Cafe Mare
| Address: | 740 Front St #100, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA |
| Phone: | +1 831-458-1212 |
| Site: | cafemare.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 23
A
A Private User
I dont claim to be a restaurant reviewer but I have traveled far and wide and eaten at some very fine eateries in the US, Canada and Europe. Ive had more satisfying meals at the vendor trailers on South Congress in Austin. At Cafe Mare we were served a Bruschetta that was essentially hard toast with red and green tomato slices on top. Minimal flavor (unlike the incredible Bruschetta we had at Florio in San Francisco earlier this week). We soaked it in vinegar and oil added some salt to taste. Our drinks arrived ten minutes after ordered, the Lemon Drop without a sugared rim. The hapless server went to every table in the place trying to give our drinks to some couple until he finally got to us. It was like being in a Seinfeld episode. I had wanted a glass of wine with dinner but the waiter had apparantly decided I didnt need it as he snapped the wine list away as soon as we ordered before dinner drinks,. Heck he was going to take the menus away after we ordered appetizers. Anyway, the Cannelloni was the most unappetizing thing Ive ever had. It was filled with some pureed greenish goo that was supposed to be veal, ricotta cheese & spinach. Maybe I expected too much? Well for the $50 I wish Id had a chili cheese dog, fries and a beer and given the change to the homeless guy on the corner.
AS
Ashika Vinod
First of all, parking is very difficult to find near this area. We walked in and they had plenty of tables available. It was less than a minute wait before they sitted us. oh my....they had so many things in for their daily special. And when he was narrating the specials, I could barely understand the server . He was too fast and hes accents was hard to understand. But overall the service was fast..first time at the Italian restaurant they served me chilis. The Chilli was not spicy at all. Not sure it will be the same for other people. I ordered cippion which was okay and my husband had seafood pasta. He liked hes dish. The bread was dense and hard to eat. the server said it was made out of organic flour and they serve most of the stuffs from local and organic. good for organic lovers.
DO
Douglas Doherty
Sunday Dec 7th had the halibut for dinner meal was most excellent....my friends were also delighted with their meals Server was a journalism major and awed our group with her intelligence warmth and excellent service Upon leaving, I commented to the owner on how great the house red was...in the blink of an eye he had the barman bag a bottle for me to take home...most generous and quite embarrassing Acoustics: Even though the place was very busy, one could still easily hold a conversation without having to yell at each other
JA
James Hennessee
I love this place!! Best restaurant in Santa Cruz. (This place even rivals Shadowbrook.) The staff is very knowledgeable with the entire menu, Keith (the head bartender) is an amazing mixologist, and I have never been disappointed in coming here. I have tried everything on their regular menu, and everything is made fresh from scratch, cooked perfectly, seasoned beautifully, and served swiftly.
EM
Emily Dinnerman
Be prepared to dish out your money and appetite. Waiters are from Italy, so they know their stuff! Great service experience, delicious food, and amazing desserts, especially the tiramisu. Housemade bread is hard to chew on and the butter comes in packets, which detracted from the quality a bit. Otherwise, great experience and would recommend for a romantic date night.
AN
Andrew K
Horrible service. We had a reservation but could not even tell them, as the waiter started yelling that they are slammed. Once he heard us, they gave us a table. But then we had to wait for 20 minutes to get menus. The waiter was walking around adjusting napkins on empty tables. Seeing this strange behavior, we had to leave despite feeling hungry.
IV
Ivan Aranha
I went here with the Mrs. for her birthday for dinner on a Saturday night. The whole staff was very friendly. Daniel was my exceptional waiter who took care of my table and others with first class quality. The food, wine, and service were top quality. The venue was kid friendly. I highly recommend for a number of occasions.
KA
Kayla Garnet Rose
Excellent dining experience. My sweetie had a "Mexican Ambassador" cocktail which was lovely, and then we shared the butternut squash gnocci in a sage/burnt butter sauce and the fish of the day, which was cod with polenta and greens. Super yummy, excellent service, wonderful staff.
MA
Maxim Sloyko
The food is excellent. The restaurant is a bit fancy, which is good or bad depending on what you are looking for. Me and my wife have been there three or four times, every time we ordered something we havent tried there before and every time the food tasted really good.
MI
Michael Agnew
Had a great time at Cafe Mare. We just stopped if for drinks, and maybe appetizers. The drinks, the food, and the staff were all great. We stayed longer than intended because it was such a nice place to relax, enjoy our company, and enjoy the whole scene. Thank you.
A
A Private User
A wonderful Italian restaurant - fresh and tasty dishes, timely and polite service, ideal atmosphere with seating inside and outside, all at very reasonable prices. Live Jazz on Wednesdays (nice if you want to have a drink and relax) and a DJ on most Thursdays.
DA
Darlena K
Excellent! Everything was fabulous from salad to the after dinner Mirto. Our waiter Daniel was friendly and outgoing and at the top of his game for service and knowledge. We highly recommend eating here.
A
A Private User
The place is nice and the service as well. I am not too impressed by the quality of the dishes. It is a bit better than the average "Italian" food in the bay area, but cannot be rated as good Italian food.
YU
Yukiko Northon
One of the best meals around!!! Freshest ingredients, organic, fantastic flavors. Id venture to say it ranks as one of the best meals weve had. Well worth the $$$ and the desserts were amazing.
AK
Aki Williams
Wonderful service, exceptional food and ambiance. I highly recommend the filet. Their wait staff is very knowledgable about proper wine pairing and suggestions. Everyone is gracious and friendly.
HE
Heather Milne
We just had a plate of bruschetta and cocktails. The bruschetta was medium, as were the cocktails. Beautiful building. I would return to try a real meal here, but not with great expectations.
A
A Private User
The wait staff was horrible, unfriendly and I could have made better fettuccine with a box of Pastaroni. Even Burger King has better service than this place. Save your money and go elsewhere!
A
A Private User
Our waiter was friendly a mind attentive and even humored my basic Italian knowledge. He recommended menu specials that were quite good and made everyone in our large party feel welcome.
RO
Rob Miller
Fantastic Italian restaurant! Incredibly friendly wait staff, absolutely wonderful food, and comfortable decor. This is another of my must eat here restaurants when I am in Santa Cruz.
JE
Jesse Miller
Excellent service by Daniel, we had the gnocchi pesto and walnut ravioli. Absolutely stellar. Limincello ice cream dessert with raspberry drizzle was sublime. Wonderful restaurant.
SE
Sean Mikawa
All round very good. Very much on the expensive side, with your unfortunately tiny "fine dining" portions. However the food is good to great, youll just be left wanting more.
A
A Private User
We had a lovely experience at Cafe Mare, we tried some crepes stuffed with butternut squash in butter sauce with sage that was incredible, and the servers were quite funny.
SH
Shawna Darling
Food and service both were disappointing. We should have spent our hard earned money elsewhere. What a waste. Maybe it was good for a select few. Whatever.
