Jack O'Neills Bar & Bistro Reviews

Great food with quality ingredients. Staff treated us so kindly. This place has a great feel to it.

This is a must visit place for locals and tourists alike. Everyone at the table had something different, and everything was AMAZING! 5 stars well deserved.

Beautiful view if the ocean! Great appetizers and mixed drinks!

Good food, but service is sloooooooow. Bread came after the entrees. Water glass never refilled.

Friendly staff but disappointing burger. Great view though, and some fantastic photos of Jack O'Neil and co if you're interested in the history of surfing

The view and decor were lovely, the service was great. The food was somewhat disappointing. We ordered bahn mi sandwiches that tasted bland. How is that even possible? My daughter s hot dog from the kids menu looked pretty tasty though. It better, for $12.

This is unquestionably one of the coolest place to eat in the region. Anytime I come to this place I am remarkably satisfied. They manage their high level service and the highest level of dishes they provide. You always win with this restaurant. Very recommended.

What fabulous food and a wonderful view of the Santa Cruz pier
Really terrific!!

Amazing food and service with absolutely stunning ambiance. This place is a must go!

Nice place with a beautiful view over the beach. Good service and food.

Very nice, beautiful view, good food and very good service. Would recommend!

Atmosphere very relaxing, high end service and feel but definitely a down to earty locals welcome attitude. Come in off the street as you are and make your wife feel special. Be ready to spend $150 per couple but worth it.

Great views, uninspired menu.

The view and location is fantastic, and the restaurant interior is really fun to look at.

I ordered a cocktail and a poke bowl. Poke was "meh" at best, and cocktail came out after food, only when we reminded the waitress. Of course the cocktail was watered down by the ice that had probably been melting for 15 minutes before the drink made it to me.

I enjoyed the decoration in the dining room and watching the surfers from our great windowside table - at table for two, both seats face out toward the enormous, wall to wall windows - and tried to ignore the food and drink to enjoy myself as well as possible.

Service at the bar was awesome. As per. Food was not so good. Off night. Disappointing. Manager rectified!!! Still awesome ambiance.

Pretty cool spot that I feel makes for a great tribute to Jack. There are photos of him throughout his life all over the place as well as a brief bio on the menu. The view of the wharf, beach, and ocean is awesome. Combine the view with the decor and it has a great vibe. My only true complaint is the price of the food when you consider the the taste+quantity. The hangar steak frites and O'neill's poke bowl were quite tasty but they certainly don't leave you feeling full. I'll be sure to return but probably only when family/friends are visiting and I want to show them a cool spot with great views.

Great view of the ocean and the wharf through their huge windows. Good drinks, and good service. A bit pricey, but that is to be expected from a place on the beach. We listened to great live music there.

Food wasn't fresh or very safe to eat. old, turned, raw fish isn't very thoughtful or safe to serve to customers. The wine was great. The drinks were not good.The service was just ok.
I liked aquarius food and drinks much better.

Very happy with our meal and service. Looking forward to coming back.

Really enjoyed having dinner here. Relaxed and casual but a bit upscale. Great view, live music was good and not too loud. Had the filet mignon and was cooked perfectly medium rare. Nicely done chef.

Our server was nice up until the point when we were on our way out. She asked if there had been something wrong with our service even though she got the percent she was supposed to get from the check total?? Maybe go ask your employer for a raise and don't take it out on customers so rudely.

The prices are a bit high, but the food and service are excellent. The ambiance and decor are tasteful, and the views out of the giant windows on the dining room are so good you might just let your food get cold

There aren't enough stars!! Gorgeous inside, food was spectacular and the servers top notch!

Amazing service with wait staff that really don't mind having a conversation. Had a gorgeous view from one of the tables facing out towards the ocean. Food was incredible, too. My date and I had the fisherman's trio and very big burger. Both were great. Totally a great date spot

Great food. Service. Big portions. Great View. Price is high but it's Santa Cruz. Definitely need to bring someone to share with.

Excellent food, very friendly service, great views of the ocean cozy place for a get together with family and friends.

Good place to relax and unwind. The bill was fair for the quality of food. Like a restaurant in Washington I liked.

Two thumbs up for this place. Food and atmosphere reminds me of Atlanta.

Great view, menu and drinks! What a great place to meet up with friends!!

Great seafood, awesome view and kind people. We really enjoyed our dinner at Jack O'Neill! It is defenetely a bit pricey, but absolutely worth it!

Great food. Small Poke portions. Chilly. AC blasting

Fabulous view. The food is good and the process are reasonable.

We were looking forward to celebrate my wife's birthday here, but had a really bad experience. The service was horrible (see below), and the food was so so (definitely doesn't justify the high prices). View was really nice, but that alone can't justify eating here.

My wife ordered a salad as a starter, which the waiter said was his favorite. Really just a plate full of kale leaves with no dressing, and it was really hard to find the couple of tiny pieces of goat cheese and asparagus.

We were there for almost an hour before our entrees arrived, at which point out toddler son was done with his meal and was getting close to his bedtime. I should also point out that the restaurant was half empty, so it's strange that the kitchen can't function within reasonable wait times. The server apologized for the huge delay and was nice enough to offer us wine (on them), but with a toddler who needs to get to bed we really didn't feel like ordering more wine.
My wife was disappointed with her $30 fish (had way better in San Francisco for much less than that), and my steak was so-so. We just tried to finish our meal before our son was losing it.

