Bittersweet Bistro — Restaurant in Capitola

What can I say but "Wow", this place is really great. It is one of my favorite places to eat for multiple reasons - I would come much more often in fact, if I lived closer than San Jose.

I usually stop here after a relaxing day at Rio Del Mar State Beach nearby since it is just around the corner. But it is close to many places south of Santa Cruz, so I highly recommend trying it out when you are in the area.

The place is gorgeous, both outside in the patio area, beautiful layout and beautiful decoration makes for a very relaxing place to hang out with friends and enjoy great food. The koi pool in the corner is very pretty as well as watching the fish swim. Outside is well lighted from the sun and surroundings, however there is enough cover to keep you in the shade during the summer and there are heaters to keep you warm during the winter.

The inside is also very spacious with separate different areas with lots of room between tables so that you can have a nice dining experience with plenty of company and yet feeling in your own space. The bar is also very nice with vaulted ceilings and a beautiful bar.

The food, drinks and dessert are all really excellent. There is an enormous selection of different foods of all types, pastas, appetizers, meats and fish as well as various seafood too. There's a huge cocktail menu including CBD options both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The mocktails are well thought out and appetizing for those who don't want alcohol.

There are many things I would recommend, but I really recommend the beat salad or the roasted brussel sprouts, the French onion soup, and the sesame crusted ahi tuna - You can't go wrong with any of these. But there are so many options that if you are in a good group of people, you can share and really enjoy a wonderful selection.

The staff is always perfectly friendly and willing to meet your every challenge 🙂. Once again, one of my most recommended restaurants especially down in the...

Ultimately enjoyed the experience. Went here for my fiance's birthday. Had a reservation, got seated a few minutes early, all good. Our server seemed a bit overwhelmed despite there not being too many folks seated. Not an issue. We were patient. Another server asked if we had been helped, we said no but one said he'd be with us shortly. (Our mistake there) He eventually returned and asked what we wanted to drink. The first drink we asked for from the menu and he wasn't sure what we were talking about. Had to point it out. Still not a big deal. He asked what we wanted to eat. We ordered one each of two different apps and waited to pick an entree. He left, came back out, and delivered a drink to a nearby couple. My fiance noted that there was a lot of spillage on his tray. He then came out with our drinks, one of which was half spilled on the tray. I stared, somewhat in disbelief, at the tray, at him, at the drink, and back at the tray. When I looked back up at him, he nervously and slowly dumped the tray out on the ground and walked away. Nothing to say of the spilled drink. He later came back with two of the same app, which we pointed out was incorrect. He apologized and took one away. It was at this point I was done with the shenanigans and went to request a different server. Luckily, the rest of the staff were great and accommodating. We ended up being seated in a new location and served by Summer. She was able to turn the experience around and took great care of us. The correct food & drink came out in a timely and unspilled manner. No further issues at that point. Thank you to the the staff who handled the situation swiftly and...

Not ever again!! My wife and I will never return to this restaurant on Valentine's Day. This Valentines day dinner was a disaster. My wife and I have been going to Bittersweet's for years. Their food can always be counted on for quality and beauty of presentation. I know that restaurants count on nights like this to make their millions. But, dinner here tonight was like dining in a Jr. High Cafeteria. The noise level was incredibly high. I don't know why restaurants feel like they have to be held hostage to their customers. A miserable night could have been avoided if the hostess had told each table as they were being seated that " there is a busy night expected so if you don't mind holding your voices down, it would be best for everyone Please enjoy your meal." Once one table is allowed to increase it's volume, then everyone else has to raise their voices and the sound level multiplies until the roar is so loud that two people, sitting three feet from each other, cannot hear themselves without yelling at each other. I felt so sorry for the wait staff. Everyone was rushing around as fast as seemed humanly possible. And yet, after we were served our meal, the next time we saw our waiter was 45 minutes later. It would seem that, as expensive as tonight's meals were, enough attention should be paid to the customers. So, having said all of this, after yelling at each other for the entire time we were there, our Valentine's spirit has long since evaporated. I feel almost apologetic for writing all of this. We just...