The Picnic Basket — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Stopped off at Santa Cruz on our way down the coastal road maybe a week ago now. The food was nice, no problems there for sure, but we met two staff members that were like Jekyll and Hyde. The first who served us was really lovely, told us to take a number card and sit down. Really good service and such.

However the second decided to ahem, mock my accent when I thanked her, threw our food down on the table, and kept glaring at us throughout. She then came over to collect the number card which made a large snapping sound as she snatched it from the table

Now, we didn't actually do anything wrong...? We were respectful, didn't make a fuss, we're very much the type to apologise ourselves if the staff gets anything wrong, tipped the max (25% I believe). It genuinely baffled us how she treated us to the point of uncomfortable laughter. Now I don't know if we missed something since all three of us are autistic, but the other two in my group left genuinely feeling quite gutted trying to figure out what we might've done wrong. I was pretty embarrassed and humiliated that she treated us like this in a shop with other people sitting and eating too.

So to the staff, We're sorry if we did something wrong. But whatever it was, I really don't think it warranted such a response from said staff member. It felt childish and just...

Our party of 5 recently stopped here while in the area. The location is perfectly positioned across the street from the Santa Cruz beach and wharf. The two sandwiches we ordered had some unique ingredients we hadn't ever had before, and they were both delicious. The standouts to me were the turmeric pickled onions (what look like banana peppers on the sandwich to the left), and the carrots, which I can only describe as tasting like they were very lightly pickled in something like white balsamic vinegar. I have no idea if that's how they're made, but they were absolutely delicious.

While maybe a bit expensive, I feel like the prices were on par for this premium location in a tourist trap. Not outrageous, but certainly more than I'd pay at a no-name place inland.

The only letdown was the mac and cheese we got for our toddler, which was bland and uninspired. Not that it was necessarily bad, but it certainly wasn't at the same caliber as our sandwiches.

The other two in our party got hot dogs, which disappeared quickly and looked tasty, so I can't really comment on those good or bad.

Would definitely come here again if we find ourselves...

Because the name “The Picnic Basket” was such a turnoff, i had avoided eating here for years. I expected a retirement-paced cafe that was barely passing safety inspection but staying financially afloat due to its tourist-bait location. So when i recently ordered a breakfast burrito with bacon and avocado, my expectations were through the floor. The breakfast burrito left me shook!! There is a dark horse of culinary innovation working in that tiny kitchen and he’s making breakfast burritos on a whole other spectral plane! Someone call France, the Michelin hommes are gonna want to get in on this.

Secondary restaurant factors i will happily endure to get another burrito in the future:

Service: cashier/food guys, totally great, A+. The drinks area by contrast felt like goodwill donation space for hot drinks. Not well defined, kinda cramped and awkward comparatively.

Atmosphere: if you enjoy the 11 minutes of waiting in a regional train station, squeezing past fellow travelers and seeking out a comfortable place to eat, the indoor seating is for you. (Outdoors...