Our son's kids meal presumably included a drink and desert, which were at no point offered to us. Nobody has every refilled the water glasses that were empty for more than an hour. We didn't say anything because we just accepted the poor level of service and wanted to be done with it.

At the end the server offered a free desert, we said it was already really late and he has offered to get us one to go. That was nice, but then it took him a long time to get back and ask what we wanted, and our son was already getting restless and we didn't want to stay there and hope that would arrive within a reasonable time. We just got the check and bought some ice cream on the way home.

Bottom line: horrible service, mediocre and overpriced food, great view. Can't believe we paid a $100 for an evening that left us with such bad taste in our mouth. There are far better restaurants in Santa Cruz for these prices.

We went there last night and have nothing but good things to say about this place. I had the Very Big Burger, it was hands down the best burger i've ever had. The ceviche was fresh but lacked the citrus i'm used too. The view was amazing and the molten lava cake has a crispy carmel layer on the shell. The service was prompt and friendly. We'll definitely be going back.

Amazing food and great customer service. We're in town for the football game and felt very welcome here. If you're looking for the best coffee you've ever drank, stop here for sure.

Wonderful food, service and atmosphere. Great views

Loved it. Been a while since we ve been back to Santa Cruz and this was one of our highlights. Great service & food was solid.

A local's perspective. Food is great. Cocktails are great. Views are great. Prices are a bit extreme, especially when compared to elsewhere in Santa Cruz. The kicker, if you ever want a few extra pita chips to finish out the hummus app... they'll charge you $2-3. No joke. They had the same policy for extra pieces of toast for their buratta on previous menu. Even if you drop $400 on dinner, $2-3.

Came here for breakfast. Our server Brandon had some great recommendations. We ate the huevos rancheros and bacon avocado toast. The food was great. We added a mimosa and bloody Mary. The bloody Mary was great. Not sweet at all. Brandon was very attentive and laid back. Next time we visit santa santa cruz we will be coming back here and booking this hotel and restaurant.

Worst service I have experienced in a long time. Food was not great. We received one plate incorrectly and all they did to make it right was to bring out a plate with eight almost raw green beans on it. Ugh! Our waitress was too busy with a large party to even take care of us. AWFUL! I'll never go back!

Great views and drinks. The ahi salad was also very tasty.

Great view and great food! Nothing less than 5 stars, highly recommend.

Great place to have breakfast or lunch with a view. Don't think you can go wrong with any of the breakfast options.

A great view with a breakfast to match! Baby back rib hash ..... Over the top

Super yummy food. All of the appetizers are amazing not a big wine selection the white and they do have a really good

Love the atmosphere, beach view, specialty cocktails and live music. Food was somewhat bland for our tastes (we had the flatbreads and wings).

Location location location.. over looking the beach/ocean. Fresh food served, seafood, chicken, steak, and more. As expected with any water front restaurant in the Santa Cruz area, a little expensive, but well worth it. Even had live music playing for the night we went on a Friday night. Will be back again for sure.

Great view, yummy appetizers, solid wine list. Excellent service. Perfect spot for locals and tourists alike. Catch the sunset!

We had a good time with friends here in Santa Cruz.
Food -well I ordered the sausage sampler but couldn't finish it. It was, they were all too salty. My wife had the bouillabaisse and it seemed fine.
There was live music from a guitarist who also sang. He had his cover version of Pink Floyd.
The restaurant was by the seaside, not forgetting that it was named after a surfing celebrity. Very nice view though.

We weren't able to sit in the main restaurant (no reservation on Valentine's Day), but we could order everything from the bar. I was able to do the prefixe menu while my husband ordered a la carte, which was nice. The butternut squash soup was flavorful, and the scallops were nice and buttery. The chicken sandwich was delicious with just a little kick. The desserts were good not great. Service and atmosphere were excellent.

I wish I could remember our waiters name, he was awesome. I brought my wife here the day after Valentine's to celebrate and our waiter went extra. Excellent food and top notch service with a rose and he even hooked up a dessert. 6 stars!

Excellent food. Nice view. The live music is wonderful if you happen to be there for it in the evening.

Nice little restaurant. Came on a Friday night. Live music. Friendly people. A little pricey for bar food but nice. Fish tacos and vegetable soup were both good. Good service.

Cute hotel bar. Great view. Nice staff. Pretty dang cool.

Got there about one, it wasn't busy. I'll return with my relatives. Bring your appetite because portions are filling.

The bartender Zack was an absolute legend. Told me about a ton of cool spots in Santa Cruz and all the need to know. Will be back again for sure!

We came in at 9 am on a sunday for Father's Day and we couldnt have picked out a more perfect place. The view is gorgeous, right on the beach. The service was outstanding, and the food was delish!
It's a great place for a sit down experience, they also have a lounge/bar area which is beautiful as well.

Amazing as always. Food was delicious and service was spot on.

Nothing spectacular. The food was ok and the service was good. The view was really nice.

We discovered this place on Christmas Day of all days! It was one of the few places open on our 1st holiday without any family around. It has a warm and inviting ocean side vibe. The food is on point. Cocktails are good. Staff is friendly.