Restaurants in Santa Cruz
The Best Restaurants
El Palomar
1336 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060We had reservations for seven and arrived a few minutes early. I don't know if that is an unusual number but we were seated immediately. The service was...
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- Superb717 Reviews4.7
Linda's Seabreeze Café
542 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Delicious breakfast!!! Don't miss their cinnamon rolls ? I got the Greek scramble, but next time I'm going for their homemade corned beef and...
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- Superb519 Reviews4.8
Zachary's Restaurant
819 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Unique menu with cool daily specials and good quality. I had steak and eggs with toast and country fries (which are country potatoes to be clear, not actual...
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- Superb505 Reviews4.7
Cafe Brasil
1410 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Had the crab omelet and it was really good. Fruit bowl was really fresh and service was great. Wasn't crazy about their polenta but you can't...
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- Superb333 Reviews4.6
Laili Restaurant
101 Cooper St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060One of the sweetest places to be in and lovely people. My husband said he would order more appetizers and salad next time for more vegetarian options. The main...
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- Superb323 Reviews4.4
Lillian's Italian Kitchen
1148 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Food and atmosphere were great! We sat at the bar and ate mostly appetizers which were all phenomenal. Then ordered the seafood special which was salmon and...
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- Superb241 Reviews4.6
Harbor Café
535 7th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Take out order around 9:30, no line at all, Markers on floor for covid-Conscious distance. Menu was available and clearly displayed around multiple spots...
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- Superb231 Reviews4.6
Seabright Deli
415 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Grabbed a few sandwhiches from here this afternoon and then ate at the beach. Absolutely delicious all around. My pic is of the Yacht Club BLT. Toasted bread,...
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- Superb164 Reviews4.7
Hula's Island Grill
221 Cathcart St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060There was a wait but we went on a Saturday and the wait was worth it! Delicious everything, the luau pulled pork was on point the hula sauce was delicious even...
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- Superb270 Reviews4.3
The Walnut Avenue Cafe
106 Walnut Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060This place has its act together. Spent some time vacationing with wife in Santa Cruz and this was a definite visit we had in plan. We both like their food and...
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- Superb239 Reviews4.4
Woodstock's Pizza Santa Cruz
710 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Absolutely terrific pizza and the custom salad we ordered was exactly what we wanted. Our order was ready about 10 minutes before expected and the staff was...
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- Good283 Reviews4.2
Lupulo Craft Beer House
233 Cathcart St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Good tapas and a variety of craft beer that'll set you right. The peppino (pickled veggies) were amazing. I've had the bocadillos and tortas, but...
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- Superb183 Reviews4.5
Vim Dining and Desserts
2238 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Simply amazing! My girlfriend and I decided to come here on a date and wow were we impressed. First of all, the service was outstanding. We had a great...
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- Superb137 Reviews4.7
Crow's Nest Restaurant
2218 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062This restaurant came highly recommended from a local. I went there to try it out and it didn't disappoint. I highly recommend getting a reservation in...
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- Good323 Reviews4
West End Tap and Kitchen
334 Ingalls St d, Santa Cruz, CA 95060A little pricey but so worth it especially for their burgers omfg. I had the biggest baddest burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions it was absolutely...
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- Superb230 Reviews4.3
Lago di Como
21490 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Had gone to Lago di Como with my family to celebrate my nephew's graduation from UCSC. The restaurant was gracious enough accommodate us last minute. What...
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- Superb171 Reviews4.5
Mission St. BBQ
1618 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060THIS is BBQ! My husband is from Memphis and has been in CA for 10 years now but has yet to find a true BBQ place. We stumbled upon Mission St BBQ while...
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- Good242 Reviews4.2
Taqueria Los Pericos
139 Water St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060I really liked Taqueria Los Pericos! The food was very reasonable priced and the portions were huge! The quality was good and they had a nice salsa bar with...
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- Superb264 Reviews4.4
Silver Spur
2650 Soquel Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95065This was my first time here. It was recommended by an older couple who have been coming here every Saturday for breakfast for “more years than they’d like...
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- Superb166 Reviews4.5
The Water Street Grill
503 Water St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Absolutely lovely place and friendly staff! Kids were happy to have fish and chips and lemonade, also they got complimentary fresh watermelon and cheese potato...
