Pleasure Pizza East Side Eatery

You're not going to confuse ESE with a five star Michelin restaurant, but what a great family oriented restaurant. The food, service and atmosphere are all outstanding g. Major props to Rusty amd Marcos for providing excellent service. The Abyss (pesto shrimp pasta) was great, the chicken strips were crispy moist and tender, while the bacon, shrimp mac and cheese was out of this world. The bar is outstanding with a large variety of bourbans fron Bullit and Makers, to Wellers, Blantons, Michtners and Pappys. Would definitely recommend this as a must stop while visiting Santa Cruz.

The food and service were excellent! We had a party of 5 and everyone was satisfied, no complaints. The menu had plenty of options and variety. Prices were reasonable. Street parking available and a large lot around the back.

Excellent service (thanks Rusty); food was delicious (we had a bowl and a salad) but should have got the pizza (which looked amazing). Several local craft brews on tap. Sat outside during the early evening. Definitely coming back!

Rusty was an excellent server very polite and conscientious We have been here many times and all the servers and bartenders are awesome. Good food and drinks. Dog friendly on the patio !

A great spot for a sit down dining experience with family or friends! Owned by the same people who own Pleasure Pizza across the intersection and other locations in Santa Cruz, their pizza doesn't disappoint, and they offer other dishes if you're not craving a pizza. The staff are friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed yet modern, and I enjoyed the lamps on the tables outside so you can still see your food while keeping the light out of your eyes!

The chili cheese fries were the best I've ever had. Their award-winning chili is super delicious. Try it... I think you'll agree

Great place for drinks. Great service Nice patio Happy happy hour

I keep going back to Eastside Eatery! The food is consistently good and great variety. Staff is always helpful and attentive. Thank you!

Good food and service, varied beer/cider/kombucha on tap along with a full bar, attentive service, highly recommended!

Nice place, good food and not far from the beach. Great place for family and friends to enjoy a bite and check out the shops or go to the beach after.

A Perfect Weekend Spot! Very nice place for a relaxed weekend lunch. The pizza, salads, and beers are excellent. The atmosphere is welcoming and laid-back. dog and people-friendly. Highly recommend for anyone looking to unwind with good food and great vibes!

The atmosphere is casual so if you're looking for high-quality business environment you're not going to find it here. However the atmosphere is just perfect for this place. The staff are always very friendly and accommodating, and I have never been served something that I didn't think was delicious. In addition they have bourbon Wednesdays. On Wednesdays my wife and I like to eat there and then walk to the Esplanade down in Capitola for the music. You get a flight of wind whiskey...at a reasonable price so you get a chance to try some different types of bourbon rather than the same old thing. They also make a killer old fashioned that has a happy hour special you can't beat. Down below it asks how much we spent...and that it always depends on how much liquor we order. Everything seems reasonable for what it is.

Every time we go here we are more and more pleased. It's a great spot for us to bring the kids. They have excellent cocktails and can double them for $2 more. They have by FAR the best chili around. Beanless chili. A rare find! They use great bread on their sandwiches. One critique is that I think their fried pickles are cut a bit thick which makes them a bit too salty. Other than that, it is great! Very fair prices. Only $1 to add avocado!!

They’ve won several awards for their chowders. It was my first time having a Manhattan chowder. It was very good & had quiet a kick, but I will go with the classic Boston chowder next time. Their nachos were good, staff is nice, & cool area next to a lot of other shops. Pretty busy for a Monday

I was in Santa Cruz for a five day vacation and was so lucky to find this amazing place. The freshest food. We ordered two appetizers and they were so good we ordered them again! The service is amazing, the manager was our waitress and she was amazing! We loved it so much we ordered delivery last night and I am grabbing breakfast for the road trip back home. It’s that good.

I've been wanting to go here forever. It's always so packed during the summer or any time the weather is nice. The weather was kind of drizzly so thought it might be slow there and it was. The happy hour was amazing! I got a bowl of clam chowder because I've been craving it. It was amazing! No chewy clams at all. And we shared nachos and calamari which were happy hr prices. I also had a Moscow mule (which was not happy hr). But still for all of that and my partner had a soda, it was $34 before tip! What a great deal for delicious food and great service. Definitely will go back.

First time here and the food was amazing. My boys loved the pizza, my husband got the pesto shrimp pasta which was also very good and the burger was delicious! Great atmosphere and fast service. Definitely would come again.

We had brunch here and it was SO GOOD. Seriously, I had a scramble and my best friend had the traditional breakfast and is was very impressive. I also enjoyed one of their breakfast drinks that had Elderflower liquor in it, it was so crisp and refreshing, I could have had for more 🤣 Whenever we are in the area, that will forever be our breakfast spot!

