Italiano - Santa Cruz

Attentive staff, tasty comfort food, decent drink menu! Don't miss the potato dessert!

Colossal disappointment visiting Ristorante Italiano. The only positives I have in this review are regarding the friendly service staff and the charming atmosphere. We arrived for an early dinner, and opted to sit on the patio. The service staff was very attentive. We had bread and beverages on our table within minutes of sitting down. The food, however was highly disappointing. We started with the fried calamari and artichoke hearts. We were very disappointed to see that the calamari was merely calamari steaks cut into pieces and fried, not rings or tentacles. The fried artichoke hearts were quite overdone and fell apart, crumbling in our hands as soon as we picked them up. For an entree, I ordered the Salmon Risotto and was quite disappointed. I didn’t eat a quarter of it. The salmon was salty and drenched in oil. The risotto underneath was a mix of al dente and over cooked mushy rice. It was like they had one batch leftover and mixed it with a new one. My bf ordered the New York Steak medium rare and received medium. The steak tasted fine even being over cooked. However, the white wine mushroom sauce was quite overpowering and he scraped as much off as he was able. We didn’t bother looking at the dessert menu. Our meal came with a hefty check for a lackluster experience. We will not be back.

This my favorite place to eat in Santa Cruz. The food is delicious, the service is very good, and the atmosphere is great. It always feels like a treat to eat here but it doesn't hurt the wallet. It's a wonderful place for date night, work parties, or a dinner with family. They have a large assortment of dishes to choose from and the prices vary. You can get a nice pasta plate, salmon, steak and so much more but there is definitely something for everyone including children. The outdoor seating is very beautiful and has a romantic feel to it. They also have a sun/atrium type room for dining and I love how you feel like your outside but with the comforts of staying inside the building.

We ordered champagne, which oddly arrived after we were finished with our appetizer. The staff was very pleasant and friendly. We ordered linguine and clams. But, unlike the delicate and light white wine and clam sauce we anticipated, we were met with a thick, creamy sauce that was more a mushroom Alfredo. I enjoyed it but my friend who hates mushrooms had a hard time. We might give this place another chance sometime and order something different.

Surprisingly good dinner with 5 in my party. Better than I remember from past experiences. I had Chicken Piccata that was very good, others had salmon, New York steak, scampi n pasta and canneloni. Everyone loved their dishes. I think Ristorsnte Italiano rivals any local Italian joint and is better than most. Oh and the pesto we got on the side was rich and plentiful.