Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant

We have going to Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant in Santa Cruz for years, raving about their calamari appetizer and other items. we returned last weekend and were bitterly disappointed. The calamari, usually smaller squid with lots of tenacles, were long, greasy strips, and the fish tacos were very dry with more cabbage than fish. the service, location and weather were great, but this was the worst quality of food we’ve had there since going there years ago. it felt like new ownership was trying to clear out the freezers. on top of that, was the disappointing news that they will close for 2 years to renovate the dock. Not sure we’ll return in 2 years after such a bad experience.

!! They are closing on June 26^th, 2016 !!
I was going to write a typical review, but then thought it would be a little moot.
June 26^th will be their last day open. The sea wall under the restaurant is over 50 years old and needs to be replaced. They are looking at re-​opening in about 2 years.

Moldy toast, mediocre food at best, forgot the avocado on an avocado tomato omelette :(fantastic location but don’t go when they might be busy because they totally cannot handle it.

5 stars for view
Overpriced mediocre food.
My coffee had caked on old coffee algae growing on the inside of the cup.
Home fries all the veggies were over cooked and all mooshy. Comparable to Denys or late night diner. Wouldn’t come back.

We had excellent service and a delicious lunch in the patio with our dog. We had a large party and were seated right away. I recommend the fish and chips and greek salad.

We are locals who have been coming to Aldo’s for the last 37 years. We went today, one week before we’re set to move out of state. We’ve always enjoyed our visits. Today was the exception. Our waiter, a young man of 20 or so, never smiled, not once, took our order, delivered half of it which we were almost finished with when we caught his attention to tell him about the missing food: fruit cup, butter, tabasco sauce and water for our dogs. He was arrogant to say the least, finally when we were leaving he came and plopped a dish with 5 pats of butter in it, along with the fruit cup. No dog water, no apology. Granted we’re not young and cute but his behavior merited him an 81 cent tip and that only because we decided not to wait for change for our twenty. We normally tip 6 bucks on an $ 18 meal. Sad experience to take with us after all these years.

Visited on Sunday night of Memorial wknd. I will start with the food. It was pretty good. My scampi had plenty of flavor. My family has some tasty dishes as well. The atmosphere is good too; overlooking the harbor and ocean.
Now for the bad. Our waitress Alex was a bit clueless. We asked what came with the seafood pasta and she had to guess. We asked how the catch of the day was prepared and she wasn’t sure on that either. My wife ordered the salmon and then she came back later to tell us they didn’t have that available! She brought a bottle of wine but didn’t pour it. On top of all that, my silverware was dirty w food caked on the fork and spoon. And then there was the bathroom situation… wow! The trashcan hadn’t been emptied in hours. I doubt we will be back. Good food can only take a place so far.

Always a good choice.

I love Aldo’s location, you can’t beat it. Sitting out on the deck with your dog is great. They’ll gladly bring your dog a bowl of water. Afterward you can walk on the beach next door with your dog. The food is pretty usual beach fair. Not stellar, but pretty tasty. Service is hit or miss. It gets very busy in summer, and staff rotates. I never hesitate to go though, it’s always a good time.

Only started coming here last year for the fiancé’s birthday and we love the atmosphere, how dog friendly it is with outdoor seating, and the food. A great place to stop by after our time at the beach and before heading back over the hill. We’ve celebrated two birthdays here and they have been very good with service. Within the last 8 months, we’ve eaten here more than 10 times.
Today, not so much. We sat at our table for almost 10 mins without a hello or drink order taken. Doesn’t seem like they’re short staff and not all tables are full. Not to throw any race cards, but we’re the youngest ones here and of different ethnicity than the rest of the folks dining (if you get what I mean). Kinda disappointing knowing how much we love this place and drive all the way from San Jose to eat here.
Hoping the next time won’t be like this.

We came this morning for Mother’s Day.
It wasn’t as crowded as it normally is on Mother’s Day. It’s our yearly tradition. We sat down and the sun was just blasting us. I hadn’t even gotta coffee yet and I was sweating. We asked for an umbrella, the girl said she would bring one. It never came. So he table next door’s waitress came by to check on them and I asked her if I could have an umbrella.
Ohhhhhh baby! The death look I got was sooooo bad! She gave me a look like I had just asked her for a kidney, she did a slow turn, cocked her head, shook it like she was just absolutely disgusted with me and walked away with out saying anything. Yo– sorry I’m asking you to do your job– politely at that.
My breakfast was good. Every one else’s was too– but my brothers breakfast didn’t come til every one was half done.
I’d probably come back– but if that chick was my waitress I would leave. The management should really check her on her attitude.

