They got the breakfast special Right!
Got seated right away, waitress came and took my order right away, and the food came out fast! The potatoes were cooked all the way and the food was great! A complete improvement in all aspects. I gave up on this place a year ago, but the issues have all been fixed. Recommended!
And the view, wow! Outside seating with Volleyball babes and everything! Winner!
Took my boyfriend here for his 21st birthday bar crawl. Â We ordered a Mai Tai during happy hour, and the Wednesday night lobster special. Â The bartender checked his ID and said happy birthday, but ended up over charging us for the Mai Tai, She was very rude about the whole experience.
The lobster is a good deal on Wednesday nights, but isn't very well prepared, rather chewy.
I've been here a few times to say this place is A-OK. Ive been for the ribs, the happy hours, the regular hours and some pretty late hours, but it's more out of convenience then a love for any one thing. The Baby-back Ribs on Monday for 9.95$ are wonderful and the fries are not bad either. The happy hour around 3-6 is great actually. They have mai thai's that get me feeling great for a good price, so I do go back for that. I plan on going back to try the 1lb. of fresh Crab on Mondays for 11.95$. Maybe, just maybe there are a few reasons to come back. It is convenient, cheap and kinda tasty. If there was a 3.5 or 3.75 out of 5 rating I would give it to Ideal, but nothing or no one warmed me into the place, food or drinks even. Go for a impromptu evening date where you you want to save a few dollars for a spur of the moment thing.
Review Source:I only tried the restaurant, but it was great. I was there July 4th weekend, and even amongst the huge family parties and happily raucous Tubes fans in town for the show,I got better service than I got at my supposedly '5-star hotel'. Â Comfy, but not sloppy, ambience,a cool selection of sound-system tunes, nice house wine, and deliciously original specials that work. Worth the 3 visits over 2 days we made there.
Review Source:The restaurant inside was only one quarter full yet we had to, after 10 minutes of waiting, track down a server. She said she was not our server but would help us order at least something to drink. Can you say water..? Duh. There were two of us waiting on a third so we decided to order appetizers. The Baked Brie and fruit was fabulous as well as the Ceviche. The three of us ordered our entrees. Only two showed up. I can go on and on but I won't waste my time. Oh yea, after we were through with our appetizers, the waitress who was supposed to be working our table showed up and asked for our order. Unbelievably incompetent wait staff.
STAY AWAY from this place as there are so many other restaurants on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Our chowder was LUKEWARM, we found a BUG in our steamed veggies... and the food took a LONG time to come out. We asked to sit next to a heater on the patio and it was not on (sort of defeats the purpose...). I will NEVER be returning. We actually told people who were using the bathroom DO NOT GO HERE. The server took care of all of the issues but did not comp anything. It was mediocre service, expensive and poor quality food. Find somewhere else to go.
Review Source:This review is only of the Ice Cream Bar:
Maybe it was the sea breeze, or the sand between my toes, but my cone from here was heavenly: pineapple coconut and strawberry atop a small waffle cone (my "scoop" of the two flavors was HUGE!). Â The service was hmmm...young (I'll let you take that as you'd like), and my cone had a strange flavor near the base (mint? staleness?? ...not sure). Â So aside from that, I can't not recommend that you go: there is just something youthful in catching the melting ice cream in that scorching hot sun.
The clam chowder was the best I've had in Santa Cruz so far! If my review was for chowder alone they would receive 5 stars from me however the service was not that friendly and it was supper sloooow! We were never asked if we wanted refills, not even once and the soda costs $3.50. For that price I NEED a refill weather I drink it or not. They gave us waters in a teeny tiny glass and never asked if we needed refills for those either. The food was expensive but lucky for us we went on a Monday and the special for that day was baby back ribs and fries for $10, score! I always have my kids split a plate so they don't waste food but this place actually has a $2.50 split plate charge! Major turn off! I'd be damned if I paid an extra $2.50 for nothing so I ordered them each a plate and guess what? They wasted a plate full of food. Grrrr. I will for sure grab a clam chowder to go next time.
