The Crow's Nest Reviews

Great food and service! Get there early up top in the bar where the best views of the bay are and the food prices are reasonable and the live music is hoppin'. Main level restaurant has great food with higher prices. Views not as great on main level inside but a little better outside. Watch out for seagulls outside haha

My hubby and I were excited to pick up some food to go and eat it while we lounged on the beach. It took forever for someone to come take our order and the person that took it seemed to not know what he was doing, which I think reflects poorly on the business because they are not training staff correctly. It took forever to get our food and when we did, we started eating almost immediately. Sad it say it was cold. Like it had been sitting out for a while. The hostess at the stand was rude the entire time we were waiting, and not just to us but to other people coming in. Sad to say what was supposed to be a fun date for my hubby and I was ruined.

Always a fun event to visit the Crow's Nest. Whether to have nice evening dinner and watch the sunset on the Monterey Bay, stop-in for a weekend brunch, or stay late for some entertainment at the upstairs Breakwater bar area that takes place every evening.

The menu needs to be updated. It is a little 1990s with the pilaf. The food needs to be fresh as well. No frozen fries! No pre-made patties!
The salad was lame for $12.00
Over-priced for mediocre pub food.
I had not been there in years, so I was disappointed in the quality of the food.
It was served cold.
The staff were great though. And the Ahi app was decent.
Update the menu and retrain the chef, and it would be worth the money.
The locale and decor is awesome and the food should match.
Just 1 foodie's 2 cents.

Ate upstairs from the bar menu. Food is ok-some things are better than others.

We took my wife's visiting family to The Crow's Nest, 10 of us total. Awesome food (I got the Filet Mignon), great waitress and awesome views of the harbor and sunset. Definitely recommend.

Great view, great staff and great food. While the restaurant is on the pricier side, the quality of their dishes make every bite worth it (I had the crab cakes Benedict.) I would love to come back here.

After 40 years the restaurant still rocks. Good food and options of seating inside or outside .

One of the best views hands down especially during Covid, but the food is very mediocre. Nothing special but the price or cuisine which can be misleading for those who aren't locals and know.

We enjoy planning a trip to the Crow's Nest everytime we visit the area. It holds wonderful memories over the last 30 years. Thanks!

The food is delicious, the tables aren't packed too tightly, the environment is nice.

I can only really speak to the quality of the bar which was great. My buddies and I were getting ready to order drinks and take them outside. Well Sam the bartender was so damn welcoming and made us feel like he genuinely wanted us at his bar and so we stayed inside. And the next hour or so shooting it with him was fantastic. He made us some killer margs and gave us some great tips about SC. Sam, hopefully Marcus, Ben and I can make it back for some more margs. We'd love to see ya again.

Other than that, the location is super cool right on the harbor, wish we could've checked out more of it since the place looked huge but that can wait till next time.

Great food and drinks
Service group was very nice also

Had a large party after a family memorial service and they couldn't have been nicer!

Great food, beautiful view. A Santa Cruz institution sitting right at the Harbor.

Food, service and view are all excellent here! First time here, but will be here more often.

The food was outstanding, the service impeccable, our server was efficient and charming and even smoothed over a hiccup or two with my 8 month old granddaughter which was very sweet and helpful. It was my 59th birthday and he brought a delicious dessert for the 3 of us to share. What a special evening!

It is an ok place to eat, but nothing special. You can get food here and sit outside at the beach though, that is a nice touch.

The food is amazing! The service people are great , happy and efficient. They contribute to the beautiful view

This place was awesome. Wonderful staff and even better food. Will definitely be coming here every time we visit!! I ordered the seafood fettuccine and my husband has the yellowtail and it was much bigger proportions than what we were expecting.

Great Chicken Aztecas with garlic mashed potatoes! Service was nice, our table didn't get bread and butter and we didn't know we were supposed to until after our meal.

