My husband and I had a wonderful time. It is a beautiful restaurant. The staff are friendly and professional and the food was wonderful and delicious. We will return.
Georgia P.
We live nearby, thought we'd check out this awesome program and restaurant. Big mistake. 'uge! The food was great, although we only received two of four appetizers and not the main dish. What we did receive was delicious. Service was absolutely horrible. We had reservations for 7:15. They sat us in a weird location right in front of the walkway to enter the dining room so everybody had to walk around us consistently. After about 20 minutes, three different people stopped by to refill water, but no one ever came to take an order. I finally flagged someone down and asked for a glass of Pinot noir. Another 15 minutes went by someone new came like we were in a scene from Groundhog's Day and I ordered (politely) a glass of Pinot noir. A third person came out with the bottle with the cork still in it and apologized and left to decant the wine but never came back. Finally, after about 30 minutes someone brought a glass of wine. We placed an order for four appetizers. Two of them came out about 25-ish minutes later. The other two never arrived and so close to 9:00. We asked for the remaining two to be boxed up. One of them made it home with us. The other one remained at the restaurant so we went back after getting home and discovering we had only gotten half of the food and the wait staff told us they'd put in an order for this appetizer and we thought it would be ready and just sitting there waiting on accident left behind. So we ended up leaving without the fourth appetizer because the idea of hanging around the lobby for another 20ish minutes after an almost 2 hour dinner with just two appetizers was more than we could bear. What a disaster. Never again! Totally support student learning but maybe this needs to be refined a bit before being offered to the public :)
Shab F.
This is a hidden gem! The food is so tasty. The service was great. And the restaurant is a part of culinary program for Cabrillo college at Sesnon house. A must go!
Debbie J.
We called their phone late April and left a voicemail (as instructed in their outgoing message ) w our name, phone#, date and time we were requesting a reservation. We were both looking forward to a special dinner. A week later we hadn't heard back so left a second voicemail requesting a call back please letting us know either way. They were still open. Still no call back ever. Somehow we later learned maybe seeing the campus billboard on Soquel they'd be closing for the season just two days before the date we'd requested. We'd called at least two weeks ahead yet they couldn't be bothered to let us know so we could adjust our date. We're only here for a short time so won't be back for another year. The previous visit we had to sit for about a half hour while they tried to figure out how to enter the charges correctly onto our Visa card. Food was fine. However the students need to be taught basic phone, customer service & business skills for success. We were pretty annoyed and disappointed they couldn't bother to call us at all even though they were open.
Josh Winans
This is a learning reastraunt for Cabrillo College Culinary Program. This is likely the best value in the area. Looking forward to many more visits!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Homemade Bread
Elizabeth Bourget
My assistant chef and I had a delicious lunch by the fire in this beautiful venue. Support Cabrillo College and make your lunch reservation soon. Class will be over in a fee weeks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John H.
Pino Alto is a hidden treasure. The restaurant doesn't have a professional staff. Instead, all the staff are students of the Cabrillo College culinary program, so they really care about doing the best possible job. They are on top of it - from sanitation to serving. We've eaten there several times. It has been excellent. Tuesday we had: roasted red pepper soup which was a perfect balance of creamy and pepper flavor, we also had shrimp on polenta. It was the best shrimp I've ever tasted in my long years. They make everything, including the bread served with lunch, which was better than bread served at other restaurants. The students rotate within the staff jobs to get the full experience. The waiters are careful and accommodating. The prices are reasonable and the environment (in the Session House) is open, uncrowded and visually pleasing. I highly recommend it.
SEAN MCELHANEY
This restaurant is staffed by students in the Cabrillo College culinary program. Only open during the week, but that setting is phenomenal. Nice low-key dining experience, and they have a wine list. Wonderful midweek date night.
Mary Frances Lynch
Wonderful experience taking advantage of students learning the restaurant business. Delicious food, beautifully presented in a lovely setting. Thank you for keeping us warm with the heat lamps on a chilly Aptos evening.
Kent Miller
Wanted a quick takeout burger for dinner. My order was ready on time, was still hot when I got it home, and for the price was by far the best burger in Aptos.
I also ordered side dishes for Thanksgiving from the restaurant. The staff and the students were fantastic in helping place the order. Additionally, I was able to speak to the chef personally to talk about the gravy and how it was made and how good it was. Truly, they helped make this the easiest Thanksgiving meal I have had to produce ever. The garlic mashed potatoes are to die for. The apple cranberry cobblers struck a great balance for dessert. Also, the gravy was killer. The freshly baked rolls melted in your mouth. I am hoping they do the same thing for Christmas. And, I can't wait to try the restaurant in the new year.
Averie H.
We have a big family and 20 of us were gathering for Thanksgiving for the first time after nearly 2 years. My husband would do the turkey but I needed help with the side dishes. I wanted to see if there were other options outside of Safeway and Whole Foods. I found Pino Alto via Yelp and went to their site to check out their Thanksgiving menu. While I had not yet tried their restaurant, the thought of hungry relatives and not enough food had me sending in my order--Garlic herb mashed potatoes, shaved brussel sprout salad, green beans, apple sage pecan stuffing, sweet rolls, cranberry chutney, and gravy. Ordering and pick up was so easy. All items were well packed with clear instructions on how to heat and serve. Everything looked high quality and tasted super delicious. We received big compliments from the guests. A really big thank you to Pino Alto for helping me through this holiday. I will definitely be back to eat at their restaurant and tell others about them.
Forja Loaisa
As soon as we can, we visit it.
