Santa Cruz Diner in Santa Cruz

It was a good experience, straight diner, lots of locals and students. I was glad to see pho on the menu but as The Ant pointed out it wasnt a good idea and they were right because I was getting ready to ask if it had tendon. Silly. I went for a vegetarian scramble which came with a side of pancakes (I got blue berry, other options were banana and chocolate chip) and The Ant got waffles with strawberry and whipped cream. Reportedly the whipped cream wasnt that great but the waffles and strawberries were. The pancakes were ok and in response The Ant pointed out thats why they got the waffle, that pancakes are always a better idea than a reality -- the hot dog of diner breakfasts. The scramble was excellent though, with artichokes and avocados with Monterey Jack cheese, and excellent potatoes and grilled onions. The server was very friendly and funny and the diner had a perfect diner atmosphere with lots of signs and photos of a Guy Fieri visit. It was a good place for breakfast

This is by far the absolute best place I have eaten in years! The food amazing!!! The price beyond reasonable. The service... I cant even. We had a crying baby and they went above and beyond, brought over a toy for her to play with and some crackers for her to snack on. Which did the trick. Consistently stayed on top of dishes and filling beverages! I cant wait to come back tomorrow!

Our server was so kind and friendly she made the experience amazing!! The food is delicious, beautifully prepared and fresh! That’s no small feat, as I am pretty picky! No complaints at all. I will definitely come back.

The chicken fettuccine Alfredo was really good. It’s a very big portion. The salad was just ok. The Shirley Temple was yummy. Took me back to my childhood. There are bathrooms for customers that you’ll need a code. Service was pretty quick.

Our waiter was on it! He was an older Hispanic man, and we really appreciated his attentiveness. As we were sitting & eating, we saw him cleaning windows and he even went outside and picked up trash. You could just tell what a good worker he is. Overall, the service was great. The food, however, was not. I ordered the #1, and the hashbrowns had no flavor. I added some salt, and that helped a little, but I ended up just not eating them. The bacon was all fat, which I guess some people would enjoy, but I didnt. Our son ordered the Mexican Skillet, and he was disappointed. He also said it was bland, just not any flavor. The hot chocolate was good. I do like the general atmosphere. They could use some touching up to their signs outside. I appreciate that they were open early in the morning when most other places were closed. I also appreciate their menu options.

The food was amazing, fast exactly as I wanted, enjoy every bite. The Service first class was very nice, professional, and beautiful. The atmosphere was like a trip to the past, with a lot of antiques, and excellent reminders from the all-good times. Love the place really, hope I can return soon!.

One of our favorite places! We are local regulars and the food and service is always top notch. We love it so much we even had our wedding reception here during COVID. The pho is one of our favorites, and breakfast is aways super yummy. A not-to-miss Santa Cruz staple!

Cute eclectic lil spot….Service from our server was excellent! There was only two other tables seated when we arrived. Man who maybe was hostess didn’t make eye contact but not unpleasant. Collectively we ordered the kids waffle, one of the pancake combos, kid spaghetti and meatballs, and two orders of the yankee pot roast dinners. Waffle was well received by my 8yr old neice, my 10yr old neice enjoyed the pancake combo (said she preferred my homemade pancakes…I make them from the box), the spaghetti and meatballs was sub par according to my 5yr old spag n meatball connoisseur nephew (also says he prefers mine), the meatballs are definitely some kind of frozen meatball and the sauce not homemade. I got the yankee pot roast accompanied by mashed taters, gravy, steamed veggies, and garlic bread (had to ask for it, our server wasn’t sure if the meal came with bread or not and to be quite honest I’m pretty sure the bread we got was supposed to be for the sketti meatball meal..), pot roast was ok, very stringy, not a lot of flavor, probably not fresh. You’re basic diner pot roast. Mashed potatoes were box potatoes, so unbelievably watered down that when u mixed them together with the gravy it became a loose soupy mixture. Steamed veggies were the star of the show, exceptionally fresh! Garlic bread was just a couple of slices of maybe sourdough with generic butter and garlic salt, few sprinkles of parsley. Kids had the hot chocolate which was exceptionally tasty! Oh yeah almost forgot, got a chicken noodle soup with my meal, it was cool, nothing to write home about. Actually wish I would’ve just had a bowl of that and called it a night. Place was very clean and not busy at all. Saw another table enjoying some pretty good looking burgers on my way to the restroom which requires a numbered passcode to enter. Plenty of parking space of parking space at this place. Maybe I just went at a slow time. 6:00pm on a Thursday… I’ll be back again to have some breakfast, perhaps that will be a bit more enjoyable.

We eat here about every other month and usually have much better service, but tonight our waitress was a bit unattentive. The food was delicious, she could have simply checked in with us some. Update: 6/25/23 Different waitress, still unattentive. Food was good. Update 10/8/23 Got the Pho soup which was delicious but was surprised by the garnishes that accompanied it, mainly the fresh Basil, which at least half was black and brown and starting to rot. Not sure how the cook could even send that out in the disgusting state it was. Service was fine.

I loved this place!! Nostalgic of the original Santa Cruz. The staff is friendly and makes you right at home. While I am here, I will probably eat breakfast here everyday! Highly recommend!!