Oswald

Ash Ster

Fine dining restaurant with delicious food, all the way! It's a small restaurant in the downtown. Reservations are highly recommended! Lot of locals eat here. Service is ok, they are almost attentive! Bar is the best feature! Right next to the parking garage!

Noah

A gem of Santa Cruz. Bizarrely google maps has this on the wrong intersection so be aware it’s closer to the water side of the parking deck than the downtown thoroughfare. Attentive service, sustainable food, solid cocktails with elegant preparation. Really a treat. Cost is higher than other nearby options but it’s worth it!

Ismail Sebe

Very cool looking place here. We only had drinks and dessert but the food in the next tables looked good as well. The drinks were especially good. If you like cocktails, this is it for Santa Cruz.

Busy night but really friendly, welcoming, attentive service at the bar. Loved my cocktail, the ahi tuna crostini was delicious and unique - with just the right balance of crunch, creaminess, perfectly seared ahi and the tartness of pickled onion. We had the crispy skin trout and it was so tender and crispy. Yum. But my favorite was the lightly sweet poached pear with slightly salty pistachio brittle and the goat cheese ice cream. I rarely order dessert but had to try, and it was just delightful. And then to see the chef/owner personally bring happy birthday treats to folks - wow. Just like what hospitality should be. Even the host checking in with us ON OUR WAY OUT - usually hosts just ignore you or give you like a half hearted "good night" without even looking up. Can't wait to come back to Santa Cruz and back to this place.

Loved the food and drinks here. The cocktail selection is spot-on, and the bartender was super friendly. We ordered the lamb, mac and cheese, mushroom risotto, and flank steak, everything was really good. Would definitely come back, especially for our next date night.

Unlikely downtown Santa Cruz neighborhood gem, serving a variety of menu items from pub food to international fare with an emphasis of fresh flavors. Oswald is an open concept restaurant with the kitchen line cooks viable and within earshot of the dining area and the popular bar adjacent. The place gets a good crowd of diners and drinkers resulting in a pleasant atmosphere and cheerful chatter. The food is just damn good. The prices are maybe a bit higher than some nearby spots but it’s worth the splurge. Do not skip the deserts! Make a reservation or get there at opening.

Oswald’s never misses. The burger is absolutely bomb andperfectly cooked, juicy, and packed with flavor. The skirt steak is just as impressive: tender, well-seasoned, and cooked exactly right. You can really tell they care about quality and execution. Great food, great vibes, and consistently solid every time. Definitely a go-to spot.

Oswald is just amazing. I have been going for the past 12 or so years, and never received a bad dish. Do miss their days of changing menus and more Santa Cruz flair. Their cocktails are heavenly- strong but delicious. Highlights- burger, mac and cheese, and their new foccacia. Bad reviews are quite frankly from people who frequent applebees and olive garden.

Buddy Riley

Loved the food and drinks here. The cocktail selection is spot-on, and the bartender was super friendly. We ordered the lamb, mac and cheese, mushroom risotto, and flank steak, everything was really good. Would definitely come back, especially for our next date night.

Jason Hutchings

Oswald’s never misses. The burger is absolutely bomb andperfectly cooked, juicy, and packed with flavor. The skirt steak is just as impressive: tender, well-seasoned, and cooked exactly right. You can really tell they care about quality and execution. Great food, great vibes, and consistently solid every time. Definitely a go-to spot.

Lauren Ellis

Oswald is just amazing. I have been going for the past 12 or so years, and never received a bad dish. Do miss their days of changing menus and more Santa Cruz flair. Their cocktails are heavenly- strong but delicious. Highlights- burger, mac and cheese, and their new foccacia. Bad reviews are quite frankly from people who frequent applebees and olive garden.

Sebastian Little

Unlikely downtown Santa Cruz neighborhood gem, serving a variety of menu items from pub food to international fare with an emphasis of fresh flavors. Oswald is an open concept restaurant with the kitchen line cooks viable and within earshot of the dining area and the popular bar adjacent. The place gets a good crowd of diners and drinkers resulting in a pleasant atmosphere and cheerful chatter. The food is just damn good. The prices are maybe a bit higher than some nearby spots but it’s worth the splurge. Do not skip the deserts! Make a reservation or get there at opening.

Overall, the food was very good and the staff very friendly. We had the crab and avocado appetizer, the fried chicken, and the oxtail tagliatelle. The fried chicken was good but unremarkable, the crab and avocado was quite good, and the tagliatelle was exceptional. We also had a chocolate souffle for dessert and it was very delicious (the only complaint here is that it was served with an overly runny heavy cream) Overall, had a very nice dinner but can't help but feel like the prices don't match the food/experience/ambiance. I felt overall like this place is quite overpriced.