I always having trouble finding a good Indian restaurant especially when traveling out of town. This place is probably the closest I have had to authentic Indian food! Everything tasted phenomenal. We had ordered the chicken troika salaam and behind, the spice level was just right. Their hours of service are also perfect if your roaming Hollywood. It's a nice simple Indian restaurant.

Weren t very hospitable. Asked for a table for 6, they gave us our buzzer, and when they were ready they told us 4 different directions to our table send inv us on a goose chase. Then said they don t have a table for 6 and it s first come first serve. Not sure what the buzzer was for then...

Had a wait when we got there but is was soon worth it. Best appetizer artichoke and crab dip. Prime rib was perfect! Just as good as good as the last time I was here.

The food is soooo good, absalutely delicious!! Amazing views and amazing staff! Definitely one of my favorite restaurants!!

Good bands upstairs, security needs to enforce the seating rules or lack thereof in the bar. No fun arguing with other patrons about some abitrary wait line they made up. When asked, our waitperson said it happens all the time. In my opinion, management needs to step up and formulate policy and enforce the house rules to avoid patron conflicts.

Hostess staff lied about wait. Several people were sat that came after us. Wish I could give zero stars but app does not allow. Been coming to crows nest for 50 years and have never experienced such rude and unprofessional people. A date with my husband was ruined. I am flabbergasted by the service. Advice to management fire all hostesses and make sure you are training your wait and bar staff well. We have a huge family and will be telling them about our experience.

Crow's Nest is an old school style white table cloth restaurant. The food is good, but you are paying for the beach front views with the cute little lighthouse. If you want to enjoy the place without the high price, just go for the salad bar. You can have a healthy lunch for a reasonable price, and enjoy the ambiance and view without breaking your budget.

Had dinner last night. First of all, our waiter appeared to be out of sorts...maybe sick. The prawn appetizer was awful...dried out shrimp. I have had better with Costco's frozen shrimp. My entree was scallops with Jasmine rice...no it was bland, white boiled rice served like a scoop of ice cream. The vegies were zucchini, broccoli, carrots....no imagination used with those veggies. Ugh. My partner had haddock with a sauce that was a brown gravy with absolutely no flavor. Served with rice pilaf...dried, crunchy and chewy. Rice a roni would have been better. Highlights were a drink upstairs at the bar...lovely bartender and our Busboy at dinner was right on. We stilled generously tipped our server..after all he didn't prepare the meal. Gave him the benefit of the doubt...maybe having a bad day. Haven't been here in years...and won't be back ever.

Nice restaurant on the beach at the end of the Santa Cruz harbor.

Full Service restaurant downstairs that is/was fitting for a prom date or birthday dinner.

Second floor bar area with more seating inside and out. Great views of the lighthouse and harbor entrance.

My Favorites are the Smoked Salmon, Fish and Chips and the Tuscan Chicken Sandwich.

Entertainment throughout the week, watch the Sailboat races on Wed, come to the free Thursday night beach parties and Comedy night on Sunday.

Wonderful Eggs Benedict with a distinctive hollandaise. Sand Dabs were also exceptional. Beautiful views of the boats coming and going, and an eco-friendly restaurant that respects the ocean.

Class act from entrance to beachside seating. Friendly service, good food and fair prices. We've had breakfast, lunch and dinners here. Never been disappointed.

New York steak was delicious...calm chowder was the best!

Beachfront restaurant. Prices on par considering. Good food. Place is always busy and the service is friendly, but one server shy of good, especially if you sit outside. Portions on par. The happy hour portions are small and overall doesn't save you much.

Classy joint. Great food great views friendly and casual

One of the three people greeting and seating guests was self absorbed and rude. The salad bar was great. The rest of the food and service was good. Over priced. Will not revisit.

I love their outdoor seating on the beach. They expanded their outdoor seating with great big shade covering. I also love their varieties of appetizers to choose and their specials for the day.

Wonderful dinner. Roy was great waiter. Wait time was less than 10 min.

One of my faves in Santa Cruz. I always look for the crab salad.

