The Water Street Grill

One of a kind vibe here. From the food, service and atmosphere. Feels like you’re a hole in the wall restaurant in Italy and the food reinforces that not to mention all the inspirational crafts on the wall. The great service ties it all together. Highly recommend.

I absolutely loved the food and service, and the atmosphere is quite nice. The food was flavorful, and our waiter was so fun and kind and attentive. I didn't catch his name, but he was great. He brought me his recommended choice of wine, which was delicious. The dessert: I was pleasantly surprised. A larger amount of dessert, which I did not expect (amazing surprise), and that was so yummy and beautifully plated. I look forward to returning again soon! Added to my favorites for Santa Cruz.

Amazing. The best food we have had on our US road trip so far and this was our third week. Truly fantastic and a little hidden gem. Service was fantastic and friendly and the food....just wow....the sirloin seasoned steak I had was cooked to perfection and the sides with it complimented it brilliantly. If you want good food and decently priced and in Santa Cruz, this is the place to go. 5*

Very good about allergies. Our waitress was very kind and helpful. Loved the food, got the garlic butter shrimp pasta.

Had a great dinner at the Water Street Grill the other day. I'm a pretty tough critic regarding restaurants and food. So here goes. I will start with my only gripe and get that out of the way. Though I realize real estate is a high commodity in Santa Cruz County, it was definitely a tight fit in there. But for a mostly full house and close tables it was quiet and quaint.

The food:

For starters we went to our staple appetizer of Calamari which was cooked well and not too heavy on the batter with an abundent amount of tentacles.
My boyfriend had the Filet and Lobster Tails. Both delicious and cooked to perfection with some great asparagus and mashed potatoes.

I had the Skirt Steak with bleu cheese butter and double broccoli which was also absolutely delicious.

We topped it off with the Killer Choclate Cake which was decent. And the bread pudding which was good but the whiskey sauce was a little overpowering.

All in all a decent bite and we will definitely return. I'd suggest reservations as again the footprint is rather small.

The Water Street Grill
Why oh why have I been sleeping on this restaurant!?

My husband and I went to this lovely establishment for the first time tonight for our weekly date night. And Holy Moses do we feel dumb for not having come here before.

We got reservations online via the website/open table for 6:30pm. We were PROMPTLY greeted and seated by 2 very lovely women. Waters with lemon came out before I could even situate my purse.

Dina our server (who may or may not be an angel in our midst), was just the absolute sweetest, personable, and attentive server, took our drink orders quickly and had them out in a flash.

We shamefully told her it was our first time there and she brought out delicious potato croquets with homemade BBQ sauce on the house. That sauce... It should be bottled.

We ordered the calamari appetizer as that's our typical go to barometer for a new to us restaurant and they delivered. Beautifully cooked with lite breading, tentacles which we love, and a never before seen (to us) addition of thinly sliced mini bell peppers that were also breaded. Y'all. The addition of these peppers... Adds a perfect blend of sweetness and acidity. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to enjoy calamari without it.

I ordered the skirt steak (rare) with blue cheese butter, mashed potatoes and broccoli. This dish. The broccoli ALONE I would order a gigantic plate of. It's cooked perfectly and seasoned to the gods. 🤤 My steak, was gorgeously seared, spiced, and almost still mooing just like I like it. Mashed potatoes were smooth and buttery. The blue cheese butter - good lawd. I want to put that on everything!

My husband ordered the Bourbon Chicken and Shrimp with potatoes. It came out on a sizzling platter but without the annoying fan fare of what you'd expect from a fajita sizzling platter. Shrimp was plentiful and cooked just right. The chicken was delicious as well as the potatoes. He cleaned his plate and wished he had more.

All in all, we were there for just under an hour due to us taking our time savoring the food. After 2 entrees, a glass of wine, a beer, and an appetizer total came to $99 before tip. Honestly - absolutely worth it.

We'll definitely be back many many times!

We visited on a Sunday night, and had reservations. We were seated immediately. We had the Grilled Salmon, the Chicken Piccata, and the Chicken Alfredo. Everything was delicious and the service was perfect. I give all the credit to Shelley ! She treated us like family ! The icing on the cake was that I mentioned that we had been camping and I sure could use another scoop of mashed potatoes, joking. She brought out another scoop for me. I was so excited, the potatoes were simply scrumptious. It had the perfect amount creaminess and ground pepper. I would definitely recommend. My only slight disappointment was my Salmon was slightly over cooked. Not very juicy, but on the dry side. It was still good. The pasta dishes were excellent.

We went again two days later and everything was still 5 stars. We all got new dishes; Fish and Chips, Caesar Salad, and my son devoured this huge Cowboy Burger. Shelley again, made it special. She even asked for our table and opened the door for us. A second generation of kids now want to visit. Thank you Shelley, until next time ; )