Our new favorite place is Cavaletta in Aptos. Our first visit was via a gift certificate from a friend and we’ve been back several times since. The atmosphere is like a small bistro, slightly loud but at the same time anonymous. Food is wonderful, fresh and not over sauced. The menu changes often but my favorite is the chicken piccata and Caesar salad. Give it a try!
Steve M
Excellent dining establishment. This might just be our fav new restaurant. Just a fyi…Normally this is our fave. Last night was an exception. Service was excellent as usual. However, the pea mushroom pasta was very average. The pasta noodles were way too al dente (needed another 1-2 '). Also, the pea mushroom sauce was not tasty. That said, the Caeser's was excellent as usual and the charcuterie pizza tasty. We should have stayed with our usual go to bolognese.
Laura Joines
Overall food was great. Salads are good with the best croutons we have ever had! Pizza crust and toppings terrific. Chocolate mousse dessert could maybe be improved. Overall really good food quality. Service not memorable, felt casual which was a little out of style with the high quality of food.
Rob Hubbard
Excellent friendly service, smart dress Italian restaurant. Food outstanding, carpaccio beef, and 3 mushroom pizza delicious. Busy, so booking is probably a good option.
K C
Been wanting to try this place FOREVER. Although it was a great experience (server was Katie and she was AMAZING and on top of her game), I’d say the food was just ok-good. Don’t get me wrong, there were some dishes that were super yummy, but some were just disappointing.
Focaccia – soooo good and one order can easily serve 4-5 people.
Caesar Salad – prob one of the best I’ve ever had. I can easily have that as an entrée, with a side of chicken breast or salmon for protein. This can also easily serve 4-5 people.
Cauliflower App – SOOO good. If you don’t like your veggies, you will now. One of the more flavorful dishes.
Bolognese – shockingly bland. Even I had to salt the dish, and I am generally not a salt shaker.
Special Fusilli Pasta – I think this one was vegetarian or vegan and was the highlight of the two pastas we shared. Very tasty….
NY Streak – decent, but note to self, don’t order steak when you have options for fresh made pasta. Can’t put my finger on what it was, but I just didn’t think it was great.
Charcuterie Pizza – this was by far the most disappointing of the order. Maybe it was just this particular pizza, but it was nothing short of a pizza you get from a school cafeteria. The crust was not what I expected, the ingredients just seemed to flop like the crust itself.
Some side notes:
Corkage is $30 (kinda on the high side for this area)
Parking can be hard to find, so give yourself some time. There are lots of small businesses that are closed so you can park there at your own risk; lots of signs that warn of a towaway.
I would go back just to give it another try.
ehsan ghazi-moradi
Delicious food I recommend the mushroom pizza and carpacio
Luis Sanchez - Realtor
Cavalletta Restaurant was amazing. The Caesar salad was so fresh and tasty the homemade croutons really stood out. The Margherita pizza was simple, but full of flavor and perfectly done. Everything we had was delicious. Great service and a warm, welcoming vibe. We’ll definitely be back!
Alejandro Dauguet
Pura vida eating a delectable series of Italian dishes - my favorites were the mushroom pasta and the honey-infused pizza. Bring your insulin!
Anabel Rivas
Food is definitely above average for Santa Cruz County. Had a great Beet Salad, one of the best I’ve ever had I think. Our burrata was also good. I had the bolognese which was a little over-herbed (maybe rosemary or thyme in excess??) and a little undersalted but still good flavor. Mushroom Campanelle was EXCELLENT. The GM was very nice to talk us through the wine list.
The big downside is the sound. It’s SO LOUD in there when it’s full. I had to yell to hear the person sitting next to me and across the table from me and still I could barely hear them. They have tons of people so clearly not an issue for them with most people but probably means I won’t be back when I want to have a good check in with friends of family. Hope they can do something about this down the line.
Reed Welch
Food and service were average at best given the prices. The venue was a bit of a disappointment, relatively cold atmosphere and difficult to have a conversation due to background noise.
Oh my, that was a good pizza! Didn't know about this place until they showed up on the Santa Cruz Pizza Week list. Meatball Pizza was their special pizza for the week. Excellent crust with meatball and pepperoni toppings. Lightly sauced and cheesed. Very nice. We will be going back.
Joe Graney
Went on a weekday double date. Easy parking. Food was pretty good, we split a pizza (charcuterie pizza could also be called pepperoni and sausage). Had some na cocktail options. Not the warmest environment - and not only bc we were sat next to a drafty unused exterior door. I’ll go back for a second try bc I want to like it.
Alana Helms
Super yummy. We loved the Charcuterie pizza. I got the chicken picatta and he got the short rib rigatoni. Lots of complex flavors.
Sebastian
Great salads, good drinks, pizza was way too greasy tho, had much better. Portions are a bit small.
Tori Tateishi
Amazing service and even better food—we had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here and the staff at Cavalletta’s was super communicative, accommodating, and attentive both before and during our dinner! The food was super flavorful and authentic! The atmosphere is also wonderful here :)
I’d highly recommend whether you are a big or small party!
