The 5 Best Restaurants In Santa Cruz, California, According To Reviews

There are lots of reasons to visit Santa Cruz along California's Central Coast. It's home to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the oldest seaside amusement park in California. It's also a renowned surf town. In fact, Santa Cruz is where surfing came to mainland America from Hawaii. It has delightful beaches like the serene Natural Bridges State Beach, and the hillsides around town are filled with redwood forests. However, it's not really known as an American foodie destination. Rest assured, though, there's more to the dining scene here than corn dogs and turkey legs at the boardwalk. You just have to know where to look.

I've lived in Santa Cruz for over 10 years, but for this article, I've also scoured the internet for the best, most consistently reviewed restaurants in town. I've narrowed it down to these five, and can pretty much guarantee that you'll love at least one, if not all of them. When you find a new favorite (or favorites), you'll be in good company, as these restaurants have thousands of positive reviews. Considering the fact that these restaurants offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with flavors from around the world, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Cafe Brasil on Mission Street serves some incredible Brazilian food. It's a colorful little spot, with Brazilian art on the walls and Brazilian music playing over the speakers. Cafe Brasil is a small space, though, so you'll probably have to wait outside in line, as one Tripadvisor reviewer noted. But it will be worth it for the fresh and tasty food. The ingredients are sourced locally when possible, and it's a go-to restaurant for lots of locals thanks to its range of options, including some fantastic juices.

One former University of California Santa Cruz student, who hadn't been back for years, posted on Reddit, "I've been dreaming about their açaí bowls, banana pancakes, and beef a cavalo." On Yelp, one person wrote: "My family and I have been going to this restaurant for about 18 years, best restaurant in town! We have brought many friends and family, and there are many different options depending on your preference." Cafe Brasil has a 4.6 rating with nearly 1,700 reviews on Google, and a 4.2 rating with 2,300 reviews on Yelp. It's open daily for breakfast, brunch, and lunch.

Not far from the Santa Cruz Harbor, the Harbor Cafe is another outstanding breakfast and lunch destination. It's also another place where you're probably going to have to wait in line, especially if it's the weekend, and no, they don't take reservations. It can be tricky to find parking, as some reviewers noted. But despite any work it takes to eat there, it will be worth it. As one person put it on Yelp, it's "a quintessential California seaside cafe in Santa Cruz." Another Yelper said: "Ate there this morning and can honestly say that was probably the best breakfast I've ever eaten anywhere...fabulous! Our breakfast was fresh and cooked to perfection, plus the service was excellent." How could you miss that?

Harbor Cafe has brunch classics like omelets and pancakes, along with breakfast burritos. Then for lunch, there are burgers, sandwiches, and fish tacos. My go-to order is the Cali Benedict that comes with avocado and hashbrowns. If you're in the mood for something sweeter, go with the Nutella French toast with strawberries. Harbor Cafe serves coffee from Verve, a local Santa Cruz roaster. It's also got some popular boozy drinks, like the spicy Bloody Mary.

Nearly 1,300 Google reviews put it at a 4.6, and it's a 4.4 on Yelp with 1,700 reviews. It's also the best brunch in town, according to the 2025 Good Times Santa Cruz list. Harbor Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch every day except Tuesday and Wednesday, and it's got outdoor and indoor seating so you can enjoy Santa Cruz's mild and pleasant weather as you dine.

Mission St. BBQ in the Westside neighborhood of Santa Cruz serves some sensational barbecue, like tri-tip and St. Louis-style pork ribs, plus all the sides you'd expect, including beans, coleslaw, loaded baked potato, and cornbread. You can often smell the smokers on your way in, and from that smell, you know you're about to get something good.

I'm a big fan of the brisket sandwich. The BBQ mac, which is mac and cheese topped with a meat of your choice, is also delicious. Plus, there's often live blues music during the week. One fan on Google wrote, "The brisket was tender and flavorful (with or without the sauce), and the ribs were smoked to perfection." And someone on Yelp posted, "I had a 3-meat combo with coleslaw and beans. The food was hot and fresh, the flavor was top notch. Perfectly smoked and seasoned. The burnt ends are extremely tasty."

On Google, it has a 4.3 rating with 1,525 reviews. On Yelp, it has a 4.1 with 1,000 reviews. Mission St. BBQ is open every day of the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, though they will close if they sell out.

In downtown Santa Cruz, Laili Restaurant is an upscale destination serving Afghan and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Owner Wafi Amin is from Afghanistan, and when it came to designing the menu, he told Edible Monterey Bay, "I didn't want it to be one culture's food. The idea was to make the menu so everyone feels comfortable to taste things. Some are family recipes, others I searched for...I'm very good at breaking tradition."

Laili first opened in 2011, and it's become a favorite spot for anyone looking to celebrate a special occasion. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, and the menu has dishes like Moroccan beet salad, pear gorgonzola flatbread, pomegranate eggplant, and lamb shank. Along with great food, you get beautiful surroundings when you dine here, particularly on the patio that's tucked away off the street.

Laili has a 4.3 rating with over 1,500 reviews on Yelp, a 4.5 with over 1,090 reviews on Google, and a 4.6 with almost 3,000 reviews on OpenTable. One Yelp reviewer said: "We went here for lunch, and if you are looking for delicious Mediterranean food this is the place for you. This is a cute upscale spot with good ambiance and really nice service." On Google, one fan wrote: "This place! We argued on whether the Beef Koubideh Kebab was one of or THE best kebabs we've ever had! The filet mignon was so juicy, soft ... Staff were very friendly and knowledgable. Lovely ambience."

Since 2007, Lillian's Italian Kitchen has been a mainstay of Seabright, a family-friendly neighborhood known for tasty food. The Moreno family opened the restaurant with dishes inspired by their grandmother's Sicily-meets-Yonkers East Coast cooking, according to Good Times Santa Cruz. As you might guess, her name was Lillian. The menu is focused on Italian comfort food like arancini, braised short rib, and eggplant parmigiana. My personal favorite dish here is the black truffle stuffed gnocchi. And I always make sure to save room for dessert since the cannolis are outstanding. I'm not alone, either. One diner on Tripadvisor said it was the "best cannoli I've ever had!"

It's more than just good food. Co-owner Matt Moreno explained to Good Times Santa Cruz that, "we really pride ourselves on being a friendly, local neighborhood spot, and our staff really goes out of their way to build personal relationships with our guests." They've definitely succeeded on that front.

One first-time visitor posted on Google: "Right away, I found myself enjoying the high energy atmosphere. Everyone is there to eat good food, and have a great time. There was a lot of families and people on dates. Good vibes all around." Lillian's has a 4.3 rating with nearly 3,000 reviews on Yelp. On Google, it's at a 4.6 with over 1,700 reviews, and it was named the best Italian restaurant for 2025 by Good Times Santa Cruz. It's open for dinner every day but Monday.

Not that new restaurants or ones with limited reviews aren't amazing, but to help narrow things down, I went with those restaurants in Santa Cruz that had over 1,000 reviews on either Yelp or Google to confirm that there was a broad consensus. This inevitably left out some newcomers to the restaurant scene but ensured consistency. I also looked for those places that had solid reviews of four stars or higher across multiple platforms.

And while there are some fantastic restaurants in the surrounding towns that essentially blend into Santa Cruz, like Shadowbrook in the colorful seaside village of Capitola, I kept it focused on specifically Santa Cruz dining destinations. I also referenced local publications like Lookout Santa Cruz and Good Times Santa Cruz, and their respective best-of-restaurant lists. Finally, my own personal experiences from dining in Santa Cruz helped refine the recommendations.