Overall, great food for a nice dinner/special occasion. Our server was nice, and encouraged the cucumber-lime cocktail, which was uniquely cool! My steak was cooked perfectly, as was my date’s duck entree, no complaints there — but the potato purée with my steak had the texture of being made hours earlier in the day, though, and the strange broccoli trees were borderline undercooked. We’ll come back to try the fish chowder and fried chicken!

The food is good but can very much be elevated to five star with a bit more effort. The service was lacking a bit. The decorations inside were pretty, especially the glass artwork. I had a Net York steak asked for medium and came well done. The meat quality was excellent. Calamari was over cooked but that I was told that Mac and cheese was very good. Other had fish and mussels and described them as very good.

Daniel Silva

Overall, the food was very good and the staff very friendly. We had the crab and avocado appetizer, the fried chicken, and the oxtail tagliatelle. The fried chicken was good but unremarkable, the crab and avocado was quite good, and the tagliatelle was exceptional. We also had a chocolate souffle for dessert and it was very delicious (the only complaint here is that it was served with an overly runny heavy cream) Overall, had a very nice dinner but can't help but feel like the prices don't match the food/experience/ambiance. I felt overall like this place is quite overpriced.

Eric Newell

Overall, great food for a nice dinner/special occasion. Our server was nice, and encouraged the cucumber-lime cocktail, which was uniquely cool! My steak was cooked perfectly, as was my date’s duck entree, no complaints there — but the potato purée with my steak had the texture of being made hours earlier in the day, though, and the strange broccoli trees were borderline undercooked. We’ll come back to try the fish chowder and fried chicken!

Tareq Barakzoy

The food is good but can very much be elevated to five star with a bit more effort. The service was lacking a bit. The decorations inside were pretty, especially the glass artwork. I had a Net York steak asked for medium and came well done. The meat quality was excellent. Calamari was over cooked but that I was told that Mac and cheese was very good. Other had fish and mussels and described them as very good.

Our first visit. Good cocktails: Smoked Maple & Walnut Old Fashioned, Cosmojito and a glass of Chardonnay. Appetizer: Caesar Salad. Good with anchovies on top, but lacked acid. It was nothing out of the ordinary. I would expect more for $21. Entrees: Shishito Pesto Pasta was good but made with boxed pasta. For $43, we would expect the pasta to be freshly made. Seared Scallops with Beet Risotto had a great balance of flavor, but not for $53. Scallops were done perfectly with great flavor. The beet risotto not at all resembled risotto. Risotto should be made with arborio rice and have a creamy texture. Instead, whichever rice they used, long grain possibly, was par cooked, not al dente. Beef Lasagna was okay. I would've liked some cheese in between layers. Again, for $33, I would've expected more. Lamb Shank was good, but Laili down the street does it better, for less. My husband was not impressed, in spite of its beautiful presentation. Desserts: Bread Pudding & Vanilla Creme Brulee. Decent but not great. The service was excellent. The ambiance was nice, but again, for the price, I would expect a bit more sophistication. All four of us agreed that we will not be going back.

I normally am not a very discerning foodie, but I recently went to another fancy restaurant in the same price range as Oswald and thought the food was phenomenal, so I was excited to try this place out. However, Oswald didn't quite live up to my expectations. The food was fine, but the dishes weren't very flavorful or well composed. The proportions of protein and sides weren't right, and they weren't cooked perfectly either. None of it was bad necessarily, just not what I was expecting for the price range. Also the atmosphere inside was weird. It wasny clear what aesthetic style they were going for with the decorations, and the dining room was very loud. The service was fine though, and the menu is relatively expensive for the price range as well. Overall, it was fine, but it didn't feel like it was necessarily worth the money

Kathy Escott

Our first visit. Good cocktails: Smoked Maple & Walnut Old Fashioned, Cosmojito and a glass of Chardonnay. Appetizer: Caesar Salad. Good with anchovies on top, but lacked acid. It was nothing out of the ordinary. I would expect more for $21. Entrees: Shishito Pesto Pasta was good but made with boxed pasta. For $43, we would expect the pasta to be freshly made. Seared Scallops with Beet Risotto had a great balance of flavor, but not for $53. Scallops were done perfectly with great flavor. The beet risotto not at all resembled risotto. Risotto should be made with arborio rice and have a creamy texture. Instead, whichever rice they used, long grain possibly, was par cooked, not al dente. Beef Lasagna was okay. I would've liked some cheese in between layers. Again, for $33, I would've expected more. Lamb Shank was good, but Laili down the street does it better, for less. My husband was not impressed, in spite of its beautiful presentation. Desserts: Bread Pudding & Vanilla Creme Brulee. Decent but not great. The service was excellent. The ambiance was nice, but again, for the price, I would expect a bit more sophistication. All four of us agreed that we will not be going back.

