Best Contemporary American Restaurants in Santa Cruz

The tacos were delicious, just the right amount of spicy. Both of my friends had an eggs Benedict dish and they were both amazing. Excellent service, beautiful atmosphere, best view in Santa Cruz!!

Really wonderful this time, new chef, new vision. Excellent and highly recommended.

My husband and I went for thanksgiving dinner. We arrived an hour early but were seated promptly. Staff was very friendly and quick to tell us the specials and take our order. We split the Brussels sprouts and meatballs. The Brussels are a must. It really could be its own meal. You get 2 meatballs which is a bummer but only because the are so good. I had the cornstar martini which was very refreshing & the perfect balance to my very rich & DELICIOUS spaghetti carbonara. The portion size was double what I expected and a very yummy snack a couple hours later. Pasta tasted fresh & perfect al dente. This is the kind of dish you want for a cheat meal. My husband had the salt & vinegar with kettle one. Personally I hate pickles, but the drink wasn’t bad. He had the seafood stew which I couldn’t try because I’m allergic to shellfish but he loved it, and he’s pretty picky about his seafood. The portion was also big and came with a giant prawn on top. There was a lot of seafood in it too which he was happy about. For dessert we had the chocolate bomb & Americano. The chocolate bomb was a chocolate shell with a mousse inside. Not overly sweet at all. It was ridiculously good. One of the top 5 desserts I’ve had. The Americano was great and a great pair with the chocolate. Normally when I have carbs I instantly bloat…bad. After eating here I was fine! No bloat at all! Everything was high quality and fresh. They really know what they’re doing. Everything we got came out hot. I mean blow on it hot. I’ve never been to a restaurant and had my food come out like that. You can tell it wasn’t sitting under a heat lamp. I loved it! Everything we saw come out of the kitchen looked delicious. We will definitely be back!

Best Thanksgiving ever. Perfect weather and my adult son and I sat on the terrace. I'm not usually a fan of corporate hotels or restaurants but the buffet was remarkable, the view breathtaking and we were not hurried. We asked about hiking trails and were given a map and pointed in the right direction. We took a lovely 3 mile hike along redwood trails afterwards. It's the irst time I haven't cooked a Thanksgiving meal in 35 years!

We ordered off of the Happy Hour menu and had a number of delicious dishes; lasagne & salad, burger & fries, and Mac n’cheese. The Olive app was good too. Also the happy hour cocktails: Negroni & Orange/ pomegranate cocktail were delicious. Unfortunately the avocado toast wasn’t available, but we’ll be back. Our server Janet was great too!!