50 Best American Restaurants near Scotts Valley

“Best after party location in the area!

Bruno's Bar and Grill has everything you could possibly want for an evening of celebrating: Bar games to keep people competitive and playful; a dance floor with massive speakers to dance the night away; high top seating for convenient snacking and chatting; plus a super vibey room called The Vault.

Joanne was incredibly helpful and flexible. She kept Bruno's open late for us and offered a delicious catering menu. My guests couldn't eat the Naughty Fries fast enough.

I'm incredibly thankful Bruno's exists. It was the perfect ending to my wedding day.

THANK YOU!“

“Stopped by today, Tate was amazing, so wonderful and friendly. We had pizza which was delicious. Our first time there but we will definitely go again. Thank you Tate, you made our day start in an amazing way 👍🇬🇧👍“

“Best food ever. Friendly owners and staff. Great location and views. Love!“

“The restaurant was a highlight of our short stay. We ate dinner and had the veggie pappardelle pasta and short ribs. We also shared the cobb salad and tropical chicken wings. Our food runner, Vil, was efficient, friendly and helpful. The servers were attentive and also friendly. Highly recommend.“

“Just happened on this place by doing map search for restaurants while in Watsonville. It was magical! Beautiful buildings & gardens. We are on the heated patio & just loved it. Excellent food: ribeye, & steak & lobster. Delish wedge salad too. Took the dessert home & enjoyed that too; the accompanying ice cream was the best. Very lovely experience.“

“Love everything here, Janeen is my favorite. She is always so nice and attentive. Get the artichoke lasagna for sure.“

“We had the most amazing food and dining experience. I felt like we were in a Michelin starred restaurant.
The appetizers and main courses were unique and so well executed.
Loved to Brussels sprouts and Butter Charcuterie Board. Our table had pork tenderloin, chicken and sea bass.
Everyone couldn’t believe how good their dish was!“

“Churchills is amazing.“

“My favorite local hangout! food is always great, their beer selection is well-chosen and often local, staff is friendly and helpful. plus the live music is a fun addition in the warmer weather.“

“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!“

“We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Trestles. Hostess Blixha was friendly, sweet and helpful. Server Kimber was amazing - describing the food choices, Making suggestions based on our questions and paced the selections perfectly. She kept her professionalism even as one table was a bit obnoxious. A small space, indoors can be a little stuffy and loud. Four of us ate family style and the dishes were fabulous from the local oysters, fried green tomatoes, spring pea salad, halibut and the special, chicken salad… very very good!“

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

“Delicious calamari Great vibes“

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

“Great cocktails and appetizers“

“I ordered the chicken Cobb salad and it was amazing. The chicken was well seasoned and well cooked. The portions of all the toppings were plentiful and I got a bit of everything in every bite. I especially loved the beets. Would definitely order from here again! The Mac and cheese was really good too.“

“Love this place great people work here. Miss all you.“

“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!“

“Everything was great! We will be returning. Maybe next time for dinner.“

“Just had breakfast at this gem of a cafe. The food was excellent. The staff was sweet and hospitable. Seriously, put this charming spot on your breakfast list. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟“

“Awesome stinging nettles pizza and fried chicken with butter beans! Wow. 😁“

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

“SO YUMMY and excellent customer service as well. I usually order the olallieberry shake and slice of pie but they were out so I tried the blackberry and it was so yummy. 😋 The skirt steak and salad bar is phenomenal.“

“First time golfing, the staff was great! The course was great!“

“Amazing food, flavor is off the charts. These guys are doing my wedding. They are so pleasant, warm, and helpful. I can’t wait to have them at my wedding.“

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

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

“Pretty Good Advice is a laid-back gem in Soquel, serving up some of the best vegetarian and vegan breakfast and lunch around. The food is fresh, flavorful, and perfect for grab-and-go, with a farm-to-table feel that keeps things simple yet high-quality. The Spicy Boy and Good Morning breakfast sandwiches on airy ciabatta rolls are next-level—easily among the best on the West Coast. Limited outdoor seating makes for a relaxed vibe if you want to hang out, but this spot is all about quick, delicious bites that don’t skimp on quality. A must-try for healthy munchies lovers.“

