolutely amazing. Only complaint (besides the Talega larvae) Â was with the wine and the prices listed on the menu. Cheapskates that we are we went with the waiter suggested "house" wine, a Justin Cabernet. prices showed across the menu as 14 Â 27 Â 5 Â Â A natural assumption would be that a half carafe is 14, a bottle 27 and a glass 5. NO NO my friends, that bottle price is a misprint!! Â it's $54 a bottle 27 a half and 14 a glass. Yes a house wine that's $54 a bottle!!!! Naturally we questioned the charge when the check came and were told that "oh yes that's a misprint" Now one would assume that if a known misprint is on a menu that it would be either corrected or at the very least, pointed out at the time of your order. Nope. Their solution was to charge only half for the second bottle. As I was a guest at this event (my birthday) I didn't get involved in the discussion. But I would have told them to F-off and disputed the charge on my CC
I would have went five stars except for the talega larvae and wine pricing issues.
The marinara sauce used on pizzas and certain appetizers is super yummy! Â Kinda pricy for certain menu items yet everything tastes great. Â Please give more zucchini blossoms per serving or lower the price. Â The carbonara pasta dish was very good. Â And the house made pasta and sausage is a nice touch.
Review Source:This was our second visit. Â We enjoyed the pappardelle and orchiette the first visit. Â This time we started with the zucchini blossoms and Farmers' Market salad which were quite good. Â The funghi pizza was disappointing. Â It was singed around the edges and the central crust was soft and mushy, Â It was rather bland in taste but that was improved with an application of the pepper oil which we inquired about at the at the next table and obtained for ourselves. Â We will probably give it another try given the fact that the salads and pastas were quite good. .
Review Source:The food was top notch! Â Not a typical pizza place. Â We're talking gourmet pizza with a twist.
First off totally great for family's. Â They allowed my 3 year old son to make his own pizza, they brought the bread and his toppings and cheese and he sat there for 10-15 minutes creating his masterpiece. Â Great way to kill time while your waiting!!
We had the carne pizza and the garden pizza. Â The best thing about the pizza were the fresh ingredients and the fact that they precooked the dough and then placed the toppings on the pizza. Â It gave the crust a really nice crunch.
When going make sure you are not expecting traditional italian pizza's, this is a place to experiment with new toppings and well worth it.
The other bonus in my book is that the restaurant has really taken pride in using green (recycled) materials. Â Really loved the old wine bottles turned into water glasses. Â Very creative!!
Had a great meal at this restaurant last night. We brought our kids who recently moved back to OC from LA, and they were pleasantly surprised that an OC italian restaurant could compete with the ones they have been to in LA. We used to frequent Pizzeria Mozza with them, and I can honestly say this is just as great and not as expensive. We enjoyed the environment, our server Matt was great, and the Manager Alex, came by just to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. So happy we have such a great restaurant so close, and we don't even have to drive to LA.
Review Source:I'm delighted that Brick is there; it fills a niche in San Clemente. Â Just not for me. Â I like the patio and the cheerful service but not the prices. Â It's loud, too. Â I prefer the pizza at another SC restaurant. Â Brick's is more than decent but a bit soggy in the middle. Â I was not pleased with the black grit in my bowl of clams and pasta and surprised at the band of it at the bottom of the bowl. Â We also had a long wait between the first and main courses. Â I would recommend it for families who want a more upscale pizza experience but I won't rush back.
Review Source:We were a little apprehensive about eating at Brick after reading a few reviews here. But this is a great restaurant with extremely good food and excellent service to boot. What's not to like? We had a Pomodoro pizza that was exceptionally tasty. The back patio is a great place to enjoy your meal. If you haven't tried it and are a local - as are we - go!
Review Source:We arrived in between lunch and dinner. Â The wait staff was huddled around the TV which was concerning as they should have been preparing the restaurant for dinner guests. Â As an example the floor was not clean.
We ordered the Smith Tomato Salad which had two size options so we asked the waiter and he suggested the larger one to split. Â When we received the salad we were shocked that we received 3 sliced tomatoes drizzled in pesto sauce with a few pieces of grilled peaches, cheese, shallots, garlic, and arugula for $18.00. Â We felt the salad or appetizer should have been priced at around $8.95. Â We also ordered a pizza which was good but a little under cooked on the bottom. Â
The bottom line is the food is good but over priced.
Brick looks to be a great restaurant concept but service is terrible...
My family and I have been to Brick for dinner but have not yet to have really eaten there. Â We have a 1.5 year old, and we have brought him both times. Â The first time we went for dinner the place looked to be half full, but we were given an hour wait because the only two high chairs they had were in use. Â ... We decided not to wait and were a little put off, but no big deal. Â It just seems silly that a place of that size would have only two high chairs.
Last night we gave it another try. Â Again, they were not packed. Â First they sat us at a high table (in the bar area). Â This was difficult for the baby, so we had a beer and zucchini blossoms (which were very good) and asked to be moved when a low table was available. Â They moved us to the patio which was lovely. Â After 25 minutes we caught the eye of the hostess to let her know that our waiter must not know that we are here.
I saw her speak to our waiter but after 15 more minutes we had still not seen anyone. Â I called over another employee and asked if we could have water and menus (the waiter would not look our direction, but did spend a fare amount of time texting). Â That employee apologized and said HE would ask the waiter to come over. Â The waiter DID then come over to the table of two, next to us that had been seated 20 minutes after us. Â Again he would not acknowledge us. Â Anyway, after it was clear that this individual was not interested in serving us, we went back up front and asked the bartender to transfer our two beers and appetizer back over to the bar so that we could pay.
It's a shame that the service was SO Lousy. Â The food looked good.
People often ask me for a recommendation for a good Italian restaurant in OC. Â I would tell them to go to Los Angeles until now. Â Brick is Fabulous!
Went with another couple and we shared - something Brick encourages as many of their offerings are dually priced - single serving and shared serving.
Shared the zucchini blossoms. Â They were good and should have ordered double because you only got the blossom, not the zucchini.
Caesar salad was done the original classic way with garlic flavored oil, egg, anchovies, parmesan really delicious and the shared portion size was huge.
Heirloom tomato salad from a local OC grower was also delicious with arugala and feta.
Now being a no-carb girl, what did I order but pasta! Â Pappardalle with veal ragu was amazing, the orrechetti with sausage with also amazing, but the star of the night was the pasta special - short rib ravioli over a cream corn and shisito pepper sauce. Â It makes me swoon just thinking about it. Â Talk about the bomb or whatever you want to call it, I would have that again and again and again.
Pizza was good too. Â We shared the funghi (mushroom) with truffle oil, very good.
Bottom line - there is a good Italian restaurant in OC - now.
I wanted to like this pizzeria more ..located in quaint downtown San Clemente with warm ambiance.. what's not to love? Well, the wait for food... for 5 pizzas and a few sides it took over an hour for our food to arrive. The salad that we ordered (salted peaches with burrata) was meh. The burrata was dry and chalky and didn't even taste like burrata. I swept it to the side.
The funny thing ... we tried to order a half/ half pizza but they wouldn't let us saying that it would ruin the integrity of the pizza. O_____o. I've never heard that before.. all you have to do is do it half and half. When our order came, it was topped with the wrong toppings (we wanted basil) ... so it made the pizza taste bitter instead of piquant.
Someone else's pizza didn't have the right toppings on them either... had to send back to the kitchen.
Overall, I had high hopes, but the long wait and getting our orders wrong really put a damper on the mood of very hungry people.
Well well well - of all the things I'm surprised to learn, the most recent is that San Clemente can indeed use yet another pizza joint.
Brick is smart, as stylish as it looks, comfortable and a good provider of thin-crust pizza with good beer. The bar is well-lit and comfortable to sit at, although some other nooks and crannies of the restaurant seemed mood-lit to the point of dimness. We enjoyed sitting and taking in the Olympics at the bar over some food. One niggle: the crispy zucchini blossoms we ordered as a shared starter arrived as 4 tiny pieces, working out pricewise at about $3 per blossom - outrageous, and not THAT good. And I burned my mouth. But that part was more my own silly fault that theirs.
I thought...What? Another pizzza spot on SC? WHY? but to tell you the truth it is an amazing additon to the hood. The upscale pizzas and other food options are a delight. I have seen them grow alot since they opened. a few fumbles along the road...but who doesnt? The truth is they keep getting better and each time i go i try something new and end up with a new favorite. Worth revisiting if your first exepeeince was not the best. Cant wait to go back!