Bucci's Nachos with carne asada and added guacamole - yum! I loved the chips, they were crispy, light, and tasty. There was just a hint of spice which tasted awesome! And the added jalapeños gave it an extra kick. I opted for no olives as that didn't sound great but aside from those it came with choice of meat, black beans, cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Enough for two people, and filling. You can choose between chicken, asada, carnitas, Al pastor, or I believe they said I could get guac and no meat (since I got meat the added guac was an addition $2) definitely would go back and get them again!

Paul Neuman

The atmosphere is casual so if you're looking for high-quality business environment you're not going to find it here. However the atmosphere is just perfect for this place. The staff are always very friendly and accommodating, and I have never been served something that I didn't think was delicious. In addition they have bourbon Wednesdays. On Wednesdays my wife and I like to eat there and then walk to the Esplanade down in Capitola for the music. You get a flight of wind whiskey...at a reasonable price so you get a chance to try some different types of bourbon rather than the same old thing. They also make a killer old fashioned that has a happy hour special you can't beat. Down below it asks how much we spent...and that it always depends on how much liquor we order. Everything seems reasonable for what it is.

Ron Hadar

A Perfect Weekend Spot! Very nice place for a relaxed weekend lunch. The pizza, salads, and beers are excellent. The atmosphere is welcoming and laid-back. dog and people-friendly. Highly recommend for anyone looking to unwind with good food and great vibes!

Mike Henry

Nice place, good food and not far from the beach. Great place for family and friends to enjoy a bite and check out the shops or go to the beach after.

Ava Zack

Every time we go here we are more and more pleased. It's a great spot for us to bring the kids. They have excellent cocktails and can double them for $2 more. They have by FAR the best chili around. Beanless chili. A rare find! They use great bread on their sandwiches. One critique is that I think their fried pickles are cut a bit thick which makes them a bit too salty. Other than that, it is great! Very fair prices. Only $1 to add avocado!!

david

They’ve won several awards for their chowders. It was my first time having a Manhattan chowder. It was very good & had quiet a kick, but I will go with the classic Boston chowder next time. Their nachos were good, staff is nice, & cool area next to a lot of other shops. Pretty busy for a Monday

Francesca A

I was in Santa Cruz for a five day vacation and was so lucky to find this amazing place. The freshest food. We ordered two appetizers and they were so good we ordered them again! The service is amazing, the manager was our waitress and she was amazing! We loved it so much we ordered delivery last night and I am grabbing breakfast for the road trip back home. It’s that good.

Sarah K

I've been wanting to go here forever. It's always so packed during the summer or any time the weather is nice. The weather was kind of drizzly so thought it might be slow there and it was. The happy hour was amazing! I got a bowl of clam chowder because I've been craving it. It was amazing! No chewy clams at all. And we shared nachos and calamari which were happy hr prices. I also had a Moscow mule (which was not happy hr). But still for all of that and my partner had a soda, it was $34 before tip! What a great deal for delicious food and great service. Definitely will go back.

Chelo Regalado

First time here and the food was amazing. My boys loved the pizza, my husband got the pesto shrimp pasta which was also very good and the burger was delicious! Great atmosphere and fast service. Definitely would come again.

April Luman

We had brunch here and it was SO GOOD. Seriously, I had a scramble and my best friend had the traditional breakfast and is was very impressive. I also enjoyed one of their breakfast drinks that had Elderflower liquor in it, it was so crisp and refreshing, I could have had for more 🤣 Whenever we are in the area, that will forever be our breakfast spot!

Seony

Bucci's Nachos with carne asada and added guacamole - yum! I loved the chips, they were crispy, light, and tasty. There was just a hint of spice which tasted awesome! And the added jalapeños gave it an extra kick. I opted for no olives as that didn't sound great but aside from those it came with choice of meat, black beans, cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Enough for two people, and filling. You can choose between chicken, asada, carnitas, Al pastor, or I believe they said I could get guac and no meat (since I got meat the added guac was an addition $2) definitely would go back and get them again!

The best pizza I've had in a long time. We got takeout, and it was still fresh when we got home. The restaurant looked clean and upscale. Parking is tight, but that's SC.

we had brunch this morning a Sunday, There were three of us. It was early. We didn’t have to wait, Cody served us with a welcoming smile. He was attentive, kind and helpful!

This is my new favorite restaurant in Santa Cruz County. It’s very rare for me to ask for something to be cooked just so and they actually do it. Thanks to the chef for getting my shrimp just right! I recently had the most amazing kale salad. I want to go back again soon and hope it’s still on the specials menu. I love a restaurant that has a consistently good menu but also offers interesting specials so you never know what you’re going to get to try. The staff comes by and checks on drinks and makes sure all is well. Excellent service. Their specials are very innovative and have great flavor combinations. I highly recommend the East Side Eatery!

