The Crow's Nest Reviews

Good food good service close to the harbor. Would recommend to anyone to stop and try the food.

Menu downsized. Food average for above average prices

I can't speak for downstairs but the food is always, always awful. That kind of awful where a place doesn't even have to try to please customers because they have a constant stream from a great location. I got the skirt steak once--clearly frozen. The nachos another time--watery and with teriyaki-like steak slices. An awful combo on a plate of nachos. Also, be prepared for lackluster service (as in, getting your order wrong and take forever to visit your table.).

Fantastic salad bar with items you'll rarely see elsewhere such as hearts of palm. I ate lobster and salmon here and would choose this restaurant over many others in the Santa Cruz area. The service is excellent as well. And the ocean view is a plus. You do have to pay for parking but that's the breaks. Consider it part of your tip.

Food was great! Cocktails were outstanding (the wife had two gin fizz's)!!
Wait staff was very friendly. It was a great breakfast. Definately coming back next time we are in town.

very nice restaurant, great food. casual dining upstairs with bar. or dress up for New Years and party

It took a while to get seated, but the wait was worth it. The food was excellent.

It was good had a Good Time Charlie good meal text Susie out for birthday dinner

Fantastic people and food. Great views. Prices are a little high but worth it.

Very expensive and the salad bar was not very good. Sizzler has a much better salad bar.

Nothing fancy, but great service and open relatively late.

I love the Crows Nest. Great salad bar. Beautiful views of the bay from the deck upstairs!

It is possible to enjoy this awesome spot without spending too much. We sat upstairs in the bar area where the view is actually better, rather than downstairs, where I tend to go over budget. The bar offers happy hour specials and the bloody Mary will keep me coming back. Try the Hawaiian ish burger upstairs with that Mary. PS the salad bar (1st floor) is one like no other!

Proteins were Great ! Fish & Steak Potatoes were Good Too!
Veggies
Not Cooked
Not seasoned
Try again
Risotto - fish was awesome
Risotto was watery
BUT....For A $200 + dinner
I expect better

Excellent food! Ambiance was A+ on our Sunday night visit. I ordered the seafood linguine and my partner had the fish tacos. We finished the meal with the Kahlua fudge cake. Everything was delicious. I would especially recommend my seafood linguine to a newcomer.

The Crow's Nest is a must for anyone visiting the area! Good food, good drinks, great employees. From the decor to the summertime beach parties, The Crow's Nest embodies the spirit of Santa Cruz!

Excellent atmosphere! Smoked salmon... Awesome. Mocha rubbed filet.... Perfection!

I'm absolutely in love with the dish I ordered. So good! Great service, nice ambiance, fair price. Couldn't ask for anything else.

Sat at the bar top on New Years happy hour. Service behind the bar were great. They were nice and very courteous. Food was ok. It's worth it to go during the happy hour. Otherwise, the food is costly for what you get.

Takes a long time to get drink orders at a table. But at the bar they do a great job

Enjoyed dinner under a spacious outdoor seating tent next to the ocean as people played volleyball. Food was good, but slow at times. They need to improve their training to better their service.

The view is incredible, and the food is very good. But, every time we have been here the service has been just "ok". Our waitress never checked on us. She delivered our drinks and food, and then was gone.

Friendly staff with pretty good food! The wait time is always reasonable and there's a cute little shop you can browse through if you have to kill some time before being seated. I love coming here if I want to dress up a little and not feel over dressed - it's definitely not a place for shorts and a sweater which is difficult to find at a decent price point. The outdoor area has a great view and neat heaters to keep the cold away and (unlike many other restaurants) you're not neglected if you sit outside. My boyfriend had his birthday here a few years ago and the staff was more than attentive to our party and very pleasant all evening. I would definitely recommend this place!

Wonderful food. Wonderful ambience. Paul, our waiter, was exceptional.

Great scenic location for a relaxing and pleasant view of the harbor action. Did a nice job with pandemic safety measures and has outdoor upstairs patio for extra peace of mind. Loved the wings and happy hour offerings. The ahi tuna with wasabi was soooo good too. Ceasar salad with chicken did the trick and was a good portion. Drinks very good and pricey but expected that for the location. Glad to take a break after working a hospital shift here and decompress! Solid 4 stars overall. Service was 5 stars tho on this visit. Friendly and attentive. Will be back!

Decent overall. Excellent location and views. Bar has limited food but fish tacos are excellent.

