Ristorante Italiano, Santa Cruz

This restaurant has become a disappointment. Their sauce is not authentic and I have given them many chances. It tastes like out of a jar. The pizza is less than spectacular. Also, the service, although mostly friendly, is consistently slow. The presentation is often unappealing. My daughter ordered a salad for around $13-$15, and the lettuce was brown, wilted, and gritty. I love the patio setting but not enough to be disappointed every time.

Authentic? Really? Since when do Italians speak Spanish? Overpriced, not good food, and she was rude. There are much better, and more authentic restaurants in SC.

I've been eating at RI for about 4 years regularly. There are reasons for that. The food is very good and the service is excellent. I'm seen as a regular and the staff take very good care of me. If you go and are nice to them and don't demand the moon, they will treat you well. I expect to keep going as it is one of my favorite places in Santa Cruz. Enjoy!

I sat down with a friend of mine for what we hoped was a nice italian dinner. Our waiter came over to our table and, no jiving, his piece was sticking out of his pants. After realizing his folly he zipped up and preceded to take my order. The food came, after a loooonnngg wait, it was delicious, just couldn't get over having to look at someone's junk before dinner. If I do go back I am bringing my gay friend Big Gay AL, at least he'll be happy to see someone trouser snake at dinner.

I have been going to restaurante italiano for the past 20 years, and the last three times I have had dinner there once in January, another time in March, and tonight, I was totally disappointed with the attitude of the waitress's, they are very rude, and make you feel like you are asking for a free meal, I was never offered a refill on my diet coke, we had to ask for bread, and when we did the waitress was very rude, she rushed us through our order, and had no patience, we asked for extra marinara sauce and she charged us $3.00 for it, we didn't mind the extra charge if the service would have been a little more pleasant, we were the only family in the entire restaurant, and yet we received the worst service ever, when I asked to speak to the manager, he informed me that the waitress was the new owner, I should have known somethings had changed, because the previous owner always made us feel welcomed, and made sure we were satisfied with our whole dinner experience at ristorante italiano, he appreciated our business, and was very professional, I will not be returning to Restorante Italiano anytime soon, I can think of better places to burn my money during this bad economy, I'd rather make the extra trip to San Jose, Original Joe's Italian Restaurant, or drive to Gilroys Mama Mia's where my business is appreciated!

This place is amazing... I go to that place all the time when I visit from NY, nobody beats the ambiance and the food. My favorite is the SPAGHETTI CARBONARA -( Cream and cheese sauce topped with sauteed onions, mushrooms, prosciutto and bacon). My mouth is watering just thinking about them

The food is always good, not great, but good. The service is lacking, long waits a lot of the time. I've found it is hard to have a romantic dinner here, it's a loud atmosphere- good for large groups, not good for an intimate dinner.