Our new favorite place is Cavaletta in Aptos. Our first visit was via a gift certificate from a friend and we’ve been back several times since. The atmosphere is like a small bistro, slightly loud but at the same time anonymous. Food is wonderful, fresh and not over sauced. The menu changes often but my favorite is the chicken piccata and Caesar salad. Give it a try!
Excellent dining establishment. This might just be our fav new restaurant.
Just a fyi…Normally this is our fave. Last night was an exception. Service was excellent as usual. However, the pea mushroom pasta was very average. The pasta noodles were way too al dente (needed another 1-2 '). Also, the pea mushroom sauce was not tasty. That said, the Caeser's was excellent as usual and the charcuterie pizza tasty. We should have stayed with our usual go to bolognese.
Overall food was great. Salads are good with the best croutons we have ever had! Pizza crust and toppings terrific. Chocolate mousse dessert could maybe be improved. Overall really good food quality. Service not memorable, felt casual which was a little out of style with the high quality of food.
Excellent friendly service, smart dress Italian restaurant. Food outstanding, carpaccio beef, and 3 mushroom pizza delicious. Busy, so booking is probably a good option.
Been wanting to try this place FOREVER. Although it was a great experience (server was Katie and she was AMAZING and on top of her game), I’d say the food was just ok-good. Don’t get me wrong, there were some dishes that were super yummy, but some were just disappointing.
Focaccia – soooo good and one order can easily serve 4-5 people.
Caesar Salad – prob one of the best I’ve ever had. I can easily have that as an entrée, with a side of chicken breast or salmon for protein. This can also easily serve 4-5 people.
Cauliflower App – SOOO good. If you don’t like your veggies, you will now. One of the more flavorful dishes.
Bolognese – shockingly bland. Even I had to salt the dish, and I am generally not a salt shaker.
Special Fusilli Pasta – I think this one was vegetarian or vegan and was the highlight of the two pastas we shared. Very tasty….
NY Streak – decent, but note to self, don’t order steak when you have options for fresh made pasta. Can’t put my finger on what it was, but I just didn’t think it was great.
Charcuterie Pizza – this was by far the most disappointing of the order. Maybe it was just this particular pizza, but it was nothing short of a pizza you get from a school cafeteria. The crust was not what I expected, the ingredients just seemed to flop like the crust itself.
Some side notes:
Corkage is $30 (kinda on the high side for this area)
Parking can be hard to find, so give yourself some time. There are lots of small businesses that are closed so you can park there at your own risk; lots of signs that warn of a towaway.
I would go back just to give it another try.
Delicious food I recommend the mushroom pizza and carpacio
Cavalletta Restaurant was amazing. The Caesar salad was so fresh and tasty the homemade croutons really stood out. The Margherita pizza was simple, but full of flavor and perfectly done. Everything we had was delicious. Great service and a warm, welcoming vibe. We’ll definitely be back!
Pura vida eating a delectable series of Italian dishes - my favorites were the mushroom pasta and the honey-infused pizza. Bring your insulin!
Food is definitely above average for Santa Cruz County. Had a great Beet Salad, one of the best I’ve ever had I think. Our burrata was also good. I had the bolognese which was a little over-herbed (maybe rosemary or thyme in excess??) and a little undersalted but still good flavor. Mushroom Campanelle was EXCELLENT. The GM was very nice to talk us through the wine list.
The big downside is the sound. It’s SO LOUD in there when it’s full. I had to yell to hear the person sitting next to me and across the table from me and still I could barely hear them. They have tons of people so clearly not an issue for them with most people but probably means I won’t be back when I want to have a good check in with friends of family. Hope they can do something about this down the line.
Food and service were average at best given the prices.
The venue was a bit of a disappointment, relatively cold atmosphere and difficult to have a conversation due to background noise.
Restaurantji Recommends
Oh my, that was a good pizza! Didn't know about this place until they showed up on the Santa Cruz Pizza Week list. Meatball Pizza was their special pizza for the week. Excellent crust with meatball and pepperoni toppings. Lightly sauced and cheesed. Very nice. We will be going back.
Went on a weekday double date. Easy parking. Food was pretty good, we split a pizza (charcuterie pizza could also be called pepperoni and sausage). Had some na cocktail options. Not the warmest environment - and not only bc we were sat next to a drafty unused exterior door. I’ll go back for a second try bc I want to like it.
Super yummy. We loved the Charcuterie pizza. I got the chicken picatta and he got the short rib rigatoni. Lots of complex flavors.
Great salads, good drinks, pizza was way too greasy tho, had much better. Portions are a bit small.
Amazing service and even better food—we had our rehearsal dinner for our wedding here and the staff at Cavalletta’s was super communicative, accommodating, and attentive both before and during our dinner! The food was super flavorful and authentic! The atmosphere is also wonderful here :)
I’d highly recommend whether you are a big or small party!
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