Santa Cruz Diner — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

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...

The quality of food and service at the diner has seriously gone downhill in the last 5 years. I don't know if there's new owners or what the issue is, but the quality is lacking. It used to be my family's favorite place for breakfast now we would rather just stay at home . The last few times I went the service was really slow despite the fact that they were not really busy. The quality of the food products has also gone downhill. My food has been served cold and it was not fresh. This Diner is on the Main Street as you enter town and it has become nothing but a tourist trap. it's crowded it's loud and it's overrated! They are proud of the fact that Guy Fieri from Diners Drive-Ins and Dives visited there and gave them a great review but that was more than ten years ago and they need to give up this distinction that they feel that they have such a great food. because it's not so great anymore. They have a huge menu almost too much to choose from and it's overwhelming and overpriced. I'm a local I've been around for almost 50 years and this place I can literally say now sucks! If you like an eclectic interior, you can visit it for all the fun and cute signage that is crammed on every available wall space, but that's the only good thing you're going to find there the food is...

Good food, good value, good experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Santa Cruz.

The restaurant wasn't very busy when I visited (late afternoon), and the waiter for my table was extremely polite and attentive, giving us some extra time as we browsed through the extensive menu. The restaurant serves all sorts of food, and has everything from breakfast to steaks to even pho (which was quite popular with the diners from what I can tell). The prices are quite reasonable considering the amount of food you get, and the atmosphere is one of those old school diners, with signs and various nick knacks lining the walls.

When I visited, I tried their Belgian Waffle Breakfast and their New York Steak. I also ordered a coffee which was probably one of the best I've had at a diner, and our waiter must have refilled my mug at least four or five times. The waffles were good though not very different from what you'd get at a dozen other restaurants. The steak was quite delicious, especially when you factor in the price, and I could easily see it being sold for twice as much at a more formal restaurant.

All in all, I was very satisfied with my dining experience, and I would definitely go again if I were to visit Santa Cruz...