Carpo's Restaurant — Restaurant in California

Ever have those little dining dilemmas where nobody has a particular place in mind to go to? Be it with your mate, your offspring, your siblings, grandparents or just your bro or your BFF... Where you want to go? I dunno. Not here though, not there. Um, no. Okay... Wait... Carpos! YES! Carpos is one of very few restaurants in Santa Cruz county consistently serving excellent food at a family-friendly price point. Every single dish on their menu it's delicious, well presented and deceptively filling, and they've been doing it right and righteous like that for decades! Their salad bar is hands down the freshest, most delicious and diverse as you will find anywhere nearby. You can literally fill four full salad plates overflowing with 100% different ingredients every time. Their french fries might be the best you'll find locally in this price range. Just about perfect. (If you're an onion ring aficionado though, maybe avoid them. They're good, but the serving size is pretty small, like 5 or 6 rings max, and they are the type with thick onions you can't quite sever, so they will slap you in the chin most bites) Pay attention to their little specials chalkboard to the right of the cash registers. Carpos is the one joint where the specials usually are. No Fancy gimmicks, no pretension, and easy on the wallet. What more...

Awful experience. Left beer thirty planning to go for Thai, but thought " why not try carpos." A quick Google search showed it had 4.3 stars so it should have been a sure thing. We ordered a bottomless salad, carpo burger, and the sausage sandwich with two sides of fries.

The salad was fresh. Pretty standard for a salad bar.

The carpo burger was a double long ground beef Patty, a few slices of melted cheese, on a toasted roll. It came with a slice of cantaloupe on a piece of lettuce. It had no seasoning, no condiments, and was too much bread. It was a lot of food, but I didn't want to finish it. And it was over $14 with fries. You can get a MUCH better burger and a waterfront view at Sotola, for about the same price.

The sausage sandwich was a similar story, lackluster. instead of being a sausage cut in half it's a sausage patty with a pile of green peppers on it. Again, too much bread and not enough flavor.

The fries tasted good, but we ordered two baskets and one had literally twice the amount of fries. A minor gripe, but a gripe nonetheless.

When there's so much good food within walking distance or a short Lyft ride away it's amazing this place has stayed in business. Their sign says they've been open for 30 years so they must be doing something right, I just...

A great place to enjoy dinner with the fam or people you care about. Service is very fast, employees seem happy attentive and focused. Diverse American food menu with burgers, hot dogs and fish and chips just to mention a few. The pie slices are delicious and the shakes are great too but a little pricey. The remodeled patio with heating is a big highlight, very nice ambiance with plants. I really wish they would invest in a dining room remodel because it feels crowded and loud inside but it's not unbearable. Everyone just seems to be running into each other so I think a better interior design would be beneficial. EDIT : I knocked it down to 3 stars because it is so arduous trying place a phone order and have it ready you arrive. They need to have an online ordering system because they just don't pick up the phone or they neglect the order. Mine sat in the kitchen ready but everyone just forgot I was waiting and I sat there for 20 minutes. It's the only reason I don't go there much anymore, I just can't order food unless I travel down there and listen to the loud echoing conversations of dozens of people for minimum 20 minutes...it's just not...