Review Source:I'm really confused by the negative reviews here. I LOVED Brick. My sister is gluten-free so when we came for girls night we ended up getting the Farm pizza with a (surprise surprise) gluten-free crust. The GF crust is so good, I might actually get every time. I really wanted to try the appetizers too, but we weren't hungry enough. The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is because our server was a little slow (in fact, she hardly came by at all besides to take our order and drop our check). Either way, I don't go out for the service, I go out for the food. And it's not like the service was offensive, the place was packed and she was busy. Bottom line: this place has wonderful food! If you want impeccable service, go out for some fine dining. I go out to socialize with my friends, not with my server.
Review Source:Recommended this pizza place to four guests at my bed and breakfast in San Clemente. Â Bad move.
The wait staff was not attentive. The kitchen's ability to deliver five entrees so we could dine together was an absolute failure. Â
One pizza came out 30 minutes after we ordered. Â 20 minutes later, a second entree and another pizza were delivered. The server said the other two would be delivered in 90 seconds. Try 20 more minutes.
Alexandra, the manager, didn't make things right. Â No apologies, no offering to make amends. She said she'd talk with the chef about "timing."
I referred my guests to the new wood-fired pizza place in my hometown based on the wonderful experiences I've had at Zino's Ristorante in Edwards, CO, with impeccable service, great prices and a kitchen that hums seamlessly.
C'mon Brick, get the lead out of your ? and deliver great food, service and price. Â
Based on the chicken pizza I ordered, can't even recommend this place for value; I had four pieces of chicken and 11 pieces of potato (filler). Â
Selma's in San Clemente is the pizza place I'll keep referring people to moving forward.
Haters gonna hate. Some people can't withstand a bit of competition and have to steep down so low to make a fake profile to give this place a 1 star. I'm giving this place a 5 because I've been waiting for it to open and when it did, I love everything about them. Great customer service, nice decor, and BRICK OVEN PIZZA???! I ordered a carne pizza last Friday and killed almost the entire pizza, with two slices left in one sitting! I hated myself after, but it was irresistible. The restaurant is beautiful inside, and you can tell the owner put a lot of time and money to get this place open. Having a brick oven pizza place just couple steps away has never been better! I also heard good reviews about their octopus salad. Can't wait to try! :)
Review Source:My family just went to BRICK for the first time yesterday, what an unexpected treat! Â As we walked up El Camino Real, the outside diners food beckoned us in. Â The restaurant has a warm elegance inside and there's also patio dining in the back that has an ocean view. Â There's an open kitchen where they were making fabulous looking (and tasting, as I would soon find out) meatballs among other things. Â The star of the show was their impressive oven.
We started off with the CRISPY ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS, FARINATA-CHICKPEA FLATBREAD, and the CHARRED OCTOPUS. Â They have a good wine, beer, and cocktail selection to pair up with your food. Â Then we had FARRO WITH OLIVE OIL POACHED TUNA, ORECCHIETTE, BRICK'S MEATBALLS, MARGHERITA and FUNGHI pizza, and finished it all off with cappuccino and dessert. Â Everything was great! Â These chefs definitely have culinary skills!
It was so good, I ordered food to go. Â I ordered BRICK'S MEATBALLS , Â the CHARRED OCTOPUS, Â the family size order of ORECCHIETTE (the house-made sausage is wonderful), and a FUNGHI pizza (I just reheated the pizza on my pizza stone at home and it reheated beautifully).
The staff are friendly and helpful.
We'll be back for more Italian culinary adventures!
Ordered two pizzas to go, by phone, and was told 20'. Arrived 15' later and it was clear they hadn't started the order. Then one pizza went into the to-go box and they told me the other would be right out soon. 5-10' later I had both pizzas and when they handed me the boxes I had to open them to see if one was empty! I know I wasn't buying by the pound nor was I looking for sheer mass, but having to check?
The mergherita was unremarkable, but edible and the Ligurian was OK-to-good. The receptionists were friendly and apologetic and the best part of our dining experience.
I had been following the progress of this restaurant through their building-out phase and permitting phase, rooting that they would finally open. San Clemente is not the most business-friendly city to deal with.
All finally went well, Brick has been open for a couple of months and we finally had the chance to try them yesterday for dinner.
We made an early dinner reservation at 5:30PM. Upon arrival, restaurant was nearly empty. Nicely done decor, couple of small sidewalk tables, dark wood, very aesthetic. We were seated on the outdoor patio in back, which was very nice. Our server Carrie, was delightful, energetic and very eager to please. We ordered drinks, including the bar's special that night, a cucumber-infused martini. Let's just say that is an acquired taste. The lemon drop martini my wife ordered to replace the cucumber martini was perfect. My draft beer was dark, bitter and ice cold, just the way I like it.
The zucchini blossom appetizer was nicely done ($11), albeit pricey for five blossoms.
If you have kids, they will love the "Make Your Own Pizza" Â option. A page right out of a Seinfield episode, the server will bring the rolled-out dough with sauce, cheese and toppings. Your kids get to assemble the pizza themselves and it is then collected and popped in the wood burning oven ($8). It is also a rather generous sized pizza for a kids' menu item.
My wife ordered the Liguria pizza, which has pesto sauce, black Greek olives, fresh fennel and ricotta cheese. It also comes with white anchovies, which she omitted. The pizza was fabulous and the flavor combination was first-rate. Crust is perfect, crunchy and pliable all at the same time ($12). Again, a very generous sized pizza.
I decided upon the Orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe, sausage and mushroom medley. I cannot describe how wonderful this dish was. Freshly made pasta, house made sausage and a mushroom variety sauteed together with broccoli rabe that was hearty and absolutely delicious. One of the best pasta dishes I have ever been served and I am an aficionado of Italian cuisine. Very Tuscan and well prepared. The menu listed two prices for this entree, $16 and $23. Not sure what that was about, I was charged $16...perhaps the higher price is for the dish being prepared for two, but I neglected to ask.
Authentic gelato for dessert and the evening's dinner experience was a great success.
As we made our way out, we discovered the restaurant was now absolutely jam-packed with people waiting in line outside. Suggest making a reservation, the word on Brick is out and they are busy.
Again, everything went very well, pizza is on par with Izza Pizzeria, pasta is outstanding, ambiance and service was top notch. Highly recommended.
Who needs Mozza?? These 1 star reviewers have to be employees/owners of other local restaurants or people who think Domino's is good pizza. The food was excellent, great beers on draft and service was perfect... not sure how you improve on that.
We had the Charred Octopus, Zucchini Blossoms and the Funghi Pizza. The Charred Octopus, along with St Roy's Mussel's Frites, is my new favorite appetizer(request a little extra aioli). The Pizza was perfection. I've been to Mozza many times and I am a big fan but I'll take the pie I had at Brick 7 days a week. Next time I'm trying the Carne Pizza and I gotta sample the meatball plate(for complete Mozza comparison)
Keep up the good work in there we'll be back very soon!
Brick is a welcome addition to the consistently improving restaurant scene in San Clemente. Â Solid food, limited but good beer and wine selections, reasonably priced, decent service, and a casual upscale feel. Â I particularly like that they are pushing the envelope a bit (for San Clemente) with some of their menu offerings. Â Nothing here will necessarily blow you away, but it is all enjoyable and comes together well. Â The orecchiette and the cookie jar (a small tin of overpriced but absolutely delicious cookies) are standouts. Â Pizzas are good, but the gnocchi is a bit confused.
My review is biased by my appreciation of Brick for having filled a void in San Clemente for upscale casual Italian in a nice but unpretentious setting. Â Long overdue.
Chris and I were in San Clemente the other night and he did not want to wait for a table at our regular spot and some folks in line were talking about this new place called Brick, sounded good so we ditched our spots in line and headed over to check it out. Â Cute little restaurant sort of a cross between a sandwich shop and a wanna be upscale SC trendy restaurant. Â Service was quite poor, somewhat arrogant and the menu and food just did not cut it. Â Bland and overcooked pizza. Â It's projected vibe is a bit too fancy and foreign for the two of us. Â Seemed out of place in San Clemente. Â If your looking for italian food or just good wholesome pizza, etc...this is not the place. Â
food and drinks are too expensive
We finally had our first visit to Brick after a much anticipated opening. Â I am blown away with how on top of their game they are after on 3 days of being open. Â The decor is beautiful, the food is top notch and the service is impeccable. Â I had a group of 6 people with me and we sat at the community table. Â What a terrific set up and a fun way to enjoy dinner. Â The table seats 12 people and we had other locals join our table, which was a fun way to engage in some new conversations. Â It provides a nice 'taste of San Clemente'.
We had the stuffed zucchini appetizer. Â Very unique and very good. Â We ordered a sampling of their pizza's and they were all really good. Â I love the crust. Â Our favorite pizza was the "English", so check it out.
I was really impressed that the owner, manager and chef came by to say hello. Â This place will be wildly successful. Â Welcome to the neighborhood!!!
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