The Crow's Nest Reviews

Nice oceanside view. Kinda pricy, but it is California, so everything is high.

The Thursday BBQ event captured the essence of California . Tantalizing food, colorful persons, beach partying and soulful music.

The food was great the service was good the views from their patio are excellent. There's a lot of parking and easy access to the area where it is. it's great that it's away from the boardwalk so there are no large crowds to deal with. And last, they have a list of specialty drinks that are fantastic. Try the tsunami it won't let you down

At 56, I can honestly say it has the best food I have eaten. AWESOME clam chowder. As good as Ye Olde Oyster House in Boston, Mass.

Staff was super nice and the food is always delicious. The wait time for our food was above average. Thankfully, they have a killer salad bar.

Can't go wrong with the Crow's Nest. Great food amazing view!

Food was delicious and fresh. View was amazing and service excellent. We had smoked salmon for an appetizer, crab cake Benedict and shrimp and crab sandwich (all highly recommended).

The location is really nice, food was good as well. Cocktail drinks were just ok, not fantastic!

I have only been upstairs but it has been amazing
Great drinks,food veiws and service

Great roof top patio ocean view seating. The service is amazing and the food is to die for!

This place is great. It was reccomended by a local who works at one of the shops, and it reminds me of why I love Santa Cruz. The staff is efficient and still somehow laid back. My girlfriend and I went during the busiest hour, so it was a little cramped, but despite all that we still got excellent service, food, and company. They also have a huge collection of enamel pins for sale in the front. I collect pins so this won me over easy. I even got a few classic cars pins you cant get anywhere else. It was the perfect place to end our trip to Santa Cruz.

Service..we go there almost every week for their salad bar....the sourdough rolls, when warm and fresh are ymy with their whipped butter.

Good food, nice atmosphere and great service! Server was attentive and made graduation day amazing!

The worst seafood I have ever had. CLAM CHOWDER WAS TERRIBLE OLD CHEWY CLAMS. I also tried the calamari no flavor whatsoever and it was cold.

Beautiful sunset! Propane lamps kept us warm, and a sealion hung out on the dock below. Pretty great. Food was good too

Delicious food and great service!! Our waitress, Kelsey, was awesome!! Highly recommend it!!

Over priced and not that great of service as we were left wondering where our waiter was.

Good food, small tables
Very busy

Pandemic Pandamonium- One star because I'm google does not allow negative stars. Just about the worst hostess staff I have seen. Told we would have a 30 minute wait. Two hours later we were finally seated. Several groups arriving after us were seated first. Many other people waiting were in the same situation as we were which created a large "socially distanced and masked" crowd waiting around the entrance. Asked if we could go up to the bar and were told it was full. Anothrer group of people just walked in and went upstairs with out a world. I asked again why we, a party of two, couldnt go up but the group of 6 was allowed and received a shrug. I should have left there but was told our table woudl be ready "shortly". Total lie. Highlight of the wait. One of the hostesses came out of the restaurant, arms in air and screamed " PEOPLE. WE ARE HAVING A WORLD WIDE PANDEMIC. PLEASE GET OFF THE STEPS" Finally seated ( in the tent) and served what felt like cold left overs. Clam chowder was definitely from the bottom of the pot.Overly salty and more like chunky potato soup sans clams. Seafood fetticine-cold. Prawns- like leather. Servers were friendly, just scarce and the tent area we were in was nearly empty. Complete waste of time and for an overpriced meal. Not worth the wait. Maybe will return if this pandemic is ever over, but ONLY with reservations.

The coolest .
Cross section of old and young.
Been going here for 50 years.
Oh I ate half the fries before I took the picture.

A long time favorite, right on the water, great food and drink, entertainment, too.

Great views, great service, solid food. I really like the salad bar and the full bar!

Delicious food. Portobello Mushroom Sandwich so worth it!

Amazing Location and scenic. Food and drinks are average.