By far the best salad bar in the Santa Cruz area. Great views of the Monterey Bay and excellent seafood to match with your salad bar plate. Full bar and upstairs seating when the downstairs is busy make this a great place to stop while in the area. I am told they have live music often, but have not made it for that yet.

Superb food 5 star service. Great for a romantic interludes with love ones. Its slightly pricey well worth the price.

I was at a beach party catered by the Crow's Nest. Food was good, service was great. Pretty area to have a party. The sand is funny though.

Great Halloween Party. Billy Martini band rocked us all! Drinks were decent.

We were a party of 4 and originally seated ourselves upstairs in the bar. It was early in the evening so ths $5 cover was not being collected yet. We sat at a window table and proceeded to try and get the attention of our server. Unfortunately, there was a group of her friends that came in right behind us and she proceeded to wait on the 2 tables they occupied, ignoring our attempts to get her attention. After 10 minutes of being ignored we left and got a table downstairs. The service downstairs was good as was the food. 3 stars could have been 4+ without the miserable service experiance upstairs.

Great location but service, menu selection, and atmosphere are lacking. Generallly, I'd say it's overrated.

Restaurants overlooking boats, marinas and harbors, my fav

Have eaten at the Nest literally dozens of times and overall I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. Don't go on the weekends during the summer season because it's going to be packed and ANY restaurant is impacted negatively because of large crowds. My favs are the prime rib and any local fish. The upstairs bar has great small meals and snacks. As far as parking, the lot is City owned and is usually full so we park on the street above and walk down. The Crows Nest is not a high-brow eatery but it is a lot of fun with consistently good food, a great bar, and fantastic views. It's well worth a visit.

Great sashimi. The rest of the food was uninspired.

The Crow's Nest is such a fun spot. My husband and I go out to dinner here or just grab a few drinks on a date night. We love looking out onto the water. It's a little pricey, but I think it is worth it from time to time for the location. I personally love the steak salad.

Great views, food tasted good. Calimari appetizer was amazing. A little dissatisfied with the Prawn Salad which came with no prawns but instead with small shrimp. They should note when ordered that there are no prawns. The server said when I mentioned it 'that's the closer they come to Prawn, sorry'

The Ahi tuna is really good! Highly recommended it!

I order their Mahi Ruby and risotto after coming home I had diahorrea at least 4 times. I don't believe they prepare the seafood properly. I have eaten food across the world and first time this has happened especially since I assumed this was gonna be a top restaurant.

I've eaten here 'bout 15 times. Love the salad bar. Love the views. How about more vegetarian (vegan really) entrees?

Here is history. I'ma musician. Here is both my love of Seas, and my Chances to Play!!

A most excellent restaurant with excellent seating and most gracious service. Many delicious items on the menu to suit everyone's taste. If you're early you can have a beautiful view of the Bay and the sailboats. Downstairs is moderately expensive and the upstairs deck is quite reasonable price wise.

Great food, quick service! I highly recommend their clam chowder.

Up stairs menu is not nearly as good as the downstairs menu. Just an insight.

Wonderful spot off the beaten path. Fantastic view and one of the best pork chops I have ever had.

I went to comedy night with a group and our server, Vanessa, very attentive. Extremely polite and quick. Very pleased with our experience. Looking forward to coming back. Thank you Vanessa!!

Good food, beach party in the summer's is fun. Watch out for harbor patrol they ticket vehemently.

Decent place with fabulous views, good food, capable service, and beautiful ambiance. Great for a date, family celebration, or casual business dinner. Call for reservations on weekends. Live entertainment on the beach Wednesday nights. Proximity to beach allows energetic youngsters to run around outside in full view from indoors. Sunday nights there is live comedy with other shows announced periodically. Spendy, but sometimes that's what you want. Located by the harbour there are also casual dining locations adjacent. Probably been more than one wedding located here.

Amazing breakfast. Our waiter was awesome. Had a great time here. Will definitely come back.

Good, hearty food, but expensive. Great views of the bay.

Great sandwich! I ordered a chicken sandwich on focaccia. Parking is very difficult here and the salad bar leaves a bit to be desired - but great view if you sit outside on the top deck! I would certainly return.

If you want tasty food with a great window view, this is your place.

Menu looks fine, but taste of the food below average in my humble opinion. Not sure if we just got unlucky or cook was not in the mood.
Ordered grilled Ono fish with rice & veggies. Fish was over-cooked, so it was very dry, rice was horribly dry as well, almost crunchy. All food did not have any taste, no herbs, no salt, nothing. I think even fish & chips in cheap place would have more taste. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Best happy hour appetizers ever. Service sometimes good sometimes bad depending on server.