Johnny’s Harborside

Location is beautiful. I had the scallops which were huge and tasty.

Went for lunch. Not many good fish placed in Santa Cruz (surprisingly) so this is my go to fish restaurant. Problem was that it was freezing cold in there! On a nice sunny day, people inside were wearing down coats and sweaters. Unfortunately, my husband, who usually runs warm, didn’t have a sweater with him so he froze through the meal. I get that the wait staff is running around so they were probably comfortable, but if you see all your customers going out to get their coats, I think you should close the skylights!!!

The service was excellent, food was delicious and some of the best oysters I’ve had in a while.
Went in with a party of 5 and everyone was delighted with their choices.
A must try ;)

Service was excellent, very friendly, and the presentation of the food was gorgeous. However the food wasn’t very good at all. We spent over $ 100. We ordered so many things but we just couldn’t find a dish we loved.
We started with 3 appetizers, mussels were edible but not fresh. The sauce hid the fact that it wasn’t fresh, but you could still tell.
We ordered clam chowder, it tasted sour now my husband fears he’ll get sick.
We order a tempura fried avocado stuffed with crab and shrimp. However we couldn’t find any of the meat. Just a whole deep fried avacado with ginger cucumbers and onion :(
We ordered a crab which was ok but you could tell it wasn’t fresh. If you’re eating on the ocean. The crab ought to be fresh.
The fish and chips was mediocre. Like fried frozen fish.
I wouldn’t recommend this place at all.

We have been to Johnnys Harborside twice now, and both visits have been phenomenal in terms of service and food.
The first was Father’s Day, where we did not have a reservation, the wait time was over an hour, and we foolishly had only enough in the meter for an hour. Seeing as it was Father’s Day, they quickly found us a seat at the bar where we had fish and chips and broiled halibut. Both were cooked perfectly– although my dad regretted not getting it sautéed the first time after seeing someone else eating it. The bartender was this very friendly girl who kept our drinks above half full at all times and made our Father’s Day experience wonderful. If you ever cannot get a table, the bar here is not at all a compromise– especially if she is working.
The second time we came was about a week later. We were celebrating a friend being in town, and craving seafood, and remembered Johnnys. We had a reservation, came a little early, and were seated with a wonderful view of the harbor at sunset. I had the miso salmon which was perfectly cooked and well seasoned, my father had the sautéed halibut jasmine style, and my friend had the seared ahi jasmine style. As you can see the plating was gorgeous! We were so impressed we started taking pictures a the restaurant manager came over. He was super friendly, and recommended we try some dessert– so we did! The mini desserts are very affordable at 3 dollars, and the small size turns out to be very convenient after stuffing yourself with dinner, as you can still enjoy dessert without feeling too full.
Overall, it’s great. The menu is a bit small, but for a small fresh seafood place, a large menu just isn’t sustainable with this quality– so yeah, there’s not many vegetarian options at a seafood restaurant. The restaurant can get a little loud, especially if one of the larger tables have a loud party. The service can be a little slow table side, especially if it is crowded– which it likely will be, as the food is great. But the food is amazing, the prices are good, the staff are super nice, and the view is great.

Every time we go to Johnny’s it’s good! I love the freshness of the fish, servers are always spot on and so willing to please! We go before it gets busy so we can get a nice view! My favorite is the ahi sandwich, hubby always gets something different and has never been disappointed.

Great food, and amazing location. Cant get any better than that

This is probably the worst place to have a fish dish lunch.
They say it is fresh, but it does not feel, look or smell that way. The fish on EVERY single dish we ordered (poke /​fish tacos) looks as if it was already digested at least once.
There is almost nothing on the menu for vegetarians, except a sandwich which is practically barely cooked mushroom and lots of mayo and pesto sauce from a bottle you get at Safeway.
I honestly can not believe this place deserves the great reviews it has here on Unilocal.Makes me question Unilocal as well

The service was great, but the food was just Ok. It was definitely overpriced for its quality. Probably wouldn’t go her again. We made reservations but really was no need to. There were plenty of empty tables.