The view is fantastic. Dining all fresco, many outdoor heaters. We loved the food and the service was excellent. My so had shrimp and crab melt. I had the salad bar which is reasonably priced. Some of the menu items are pretty pricey. You can eat here reasonable if you're not drinking

Excellent view, environment, customer service, awesome clam chowder and shrimp avocado cressant sandwich, YUMMY!!. Spinach salad looked good but tasted bitter, not sure why. LOL not sure why have 8 toilet paper rolls on the stall wall. I will love to return and try out other menu choices.

The service is great, food is phenomenal, the atmosphere was chill, & the ocean view is amazing.

I grew up in santa Cruz and have been here many times. The food is always reliably good and they have a fantastic, fully stocked salad bar for dinner. The food is on the more expensive side and I would say the restaurant is more fancy, but there is also a bar on the second floor that is casual and often has live music. Great spot in Santa Cruz for a romantic dinner or a birthday dinner with family. They can accommodate large parties as well. Views of the beach and sunset are beautiful.

Beautiful location and a nice view. There are very limited vegetarian options (a pasta dish). Santa Cruz is usually a very veg friendly town, so I was surprised that this restaurant didn t have more to offer (even most of their salads have meat).

Prices have increased significantly, overall tasty food and great staff

Calamari is the best. But prices are too high for some items.

Service was great and the food was delicious. The ahi skewer I got was awesome and I loved the sweet potato(?) and pecan ravioli. The special dessert of the day, blueberry bread pudding, was okay but nothing to write home about. Was nice to watch the waves and birds while you enjoyed your meal.

Great views, mostly good views. Right on the beach.Older established restaurant and bar.

Wanted a nice lobster dinner for 4yrs, they messed it up,took twice as long and was made to feel like it was my fault? They cater to whomever greeter seats,where she wants.

Great location. Good was but seemed on the high side for what we are for lunch.

Awesome location and service, but the food is very overpriced and very underwhelming

Great spot. Worth noting that this location is basically 2 restaurants split between the two floors - each with their own menu.

This place is so great! Good service good area. And the sea veiw is beautiful! The burgers,salads, and appetizers are all cooked well and the staff are super nice and fast! And im surprised to say the bsthrooms aren't gross!!!

View is pretty good but if you re vegan DO NOT come here. The only vegan choices are the salad bar and the vegetable stir fry both of which are very overpriced.

Good food , but do not trust the website , the prices are higher !!!

Excellent food and they have music upstairs environment is great!!

Awesome food! Calamari Yum! Salad Bar always fresh with lots of choices! Skirt steak salad my go to meal. Beautiful view who could ask for more. The place to visit when your in town.

Even though the service was great and view was absolutely beautiful, unfortunately our food wasn't that good, but the strawberry lemonade had fresh strawberries, so that's a plus.

We went to dinner last night with friends for restaurant week. I had been here for lunch a couple of weeks prior. I was displeased to see the "special" $25.00 menu offered was the same $19.95 lunch menu I had. The men ordered the prime rib and both asked for it to be medium rare, pink in the middle. Both came back well done. When they asked the waiter why, he just said that's what you get, that'sall we've got. After the waiter brought the meals and a birthday slice of pie he never returned. We had to ask a bus person to go find him because he never brought out the desserts for the special menu. Then, he had the bus person bring the check. We felt completely ignored. Very disappointed Crow's Nest.

Very disappointing visit!