Mike X
The food is always good and for reasonable prices. The chef and students care about service and the food lending a level of sincerity not found elsewhere.
My husband and I had a wonderful time. It is a beautiful restaurant. The staff are friendly and professional and the food was wonderful and delicious. We will return.
We live nearby, thought we'd check out this awesome program and restaurant. Big mistake. 'uge! The food was great, although we only received two of four appetizers and not the main dish. What we did receive was delicious. Service was absolutely horrible. We had reservations for 7:15. They sat us in a weird location right in front of the walkway to enter the dining room so everybody had to walk around us consistently. After about 20 minutes, three different people stopped by to refill water, but no one ever came to take an order. I finally flagged someone down and asked for a glass of Pinot noir. Another 15 minutes went by someone new came like we were in a scene from Groundhog's Day and I ordered (politely) a glass of Pinot noir. A third person came out with the bottle with the cork still in it and apologized and left to decant the wine but never came back. Finally, after about 30 minutes someone brought a glass of wine. We placed an order for four appetizers. Two of them came out about 25-ish minutes later. The other two never arrived and so close to 9:00. We asked for the remaining two to be boxed up. One of them made it home with us. The other one remained at the restaurant so we went back after getting home and discovering we had only gotten half of the food and the wait staff told us they'd put in an order for this appetizer and we thought it would be ready and just sitting there waiting on accident left behind. So we ended up leaving without the fourth appetizer because the idea of hanging around the lobby for another 20ish minutes after an almost 2 hour dinner with just two appetizers was more than we could bear. What a disaster. Never again! Totally support student learning but maybe this needs to be refined a bit before being offered to the public :)
This is a hidden gem! The food is so tasty. The service was great. And the restaurant is a part of culinary program for Cabrillo college at Sesnon house. A must go!
We called their phone late April and left a voicemail (as instructed in their outgoing message ) w our name, phone#, date and time we were requesting a reservation. We were both looking forward to a special dinner. A week later we hadn't heard back so left a second voicemail requesting a call back please letting us know either way. They were still open. Still no call back ever. Somehow we later learned maybe seeing the campus billboard on Soquel they'd be closing for the season just two days before the date we'd requested. We'd called at least two weeks ahead yet they couldn't be bothered to let us know so we could adjust our date. We're only here for a short time so won't be back for another year. The previous visit we had to sit for about a half hour while they tried to figure out how to enter the charges correctly onto our Visa card. Food was fine. However the students need to be taught basic phone, customer service & business skills for success. We were pretty annoyed and disappointed they couldn't bother to call us at all even though they were open.
This is a learning reastraunt for Cabrillo College Culinary Program. This is likely the best value in the area. Looking forward to many more visits!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Homemade Bread
My assistant chef and I had a delicious lunch by the fire in this beautiful venue. Support Cabrillo College and make your lunch reservation soon. Class will be over in a fee weeks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pino Alto is a hidden treasure. The restaurant doesn't have a professional staff. Instead, all the staff are students of the Cabrillo College culinary program, so they really care about doing the best possible job. They are on top of it - from sanitation to serving. We've eaten there several times. It has been excellent. Tuesday we had: roasted red pepper soup which was a perfect balance of creamy and pepper flavor, we also had shrimp on polenta. It was the best shrimp I've ever tasted in my long years. They make everything, including the bread served with lunch, which was better than bread served at other restaurants. The students rotate within the staff jobs to get the full experience. The waiters are careful and accommodating. The prices are reasonable and the environment (in the Session House) is open, uncrowded and visually pleasing. I highly recommend it.
This restaurant is staffed by students in the Cabrillo College culinary program. Only open during the week, but that setting is phenomenal. Nice low-key dining experience, and they have a wine list. Wonderful midweek date night.
Wonderful experience taking advantage of students learning the restaurant business. Delicious food, beautifully presented in a lovely setting. Thank you for keeping us warm with the heat lamps on a chilly Aptos evening.
Wanted a quick takeout burger for dinner. My order was ready on time, was still hot when I got it home, and for the price was by far the best burger in Aptos.
Restaurantji Recommends
I also ordered side dishes for Thanksgiving from the restaurant. The staff and the students were fantastic in helping place the order. Additionally, I was able to speak to the chef personally to talk about the gravy and how it was made and how good it was. Truly, they helped make this the easiest Thanksgiving meal I have had to produce ever. The garlic mashed potatoes are to die for. The apple cranberry cobblers struck a great balance for dessert. Also, the gravy was killer. The freshly baked rolls melted in your mouth. I am hoping they do the same thing for Christmas. And, I can't wait to try the restaurant in the new year.
We have a big family and 20 of us were gathering for Thanksgiving for the first time after nearly 2 years. My husband would do the turkey but I needed help with the side dishes. I wanted to see if there were other options outside of Safeway and Whole Foods. I found Pino Alto via Yelp and went to their site to check out their Thanksgiving menu. While I had not yet tried their restaurant, the thought of hungry relatives and not enough food had me sending in my order--Garlic herb mashed potatoes, shaved brussel sprout salad, green beans, apple sage pecan stuffing, sweet rolls, cranberry chutney, and gravy. Ordering and pick up was so easy. All items were well packed with clear instructions on how to heat and serve. Everything looked high quality and tasted super delicious. We received big compliments from the guests. A really big thank you to Pino Alto for helping me through this holiday. I will definitely be back to eat at their restaurant and tell others about them.
As soon as we can, we visit it.
The food is always good and for reasonable prices. The chef and students care about service and the food lending a level of sincerity not found elsewhere.
Always an intriguing menu.