Peachwoods Santa Cruz - Peachwoods at Pasatiempo
Peachwood's Steakhouse
555 Highway 17,
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-1812
(831) 426-6333 | 
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| Cuisine | American, Steaks |
| Price Quartile | $31-60 |
| Dining Style | Casual Elegant |
| Parking | Private Lot |
| Reservations | Accepted (Reserve Online) |
| Attire | Smart Casual |
| Neighborhood | Santa Cruz |
| Meal Served | Lunch, Dinner, Brunch |
| Payment Accepted | AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa |
| Additional Info | Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Dancing, Fireplace, Full Bar, Late Night, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Personal wines welcome (corkage fee applies), Weekend Brunch |
| Take Out | Yes |
Peachwoods Santa Cruz - Summary:
(from peachwoods.com) - Every meal at Peachwoods Steakhouse in Santa Cruz is a complete dining experience. Our menus feature a dazzling array of delectable steak, poultry, seafood, and vegetarian dishes. Plus you can start it off with scrumptious appetizers or luscious desserts. Dinner options come complete with soup, salad, and other tasty surprises. And you can always add these to your lunch as well. Stop by and enjoy one of our specialty drinks in the Peachwoodss Lounge. And don't forget Peachwoods' grand buffet brunch.
Peachwoods Santa Cruz - Reviews:
Positive Peachwoods Santa Cruz Review:
I went here today for champagne brunch, and for 22 bucks per adult this place gets 4 stars. I arrive at a four star rating from a food to price ratio. If the price was higher the stars would be less. They had bacon, sausage, two kinds of egg benedicts some cheese wrapped in a crepe and some enchiladas. They also had a great salad, fruit and dessert bar. They had an omelet station and a roast beef, turkey and ham carving station. The roast beef was the best roast beef ever, so tender and juicy. I ran a 10k today and this meal brought me back to life. I really want to go here for dinner and try the steak. Oh yea, lots of conservative republicans here so beware... :)
-Leo C., Union City, CA
Negative Peachwoods Santa Cruz Review:
Last night was my second visit here, my first being back in April (two months ago).
I'll always give a place a couple tries as they might be having an "off night" but last night cinched it for me. I'm just not impressed.
We were a party of six (4 adults, 2 children: aged 3 and 5). We were seated promptly at a table. I asked if we could have a booth instead (my 92 year old mother has a severe dislike for tables - she feels it's too casual for dining out) - but the waitress said we wouldn't fit. OK, I disagreed silently but we remained at the table, which was unstable and rocked back and forth throughout the evening.
The waitress took our drink order quickly, but it took FOREVER for our meal order to be taken. The place was near empty, too, so I don't know what the issue was here. I believe it was the owner who took our order. He argued with my mother over her order. She wanted a cobb salad and he made some cheeky comment that she should order a smaller salad. But she wanted the cobb and when she said she'd keep her order as such, he made another cheeky comment challenging her to eat it all. Egads.
There are actually two soups available at dinner but they only tell you about the french onion (which doesn't come served in the traditional manner with bread and cheese). If you're veggie, as we are (most of the times), you'll want to ask for the vegetable soup. Somewhere in our order the owner/waiter got the idea that my partner's mother also wanted the veggie soup and he brought that to her instead of the onion...we didn't say anything but noted that it was just a mixup.
I'd ordered the calamari (at the owner's recommendation). He said that it was served calamari style (which means pounded thin). The menu said that it came with tomatoes and mushrooms. I was quite disappointed when it arrived tho. It was covered in so much batter and covered with so much tomato/mushroom sautee that I couldn't taste the fish at all. I wound up picking off all of the batter and just eating the calamari. Another thing that was a major turn off is that many of the dishes here are served with mashed potatoes...and they scoop them up with an ice cream scoop and drop them on the plate cafeteria style. It's just very unappealing visually. The only thing about my main course that I "did" enjoy was that they give each diner an ample amount of freshly steamed veggies with their dinner. They come naked tho: no butter, salt, or seasoning...so there isn't much effort put into taste here either.
The desserts are fine, however their presentation of the dessert tray is utterly unappealing. Last night (on a Friday night, no less) the dessert tray was dried and cracked...you would think that they would put out fresh desserts to entice customers. Nope. Right after dinner, my partner left to take the children to the bathroom and as he departed he commented that he would take the Coconut Cream Pie for dessert when they came by to take the order. Well, they never came by. He came back at least 10 minutes later, children in tow, and asked if I'd put in his order for dessert. Nope. We waited still longer to place our order. Another eternity later our desserts arrived.
My last gripe is that although our dinner started at 6pm, we didn't leave the restaurant until nearly 8:45. Nearly 3 hours. Service was insanely slow, which is fine if one is enjoying a tasting menu. But we weren't, and we had two small children with us who were terribly restless and well into their bedtime when the check arrived, which created a bit of stress at the end of the evening.
Dinner for 4 adults with 2 children came to $182 + tip (3 cocktails, 1 appetizer, the children split a sandwich, 3 desserts, 2 coffees, 3 entrees, 1 cobb salad). A bit expensive a meal when you consider how many issues there were with the food and service. It's not my first choice for a place to have a nice dinner close to our west coast home.
-Linda C., Los Gatos, CA
Average Peachwoods Santa Cruz Review:
Decent food...
there arent as many clocks as people make it sound... i mean there are lots of clocks.. but just not as bad as people made it sound in these reviews...
the coconut prawns were okay...
the steak was good... except they really dont know how to do medium rare... it was more on the medium sound...
and wow- i ordered a baked potato, even though i had read i would be looked down upon for doing so... but i did that anyway... and the potato never came... but they were glad to bring me some garlic mashed potato's though, lol...
best part of the meal: bread pudding- it is simply divine... dont forget to order it...
lastly- the staff was great... great service... knowledgeable... presentable... overall its a good bang for the buck...
worth checking out... just dont try to save it for a special occasion or anything... just go there for a casual meal...
-Shawn S., San Jose, CA
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Here's the thing. The food here is great. Perfectly cooked, super tasty - really, really good. The service is acceptable and the place is comfortable and clean. The decor is weird at best. MInnie mouse on the wall, and lots of clocks. My husband and I have been to Peachwoods a few times and the last two times have been ruined by the annoying old man who owns the place. He's just TOO CHATTY. He's comes by and tells us the same stories over and over again. He thinks he's funny but is sometimes offensive. He questions what you order and if you ask any questions, he's ready with a smartass answer. He's a nightmare. However - there is good news. We found a loop hole!! EAT IN THE BAR! Same menu, nice waitstaff, and for one reason or another - the obnoxious owner doesn't go in there!
-Lacy T., Felton, CA
Peachwoods Santa Cruz - Photos:
