We went yesterday and had an amazing lunch. Â Service was great, burger was great, patio was warm. Â My dad and I both ordered the California Burger, we enjoyed it thoroughly! Â Before it was Props, the place really stunk, but now its 10x better. I plan on eating here more often. Â Love watching the planes fly in and out too, talking with the friendly pilots who will tell what they encountered in the sky on any given day. Â Kids should love it, with all the planes on the ceiling.
Review Source:I like the setting (It is neat to be able to watch the airplanes and the pilots coming and going as you eat and drink) but the food was mega MEH (I had a burger and it was served on a Costco bun... not to mention lukewarm when I got it), and the service was pretty slow and lackadaisical. Â It is clean and they were friendly though. Â I'm indifferent.
Review Source:Went to props tonight, we had a great outside seat. There is nothing like this around, watch the planes and enjoy a glass of wine. We started with the battered artichoke. It came out as nice big pieces with a tasty cream sauce. Â I had the blackened salmon salad. The salmon was tasty. Â Minus one star for the pickled veggies... they were good, but I prefer more fresh veggies on my salad. Anyhow, I will be back to try the house made veggie burger!
Review Source:This place is amazing. Don't pay any attention to the other negative reviews. I went with my family, and none of them were disappointed. I was quite satisfied, with the food, the service, and the view. Props is right next to the Watsonville airport, which supplies a wonderful view. I got the Teriyaki Bowl with teriyaki chicken, and it was a flavorful blast. We came later on in the evening and it was not busy, which leaded to fast and pleasent service. I have only been here once and I was not disappointed. I need to put emphasis on the service. They were friendly and were also quick. The meal was fairly cheap, $120 for 8 people. I recommend this place for anyone.
Review Source:Props actually has one of the best French Dip sandwiches I've ever tasted, but they won't make it for you. Requires ordering a steak sandwich with a side of "au jus", but it is hit-or-miss as to whether the kitchen will deliver what you order. I'm tired of playing games, and will take my money to a restaurant that will fill my order.
Review Source:More like 2 1/2 stars. After lunch hour and a party of six, we all ordered the skirt steak, they only had five. Not a deal breaker, yet.
Jesus are server was great, very nice and did his job well. It was slow at the time.
They were having a gnat problem in the corner where we sitting, so all through lunch we were waving at bugs. It became the topic of conversation, not great lunch talk.
The food itself was alright, my steak was over cooked a bit. Maybe they got them mixed up since we ordered 5 of the same thing. There portions are on the lite side, two bites of veges and a few bites of potato. Just not enough to fill the plate or me.
Over all not that exciting or relaxing. If this is who they are OK, If they want that fourth star then they'll need to step up.
Hubby and I were invited by hubby's flying buddy for dinner here. The beginning did not seem to impressive since no one was at the podium but we were seated within a reasonable time after when the female server came out. Our drink orders were taken pretty quick. Our dinner order was take  pretty quick as well. I had the fried chicken dinner and hubby had the braised short rib and his friend had the steak. When our dinner were arrived, it was to perfection. The steak was cooked medium rare (as requested), the ribs were tender and my fried chicken dinner was 1) crispy outside and JUICY inside & 2) generous portion (see uploaded pictures). And the hubby and I ordered iced tea for our drink which they served our tea with a small carafe. The price is reasonable.  Yes, the decor was from the previous restaurant (Zuniga's) but personally, the salsa may be good from Zuniga's but overall quality of the food from Props is a major improvements (personal experience). Will we come back? Definitely. SO looking forward to Prime Rib night on Wednesday. How can you beat Prime Rib dinner (with baked potato & seasonable veggies) for $14.00. Till my review of Props after my Prime Rib dinner.
Review Source:Took my 88 year old Uncle here today for lunch. We started off with a pitcher of ice
cold Coors ligt. Our waitress, Ann was delightful and friendly. My uncle had the
Props hamburger with fries. He was delighted at the size of it and enjoyed it.
I had the Calamari sandwich with fries. It was cooked just right and tasted great.
We enjoyed a short talk with Ann, and  left after a terrific lunch and a great waitress!
Props is great for a quick meal and an ice cold beer. And ask for Ann. She has a terrific smile!
Service was poor although the servers were pleasant - waited over 20 minutes just to get a glass of water & much longer for the food (more than 40 min.), & the restaurant was more than half empty. Â The small dinner salad was the best part of the meal even though I had to pay extra to have it instead of fries with my BLAT sandwich. Â The sourdough was some kind of bland loaf variety which is strange when you're so near the sourdough capital of the world, & also there's no shortage of great bakeries around here. Â BLTs, imho, should have lots of tomato & lettuce & a reasonable amount of well-cooked but not tooth-breaking bacon - this sandwich sadly didn't meet that criteria, although the avocado was good! Â Doubt I'll return unless I'm stuck at the Watsonville Airport for some reason. Â I had higher hopes & was disappointed overall.
Review Source:My husband & I have a 3 strike rule. We love to go out and will give places the benefit of the doubt. Â We have now tried Props 3 times, hoping each time it would get better. Â We loved Zuniga's and were so hopeful that there would be another great restaurant to fill it shoes. Â However that is most defiantly not the case. Â Though the menu looks enticing and tasty, the food is is overpriced, often tasteless with poor presentation. I am surprised by how bad everything is. We purposely have tried a variety of items (appetizers and entrees) have yet to be satisfied. for example check out the BLT- 1 tomato slice, 1 piece of lettuce & 2 bacon strips lost between bread and mayo, I sent it back, very disappointing!!! Â How hard is it to make a decent BLT? I could identify each item ordered, but there is only so much room to gripe. Â The new owner is clearly interested in making a go of it, the interior is very nice, with great detail in the bathrooms and entry. Â We also got a 5% coupon off, (WOW) that covers the gas to get there. Â Many people traveled to this restaurant from out of town because of the food, the family feel & the wonderful staff. Â I am glad they kept some of the employees, but it still doesn't help. Â I do think the owner is more interested in what he wants than what customers want. Â When the folks from planes aren't coming in & the due to weather or season, it is the regulars that sustain that restaurant. Â It is the crowd of regular faithful customers and not the tourist or occasional plane from "somewhere" that will sustain a restaurant. Â Could you at least bring back the salsa????
Review Source:Great food and very friendly service. I had the fried egg cheeseburger and my wife had the portobello mushroom/eggplant sandwich. The food tasted great and the calamari appetizers were excellent. Â There many items on the menu and I hope to try something else either for or dinner. If you like planes and enjoy a smaller type or restaurant, this is a place to try!
Review Source:From the moment I entered I was impressed...Friendly/clean atmosphere. Â Service was excellent....I called for reservations and arrived almost 1/2 hour early...was seated promptly and my drink order was taken. There were 5 of us and all ordered prime rib and salad... everything was superb..prime rib was perfect even the green beans were wonderful. Â Salad was crisp and fresh...dressing was excellent.
I'll be back & back
Was contacted by the management and advised that they have increased the size of the burger. Also advised that they now offer oyster crackers or bread with their chowder. I visited Props in October of last year and wasn't impressed. Maybe it's time to give it another shot since I'm based at the airport.
Review Source:We love this local restaurant! Food is always good, service is always good, and... it's local! The beef dishes have been tasty: the teriyaki beef, the garlic bleu cheese burger (yum), and the fries are good! have been here a few times. It's great for the kids. When the weather is nice, you can sit out on the patio and the kids have a ball watching the planes land, takeoff or taxi! Even when there is a chill, they have heaters outside. The staff is really nice and accommodating, and really sweet with the little ones. Our go-to restaurant in town.
Review Source:I have visited Props Restaurant about half a dozen times since they opened last Summer. I have had dinner and lunch, and a couple of times I just sat at the bar to have a beer and watch a football game. "Rand", the bartender, was friendly and polite.
Getting to the food, I have ordered a salmon dinner, a couple of different hamburgers, onion rings, and my personal favorite, the rueben sandwich. They were all very good. I did order a California burger to-go once, and I had to ask for mustard and ketchup as they weren't included with my order.
Overall, the place was clean and friendly, and reasonably priced. I do
enjoy the airport atmosphere, and there are usually a few cool planes parked near the outdoor patio.
Summary: Food was OK, service was excellent, ambiance was appropriate.
We went for lunch this afternoon.
Unfortunately the meal began with the lowest point of the day, actually the lowest point I've experienced at a restaurant in a while. We ordered the fried artichoke hearts because here on the bay it's a dish that you had better do well or not do at all. They shouldn't do it at all. First, the artichokes themselves appear to be from a jar, which is inexcusable, and if they weren't, whatever the kitchen did to make them mushy and flavorless is equally inexcusable. Second, the batter was too thick, so that the crisp exterior yielded to a bready interior, then to the mushy vegetables. Third, there were six of them, laid out on plate that was easily three times too large, on an endless bed of shredded cabbage, with a ramekin of a creamy dipping sauce that couldn't save them. It looked like someone was trying to make them seem more elegant or high-end, but they looked lonely, and laughable. Lastly, this sad excuse for an appetizer costs $8. Yes. $8 for six little fried artichokes. Mind you, a burger with fries is $9. Someone looked at this appetizer and concluded that it should cost almost as much as a main and side. On the plus side, my dining companion scraped up the cabbage, poured some of the dipping sauce over it, and made herself a passable slaw.
OK, on to lunch. We both had burgers and they were both well executed. I won't have the green chile burger again because placing strips of canned green chiles over a hamburger patty doesn't make it a green chile burger, but the meat was well cooked, the bun was lightly toasted, and the condiments were fresh. The Texas burger had a flavor profile that was bright and complex, with an undercurrent of smokiness from the BBQ sauce and bacon that tied it all together.
The sides, we had fries and onion rings, were OK, but would have been a lot better had they been hot, or even warm.
The service was excellent, the staff was attentive and offered to replace our cold fries and when we declined they deducted them from the tab. The atmosphere is bright and open, with a very casual air about it.
Still, the bill came to $30 for two burgers, two non-alcoholic drinks, and an appetizer. That's a little spendy for lunch. (It would have been $34 if they hadn't comped the cold fries and onion rings.)
My conclusion is that if I'm in the mood for a good burger and the Wooden Nickel is closed, I'll go to Props and avoid the artichoke hearts.
Food is awesome and very fair priced!!!! The bar scene needs some improvement - very bright and not relaxing. Felt like I was in a doctors office. If there is sports on the TV's it's a good idea to at least to have some volume. Couldn't hear any commentary.. Hopefully the bar scene will improve.
Review Source:Props is a huge improvement over Zuniga's, not because Zuniga's was a bad restaurant, but this menu is way more comprehensive and less of the typical Mexican food that we so much of in this area --- hard to be creative with that as your focus.
A friend and I ate lunch at Props today and were pleased with the new decor, the open-ness of the bar+ area, and how the patio looked. It was too hot for us to eat outside. We had friendly, prompt, non-clinging service and generous proportions for less money than we'd expected.
Onion rings ($6, or $2 if you substitute for fries with an entree) were well-prepared. My tuna-in-a-tomato salad ($8) was a huge plate of what was described, plus radishes, lettuce, more tomato, croutons, and much more. I took one-half of it home. Friend's BLAT (BLT w/avocado) was just as she ordered. We're told the bread pudding and the apple cobbler/pie are both great desserts, but no room for them today. Iced tea was just right.
Nice to see non-Styrofoam take-out containers.
Why not more stars? In a huge agricultural area like Watsonville, it is amazing that restaurants, especially those just starting out, cannot offer organic food. Also, I wanted to order the calamari sandwich, but it came on sourdough, with only rye as a back-up choice. Offering gluten-free would be a pleasant gesture, even for those of us who are not GF.
Service: We said 3x we did not want more iced tea; maybe they kept asking because we sat and chatted long after we finished eating?
Since this is clearly a "theme" eatery, it might be nice to create menus with more design style and with a brief history of the general aviation airport.
Definitely not the most pleasant experience I have ever had at a restaurant. Â We received a nice greeting upon entering the restaurant but that is where the pleasantries ended. Â Our waitress had about as much personality as a wet rag. Â She was to busy adjusting her make up that another waitress ended up taking our order. Â Our waitress then proceeded to argue with her for taking our order right behind our table, not exactly appropriate. Â
  We decided to order an appetizer and didn't find out that it wasn't coming until our waitress brought the food to the table.  Apparently a fryer broke and they were delayed.  Would have been nice to know that before our food came.  The food was mediocre at best, definitely need to work on the meet to bun ratio.  I ordered the BBQ pork sandwich and it was more bread then meat, but the flavor was good.  My fries were cold, guess that can happen when you only have one fryer. Â
  I can say that I tried it, but have no desire to go back...Zunigas why did you have to leave!?!?!
FIrst off let me say that I am going to give this place the benefit of the doubt that they are new and hope that when I come back in 6 months they will be better. Â Also I am the only one who was satisfied with my meal, which was the Pesto Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Potatoe fries. Â Now to the flaws
My friend asked our waitress, who didnt seem to know how to give customers personal space and didnt know where the line between close personal friends ended and professional clientele began, how many shrimp came on the shrimp cesar? The waitress told her six, when her salad showed up with 3 we were a little confused. Â Our waitress told us that usually she sees the salad with more and at the minimum four and that she didn't knwo why they "skimped us." Â She went to go ask if we could get some more and returned and told us the answer was no. Â I would have thought that something like that was standard and why are we getting skimped?
Second another girl in our group ordered a rueben which tasted good but was rather soggy when brought out. Â Third, the turkey on the cranberry turkey sandwich is just store bought deli meat. Â Not store bought shaved or smoke turkey but just regular slices of Oscar Meyer or Butterball or some other type. Â Now I know a turkey takes awhile to cook but one should last the day or they could buy the better meat.
Lastly our waitress asked to steal our Ketchup half way through our meal. Â Does this place not have enough Ketchup bottles to go around? Â She also tried to sell us on dessert twice and twice we said no can we have our check. Â
This place has a good basis buts needs to be more consistant and have higher standards. Â They also need to take a better look at their wait staff because we heard numerous people complaining about our waitress.
One of my new favs! Keep in mind that this place has only been open a few weeks, so some of the negative reviews may be a result of some initial start up hickups.
Anyway, it's owned by the same folks as 99 Bottles in Santa Cruz and it does have a little bit of 99 Bottles flavor - but different. Obviously there's the big twist with aviation decor, but also a hint of down home small town flavor - an authentic south county touch. We split the reuben, and seriously, it was THE BEST REUBEN EVER! (and I'm a huge reuben lover). Fries were great, coffee was decent, fruit platter was spot on fresh, service was excellent with that down home feel you've come to expect from a Watsonville American joint. I'll definitely be coming back. Very welcome addition to south county. Great place to take out of towners and aviation buffs too.
The Watsonville restaurant scene is severely lacking, was hoping this would be a HUGE lift but turned out to be a partial step up. Â If the ranking was based on service i would give it a 5 star. Â Friend of mine works there so she has to be nice ;) but a couple other waitresses would stop by every 10-15 minutes to talk with my daughters, not something we get at other places so that was nice.
FOOD: I had the fish and chips, figured if they mess up fish and chips than its not looking too good. Â However, besides being just a tad undercooked the fish was REALLY good. Â Nice sized servings, not an excess of breading. Â Fries were way over salted and thin. Â Could have done with a bit more on that end.
My wife had the mushroom burger, and just like the other review said, the meat was severely lacking. Â SUPER thin and easily a half inch from the edges of the already thick bun. Â Flavor was ok, but only as good as a mouth full of bread can be, again fries were regrettable.
The restaurant itself was a huge makeover from the old mexican spot that used to be there, my 2 year old loved the model planes on the ceiling and the real planes at the airport.
When Green Valley Grill moved from their old location there was no longer a really fun SAFE bar in town (besides Applebees and their watered down drinks). Â Props seems like it could be a good fix to that. Â The bar seemed nicely equipped and it felt reasonably safe there.
I will probably go there again but not very quickly, which is what i was hoping for. Â The service definitely saved this place!
It's so good to have a restaurant back at KWVI. I've been sorely missing Zunigas since it closed. The decor is almost identical to Zunigas. They painted the wall behind the register a nice blue. The menu, however, is radically different.
I had my first experience there Sunday during the WVI Airshow, so I didn't get a chance at their regular menu yet. Meagan took great care of us and was very attentive. The whole staff was pleasant with a very upbeat attitude. I did look over the full menu, but I ordered the pulled pork sandwich off the air-show special menu (essentially a reduced menu optimized for quantity and speed). The sandwich and fries were good and the Iced Tea kept coming without having to chase it down.
Overall, a good experience and I will be back.
One very nice feature -- It's directly adjacent to the transient ramp, so if you fly in, it's as convenient as convenient gets.
We enjoyed our lunch on September 02, 2012 during the airshow. We posted the photos for turkey sandwich & the grilled prawn Caesar salad. They haven't been open even a month, so you know they will only get even better. Wait staff is very friendly & accommodating. The place (including completely remodeled restrooms) looks terrific!! Open, modern, clean, yet welcoming. We will be back. Only downside was they were a bit skimpy on fries & no pickled jalapeños, but they found a fresh one and sliced it for us.  Nice service touch.
Review Source:Just tried Props with friends around noon on  Sunday. Was disappointed breakfast was served only until 11 am.  Not very crowded, we were seated after a short time. they've only been open a week, so the staff is still a little confused (had to ask for kids menus for the 4 and 7 yr old kids, 2 different people trying to take the drink order, extra salads made for our table).  The food was just okay. The balsamic vinaigrette was good.  I had the shrimp sandwich, a lot of bread, little shrimp, would order something different next time if we return. A friend ordered the Rueben and liked it. Another ordered the pulled pork sandwich and wasn't crazy about it.  Same with the short ribs. Maybe once they find their groove things will run smoother. Hopefully in the next few weeks the food will be all around good and the staff won't look like they're wandering around so much.  hope it's just  "grand opening jitters"
Review Source:To be perfectly fair, Props has only been open since Monday, August 20th and I don't think the new owners realized how much Watsonville is "starving" for this type of restaurant. The entire interior has been redone: good bye cheap, dingy brick wallpaper, hello bright freshly painted walls, beautiful model airplanes hanging from the ceiling and handmade stained-glass windows depicting old-time airplanes from years past -lit from behind- on the walls. Even the airport lobby has been redone with a retro theme. I heard there are plans to add headphones to certain tables so that conversation between the tower and pilots can be listened to, that would be awesome!
We called for reservations for last Friday and after increasing the number of people in our party 3 times -with no complaints from staff at any time- twelve of us arrived at 6:30 and were promptly seated. The bar was packed and noisy with people having a great time. My husband's cousin said that the Bloody Marys were the best he's ever had in his life! Our waitress was friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating (if a little overwhelmed) and didn't flinch once when we asked for separate checks and extra wine glasses (we brought 6 bottles of wine for a vertical tasting). Seating is a combination of tables & chairs and booths, all totally wheelchair accessible.
The menu is still in progress. Lots of the usual appetizers: calamari, chicken wings, deep-fried wonton skins with a dipping sauce, nachos, deep fried mozzarella sticks, etc. We chose the french fried artichoke hearts and decided they were the best we've ever had. Lightly coated, almost tempura-style, served with a mildly spicy ranch dip; with six to an order, they were more than enough to share. The burgers (with regular fries or sweet potato) were HUGE; full meal as well as side salads, many fish options, nightly specials, and delicious sounding desserts. I ordered the salmon with rice and seasonal veggies. It came with a cream sauce and since I'm not crazy about cream sauce on my fish, I asked for it on the side, "No problem" said our waitress - I like that! At least half of our party ordered the beef short ribs but alas, our waitress came back with the bad news that the kitchen had run out. The Chef offered an alternative for the same price which turned out to be a ribeye steak, good, but not stellar.
Service lagged a bit and we were at table about 3 hours but the place was absolutely mobbed. Yes, a few things need "tweaking" and I'm sure things like running out of food, and the young woman taking our reservation not knowing what a corkage fee was (?) will be addressed, but overall I'd say absolutely, Props is a winner. It's so nice to have a restaurant option at our little airport again and I'm definitely going back for the lamb shanks!
Waited for months for this restaurant to open & all I have to say is that I'm not impressed. Â We ordered calamari as an appetizer which was very bland & served with our main course, had 3 burgers & beers. Â The bill came out to be $55. Â Had the meal been spectacular I wouldn't complain, but it was far from even being great. Â They ran out of sweet potato fries...really??? On a Saturday at 4:30....I just think that is ridiculous. Â The burger patties were small as the previous reviewer mentioned & my daughter received about a handful of fries whereas I received a heaping. Â We left & were hungry about an hour later. Â Next time we probably will skip Prop's & head over to Santa Cruz to the owner's other restaurant.
Review Source:First time I went here. My friends and I went around 12:45 Sunday. Â We got seated and then the waiter brought us water. The waiter however only brought 2 glasses at a time, one in each hand, not on a tray.
Getting our drinks, it seemed like the staff would bring out 2 or 4 drinks at a time, then the rest had to wait about 2 minutes for the rest of it.
The food wasn't all that great either. We waited a good while, I'd say about 20 minutes or so. The burger I got, the Mushroom cheeseburger, was cooked ok, but the patty itself was small, while the bun was big. This was the same for my friends who had ordered sandwiches, it was a lot of bread, no meat hardly. Another one of my friends had a burger as well, both of us had fries. I barely had a handful of fries, he had at least twice as much. They really need to learn how to portion their food.
On the positive side, the waitress was kind and tried to be helpful.
Beer was expensive, I think the cheapest (for a bottle) was 4.00, but I had a soda.
I didn't have breakfast, but its open for breakfast from 8-11....not very long if you wanted to know about breakfast.
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