Brian DiGiorgio Zanger

I normally am not a very discerning foodie, but I recently went to another fancy restaurant in the same price range as Oswald and thought the food was phenomenal, so I was excited to try this place out. However, Oswald didn't quite live up to my expectations. The food was fine, but the dishes weren't very flavorful or well composed. The proportions of protein and sides weren't right, and they weren't cooked perfectly either. None of it was bad necessarily, just not what I was expecting for the price range. Also the atmosphere inside was weird. It wasny clear what aesthetic style they were going for with the decorations, and the dining room was very loud. The service was fine though, and the menu is relatively expensive for the price range as well. Overall, it was fine, but it didn't feel like it was necessarily worth the money

Overpriced, slow, and dated. We paid fine dining steakhouse prices for a much lower quality food. Will not be returning. Kind waitstaff, but slow service - even at the start of dinner service with hardly any customers. Drinks are okay. You’re better off going to Venus Cocktails and Kitchen - way better on all accounts and they’re lower priced than Oswald.

The food is ok though the calamari was extremely salty and all 4 of us felt off the next day. The drinks were the highlight for sure. Our server was great though they seemed understaffed and everything took a long time including getting our table even though we had a reservation. The worst thing was discovering a SVC Tax on our bill which we were told was a credit card processing fee. After a bit of research I found that this is supposed to be disclosed upfront to the customer which they certainly did not. Just a shady practice for an already expensive bill. We won’t be going back.

The $60 flank steak was terrible—previously frozen, overcooked, with an off-putting aftertaste. The Caesar salad was underwhelming (literally one anchovy). Tastes better at Safeway. First and last time—strongly not recommended.

Paul P

The food is ok though the calamari was extremely salty and all 4 of us felt off the next day. The drinks were the highlight for sure. Our server was great though they seemed understaffed and everything took a long time including getting our table even though we had a reservation. The worst thing was discovering a SVC Tax on our bill which we were told was a credit card processing fee. After a bit of research I found that this is supposed to be disclosed upfront to the customer which they certainly did not. Just a shady practice for an already expensive bill. We won’t be going back.

Rus K

The $60 flank steak was terrible—previously frozen, overcooked, with an off-putting aftertaste. The Caesar salad was underwhelming (literally one anchovy). Tastes better at Safeway. First and last time—strongly not recommended.

Rylee Frazier

Overpriced, slow, and dated. We paid fine dining steakhouse prices for a much lower quality food. Will not be returning. Kind waitstaff, but slow service - even at the start of dinner service with hardly any customers. Drinks are okay. You’re better off going to Venus Cocktails and Kitchen - way better on all accounts and they’re lower priced than Oswald.

My husband and I were really disappointed by our experience at Oswald’s. We had been eager to try the food after seeing it shared all over social media and were genuinely excited for what we hoped would be a great meal. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how the food is because we were never served. We came in on a fairly slow Tuesday night and were seated almost immediately. There was hardly anyone in there. However, after being seated, no one greeted us, offered water, or acknowledged us in any way. About 10 minutes later, another couple was seated near us and they were given water right away. We waited another few minutes, assuming perhaps we had simply been missed, but then watched the server take their order, still without anyone even offering us water. To make matters more confusing and frustrating, the same hostess who seated us walked around filling water glasses for other tables, yet we were completely overlooked. It genuinely felt like we were invisible. After waiting a total of about 20 minutes without any service at all, we decided to leave. At that point, we were concerned that the rest of the experience would continue in the same way, and we didn’t feel comfortable staying somewhere we clearly weren’t being treated like valued guests. Both my husband and I have worked in the restaurant industry, so we’re very understanding and patient. We know things happen. But this wasn’t a busy night, and the lack of basic acknowledgment was hard to overlook. It’s 2026, one would expect equitable treatment for all paying guests. Sadly, that wasn’t our experience at Oswald’s in downtown Santa Cruz.

Miss Jay

My husband and I were really disappointed by our experience at Oswald’s. We had been eager to try the food after seeing it shared all over social media and were genuinely excited for what we hoped would be a great meal. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how the food is because we were never served. We came in on a fairly slow Tuesday night and were seated almost immediately. There was hardly anyone in there. However, after being seated, no one greeted us, offered water, or acknowledged us in any way. About 10 minutes later, another couple was seated near us and they were given water right away. We waited another few minutes, assuming perhaps we had simply been missed, but then watched the server take their order, still without anyone even offering us water. To make matters more confusing and frustrating, the same hostess who seated us walked around filling water glasses for other tables, yet we were completely overlooked. It genuinely felt like we were invisible. After waiting a total of about 20 minutes without any service at all, we decided to leave. At that point, we were concerned that the rest of the experience would continue in the same way, and we didn’t feel comfortable staying somewhere we clearly weren’t being treated like valued guests. Both my husband and I have worked in the restaurant industry, so we’re very understanding and patient. We know things happen. But this wasn’t a busy night, and the lack of basic acknowledgment was hard to overlook. It’s 2026, one would expect equitable treatment for all paying guests. Sadly, that wasn’t our experience at Oswald’s in downtown Santa Cruz.