Review Source:I'm  giving 1 star only because the clam chowder was good otherwise they loose 4 stars for horrible service!! The server made us wait forever, food was brought 5-10 minutes apart, wrong orders and got over charged an extra 15 dollars swiped on our card, even thought we told her prior to her picking it  up what was what. Told the server about the mishap and she blamed us and was extremely rude about HER mistake. Told the manager and he didn't even care! We waited an extra hour to get the tab right and when we got it, the server still charged her gratuity making herself a nice 40 dollar mandatory tip. We were outraged but so over it we just wanted to leave after an hour and a half of waiting jut for our checks to be correct! For a 160 tab, I'm sure you would think they would gir you better service we got here!!
Review Source:Slow service. Lack of beers on tap (just two or three!) bad food and more.... Not an ideal place at all!
We went here for a drink, and were going to order food (thank god we didn't) until we saw what the other table beside us got for food - a crummy gross looking nachos and a fish and chips that looked like frozen fish sticks and undercooked frozen fries.
We overheard this other table complaining about their food to the server and she clearly didn't care. She didn't offer to correct anything, but just said "that's how it is made". So we left without ordering food and went to Picnic across street. That place rocked!
The Good:
Nice patio on the boardwalk
The Bad:
The food
The service
The drink selection
My advice:
Have a drink or two on the patio then head across the street to Picnic for some real food.
Skeevy vibe. Okay food and okay prices. Really, this place needs a serious steam cleaning. The bar was disgusting. If I'd gotten a good look at the bar before I ordered food, I might have not ordered food at all. Also, my friend used the bathrooms and said 1) they had too few, like two, for a huge, busy restaurant. and 2) they were gross.
Review Source:This place is absolutely horrible. One hostess told me to just take a seat and a waitress would be with me. Sat there around 15 min with my coffee I got from their cafe...which was average. 4 waitresses walked by, looked me in the eyes and kept walking. Decided to approach another hostess to get a menu and tell her I'd like to order food. She gave me a menu and I returned to my seat. Waited another 10min...nothing. Asked a waitress directly if I can just order food and be on my way. She said yes someone will be with you. No one came in 5min so I left. It's a tourist trap that's not worth the patio ocean view that lores you in. Pass it up!
Review Source:When in Santa Cruz, keep walking past this less than Ideal joint. I'd say the only way I'd be back is if I needed an alcoholic beverage and planned on sitting at the bar. According to our receipt, {name removed due to harassment} was our (bad) waitress. The place was not packed while we were there. She did not appear busy nor flustered and would disappear for long stretches. Our food was mediocre, taking almost 30 minutes to come out. Wish we had tried the Picnic Basket across the street instead.
****Had to edit this posting. Keep an eye out for 1 review users skewing the ratings of this place.****
We had a very good time. Â It far exceeded our expectations given the location. Â I was prepared for tourist food an we were pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent. Â The desserts were amazing and I'd go back just for those. Â My mother in law, who is in her 80's, was with us and they were extremely kind and accommodating to her. Â We will definitely be back.
Review Source:*sings* At the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk....in the (kinda) warm California sun. Â BOARDWALK!
Ideal is just fine by me. Â Right on the boardwalk, it makes for great people watching. Â
Saturday afternoons, there is karaoke--but not for my off-key renditions of classic Britney Spears. Â The karaoke regulars really go all out and are actually very good. Â Before the regulars get up, the security and other staff serenade you with their much better than average voices as well. Â
Drink wise, there are lots of island-esque and classic offerings. Â Double your alcohol for an extra $2. Â Pretty good deal.
