Loved, loved, loved this gem of a restaurant tucked in next to the marina in Santa Cruz. Breakfast and lunch are served until 3PM (please check current hours just to be sure). Our omelette was delicious as well as was the service and ambience. Although we tried and loved their signature Fusaga focaccia for our toast, all of their breads are home-baked in their bakery. It was full of lots of friendly locals. They are 100% outdoor dining but have umbrellas. Hoping to return soon.

We parked on 14th Ave. It is a short walk to the restaurant down hill. You can park past the barrier as well. We had a half hour wait which went by fast. We took a walk by the boats in the harbor. The ocean air is so medicinal. Seating is outdoor. Our waiter came quickly as did our food. I had the Calamari and Chips ($19.95) They were good, just like you would expect when ordering Calamari. I could only eat about 1/2 an order (fried food is filling) with 1/2 the fries, so I took the rest home for a late night snack. In my opinion this location is what draws me to Aldo's. After your meal, take a walk to the lighthouse then a walk on the beach. You can take the stairs back up to the road which makes a big circle. Aldo's has been in business as long as I can remember, and I am 62.

A must visit if you are in the Santa Cruz area! We went for lunch on a Monday, about 11:30am and we're able to be seated right away. For drinks, we ordered a spicy bloody mary, spicy pineapple margarita, and a hot chocolate. My bloody mary was delicious and lived up to the "world famous" claim. For food, two of us ordered the Fisherman's Platter, and one ordered the Bacon, Tomato & Avocado Benedict with hashbrowns. Having a taste of the hashbrowns, and they were the best cooked and tasting hashbrowns I think I've ever had! The seafood was delicious on the platters, but the coconut shrimp were not coconut tasting at all, even though we could clearly see the coconut in the breading. My onion rings were the only thing that could have been better. Three of them were onion skins and inedible. Our waitress was great and a lot of fun. The hostess was also very nice and accommodating. This is a completely outside restaurant, and the bathrooms are a public restroom as you head to the boat slips. Our tables were clean, and all had umbrellas, which was great when the fog rolled out as we were finishing. And very dog friendly! To top off my meal and final day on vacation, I ordered a dungeness crab cocktail to go. The market price on 8/5/2024 was $20.95. The amount of crab that was in the cocktail was way more than I expected, making the market price very reasonable in my mind. Lots of fresh onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos, with some capers made up the cocktail sauce. They threw in a packet of oyster crackers, sliced half an avocado, and a couple of lemon wedges. It was amazing!

Second time this Summer to Aldo's and it was not disappointing. Outside seating is the best I feel, the Harbor view the fresh air. The service is good normal we felt. The food was delicious good portions, its definitely $$ food & drinks. We found for this birthday occasion very worth it. Our server Inga was nice. Good variety menu Breakfast or lunch. Family friendly and pets allowed for sure.

After Whale Watching, we stopped by Aldo's because I wanted to try the Clam Chowder, which was just okay for me. We also had Calamri, it was fresh and cooked perfectly, the zesty white sauce it comes with was really good, also comes with cocktail sauce. The Dungeness Crab Cocktail was really good, crab was so fresh and tasted sweet and delicous. Was pleasantly surprised to see Guy Fieri's photo next to the menu. Because we used to watch his show "Diners, Dives, & Drive-Ins" a lot when we lived in Las Vegas, and whenever we traveled we tried to check out the places in the show. We ate at the park benches close-by, because we had brought our own food for the Whale Watching, and eating near the docks on a nice sunny day in Santa Cruz was such an excellent experience.