33 Best American Restaurants in Santa Cruz

“The staff is amazing! The food is amazingly fresh and flavorful. Hands down this Restaurant was a huge highlight of our vacation. Thank you for an awesome dinner, and making us feel right at home!“

“very good and Shelby s sunny disposition makes it even better. definitely our new favorite place for breakfast.“

“Vim is a delightful gem. The recipes feel simultaneously local and global, and strike such a perfect balance of bold/novel and familiar/comfortable. Shout out to the incredible desserts, well-curated wine pairings, beer list, and especially the craft cocktails. Besides the excellent quality food, the ambiance is unique and tasteful. Everyone who works there are consistently nice and helpful and skilled, and I've never had a single bad service experience. I also have to thank Vim so much for providing a full spectrum fine dining experience that includes vegetarians and vegans.“

“A great place to eat, shop, and walk around. It’s also home of the Diversity Center, Santa Cruz County’s LGBTQ+ Center.“

“My husband and I enjoyed Coconut prawns in a mango sauce, peppercorn ribeye steak with smashed potatoes and zucchini. We topped it off with a creme Brûlée! Everything was absolutely delicious! A favorite restaurant for our date nights!“

“We were greeted with smile right when we walked in. Served glasses and a pitcher of water. The coffee was great, needed that pick me up to start my day. The food is handmade, hand baked with lots of love. Fresh produce and meat and you can tell the difference in freshness here. Will definitely be coming back to the beautiful smiles and home atmosphere.“

“Great place for mid week date night or to see live music. a Santa Cruz must“

“Great food, atmosphere all the waiters are nice. Great location.“

“Great cocktails and appetizers“

“Every time we drive over from San Jose we eat there.“

“My husband and I had a great breakfast I got a breakfast burrito and a frittata. Both were very good and big great food for a great price and the customer service was amazing.“

“Delicious calamari Great vibes“

“Visiting SC from Michigan and came across Suda. Glad we did. Looked like it had a good vibe from the outside so we went in and sat at the bar where we had drinks. What fun! The bartender, Max, was slammed but never stopped smiling. We had fun watching him and talking with him. He knows his drinks! So much fun we came back for dinner another night. Max came over to our table to welcome us back! The drinks and food were really good! We’ll definitely be back next visit to SC. Hopefully, Max, will be there too!“

“Excellent appetizers, amazing healthy food and great service.“

“Top of the line Food thats forsure“

“The service was good and the food was delivered quickly.“

“#bookshop #santacruz #hardcovers #softcovers #goodreads #mustreads“

“Great food, great staff, great service!“

“Love Hindquarter! Been going for many years mostly for dinner/drinks but am now also loving their delicious lunch specials which change daily. You can enjoy lunch specials until dinner menu starts at 4 pm! Deserts are great and the 3 berry cobbler with vanilla icecream is incredible! Highly recommend!“

“Amazing food. Exquisite taste expertly prepared. The wait staff is so attentive and friendly. Loved everything from start to finish!“

“This place is great. Unfortunately, some poor reviews were written by disgruntled folks with an agenda to denigrate trying to discredit this business over their logo. Trust me. Go there and check it out! Great food, great owners, and great atmosphere.“

“karaoke night is the best“

“We enjoyed the dinner specials recently. Arrived here right before New Years, 12-30. I hade the daily catch and my wife had the steak pasta. Delicious. My fish was petrale sole, mixed vegetables, rice pilaf. Wife’s steak pasta was flavorful and creamy. We sat at the bar so service wasn’t the best but still attentive. Will return tomorrow. HAPPY NEW YEAR“

“I wrote a detailed review on 831 Best and Worst Facebook page and this was definitely the BEST category ! Cannot go wrong IMO !“

“Love coming to Haggin Oaks to visit MacKenzie’s for the food. Steak salad is the healthy option for me. Ribeye steak sandwich is also a great choice. My wife always appreciates the wonderful service that Tresa provides. Yes, menu prices are higher, but blame it on Dimensia Joe and our own failure, Gavin Newscum for making it tough for any business to survive in beautiful California.“

“At first when we checked in, there wasn't anyone in front to receive us. All employees are busy and since we were not staying at the hotel we had to initiate the conversation. Once seated, Rainbow took over, I mean literally. Rainbow is the cool bartender, waiter, all things Bar and restaurant and he manages really well. Anyway, he took our order and had a nice conversation with all four of us and made the effort to interact with all of us. We loved his energy and he certainly was looking to give us a great dinning experience- which we appreciate! We got to know Rainbow and he got to know us as well and I think he is a good part of the dinning experience that makes you want to come back and they also had great food. I ordered the chilaquiles, my sons the steak and eggs, the Benedict and my wife order light dish. The cheesy tots were unreal as well for the table. All plates were certainly stacked and the food was fabulous and with great presentation! We will certainly be back“

“My family and i arrive to this location and they bring to us Hot meal they have Friendly servers they always smile they are kind with our kids. My omelette was utterly delicious i going to cone back this location in a good spot. in santa cruz. thanks for everything“

“This is the place to be for delicious food and cocktails! As you sit in the newly renovated restaurant and bar, watching the teams of golfers swinging away in the background.“

“Great place to meet up with friends, for breakfast or anytime! Great beach and lighthouse view, and casual, comfortable atmosphere! I highly recommend!!“

“My favourite dining hall at UCSC! Nothing will beat the gorgeous view at the Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall. I wish they had more halal options and a greater variety of food, but it does the job! Would highly recommend getting food here pre-sunset, and to bask in the view whilst sitting on the balcony - alone and with friends.“

“So happy to have Johnnys open for lunch and Taco Tuesday ❣️“

“Such a neat place! We really enjoyed this spot. Service and drinks! Their house drink menu is very unique and fun! Definitely recommend if you're visiting Santa Cruz! The entrance is around the back of motiv off pearl alley but if it's after 9:30p you'll need to go to motiv first to get stamped anyways.“