The Crow's Nest Reviews

You know at first, I was kinda down on this place because locals kinda treated it like a tourist trap. However, I have been to Crows a number of times now and have never had a bad experience. Service has been great and surprisingly the food passes the test. Calimari is great...so much so that my 8 year orders it for an entree. Had a great tuna app the other day. They do great job on drinks and of course, the views are unsurpassed. Oh yeah, never had to wait to get seated. Just go upstairs and seat yourself.

One of my favorite places, they have great food and an amazing salad bar, which no one else in town has! They have a summer beach party free to the public with live music, it is fun and the one place you are able to have drinks while sitting on the beach!:)

Great views, good food. Need to pay for parking though!

Nice views and good food. Parking is not free. Just order appetizers and enjoy the sun. In summer the sunset isn't that great.

Delicious food, great service and a selection of either fine dining on the first floor, or a fun bar atmosphere above. The salad bar is the best in town, and the food is always exceptional.

Excellent food, wonderful service, great atmosphere

Cold cloudy night. Wonderful warm atmosphere. Large waves crashing on the beach. Boats in the harbor lite up for Christmas. Great food . Shared with a friend and a birthday dessert with a candle perfect end to a great evening. Nothing like an ocean view ,great service and friendship to make life complete.

Would be better if they served more fresh seafood considering there right on the water

I am not that impressed with the downstairs restaurant but the upstairs dining room/bar has great views and hot waitresses. Half price appetizers during happy hour make a pretty good meal. My favorite is a trip to the well stocked salad bar.

Best place to eat in Santa Cruz. Amazing views, excellent service, great menu.

Drinks are drip drip. Clam chowder and pear salad were hit!! The sunsets tho, oh the sunsets, are virtuous!!

Food was okay, they were already out of 3-4 main dishes by the time we ordered around 8:30pm. Didn't seem to like having a bigger group, although we had pre-booked so they knew we were coming.

Very good food and excellent service. Unique Seafood dishes!

Perfect location for a sunny day. Had the Tuscan Chicken sandwich and a split of Mumm's. Great service and picture perfect.

Food was just OK but the veiws were amazing. Id suggest eating upstairs in the bar.

Seems like every table had a view of the ocean and harbor. I sat on the patio for breakfast. Then went up to the bar. Great views.

I don't think breakfast was their strong suit. Only a couple of seafood breakfast items. The rest were basic breakfast choices.

Service from our server was on the slow side. Food didn't take long and it was a fair amount of food.

After breakfast we went to the bar for a drink. The bartender was friendly enough and he made a good drink.

I'll have to try dinner service. I'm sure sunset would be a great time.

Delicious! We ate at the upstairs bar and grill called "Breakwater". It was less expensive with same beautiful view of the ocean and jetty. We had a local cider by Tanuki that was dry and delicious. The staff was great and I got a really amazing gf bread for my fish sandwich

Really nice place the balcony is so nice you can actually sit there and enjoy the view good drinks and the staffs they are so nice and friendly

Breakfast was good and service was quick server was nice and helpful.

We ate at the upstairs grill area. Food was ok, but it's very obvious you are paying for the location rather than quality. The brownish iceberg lettuce in the house salad was not very good, sodas were flat, fish and chips was pretty mediocre for a seaside place. It wasn't terrible, but for the price we expected better.

This is an awesome place with great views and even better food

Friendly service! Great atmosphere. Love the ahi tuna here! Desserts aren't my favorite, wouldn't recommend ordering them here. Love the appetizers. The seafood was cooked perfectly!

My crab salaf was delicious and the wait staff were good.

The upstairs restaurant is low key and great for sitting outside, looking at the ocean, drinking a few beers, etc. Downstairs is a bit fancier and pricier with a full menu. Seafood options are diverse. The fried calamari is excellent.

Location location location! The food wasn t the level expected after reading reviews. The menu reads, award winning calamari and turned out to be quite mediocre at best. Steak was so so and mashed potatoes seemed to have originated out of a box. But, nice place in a grand location.

Driving through with my son from SF to OC, we decided on a moment's whim to stop by. Had the tasty fish tacos for late lunch (why there's no photo!) and Hannah sealed the deal with her friendliness and menu suggestions.

It was really uncomfortable being around so many intoxicated and drugged out individuals, definitely would not recommend.

Beautiful scenery! Wonderful food! Been dying to come back since our first visit 18 years ago and finally made it!!! And it totally lived up to the memories we had from so long ago!!!

I had a bowl of clam chowder and a bear at the market next door.
It was awesome. Had my dog with me.

unfortunately our anniversary breakfast was a bust. seated reasonably quickly but acknowledgment of our presence took too long. others seated after us were served before us.
our entree was served only warm not hot (smoked salmon)
minimal service, poor quality, pricey.
Note: shared feelings with staff and were comped! Greatly appreciated!

I love getting the Portobello Mushroom Sandwich. Crowded both times I've been, but service was pretty snappy. Great place all around.

Good food good service nice music upstairs get there before 9 so you don't have to have him cover charge upstairs hearing the music

We ate upstairs at the bar and grill and it was fantastic. We were pleasantly surprised at the size of the place. The service was really good. Food came fast, and tasted great. Will come back for sure.

A Santa Cruz Institution.
Arguably best view in town.
It's tempting to enjoy the bar upstairs and do,(there's often live entertainment) but the real food is on the real menu downstairs and it's wonderful.
Also, great salad bar downstairs.
Bonus: it's a meat market for the viagra crowd

Delicious breakfast on the glass-enclosed outdoor patio, boats entering and exiting the Santa Cruz Harbor, great atmosphere!