I lived near the Crow's Nest in the early 80's and have been a customer, sometimes regular, sometimes frequent, other times infrequent, since then. I hope this is a one time issue and not the current status quo as I have always recommended the Crow's Nest as a must visit place in Santa Cruz. This was in the upstairs bar area with a limited menu. The clam chowder my gf ordered was terrible, I imagine better flavor out of a Campbell's soup can. The oyster crackers that came with the clam chowder were stale. I ordered a french dip sandwich with fries. The fries had an odd texture, sort of like the inside was made of mashed potatoes and were flavorless. Possibly made of reconstituted potato starch. There was almost as much gristle in the meat as there was meat. The meat was over cooked, dry and flavorless. Even dipping the sandwich in the overly salted au jus didn't do anything to rescue the sandwich. The French roll that the meat was on was the best part of the sandwich. Others in our group ordered burgers, portobella mushroom burgers (vegetarian) and chicken breast sandwiches. Most reported good to very good food. We were there with friends for several hours listening to a cool rock band called Fishhook. Later in the evening I ordered the Buffalo chicken wing appetizer plate. The preparation and flavor were excellent but the portion size was smaller than one would expect for the price. Service was not great but acceptable early in the evening and improved when we moved tables and a different wait person took over as the evening progressed. This made little sense as the place was busier later in the evening. This would be a one star review if the service had remained the same.

The Crows Nest Restaurant is a wonderful place to meet a friend for lunch or dinner, or just to come and have fun with colleagues or family. The drinks here are wonderful and the food nicely prepared. Enjoy the view of the harbor while sipping a cocktail and eating some appetizers on the second floor. The patio is wonderful as well on a nice day. Enjoy!

Was told wait time was 35 minutes...ended up being 1 hour and 30+ minutes...had ordered soup and sent it back, it was cold! Front desk bad service and the cooks were average. The waiter was a nice girl however. Would I go back? No.

I'm not a sea food guy, so I can't give you a truley accurate review. Beautiful place, excellent location, great blackend chicken sandwich.

Gorgeous views, super friendly & welcoming staff as well as a delicious menu...all at a great price! Don't miss this spot if you are in the area.

Great Ambiance, I mean really, does it get much better than looking past the light house over the Pacific Ocean?

Excellent menu, reasonable prices, good quality, above average dining experience.

Great for family dinners, amazing for intimate quality time with that special someone.

The Crow's Nest is beautiful. I always enjoy going BUT the last time I went the service was bad and the food was good but not great. It seems to have become an overpriced 'tourist' spot.

Usually head upstairs for great food and entertainment. Also killer views of you're going there during the day. My favorite server is Pete. (He's awesome!)

Incredible views, sexy surfing servers & delicious food. One of my all time favorites as a local. Peace, love & Ono

Great food swanky attitude. Wear a tee shirt or a tux. They have seating outdoors with a first hand view of boats entering and leaving the harbor. Live music upstairs. Multiple areas so you can enjoy a variety of settings where you'll find the perfect table, service. And food.

Nice. Place. Good. Foods place. Dancing bar tha beach.

They used to have really good food. It's going downhill everything including the help. thumbs down

Right on the twin lakes beach, crows nest has good food and great views of the bay and lighthouse. They have a happy hour with half price apps and a couple $ off drinks. Nice patio deck seating, and they have an indoor stage for bands. Street parking is scarce, but decent size paid parking lot ($1.50/hour and a half). Will go to again, great spot for locals and visitors.

Excellent "Hawaiian" burger, homemade ice cream very good. To do.

Well know for it's ocean view. I like to meet my friends and clients outside for lunch or happy hour.

Love the view. Salad bar excellent. Other food great

Love the food, service and atmosphere. Thank you for a nice lunch.

I used to love this place bug I do know what happened to it. We ate up stairs. The waitress did not know any IBU or ABV of the beers and the bartender did not know either. I love a good black and what I received tasted watered down and not what I know as a black beer. The crab cake was tasteless. The fish was good. I ordered the salad bar then a bowl of soup. It was happy hour so the soup was half off. When the bill came they combined the soup and salad and charged me more that them being separate. I was never offered another salad plate when I finished my first.

The salad bar was the biggest disappointment. The salad bowl was empty, there were no anchovies, pickled fish, ham or even fruit. We made the mistake of coming before 6pm and having the Deal with a view.

We have been coming here for almost 40 years and this may have been the last

Beautiful day! stopped in for the salad bar. The lettuce was starting to turn to black mush ! I just hope they don't add to it! Yuck! step it up!