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- Good275 Reviews4
Cafe Gratitude
103 Lincoln St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Every trip to SC is a trip to cafe gratitude. Love this place. I don’t think I had one bad dish here. The bowls are just out of this world and the desserts...
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- Superb198 Reviews4.3
Veg On The Edge
725 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060I'm obsessed with the pumpkin seed stew. So flavorful and unlike anything I've had before. It is surprisingly very filling and protein filled too....
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- Superb175 Reviews4.4
Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta
2415 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060A favorite of my family that I plan to pass down to the next generation. The lunch special includes a slice of their Sicilian style pizza, a small salad, and a...
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- Superb188 Reviews4.3
Kiantis Pizza & Pasta Bar
1100 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Good food. Staff was nice enough as well - my only complaint would maybe be the prices are a bit high... but they do give lots of food so it's quite...
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- Good259 Reviews4
Oswald Restaurant
121 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060We love Oswald and Chef Damani’s entire crew there. Home away from home with superb food and drinks. I have Celiacs and there are always many choices for a...
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- Good208 Reviews4.2
Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery
49A Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060We only had drinks this afternoon and they were quite good. So good we made reservations for dinner tomorrow. I'll update after that dinner. Food looked...
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- Good228 Reviews4.1
Betty Burgers
505 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Great little burger spot with good malts. I was trying to eat good and they wrapped my burger in thick lettuce which held together well and provided a nice...
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- Good252 Reviews4
The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 950621k+ reviews and popular for a reason! Always a line out the door so be prepared to wait. Parking lot is small but there is plenty of street parking in the area...
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- Good217 Reviews4.1
American Restaurants
American in Santa Cruz
The Crêpe Place
1134 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Delicious food! My husband and I had a lovely lunch there. They have lots of outdoor seating behind their building in a really lovely garden. We were so...
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- Good183 Reviews4.2
FireFish Grill
25 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Although it was clearly busy upon arrival they had excellent customer service. Our food was also delivered shortly after we placed our order and the portions...
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- Good271 Reviews3.6
Pizza Restaurants
Pizza in Santa Cruz
Engfer Pizza Works
537 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Probably one of the best pizza places ever. Came here once a few years ago and I have definitely romanticised the memory. It's stayed in my head a long...
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- Superb112 Reviews4.5
Pleasure Pizza
4000 Portola Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Been going here since 2003 and it's still as great as I can remember. Took my family here for their first slice and it did not disappoint. The employees...
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- Good150 Reviews4.2
Mexican Restaurants
Mexican in Santa Cruz
De La Hacienda Taqueria
354 Washington St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060I've had mexican food from San Francisco down to Puerto Vallarta, and, short of some tacos I had in mexico city, Hacienda is one of the best. Something...
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- Superb157 Reviews4.5
Salsas Taco Bar
1710 Brommer St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062This is by far my favorite Mexican food place in northern California. I sometimes drive all the way from San Francisco to get their 100% natural burrito and...
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- Superb152 Reviews4.4
Café Campesino
1130 Pacific Ave K1, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Some delicious food came out of this tiny booth! I never noticed what this booth served, i honestly thought it was just a coffee/ice-cream booth or something....
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- Superb88 Reviews4.7
Chinese Restaurants
Chinese in Santa Cruz
Yan Flower
617 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060This place surprised me. I haven't really had really good Chinese food before coming from San Diego, where most of the stuff is Vietnamese, Korean, or...
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- Good148 Reviews4.2
Shun Feng Restaurant
420 River St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Good service, good communication and especially good food! Thank You to Stacey that help me over the phone! We're on vacation and they are really friendly!...
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- Good149 Reviews3.8
Seafood Restaurants
Seafood in Santa Cruz
Riva Fish House
31 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Riva is a great choice fro seafood. The waits are not extreme and the food is great! I ate there twice in a week, one lunch and one dinner. I sat at the bar...
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- Good241 Reviews3.9
Stagnaro Bros.
59 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Great service! Very cordial wait staff.Our go to items are the prawn tacos and rustic fish stew.Nice Negronis, too.The views are perfect. Eat upstairs, except...
