Johnny's Harborside

493 Lake Ave, Santa Cruz - 95062
267 reviews
Seafood American
(831) 479-3430

This was our first visit, our waiter gave us the specials and talk about the city. Amazing seafood and beautiful presentation.

Johnny’s harborside was a huge disappointment. Our margaritas were atrociously bad. My dish (Poke Bowl) was practically inedible. The fish tacos might have well been from a middle school cafeteria. I really wanted to like this restaurant because the staff were friendly and the location was great but I would absolutely not recommended this place under any circumstances. Definitely avoid, especially given that the prices are the same as what an actually good restaurant would charge.

Nice view and exceedingly eager service. Wasn't crazy about the food, but that has more to do with my Croatian expectations of seafood than the actual quality of the meal from an American perspective. As a Croatian, I generally don't eat seafood in the States because I tend to hate it. The cioppino was waaaaay too spicy instead of heavy on white wine, garlic, olive oil, and parsley - which is what I would have loved to taste.

The food, cocktails and staff are always fantastic at Johnny’s! We love it!

Service was slow. Had to return 2 dishes. Ended up paying $40 for a salad and a drink. Don't plan on coming back

The food was pretty good. Drinks were good. We decided to come here because Phil's Fish Market was way too busy and crowded. The garlic bread was good. The oysters were fresh and delicious. They were priced well. The cioppino was decent but tasted a little bland to be honest. The seafood Linguine was pretty good, but not great. Something was off about the seasoning and flavors of the dishes. The drinks were strong and delicious. The service was excellent. Our server was friendly and welcoming and knew the menu well. There is parking available in the lot outside, but it is pay to park. The views are great. Great atmosphere. I would recommend this place. Very clean and well kept.

Great location, fast and friendly service. The shrimp ceviche was delicious. I was disappointed with the halibut. It was very dry (overcooked?) and lacked seasoning.

fish tacos were terrible and very overcooked. fish n chips were ok but not great

While the service was excellent, we felt like there was a little bait and switch with the menu. On line, the fish tacos were Alaskan cod, what we got were salmon and tuna, we were told the menu on line was old. The oysters on the menu were listed as 6 for $18, but, the " board" indicated $20. The stuffed avocado was excellent,as was the spring salad, but, we felt like we were mislead on 2 of 4 items, so it is hard to give the place a great review

Terrible birthday dinner for my daughter. The wait staff could see that we were struggling to fine something the two children could eat yet never offered the children’s menu. We were not told that the dishes we ordered for them were spicy! Made for an impossible meal. We felt the whole time that they really did not care. Will never return nor will we recommend this restaurant to anyone.