You can’t leave zero stars. Terrible. Clam chowder tasted moldy. Rosemary doesn’t belong in clam chowder. Chicken tenders were over cooked. Service was sub par at best. Visited because of diners drive ima and dives. qualifies as a dive. The establishment has actually brought down my opinion of the show significantly. best part is the water they are serving. Don’t waste your time

Great place for a nice bright weekend!
Mouthwatering appetizers and food!
Good collection of drinks :)

I really enjoy coming here! It’s one of my favorite places for breakfast. The view is awesome, and the food is great! I can’t say that their dinners are quite as good (the side salads are pretty average, and their calamari was soggy), but still, this place is great for the price and the view.
Outside is definitely the place to sit! I don’t know why you’d even bother sitting inside.
The service is good too.

Service was incredibly slow for a Tuesday at 1pm. Not just the kitchen, took over 5 minutes for waiter to arrive and take our drink order. Over 15 mins for salads to arrive. Plenty of open tables so it is not like they were busy. Won’t be back. I had to ask the waiter where the rest of our meal was as waiter never brought it out

We stopped by on Saturday to have lunch. Was pretty warm inland so it was breezy & nice to be in Santa Cruz. Had a really late lunch here. We ordered a crab salad & fishwich. They were ok. We got to view birds & a seal along the harbor. And saw many private sailboats, kayaks, and public cruises out in the water in the gorgeous weather. Next time will try the cruise when we have more time in town.

It’s been over a decade since my last visit to Aldo’s. I used to frequent it for weekend brunch.
We arrived at 10:10 on Friday July 3^rd. Street parking was almost completely full, but managed to find a spot on a side street a few blocks away.
Wait time to be seated was 25 minutes, Aldo’s was (understandably) packed for the holiday.
We were seated and waited about 15 minutes until our server arrived, we were ready and he took our entire order. About 15 minutes later our drinks arrived, after another 45 minutes our food arrived. There were four of us in our party, 2 of us ordered smoked salmon benedict, one ordered crab benedict. The smoked salmon benedict was good, and I had a bite of my fiencee’s crab which was fresh and tasty. My youngest son had fettuccine alfredo, which was fairly uninspiring.
The food is ok, the view is fantastic, the service isn’t bad, I’d say they’re just understaffed for the volume of traffic they have.
Nobody in our party was inspired to want to return.

I used to come to Aldo’s when they moved here back in the late 70’s. It has always been a great place for breakfast and lunch.
You can’t beat the views of the harbor, the boats, kayakers especially on a great day like today.
We arrived a bit before 9:00 and we were greeted by a very cheerful woman and we were seated on the outside deck about 5 minutes later. our wait person was terrific, nice cheery polite and fast. Simply can’t beat the service.
My wife and I both ordered the Artichoke Scramble. It was fair, we were both disappointed with the artichokes, we were expecting fresh but they were not. They tasted like they came from a jar to me, at least that’s my opinion. They had that out of a jar tanginess. Live and learn, I should have asked before ordering. The eggs were just that, nothing to write home about. I also expected the Feta cheese to be folded in to the eggs but they cut them into tiny blocks and put them on top of the eggs along with the artichokes.
The home fries had peppers and onions, not sure what spice was on them. Our server said they were soft and they were. They were ok.
So I thought the food was fair but you can’t beat the location and the service was great.
Maybe I’ll opt for fish next time!

Nestled in the Santa Cruz Harbor, beachside and a view worth the headache from parking, this place has mediocre food, but an excellent locale for a morning hangover cure. The staff loafs around lazily, and is not attentive to customers. We had to get up and ask for a waiter after being seated for nearly ten mins in the heat, without water. If the service and food were on par with the location, this place would garner a higher rating, but fell short of impressing us in any particular fashion.
Blackened Mahi-​Mahi sandwich was alright, portion size is a bit small for the price, and mimosas weren’t bottomless. Would recommend the calamari, which is a notch above average.

Five stars for the venue. Really. It doesn’t get much better than breakfast ON the water. Yes. You are literally over the water. Aldo’s outdoor seating may be the best in Santa Cruz.
Unfortunately their food is… Food. It’s not bad, but I just don’t have anything to say about it. I guess they do a good job of making their hash browns crispy? If you know anything about hollandaise sauce don’t get the Benedict. The hollandaise sauce just might be made from a packet or something. As a hollandaise/​eggs Benedict connoisseur I can’t handle it.
Order a mimosa. It’s fun cause they bring you the mini bottle of Brut to refill your glass with.
But seriously. You should go and sit in the sun and drink coffee and enjoy the amazing aldo’s deck.