The food is where you really feel the tourist price gouging in your right kidney. Â $12 for some hot wings is a bit crazy. Â That being said, I thought they were above average hot wings. Â Also got a salad with grilled chicken ($17). Â It was a pretty big salad with a nice vinaigrette. Unfortunately the chicken was a bit dry. Â
All in all, I would say Ideal is a-ok--especially with a side of high quality karaoke. Â Anyone who can sing Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" completely functionally with a back up harmony has to get some props for adding entertainment value.
Although we typically avoid restaurants in touristy locations, we were drawn here Saturday afternoon by the opportunity to eat outside and enjoy the awesome weather. We kept our menu choices simple: Clam Chowder in a bread bowl and the Turkey, Bacon, Avocado sandwich.
The clam chowder was very, very good. Â Great flavor and generous with the clams. Â The bread was very good as well. Â Not sure what kind of bread it was - didn't seem very sourdoughish. Â The clam chowder portion was huge - definitely a steal at $9.00.
The sandwich was also a nice portion. Â Came with a choice of fries or potato salad. Â
Our waitress was very friendly and service was quick!
Wow, this place sucks. Â
We stopped by on Mother's day after walking around and looking at menus. Â Their lunch/brunch menu was expansive and looked delicious so we decided to give it a try.
Once we were seated, we were handed a menu that had a fraction of the items that the one outside had on it and we were told there were absolutely no substitutions today. Â Cool, and the main dish I wanted wasn't on the menu.
We watched our waitress talk to the bartender for 9 minutes before coming to get our order after clarifying that I couldn't get a tuna melt (so frustrating for a pregnant mother). Â After that, it took nearly 30 minutes for our food to come out and when it did - my son's french toast was cold, as was my seafood melt...and I mean really cold. Â Like had been sitting on a counter somewhere for at least 10 minutes. Â I took a bite out of mine just to make sure I couldn't eat it and sent it back. Â
She was very apologetic and told me the kitchen was making me a brand new sandwich. Â Not 5 minutes later does my sandwich come out piping hot. Â I eat one half and when I pick up the other half, I notice the bite I took out. Â They had just warmed my sandwich up and flipped it over, hoping I wouldn't notice instead of making a new one like they told me they were going to.
And of course, service was very slow after that too.
Basically, this place is super shitty for the price or really anything, they don't care about customers or their quality of service.
AVOID AVOID AVOID.
For wharf food, it was aight.. the food portions are huge-mongous, we had the seafood sandwich the potato salad was pretty yummy I was surprised, the view is awesome, it's a tourist place .. service was slow.. I kept having to give stink eye to my waiter to get him to come over and get the check.. Â don't mess with a hungry tita..
Review Source:$17 for a Shrimp Louie Salad? Â Wow.. It was a bit much.. And they forgot to put the avocado in it! Â Luckily I shared with a girlfriend so the cost was cut in half, Â but I still couldn't justify how expensive it was. Â Granted this place is known for their clam chowder, but in my quest to try and eat "healthy," I stayed away. Â Yay me. Â (Not). Â
Our server was great and attentive. Â Overall I'd probably want to come back again only if I was having a cheat day so that I could try the famous clam chowder.
This place probably only has survived so long because they count on tourists not knowing where else to go.....
I've been a couple of times and both times the service is absolutely horrendous. It's just the worst.
The menu is limited and the food is not especially memorable and over priced.
This last time I went in, I had that horrible experience where you walk in the the hostess just stared at us like we were stupid for a full minute and finally said in a snotty voice "Uhm....table for two?"
No.....we just came in to experience your charming personality.
The bar scene is pretty good. The food....eh....
But what really gets me, is how they have their employees parking their scooters right next to where people are taking in the outside deck. We are all trying to take in the fresh air & such, when this kid, cigarette in mouth, cranks up his scooter that is right next to the woman's public restroom. He revs the thing up, like he wants the motor to blow, generally disturbing the peace. He then hauls off on the machine on Beach st., like he has a batch at the lab he has to check on.
The karaoke sort of reminds me of Capitola village or the tourist zone in Cabo.
