Jack O'Neill Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Jack O'Neill restaurant is founded by by well, Jack O'Neill, the same surfer dude that started the O'Neill branded clothing.

Similar to the likes of Quicksilver and Billabong, if you enjoy Southern California beach and have grown up here, you probably have heard of O'Neill as one of the main brands of beach wear.

My wife and I wanted to try it out so with an appointment, we came in for dinner this past weekend. The inside has a very relaxed vibe to it, staying true to it's origin with your typical blonde haired blue guys waiter/waitress to host you. The table is clean and people casually chat, we felt relaxed and at ease alongside with a priceless view of the ocean very few restaurant can boast.

If you're in a rush for food or just want service similar to ones found at a luxury restaurant, this spot certainly ain't it. But then it is not really built like that either. We, alongside with our son, studied the menu, and here's what we ordered:

Crab cake - 5/5 . Although I wouldn't say that it's a taste that's unfamiliar if you have had it in other establishments that makes it well. The crust is nice on the outside with a hint of spiced thousand island sauce on the side for dip is excellent as an appetizer with your crab in the center.

Daily Special (Prime rib with 3 spiced prawn) - 4/5 . There was no option for making it medium rare, but it was served between a medium to medium rare which still tasted tender. The prawns were HUGE. No shortcuts like other restaurants that stiff you with smaller shrimps which I greatly appreciate it. I can't really tell on the type of sauce that it is being served on, but it tasted like some type of soy and none sweetened bbq sauce mixed together. Great tasting dish but the edges of the beef was slightly saltier then I would have preferred.

Prawn Paella - 4/5 . The paella is good, my wife enjoyed it as it has been a while since we had it. It has a subtle vegetable mixed in with the rice, cheese, and some sauce similar to risotto. With a lighter taste on its giant prawns in combination, she loved how it turned out.

Daily Catch (Kid's menu) - 5/5 . My son loved it. They had fish, rice, and beans in it. A healthy but tasty choice for my son, he ate it up good. My wife and I tried a little bit of his food and thought they definitely took their time to ensure even the little ones had good food. The fish was well made with a light hint of sauce and salt while the rice had a slight flavor of garlic in it.

All in all, Jack O'Neill Restaurant & Lounge gets a 5/5 from me. Similar to its location next to the beach, if you're expecting decent food next to the ocean and is not in a rush to come in and out, it's a great choice to be had. if I ever come hanging out in this neighborhood, I would definitely...

We were looking forward to celebrate my wife's birthday here, but had a really bad experience. The service was horrible (see below), and the food was so so (definitely doesn't justify the high prices). View was really nice, but that alone can't justify eating here.

My wife ordered a salad as a starter, which the waiter said was his favorite. Really just a plate full of kale leaves with no dressing, and it was really hard to find the couple of tiny pieces of goat cheese and asparagus.

We were there for almost an hour before our entrees arrived, at which point out toddler son was done with his meal and was getting close to his bedtime. I should also point out that the restaurant was half empty, so it's strange that the kitchen can't function within reasonable wait times. The server apologized for the huge delay and was nice enough to offer us wine (on them), but with a toddler who needs to get to bed we really didn't feel like ordering more wine. My wife was disappointed with her $30 fish (had way better in San Francisco for much less than that), and my steak was so-so. We just tried to finish our meal before our son was losing it.

Our son's kids meal presumably included a drink and desert, which were at no point offered to us. Nobody has every refilled the water glasses that were empty for more than an hour. We didn't say anything because we just accepted the poor level of service and wanted to be done with it.

At the end the server offered a free desert, we said it was already really late and he has offered to get us one to go. That was nice, but then it took him a long time to get back and ask what we wanted, and our son was already getting restless and we didn't want to stay there and hope that would arrive within a reasonable time. We just got the check and bought some ice cream on the way home.

Bottom line: horrible service, mediocre and overpriced food, great view. Can't believe we paid a $100 for an evening that left us with such bad taste in our mouth. There are far better restaurants in Santa Cruz for...

This is the most confused dining hall in Santa Cruz. The view is perfect, the seating comfortable and all natural ocean light. It's lovely to sit here. There's a portion IF you are a hotel guest, to eat outside...they snob you about this and it's offensive. Then... they always have a really awful, terrible conceited overly made up, ridiculously long nails, wobbly on high heels YOUNG hostess, who knows zero about the food. Always. I have gone five times in seven years, this is a truth. So you have to wait to ask any questions about food, after you're seated. I don't like that. What I've done three times, is move to the cocktail bar, to ask him, what to have. The waitresses are ALWAYS aggressive. Teeth gnashing stressed and not once ever relaxing. I have been there for brunch, for lunch, dinner and late. Always in seven years, this upset, stressed rushing the s how they have servers. I have been tipped off not to get the specials. I will tell truth on that...they serve what is rotten hidden in a breaded batter with strong spices. I have had food poisoning from this restaurant,a breaded fish..so do NOT get the specials. The dishonesty and I think it's illegal, but the way this restaurant will hurt the tourists...I have to tell you to truly be careful. I heard children read the menu and comment offended about a 9 dollar soda.

Wealthy families who are guests of Dream Inn, are shocked by the prices.

The food is NOT good. It is just expensive. It's the giant windows of the ocean,why I go in there. The clam chowder is TERRIBLE. It is Campbell's soup from a can with some tarragon and cream you get sick from. They are bribing the food inspector for certain.

I guess I can not find anything on menu that's likeable.just pretend to eat to enjoy the view. The dessert and coffee is basic but affordable.

I took the time one night, to critique bite by bite a meal I got from delivery. They did not call me back nor email me back, I was hoping to make the connection and they...