Alderwood Santa Cruz

Review summary

1. l

   lisa

   San Francisco

   5 reviews

   1.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on 27 January 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   Open table should have known that Alderwood closed 3 days before our reservation. I drove over 90 mins to get there just to be met with locked doors. Not acceptable
   

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2. J

   James

   San Francisco

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 20 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Outstanding restaurant! Aside from the wonderful service staff and airy ambience, deeply creative chef Mikey Adams has found his calling with a simple menu of the most exquisitely prepared dishes. Top notch ingredients and masterful preparation leads to unexpected and sublime results. For example, I had the steak tartare, which was served as a granular mix of steak and cheddar with delicious smoked flavors. On top is iceberg lettuce that can be used to pick up the tartare mix to eat. It adds a most refreshing quality to the meal and heightens the smoke flavors. For the main I had the Trout prepared on the hearth and served with a butter, parsley, tarragon sauce that was out of this world. Definitely worth the drive from San Jose! PS my wife is GF, CF and SF and they were very accommodating and she loved her meal as well.
   

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3. R

   Robin

   San Francisco

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 18 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Fantastic creativity, attention to detail and interesting preparations.
   

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4. Y

   Yogagrrl

   San Francisco

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 18 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Food was amazing, especially the Sea Bass. Very sad that it closed.
   

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5. L

   Leif

   VIP

   Miami

   12 reviews

   4.0

   12 reviews

   Dined on 5 January 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Excellent food and service-MUCH improved over the last time we tried this restaurant about 6 months ago!
   

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6. M

   Meghann

   San Francisco

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on 1 January 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   New Years Eve, from local regular patrons: We made reservations a month in advance. The day before the event someone called us to ask if we could change to an earlier time. We understand the need to turn tables on a busy night so agreed. Upon arrival we were notified brusquely that we had a strict time limit with zero flexibility. After ordering cocktails and appetizers we waited over 20 minutes for someone to take our food order. Wine was delivered, but no attention was paid to our empty glasses and we had to request water refills twice. 30 minutes passed before our dinners arrived. The menu was very limited, both for drinks, apps, and entrees. The portions were miserably small, with little flavor or excitement of any kind. We finished eating quickly (with an eye on the clock) and waited another 30 minutes before server checked in with us. By this time we were 45 minutes past our time limit, but seeing so many empty tables we decided to order dessert. Of the two selections available we went with the ‘safe’ option and were roundly dissatisfied with a small scoop of soft ice cream covered in a mountain of whip cream. 20 minutes later we had to ask for the check. By the time we left we had been there over 3-1/2 hours. We have eaten here many, many times and never had such poor service and uninspired food. Last New Years we had a completely different experience with no drama and amazing service and food. We hope the new staff can get on track to resurrect what was once one of Santa Cruz’s better establishments.
   

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7. J

   Jeanne

   VIP

   Denver

   6 reviews

   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on 29 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   There’s a bar on your left as you walk in, the space is laid of beautifully. The open kitchen anchors the room and there’s fresh persimmons hanging to dry. Despite the kitchen being open, the noise level was minimal. Looking up the ceiling, I saw that the noise is managed by acoustic paneling that absorbs the sound. The staff is welcoming, friendly and attentive. We started with the Santa Cruz greens which is a bowl of salad greens and dressed simply in a delicate vinaigrette. It’s light, citrusy and the leaves were fresh. Delicious. We had the hamachi lettuce cups next. The crispy rice was a nice counterbalance to the delicate fish. We shared the ribeye katsu Sando with caramelized onions. What a great bite! Milk toast toasted perfectly and the rib eye cooked medium. The Brussels sprouts with pickled garlic and balsamic/maple glazed and pork belly was the surprise hit of the evening. We couldn’t stop eating it! We also had their version of margarita which was light, citrusy and not overly sweet. We really enjoyed dining here. It’s perfect for a date night!
   

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8. T

   Tom

   Salt Lake City

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 28 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The food here is delicious. I had the trout and my wife had the sea bass. The trout was from Oregon and has a delectable flavor. My understanding is the trout feed on shrimp. Our server was attentive and recommended the French Chardonnay. It was a nice complement to our meals. I highly recommend dining at this restaurant.
   

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9. M

   Milan

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 27 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Celebrated our anniversary, and everything was exceptional! Highly recommend the chef counter if it’s available as it was great seeing the magic being made. The service was attentive and kind, and the food definitely exceeded our expectations. The lamb pasta was our favorite. Will return soon.
   

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10. S

    Stan

    Central Coast

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on 15 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Not the same as the original Alderwood, but still good.
    

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