I guess this establishment caters to those that don't know any better & want to have a restaurant time near the ocean? Actually, going onto the wharf I found places with better food, that don't have their employees parking right next to you, so you can't enjoy your drink or your meal; geesh!!!
After hearing that this place had $12 lobsters on Wednesday, I decided to give this place a shot. It's right by the front of the wharf before you cross the bridge, so you can park on meters. Upon arriving, me and my girlfriend ordered the lobster and the waiter said that we can also get a steak for half the price (I think..) or somewhere along the line. When the lobster arrived, it was served with some type of rice and string beans. The lobster was satisfying but did not fill me up. Once we're finished, we asked the waiter for the check and he took forever. We waited about 20 minutes before he came back with the check, which was not the worst part. He did not come back for it, so I had to personally go up to the waiter and hand it back. Other than that, everything else was okay.
Review Source:Hostess was kind of rude, their lunch menu is really, really limited. I don't mind since I just get clam chowder but my out of town guests were extremely disappointed at the menu plus after we were seated, no one came to help us or acknowledged us for 10-15 minutes. We picked up and left to another restaurant on the wharf that we loved (forgot the name though, sorry!).
Wasn't even an actual customer so I can't rate the food but never have I walked out of a restaurant so disappointed. Pretty sure they forgot we were seated since nobody ever came.
Oh and extremely stuffy and hot inside. Shame.
I have been here a couple times with my boyfriend. I really like the appetizers. The nachos and the hot wings are incredibly good! The meals are sub par... the prime rib special is served cold and is always over cooked.
The thing about this restaurant that makes it unbearable is the service!!
The people who work here are so ridiculous!! First of all, the ladies who work here all dress like strippers and call you "hun", which is, on its own, agitating enough. That combined with a poor attitude and lack of attentiveness makes the dining experience unbearable. Not worth enduring the poor service for the good food.
When my girlfriend and I entered, we were not greeted and ended up standing awkwardly at the entrance for about 5 minutes while the waitress, who saw us, tended to her tables. Right off the bat, the restaurant seemed a bit understaffed.
The setting of the restaurant is pretty nice, dim lighting plants everywhere. This setting however was ruined by the loud noises of dishes. when tables were being cleared out, all you hear is banging and clanging which is not desirable in an otherwise quiet setting.
We both had the $12 Wednesday lobster special which was plated very nicely. Our lobster, however, were both overcooked. the whole thing ended up chewy and rough.
For $12 lobster, we both expected the worst and hoped for the best. It wasn't the worst, but it definitely could have been done better.
Dang whaddap with all the hateraid on this spot?
Perfect weather in Santa Cruz, no hotter than 70 we strolled down to the Boardwalk late Friday afternoon only to find the Amusement Park closed? So aimless and carefree we kicked off our shoes and walked down the shore of the gorgeous California coast and right before the wharf we spot this gem. Â Â The very handsome Maitre d sat us right up in the front and was so charming to us, we only had a few draft beers but had a wonderful time just watching the waves crash, hearing the sea lions barking in the distance, and the surfers showering up front after a long day in the ocean. Â
Oh California,
***sweetly sighs***
Myself and two of my friends came here for lunch and drinks this past weekend. My friend got the Turkey, Bacon and Avocado sandwhich that was OK. The bread was very stale. My other friend and I shared the nachos, they were OK.
We order a margarita and  another mixed drink and doubled both and STILL could not taste the alcohol.
All in all: Food bad, drinks bad, service bad.
Would not go back again.
(See pics) Review #1228. Popular and convenient place to get drinks but they were quite weak. The 3 we tried were John Daly, double lava flow and double Ketel one.
And as the server asked if we wanted to double the shot. The first time we said yes and it was still weak. For the second round we decided not to double and it was the same weak drinks.
Food wise, chipotle crab cakes and fried calamari were okay taste. Service was alright.
It would have been a 2 star place if not for the great outdoor patio location and you can order mostly appetizers instead of a full meal.
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