Roy Reichwein

The best pizza I've had in a long time. We got takeout, and it was still fresh when we got home. The restaurant looked clean and upscale. Parking is tight, but that's SC.

Ellen Solway

This is my new favorite restaurant in Santa Cruz County. It’s very rare for me to ask for something to be cooked just so and they actually do it. Thanks to the chef for getting my shrimp just right! I recently had the most amazing kale salad. I want to go back again soon and hope it’s still on the specials menu. I love a restaurant that has a consistently good menu but also offers interesting specials so you never know what you’re going to get to try. The staff comes by and checks on drinks and makes sure all is well. Excellent service. Their specials are very innovative and have great flavor combinations. I highly recommend the East Side Eatery!

Robert Wilson

A great spot for a sit down dining experience with family or friends! Owned by the same people who own Pleasure Pizza across the intersection and other locations in Santa Cruz, their pizza doesn't disappoint, and they offer other dishes if you're not craving a pizza. The staff are friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed yet modern, and I enjoyed the lamps on the tables outside so you can still see your food while keeping the light out of your eyes!

Good service, clean facilities. Ordered tacos - fish is juicy and fresh, could have less mayo though. For eatery style the price is a bit high.

The food was really tasty and the service was quick and kind. The menu is huge and has a very big selection of starters and main courses

+3

Nice place with outdoor seating area, diverse menu. We ordered burgers, fish tacos and a cod fish salad.

Labor Day 2020, SO Hot and Hazy..finally caught a cooling breeze and enjoyable patio dining at PP Eastside Eatery. Fun waiter, delicious pizza and Nicoise Salad.

The veganized nachos were delicious! Has vegan cheese options (additional charge) and can customize some items for vegan options. if you want to customize to add more protein or add items, it adds up $. Server has said they can sub the meat, but I/they should have clarified how much each add on item was. Cool that they add a living wage tax.

I stopped in looking for something after a swim, bike kind of morning and I enjoyed the service and the outside seating option. It was great to be able to have my pooch with me while I waited for my to go order to arrive. Excellent and delightful service. I really enjoyed the flavor of the breakfast potatoes. Hit the spot where I needed it to. The eggs were poached to perfection. Everything was great and I look forward to coming back and trying some of the later in the day options

A great location and restaurant the food was ok. I got the burger which was ok and the chowder which was good. I should have gotten the pizza given the location. The French toast also looked really good. Staff were friendly.

+6

First time there, food and service were great.

Great spot near some shopping but perhaps more importantly it's near a great oceanside walk to work up a hearty appetite!

Really nice dog friendly place to eat. We sat outside on the patio in a nice day and ordered the Thai peanut salad, prawn pizza, stuffed avocado appetizer and chicken strips kids meal. Everything was delicious and the service was great. The staff regularly checked in on us to make sure we had what we needed and out drinks were full and they brought out a dog bowl with water for our dog. Great place to bring your furry friend and enjoy the nice weather with a good meal. Highly recommend.

Sunny spot which serves a variety of food options. We have gone twice now, once for a late night pizza and beer and today for brunch. The prawn and bacon bloody Mary was great and a meal on its own! Food is decent but my favorite item so far has been the Santa Barbara pizza we got the other night.

A great bang for your buck! Really flavorful food with good portions for a good price. A nice casual yet date-like atmosphere. Our server Catia was super bubbly & nice. The food presentation wasn't the fanciest but the flavors made up for it. Had the pesto with shrimp & the Cuban sandwich. Not super authentic but again, very tasty. This place is worth trying!

We had a wonderful time today but only have one critique. We paid $35 for a prawn pizza but there were zero prawn’s actually on the pizza. These were all still very small shrimps and while the pizza was very tasty, it is a bit exploitative and misleading to say its a prawn pizza and charge us for the larger prawns but have zero prawns on the actual pizza. Our server/bartender was very kind but I am feeling really put off by this. This is the second restaurant so far we have gone to in santa cruz that advertises and charges for prawns but doesn’t actually serve prawns. These shrimps were 1 inch in size. Prawns are 3 inch or larger in size. Food and drinks were great otherwise.

Just found this restaurant and can't wait to go back. Delicious food with gluten free options indicated on the menu. The gluten free bread they can use for the sandwiches is amazing. Was too hungry for the sandwich picture, but this buffalo chicken salad was great too.

Brian An

Really nice dog friendly place to eat. We sat outside on the patio in a nice day and ordered the Thai peanut salad, prawn pizza, stuffed avocado appetizer and chicken strips kids meal. Everything was delicious and the service was great. The staff regularly checked in on us to make sure we had what we needed and out drinks were full and they brought out a dog bowl with water for our dog. Great place to bring your furry friend and enjoy the nice weather with a good meal. Highly recommend.