Every time I am in the Santa Cruz area, I want to go eat at olitas restaurant. This day my friend said No, I want us to try something new. I jumped onto Unilocal to see what was trending and I came across Johnnys Harborside. The pictures of the food caught my attention and they had fresh oysters so I was sold. The restaurants itself is cute! Located next to the harbor. After being seated and going over the menu I was not to thrilled with the selection so I stuck to appetizers. I ordered the fresh Oysters & the crab stuffed avacado. The oysters were Cold, just right. The stuffed avocado is a pretty picture but the taste is not there. Maybe if you ask for extra mayo chipotle it be ok. My friends seemed to be satisfied with their food. Fish tacos and fish and chips.
Appetizers
Oysters– fresh AF
Crab stuffed Avacado– No!
Entrée
Fish tacos– Good
Fish & Fries– Fries were good :)
Wine wine wine always real good

Amazing find on our drive up
PCH! Along the harbor of Santa Cruz overlooking the fishing boats and lighthouse. Came here for lunch and were seated immediately. Beers on tap-​my husband had the Summer Pilsner which was amazing. We order half a dozen east coast oysters ($ 18) as an appetizer. I ordered the fish tacos that had generous amounts of fish and guacamole-​absolutely recommend. My husband got the fish and chips. Fish was amazing but the steak fries were undercooked so I would pass on those. They have plenty of options of fresh fish on the menu-​ranging from $ 17 – 22 for lunch. Service was outstanding and it was easy to find off of PCH. Absolutely recommend!

Made a reservation for 2 and showed up right on time. Got seated immediately no problems. Server took about 10 minutes to come over the first time. We ordered drinks which took another 10 minutes. The wine was good but the Bloody Mary was bad.
Then ordered dinner. We both ordered a wedge salad and shared a cioppino. Salads took over 15 minutes to come. They were large and very good. Then another 20 min for dinner. The cioppino was not good. No flavor, small pieces of fish, only 2 shrimp, 2 clams and 2 mussels. Would not recommend this for $ 26.00. The bill was $ 85.00 plus tip. Disappointed…

They take reservations so since it was a high reviewed place we made reservations. Although it wasnt too busy for brunch (plenty of tables open). Located at the water edge where boats dock.
Customer Service: thumbs up. Right when we seated, waitress asked for our drinks and got our food ordered pretty quickly. Very friendly staff
Food: YUM! You have to try to ahi poke and the crab avocado tempura.
Parking: readily available. Just be prepared to pay for parking. Prepaid parking
Would definitely go back

My partner brought me here for lunch and we had the Chef’s Trio. Great choice for 2 people to share and it was inexpensive for what it was.
The restaurant sits by the harbor and has a view of the lighthouse, marina and the ocean which was picture perfect. It was easy to find, parking (pay) was a breeze and was not busy when we got there.
If not for our server I would give this place 5 stars. First there was a UFO in my partner’s water, then he didn’t have a clue as to what comes with our order. So our salad appetizer came after we were having our meal.
After getting stuffed, you can take a walk by the marina and enjoy the scenery. We will definitely come back and also would recommend this place to anyone.

Love this place!
My friend wanted to get a whole lot of «nibbles» to make a full meal so we got garlic fries, mussels (with garlic bread) and the winter side dish (sweet potato purée with brussel spouts topped with pepitas). All of it was amazing! Thus far every time I have gone here it has been delicious. Need to try lunch!

Horrible restaurant manager (Dan?) who told us we can be seated, got us (with 4 hungry kids) driving 30 min over, and then turned his back at us.
Dan: «Sorry, others beat you at the punch that I can’t seat you. This is how I run a restaurant».
Me: «Ugh. but you told us there are seats? So should we wait?»
Dan: «I don’t know which part I said you don’t understand. I can’t seat you.»
Me: «Fine. I will leave…»
Dan: «Good luck finding any table in town tonight.»
Me: «…»

Wow under new ownership since December 2015 and what an astonishing improvement gone from a Sunday brunch maybe for me place to a destination fine dining with a fantastic ambience on the harbor
Suggest for 50.00 order the chefs choice for two basically three dinner samplers with chefs choice absolutely great
I regret not having photographed it
Hubby and I both loved it and are looking forward to returning to this now great place in Santa Cruz

The servers were kind and generous, not to mention young. We got a middle table till a window opened up and the host moved us without us asking! Good, fast service.

A few weeks ago, I made a reservation for Friday evening at 6:30pm through OpenTable for a party of four. We actually arrived quite a bit earlier at 5:45pm, but that was not a problem and we were immediately seated. My mom happened to glance over and see that there was a happy hour menu, so we decided to get an order of six buffalo wings for 6 $ before happy hour ended (Monday-​Friday 3−6pm).
After quickly putting in that order for us, our waitress went over the special of the day and also mentioned that they had a few local wines on sale. Although the special sounded kind of tempting, it was sort of a rainy day, so I wanted something more warm and soothing. The menu is fairly concise with the front side being the food and the back side being alcohol. Our family decided to share the Chardonnay Steamed Mussels as an appetizer. My dad and sister each got the Fish and Chips, and my dad ordered a clam chowder as well. My mom went for the grilled fish tacos, and I went for the Cioppino.
Since we arrived relatively early for a Friday dinner, the restaurant wasn’t too crowded, and our appetizer came out in a flash. The mussels were cooked extremely well, and the accompanying sauce was extremely rich and satisfying. The mussels were a bit on the small side, but there were plenty of them, so no biggie. This dish also came with slices of garlic bread to dip into the sauce.
Maybe 15 minutes or so after our appetizer, all our of main meals came out. My sister got her Fish and Chips with a side of garlic fries, so I stole some immediately. Their fries are steak style, and personally, I would have preferred them a little bit more crispy, but they were alright, and the garlic flavor was good. The fish itself was cooked very well. Nice and cripsy on the outside, and soft and piping hot on the side. They served the fish and chips with some tartar sauce, that I think is made in house because it tasted a little bit different. Wasn’t amazing or anything, but then again I’m not that big a tartar sauce fan.
My Ciopino was served piping hot as well, and it was exactly what I needed on the cold, rainy day. There was so much seafood throughout the bowl, and all of it was extremely fresh and delicious. There were big pieces of shrimp, lots of fresh fish cooked nicely, scallops and mussels. The only drawback was I kind of wished I could have had some bread with the soup. That would have really hit the spot.
I didn’t get a chance to try my mom’s tacos, but she really liked that they really piled on the coleslaw on the tacos, and again delicious fresh fish.
For dessert, we decided to go with the trio of small bite desserts. We chose the vanilla crème brûlée, the flourless chocolate cake, and the caramel pot de crème. Hands down the best was the caramel pot de crème. The other two were decent, but I’ve had better, so if I could recommend a dessert I’d say go for the pot de crème.
Overall, my family had a great time at Johnny’s Harborside. I think normally there is a parking fee, but we got lucky and ran into wonderful strangers on their way out that offered to give us their ticket stub, so I’m not sure how much it costs. I have to reiterate that all the seafood was extremely fresh. I would recommend the chardonnay steamed mussels for starters and the fish and chips for an entrée. Even though fish and chips sounds pretty basic, they nail it here. If it had been a nicer day, I’m sure my family would have also enjoyed the view and it’s a tiny restaurant with lots of windows overseeing the harbor. We do plan to return so hopefully, it’s sunny next time!

Romantic restaurant with delicious seafood near the Santa Cruz harbor. We came in the evening for dinner and were sat at a table with a view of the ocean and a bunch of the ships. We were looking for a place that served fresh fish and chips and were very happy with this place.
We ordered the crab and avocado tempura for our appetizer which was very interesting. The crab was fresh and delicious, wish there was more. Loved the pickled cucumber and red onion in it and the miso glaze. The outside was crunchy. This almost reminded me of a tempura ice cream ball just savory and with crab/​avocado instead.
We each got a cup of the clam chowder which had a lot of clams. The chowder was thicker than normal and not too salty like a lot of places I’ve tried. Not the best clam chowder I’ve had, but definitely good. ($ 4 a cup).
For the entrees, we got the larger portion fish tacos (3) with chips for $ 13. These were delicious! Tons of fish and really great flavors. Loved the avocado in it. I normally don’t like tacos in corn tortilla’s, however, their tacos were packed with flavors so I didn’t mind too much. We also got the smaller portion of the fish and chips which came with 3 huge pieces of fish (!!!) for $ 13.50 and replaced the garlic fries with a salad. The portion was huge, the cod fish was very fresh just how I like it. The outside was thin and crunchy. Really great fish and chips. I do wish that they served it was tartar sauce instead of ranch, I think that would have made it even better.
They also give you complimentary bread rolls with poppy seeds on it. Service was impeccable! Our server was so sweet and friendly and very efficient. Overall, we had a really great experience here and would definitely recommend it.

Fish, excellente