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

“I can’t say enough good things about Brad, Linda, and staff. They are wonderful to be around and everyone really cares about the food. There is something on the menu for the vast majority of eaters. The garden on site is walkable and absolutely gorgeous. For food: beef cheeks, fried chicken, and any pasta you care for. Wine: a broad selection of interesting bottles Non-alcoholic: lemonade 😋“

“Top of the line Food thats forsure“

“I had an amazing birthday here. The staff are so friendly and right there when you need them. The food….omg the food. I had lamb shank with mashed potatoes and sautéd veggies. Everything was cooked to perfection! I live 4 hours away. I can’t wait to come back.“

“This is a cozy cute place with delicious café de olla, and Mexican dishes, live music and kind owners, convenient location to have food before walking to the beach.“

“Had steak, eggs, home fries and a side of strawberries... All cooked to my liking. Awesome what else can I say is Just go and dine out dine in. Have fun and enjoy your meal.

Parking: If you're lucky you find a spot behind the building but do not park anywhere else or your car will be towed... True story someone's car got towed while I was there.“

“Great food, great staff, great service!“

“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.“

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

“Wait staff was excellent, as usual. Always a pleasure dining at Cafe Cruz. Don't think prices have gone up AT ALL since COVID. Amazing... a hamburger is still only $14!! Compared to Santa Cruz Diner where the burgers are $20 PLUS, in addition to the "extra service charge". Employees at Cafe Cruz are always happy and seem to enjoy their jobs. Cafe Cruz is always enjoyable!!!“

“Best pizza in the county. Crispy bottom, lot of topping, excellent dough, Freindly staff and proud chef. They have hot off the grill/baked sandwiches, wine, beer and soft drink and much more...Good pricing.

Parking: Free Parking in plaza

Wheelchair accessibility: Easy access from sidewalk to main dining entrance.“

“Small place that’s perfectly understated…what more you could you ask for in a breakfast place? Well if you like salsa on your eggs, the scramble with homemade salsa is FIRE! It’s hard to stand out when serving up scrambled eggs and home fries, but I’ll be back for this breakfast.“

“It was elegant and good energy. Drink menu was creative and well executed and the food was really good. I think one knock I might have is that their menu was very limited (5 main entree options). It'd be nice to see a few more options, that's all. Similarly the wine list was very limited which isn't in line with the overall quality of the restaurant“

“Every time I go, spot in with the food. This is what I look for in a restaurant. Think out of the box menu with consistency every time I go with every item I order. I keep working down the menu to try everything. They obviously make their own sauce, the ranch, super bomb diggity. Fries, onion rings, salad all fresh and crisp. Mac and Gouda cheese bites, Yes! Chop cheese, you gotta have one of these! Mushroom cap “burger “ something you will crave, Parish pie, goodness wrapped up in one dish. Salmon fish & chips, fantastic. And I forgot to mention beer, beer, beer, they also have beer and mixed drinks. There is always specials on the screens. Last time I noticed something about tenderloin and bacon …… can’t wait to go back and find out!“

“Visiting Santa Cruz and happened upon CT lights - really great bar and restaurant. We had mini Tacos (Tacos Tuesday!) at the bar and a couple of drinks. They have a really good range draft beers and soft drinks but the best part was the family running it were so friendly and helpful. We loved your attitude and relaxed hospitality. Thanks!!“

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

“Scopazzi’s has long since been a favorite venue for the BCBA to host events. From dinner/auction fundraisers to roundtable meetings to lunch meetings and now our 1st annual community planning event. They knocked it out of the park today for the CPE! Thank you to Talal and all of the staff!“

“Dog friendly! Great food and drinks!“

“We had a wonderful takeaway family dinner last week. We ordered the family truffled cheese tortiglioni meal, three short rib dinners and two salmon. Our food was ready for us on time, beautifully packed and the heating instructions perfect. Everything was absolutely delicious! Thank you Cori & crew for offering pick up meals and we look forward to experiencing your beautiful outdoor patio some day.“

“best fish and chips I've ever had since I had them in New Zealand. if you don't understand that, I mean they were the greatest in America. Thin crust nice and crispy. not greasy and thick crispy crinkle fries were so delicious.“

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