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- Good228 Reviews3.8
Sushi Bars
Sushi Bars in Santa Cruz
Akira Seabright
1222 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Definitely among the top sushi spots in the area. I have always enjoyed having them in our area and am looking forward to sitting down there again once the...
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- Good164 Reviews4.2
I LOVE SUSHI
516 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Cute little hidden gem of a restaurant. Everyone was incredibly polite and accommodating. Especially since we came in right before closing. The food was...
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- Good180 Reviews3.9
M.G. Sushi
1733 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062one of my favorite sushi spots in santa cruz! everything is reasonably priced and just great in general. when i was dorming at ucsc, MG sushi was always our go...
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- Good149 Reviews3.9
Thai Restaurants
Thai in Santa Cruz
Real Thai Kitchen
1632 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062We spend a extended weekend in Santa cruz hiking enjoy time outdoor. Last night of our stay we were just tried to dine out. So door dash it is! Ordered Pad...
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- Good145 Reviews4.1
Burger Restaurants
Burgers in Santa Cruz
Jack's Hamburgers
202 Lincoln St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060They definitely play to their strengths here and for doing so they make some of the best burgers in town. Expect a juicy rich saucy burger. As long as you come...
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- Superb191 Reviews4.3
Betty Burgers
1000 41st Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062The bun to meat ratio was uneven. Too much bread for a way to small patty that should've been bigger.The grilled cheese my daughter had was good according...
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- Good198 Reviews4.1
Betty's Eat Inn
1222 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060Great place to grab a beer and a bite. Also, sitting outside on the patio and people watching the downtown Santa Cruz strip on a Saturday is just great...
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- Good151 Reviews3.9
Indian Restaurants
Indian in Santa Cruz
Mumbai Delights
810 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060This is my favorite Indian restaurant in Santa Cruz! The yellow dal is great and the Manchurian cauliflower is spicy and tangy! I am sad to see that they are...
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- Superb160 Reviews4.3
Pearl of the Ocean
736 Water St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060My boyfriend and I were visiting the area and we got take out from here last night and it was absolutely so delicious! We walked in to pick up our food and the...
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- Good165 Reviews4
Royal Taj India Cuisine
270 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Grate food, the person at the front was really polite and helpful. He guide me with the portions of the food, so I could order the right amount. The taste was...
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- Good76 Reviews4.2
Italian Restaurants
Italian in Santa Cruz
Ristorante Italiano
555 Soquel Ave STE 150, Santa Cruz, CA 95062We ordered the chicken parmigiana, shrimp pasta Parma, prawns Cesar salad and the house-made lasagna. Every meal was delicious and for the first time in a long...
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- Good168 Reviews4.2
Avanti Restaurant
1917 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060They graciously showed us to a good table, despite our arriving ten minutes after they closed...To our delight, they were able to make a few "tweaks to...
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- Good155 Reviews4
Sandwich Shops
Sandwich Shops in Santa Cruz
Emily's Good Things To Eat
1129 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060We were a little reluctant to try Emily’s because of the poor reviews. Frankly, I think reviewers are being a little unfair. I found the restaurant very...
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- Superb157 Reviews4.4
Ike's Sandwiches
1318 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060CANT go wrong with Ike's! It's located right off of the Ocean St. exit so you can stop by before heading to the Boardwalk or your beach of choice....
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- Good149 Reviews4
Black Point Market
21400 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062I'm normally one of those meat only type sandwich people, but gotta give props for the "smoky hippie-crit" sandwich which is the hippie sandwich...
- Superb76 Reviews4.8
Bar & Grill
Bar & Grill in Santa Cruz
Parish Publick House Westside Santa Cruz
841 Almar Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060My Santa Cruz go to. Their food is amazing and you can tell they use fresh ingredients. Their home made ranch is amazing. Anytime I visit Santa Cruz I have to...
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- Superb154 Reviews4.3
Ideal Bar & Grill
106 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060The food was good but it was more expensive than the other restaurants near by. The service was slow and the staff didn't communicate with one another. ...
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- Good309 Reviews3.5
Hindquarter Bar & Grille
303 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062Santa Cruz restaurants in general are largely supplied with Sysco provided inventory ie, expensive Stouffers microwavable meals for $30+.This place has a real...
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- Good171 Reviews4.1