Santa Cruz Diner -Santa Cruz CA
Santa Cruz Diner
909 Ocean St,
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-2814
(831) 426-7151
| Hours | Sun-Thu, 8 am - 9 pm; Fri-Sat 8 am - 10 pm |
| Cuisine | American, Diner |
| Prices | Under $10 |
| Attire | Casual |
| Parking | Private Lot |
| Reservations | No |
| Payment Accepted | Cash, Credit Cards |
| Meals | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner |
| Santa Cruz Take Out | Yes |
| Santa Cruz Delivery | No |
| Santa Cruz Deals |
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Santa Cruz Diner - Summary:
(from SantaCruzDiner.com) - Established in 1998, Santa Cruz Diner is locally owned and family run. In the tradition of fine East Coast Diners, their mission is to provide good value, great "home-style" food, and friendly service at reasonable prices.
Santa Cruz Diner offers a large variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. Their menu ranges from pancakes, omelettes and crepes to steak, burgers, seafood, asian and vegan/vegetarian. Santa Cruz Diner offers a full selection of wine, beer and espresso drinks and desserts.
It's the little things that differentiate them from the "chains" - such as coffee brewed from ground beans, real mashed potatoes, flame broiled burgers, seafood delivered fresh daily, thick hand-scooped milkshakes, and more.
They also provide a good selection of healthy selections for those who prefer low fat, low salt, or vegan/vegetarian options. Since 2002 they have used only Soy oil in their fryers to provide good taste without unhealthy trans-fats.
Santa Cruz Diner - Reviews:
Positive Santa Cruz Diner Review:
I would say I love this place, but at some times their service is decidedly better then others, and some of the waitresses are incredibly rude. One or two of the waitresses are super sweet though! Their food is always delicious, in particular the "diner" food - fried stuff, pancakes, shakes, burgers, and such are the best on the menu.
They're also open all night, which means if you get a hankering for french toast, eggs, and coffee at 3 AM you can indulge yourself -- and the service in the dead middle of the night is the best.
I would definitely recommend it... but not at peak hours. Go during off-hours and weekday mid-mornings and the service is usually not too bad.
-Momma C., Santa Cruz, CA
There are a lotta haters who seem to be coming to Santa Cruz Diner for the wrong reason; "Guy was here." (Whoever that is.) No. You do not go to Santa Cruz Diner because Guy Fieri visited it on his roadshow. You go to Santa Cruz Diner because it is late and you are drunk. It's that simple people.
-Alex G., Oakland, CA
Negative Santa Cruz Diner Review:
I understand that this diner has some character and is somewhat of a staple in the area because it's been around for awhile, but I just don't find the appeal. I can't bring myself to liking it very much. I've been here a couple of times, the repeat visits mainly because I had late night cravings, but besides the fact that they seem to have a decent breakfast, there is nothing special about the food. The service wasn't very great either to say the least. I felt bad for the woman who served us because she was well past retirement age and probably had to continue working to pay the bills and feed herself, but she was painstakingly slow and not very attentive. This place is great if you want some food at all hours of the night, but don't expect any salivating taste buds.
-Colleen G., Santa Cruz, CA
I would describe this place with one word...SUCKS! Definitely overhyped.
My fiancee' and I walked in and nobody even acknowledged us for a good 5 minutes. One of the locals walked in behind us and got seated first.
I ordered cioppino and prime rib. The prime rib was ok, but nothing special. The cioppino tasted like a can of Campbell's tomato soup with some frozen shrimp and clams thrown in.
I don't know if Guy Fieri is on the payroll or what, but I can't understand why he would put this place on television.
I would NEVER eat here again!
-Mr. G., Merced, CA
Average Santa Cruz Diner Review:
This for me, is a good place to eat whenever I'm on the way back up to school.
Food: 4 stars
It's cheap, there's lots of it and it's good. True it might not be the very best thing in the world, but I really don't think you can argue with the prices that they have.
Location: 3 stars
It's really easy to find, but the parking situation is HORRIBLE! They need to add more spots or have more easily accessible parking close by!
Service/Atmosphere: 2 stars
This place gets busy, and when it does it gets really really loud. It's not so bad if youre lucky enough to be sitting in one of the booths, but if youre stuck in one of the tiny tables right by the door it sucks. And those tables are about six inches away from each other, which makes things awkward at times. The service itself is slooooooow and they seem to forget about you. We were waiting for water a few times for 30-45 min before a waiter walked by that we could grab..bad bad bad, which has mostly ruined the place for me.
Overall:
The food is good and cheap, but youre going to have to wait in line for it most evenings, and dont expect the service to be top-notch.
-Jen N., Los Alamitos, CA
Arite people, diner rule. Order DINER food. If your on the search for some inspiring, fresh, or even slightly above average food, you wont find it at a diner. Despite what that asshole on Diners, Drive-In's and whatever says, the Pho is not tasty, its weird. Any dish that you order that attempts to be anything but diner food will range from tasteless to unedible. BUT if your looking for some greasy fried food, a delcious milkshake or a stack of pancakes, you wont be dissapointed. I give this three stars because it fufils my every expectation for diner food. Dont come here expecting anything but decent diner food and you wont be dissapointed.
-Sierra D., Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz Diner - Photos:
