This looks like a typical corner fish n chips café from the street. Don't be fooled - there is a cosy, rustic looking restaurant through the doors with a patio area with a view of the mountains. We had the garlic & herb focaccia and Polo pasta to share. The pasta was freshly made and delicious even though I first thought the sauce was a bit runny. Our waitress, Lucy, was friendly and attentive. Worth a visit.

Friday night, 26 February, was the night before the Clarens Beer festival and the town was heaving. In fact it was more than heaving. It was beyond full. We arrived in town a little after 8pm. Late, as we'd been detained at our guest house longer than we'd anticipated. No problem, Clarens is used to managing a full crowd"", we thought. "we'll just walk around the square until we find a restaurant with a empty table"Well we didn't for a while anyway. And when we did we'd first be assured we could sit, only to be told ten minutes later that they weren't taking any more bookings. Clearly most joints don't cope with a busy night. Or prepare for it. By chance we came across Vito's Ristorante. They were heaving but, both the waiter on the pavement and then the manager behind the bar, despite both being overly rushed and pressured, smiled and said Ït will be a wait but come in and have a drink and we will find you a table and we'll take your order if you wait an hour or so". Honest, upfront, welcoming and specific. What more could one ask for? As it happened we were given a table for four almost immediately, drinks were forthcoming and we got through at least three lovely bottles of red while we waited. And a couple of drafts. But so what? We were comfortable, enjoying the buzz and content to wait the time out. Miriam, our waitress, was lovely. We did wait over an hour before we ordered, but that was exactly the time frame we'd been given so no complaints there. The food was lovely: focaccia to nibble on while we waited and despite the kitchen being super busy, carpaccio and the steaks especially so - fillet and the sirloin perfectly cooked as ordered - and the Jack Daniel sauce (and the specifically requested mustard) especially so! The point of all this is that restaurants CAN make a difference, even when they're so busy that they're splitting at the sides. If they really want to. Too many places we visited in Clarens seem to have got arrogant and disdainful of visitors. As if they're busy enough thank you and don't need any further inconvenience. If that's so then why advertise Clarens as a tourist destination? Vito's Ristorante had absolutely none of that "Can't you see we're full?"attitude or "Go away, we're too busy for you"disdain that we found at the earlier three locations. They pulled out the stops, were realistic and honest about expectations AND delivered. To the waiter who first used his initiative on the pavement, to the manager - harassed but ready to help - to our wonderful waitress: Well done! We enjoyed spending a LOT of money with you on Friday night. We'll be back. PS - besides the warm welcome and superb service, their food's pretty damn good too! Did I mention that? ;-)

Decor dismal, dead black silk roses on table (ugh) desperate, dreadful pizza and disinterested service, lighting and ambiance, mafia funeral vibe.

This place looked nice from the outside and we thought let's get inside and try it. The service from the waiter was good but both our dishes were beyond terrible and my friend's worse. It was beyond over cooked and rubbery. We tried but it was not edible at all, so we decided to leave because we were too hungry, we tipped the waiter and asked to see the manager on our way out. What was appalling was the attitude of the manager. We approached her politely and told her we were not fighting but it was just a constructive criticism, and she went on and on and on with her atrocious attitude.

That is not how one treats customers, especially when they have just paid for the undeserving horrible food, and they are still polite, and not fighting.

This was just a rip off, don't even waste your time and money. This was the only negative in our whole weekend we spent at Clarens. All other restaurants we went to the food was wonderful, the service excellent and the people of Clarens are so welcoming, wonderful people, who went out of their way to make our weekend wonderful.

The Vito's Manager / Owner was the only one who had an awful attitude, the whole long weekend.

Possibly the worste pollo and chicken liver pastas we have had. Food was bland, fettuccine had been broken making it imposible to eat with a fork and spoon. No one bothered to ask how how food was, all round terrible experience.