Ideal Bar & Grill, Santa Cruz

Mike the Manager is a real Jerk, we have been coming there with our older aged family for awhile and the Lady manager tried not to sit us next to the kitchen in the back. My Wife's Birthday party of 8 with 2 women over 85 and nobody in the dining room and he says sit by the kitchen or wait 45 minutes. I said we have been coming here for awhile and spending lots of money its early the place is empty please can we sit at least next to the planters in the middle of the room, the little jackass says its not going to happen. They proceed to ignore us and no bread , 45 minutes for apps then they spill the apps on my wife.Happy Birthday. The Manager Mike is walking around like a big man all 5 feet of him and wont even offer a sorry we spilled food on you. I have read most of the reviews and it speaks volumes of why the service is so poor, they need to get rid of the manager and hire a real staff that knows what customer service really means. You can forget our business and all our friends and family but they already know what most locals already know don't eat at Ideal. Try Lillian's Kitchen Joe is first class or Caruso's as David knows how to treat Customers. Its sad that one idiot can ruin such a nice Lady s Birthday. Thanks Mike you are a professional Jerk

STAY AWAY !!! Worst food ever, I even went there twice with my family to make sure that I didn't just have one bad experience. The food has no flavor, the $14.00 nachos came with broken little chip pieces, the alcoholic drinks were watered down, the wednesday night lobster special was just awful, the staff look unhappy and work as if they are unhappy. I could go on and on but please STAY AWAY ! Do not waste your money on this place. In case the above information was not enough I would like to add that my husband became very sick after eating here.

My family and I had Brunch on the deck. The servers are Young, High School / College students. We had a friendly server who told me about their great Bloody Mary's. It was fantastic. The bartender told me they make the mix in house. The food was good. Its a very busy place. MY server may not have known about the latest food and wine parings; but I did not expect her to. She knew her beach menu well and now I know where to get a great Bloody mary Alfresco. MY son was feeding the birds whick is a no-no. Unless you want an extra garnish.Its fun young and unpretentious. We will be back. Parking in Santa Cruz is always a problem. I parked on the wharf; which is right there. NO validation.

What a nightmare!!! Horrid service, Dirty glasses. Our orders were wrong, and couldn't even get refills on our drinks --but with dirty glasses who would want one!! I was really looking forward to some great clam chowder, you would think right on the beach you could get some good stuff...but no..stale bread bowl and tasted like canned clam chowder. If you are looking for good food and good service...this is not the place to go.

We had high hopes as this was our first and possibly final visit to Santa Cruz on Saturday 10-6-07, and we were let down completely. The first table we were seated at was set on the patio but the table was covered in bird droppings, with the tableware placed around and on it. Our server took our order and we never did see her again until after our entrees arrived and the manager was informed that we had been seated for 40 minutes without our server coming to see about us. She did manage to help two other tables of guests within 10 feet of our table. Two out of four entrees were incorrect. We started out with a hair in one of our drinks and the glasses became progressively worse, having dried, caked substances on another set of glassware that we had received after informing the manager of poor service. The manager was unbelievably rude to the point of actually accusing our family of wanting to skip out on the check! The manager did say that everything and anything that could have gone wrong went wrong for our table only, but I am not sure that I can believe that by the looks of the glassware and the service we received. The manager did deduct from our bill, informing us he would see to it prior to us recieving it, but this did not happen right away. The bill was recieved showing the amounts in full the first time the server brought it to us. The manager came by 5 minutes later stating that he missed her. He then took another ten minutes to deduct 10%, which we did not feel was acceptable. He stated that he had made a mistake and took another 5 minutes to reduce down more. We were at the Ideal Bar & Grill for over 1-1/2 hours for just a quick late lunch with atrocious service. Their bar area seemed enjoyable but we did not stay. We do not recommend this facility to anyone looking for a good meal while in Santa Cruz.

The thing not to do at this seafood restaurant is to order the special, for example, prime rib on Tuesday or Lobster on Wednesday. This will leave you with the product they are trying to sell off before they have to throw it away, or, at least, that is my theory. Several years ago, I had the prime rib, and it was horrible. This summer, however, Ideal has redeemed itself somewhat. The restaurant has undergone a makeover, and the bar area offers fruity drinks and a decent martini. The actual menu is fine, and the food is not bad. Recently, the fish tacos for lunch were okay, with a cabbage slaw and lime. Also, a dinner salad of prawns, jicama and mango was very good, and the steamed clams were the best of the month. Ideal offers a fine local wine selection. Service, however, is lacking. 2.9