Nathan our waiter was very attentive and the food was great! Overall fabulous dining experience.

Disappointed that an exciting dish listed on the "today's special" menu could not be produced (and we arrived early in the service period). Our alternate choices were distinctly "meh"...

Great views, good variety of casual food and decent service.

I love the crow's nest but you're understaffed upstairs. I do understand the covid challenge but feel like if I pay $54 for lunch and 2 glasses of wine, I should have more attentive service

Super fun restaurant - with the BEST location by the beach!

A very nice place to watch the boats come in and leave the harbor. The food is ok and the drinks are on the high side, but you come here for the atmosphere. I just wish they would validate the parking fee for the lot if you eat at their restaurant.

There award winning calamari was disgusting. There so called risotto was too watery as well as disgusting, chef Ramsey would have closed there restaurant asap for an overhaul. So anyway I told the waitress about this and she said that's what the manager said. So why then would u still serve it to people? Oh lemme guess because they think we the consumer doesn't know better. I would never go back even if it was the last place to eat in the universe

Great bar andview.food is really sad!. Very poor fish dishes!!!

Kind of expensive and food was just fine, not great. Service was also not great.

Great food, Great atmosphere, Great service! Sit on the patio!

You can't beat the view, but you can beat the food. It's "pretty good" food, so you're dining experience won't be marred. Do consider eating upstairs in the bar. Half price appetizers all night Wednesday during sailboat race season. Also some really good deals during winter and spring.

Went to dine with my significant other. Order New York steak medium rare. To my surprise the steak was well done and completely burned on both sides of the steak. Return the New York steak and when my steak was made again it was the same... well done and burned steak. I gave up and didn t complain. One thing I know is I won t go back or recommend to friends. Had a terrible experience!

Great happy hour drink and appetizer prices. The view from the second floor can't be beat!

The food is great along with the service and the sunsets are spectacular!!

Great food, great people, great location and views!

Excellent views. Good service. The food is not tasty. But over priced.

Nice place with beautiful views. Good prices and abundant food

Food is good. But the service is TERRIBLE. You've been warned. They love to hire snobby blondes. Have fun with that.

It's OK. A little overpriced for the portions. The food is serviceable but nothing spectacular

One of the best restaurants in Santa Cruz. I have been coming here since I was a little kid. All of the food is amazing. I have never been disappointed from the service, staff, food, cleanliness. Only thing I would say is make a reservation on the weekends. Especially around graduation or special events taking place in town. The filet mingon is highly reccomend along with any seafood dish. The stuffed artichoke appetizer is a must!

Awesome food, great service and very accommodating with last minute reservations

Pretty overpriced for the amount of food you get. Most meals come with a side of fries but I counted less than 25 fries that come with it. The food was decent flavor but the waiting staff could definitely use some more pep in their step. Took us so long to get our check that we nearly walked out... Their "fun" drinks dont have the price on the front page but they're all about $12 and alcohol content varies widely by the bartender. Had two of the same drinks in our order and each was VERY different.

This is an okay spot for the view and the patio but it's going to cost you. Make sure you dont come hungry unless you have some money.

We had a really nice lunch today celebrating a birthday. Staff was very nice and waitress was very attentive. Glad we picked the Crows Nest.

Excellent service, happy staff. Great food and overall love the atmosphere!

My new favorite place in Santa Cruz. Great meal, awesome view.

Been coming here since i was a kid, this place has the view of our ocean and a night life with live music and djs. Their menu has a variety of delicious and tasteful meals. Large wine and drink list for those who partake.....service is great and helpful and they are children friendly.

Pros: Gorgeous location, good food, slightly upscale.
Cons: can be very noisy, prices suit the location.
The crows nest is a decent upscale-ish restaurant in a great location. It's a great place to watch the sunset, and the food is good, though not superb. Unless you're really picky, that shouldn't take away from the experience, and it's a really nice spot to bring out of town family and friends for a Santa Cruz dinner.