Tara Hashemi

Sunny spot which serves a variety of food options. We have gone twice now, once for a late night pizza and beer and today for brunch. The prawn and bacon bloody Mary was great and a meal on its own! Food is decent but my favorite item so far has been the Santa Barbara pizza we got the other night.

maria corona

The veganized nachos were delicious! Has vegan cheese options (additional charge) and can customize some items for vegan options. if you want to customize to add more protein or add items, it adds up $. Server has said they can sub the meat, but I/they should have clarified how much each add on item was. Cool that they add a living wage tax.

Meagan Starr

A great bang for your buck! Really flavorful food with good portions for a good price. A nice casual yet date-like atmosphere. Our server Catia was super bubbly & nice. The food presentation wasn't the fanciest but the flavors made up for it. Had the pesto with shrimp & the Cuban sandwich. Not super authentic but again, very tasty. This place is worth trying!

Katlin White

We had a wonderful time today but only have one critique. We paid $35 for a prawn pizza but there were zero prawn’s actually on the pizza. These were all still very small shrimps and while the pizza was very tasty, it is a bit exploitative and misleading to say its a prawn pizza and charge us for the larger prawns but have zero prawns on the actual pizza. Our server/bartender was very kind but I am feeling really put off by this. This is the second restaurant so far we have gone to in santa cruz that advertises and charges for prawns but doesn’t actually serve prawns. These shrimps were 1 inch in size. Prawns are 3 inch or larger in size. Food and drinks were great otherwise.

Have been coming here for years. Food is good. However the service could use work. Multiple times have come and been put on the “wait list” for outside just for the people working the host stand to forget about the list. Constantly having newer guests seated before. Today was the last straw, will not come back.

Went here last year and the food was terrible. Gave it another chance last night and the food was horrible again. I ordered a bowl of chili since they have all they chili awards plastered on the wall, I figured it was probably decent. The chili came and right off the bat I knew it was going to be bad. The chili "bowl/Plate?" don't know what to call it, more of a plate about 1 in in depth or less. So, portion rip off ($18) for about a cup of chili spread out over this plate thingy. It was luke warm at best, so really should not have been served. If you want understand the taste, go make some ground beef in a taco seasoning packet from the store and you would have a better flavor. I don't complain to waiters since it's not really their fault (service was ok), so I ate it. Sure enough, woke up with a cramping stomach and what could be described as mild food poisoning. 160 to 170 degrees is the correct temp for this dish not <100. The place is also really worked. The sugar holder was cracked and had pieces missing, the condiments holder was rusted and dirty. I suppose if you ordered bar food like fried anything, it might be ok, hard to say. Just another example of tourist food and ripping off customers, don't know how it gets 4 stars. .

MetalJam

Went here last year and the food was terrible. Gave it another chance last night and the food was horrible again. I ordered a bowl of chili since they have all they chili awards plastered on the wall, I figured it was probably decent. The chili came and right off the bat I knew it was going to be bad. The chili "bowl/Plate?" don't know what to call it, more of a plate about 1 in in depth or less. So, portion rip off ($18) for about a cup of chili spread out over this plate thingy. It was luke warm at best, so really should not have been served. If you want understand the taste, go make some ground beef in a taco seasoning packet from the store and you would have a better flavor. I don't complain to waiters since it's not really their fault (service was ok), so I ate it. Sure enough, woke up with a cramping stomach and what could be described as mild food poisoning. 160 to 170 degrees is the correct temp for this dish not <100. The place is also really worked. The sugar holder was cracked and had pieces missing, the condiments holder was rusted and dirty. I suppose if you ordered bar food like fried anything, it might be ok, hard to say. Just another example of tourist food and ripping off customers, don't know how it gets 4 stars. .

Overpriced food, bland as the ambience. Im always happy to pay good $ for a decent meal but even my son's pasta was terrible (mushy w/ overly sweet marinara) and the only dipping sauce available for his $9 side of fries which we had to order separately (no sides for some reason w/ pasta as there are w/ other options on the kids menu) was a dill-heavy house ranch.. which we were also charged for.

I got a custom burrito. I asked if I could get a vegan breakfast burrito, with tofu instead of eggs. I said the word "vegan" and "no eggs" about 3 times and the waiter said no problem. On both ends of the burrito I had tofu. In the middle, which was about 70% of the burrito was eggs. I realised too late and I didn't wanna give it back, cause it would just go to waste. I told the waiter afterwards. They even charged extra for the tofu.

Michelle Dällenbach

I got a custom burrito. I asked if I could get a vegan breakfast burrito, with tofu instead of eggs. I said the word "vegan" and "no eggs" about 3 times and the waiter said no problem. On both ends of the burrito I had tofu. In the middle, which was about 70% of the burrito was eggs. I realised too late and I didn't wanna give it back, cause it would just go to waste. I told the waiter afterwards. They even charged extra for the tofu.