The service was excellent, they did an amazing job taking care of us. The fish tacos were not very good and at the price they're charging I would have expected three and not just two tacos, however, the macadamia nut rice as the side was delicious and I'd order a side of that by itself. I won't throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet though. I'll be back for what I hope is redemption on their part.

Dan Clark
Monterey, CA

A very nice seafood restaurant here in Santa Cruz. The view and the location is amazing.

This is my family's go to place in Santa Cruz! The fish tacos are very fresh and tasty, and the fish and chips are perfect comfort food. Definitely prefer to sit upstairs and watch the boats coming in and out of the marina.

By far, the best feature of this place is its ocean view! Food is quite delicious, and drinks are great (mimosas are my fave). Service staff is good overall, even though a couple of servers are, politely put, sub standard! Live music is off-the-charts awesome - the band plays all kinds of classic rock and wow...they're good! If you feel like dancing to their tunes, then go ahead and cut a rug - the tables and chairs in front of the stage get moved to the side to create an ephemeral dance floor. Free parking before 4 pm and NO...they dont validate parking. Either way, you'll likely end up not having to pay since the attendant leaves at night. Sunsets here are stunning! I'd go again n again n again!

We had a beautiful view of the sea from our seat. The hosts were nice and the food was well worth the price.

Had dinner after whale watching. I ordered the California yellowtail and substituted jasmine rice with rice pilaf. It was nice and serving size was good. A little bummed that I had to pay extra for soup and salad. My friends ordered the smoked salmon appetizer. It was served as cubed pieces rather than thin slices. Was okay, nothing spectacular.
Waited for 20 mins for a table next to window. Nice view of the lighthouse and water :) couldn't reserve a table on top floor where a live jazz band was playing.
Service was quick and good.

Delicious food and great service! Everytime my family and I come to Santa Cruz we visit. Definitely tradition worthy!

Legendary spot featuring LIVE music most nights, beautiful views of the ocean, and a variety of choices for any palate.

Interstellar!!! Superb!!! Professional!!! Thoughtful!!! Local's favorite bar. Now I know why.

THIS RESTAURANT IS nothing short of AMAZING!!!
The food is FANTASTIC, the service is EXCELLENT, the ocean and harbor views are MAGNIFICENT!!!!
RANDI, we want to thank you for making our anniversary dinner a beautiful memory, which we can fondly remember for years to come! You treated us like we were royalty, and went above and beyond to make us have a perfect experience! 5 stars for Randi! Also 5 stars for the kitchen, who's generosity was a sweet surprise! I wanna kiss the chef(s) who made our meals, even though I probably gained 5 lbs last night due to their incredible cooking! The meals were plated gorgeously. The bartender mixed me the perfect virgin Mary, I didn't have to add a thing, it was on point, and garnished with all the fixins!
My goodness, you know we will be back!
Crows Nest rocks!!!!

Love the view next to marina. The calamari, clam chowder and bloody mary were a hit. Enjoyed my seabass but wife kids were just Ok with sturgeon and sand dabs orders. Waiting staff was excellent. Limited parking was the low point so be sure to give yourself at least 30 minutes to find one.

The smoked salmon was some of the best seafood I've ever had. I didn't think I'd ever find a place that compared with what I had fresh in Canada but Crow's Nest pulled it off. Will visit again. Many times.

Go for apps at sunset.
Order the Tuna AND calamari.

My friend and I, who I haven't seen in 3 years, went here about 2 weeks ago. She had the Braised Beef Shortribs and I had the Ahi tuna with Mango salsa. Both meals were delicious. The service was just okay due to the fact that they were really busy for lunch that day./But all in all it is a nice place to go to. It is right at the water.

Noisey hard to carry conversation high price for lunch

Great friendly service, prime location woth great views of boats going in and out of the harbor. Food is excellent. Fried calamari starter is a must! A bit pricey 40-50 bucks a person with starters and drinks but totally worth it. So nice.

Full bar if you want to enjoy a cocktail.

Recommend to get outdoor seating unless its really windy or cold

A local institution...not to be missed.
Crows Nest is the quintessential Santa Cruz beach bbq scene!....at the Harbor..toes in the sand!
Covid-19 hasslowed things down abit unfortunately...BUT!..
Waiting on Summer 2021 for return of the legendary THURSDAY NIGHT BEACH BAND-DANCE BBQ!! WHOOOHOOO!!
-Matt F.(Santa Cruz local)

During covid-19 the Crow's Nest is open for business! They practice social distancing and have patios available with a lovely View. I have the Crab Louie and it did not disappoint!

Great all night happy hour and appetizers in the top bar on Wednesdays.

Sure enjoyed our happy hour visit to this iconic restaurant. The day we were there, happy hour lasted into the evening....check with the restaurant. It was fun watching the boats going out, which was another weekly event on the day we visited. Really fun and good food too.

Thank you for the most delicious crab cake benedict! It was made perfectly. See you again soon.

Great service and an AWESOME DAY to be seated on the heated patio! The Crab cakes were delicious no complaints just my COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF...

Touristy and expensive with spectacular ocean/ harbour views.

American food, mmm, so good. the service was friendly and sociable. this place has a great atmosphere.

Not bad but not that great. Had breakfast there and ordered the country Benedict and the biscuit was burnt. I'm confused on why they would knowingly give me a burnt biscuit instead of just giving me a different biscuit. Probably won't go back considering the restaurant choices in the area.

Our favorite restaurant and bar up stairs. Can't beat HH prices. A must go place.

the Crow's Nest is easy to find following the harbor loop on East Cliff Drive. Nearly all tables have an ocean or harbor view. The food excellent though a little expensive if you're on a budge, and the service is unparrelled. Easy choice if looking for a special dinner date.