Ideal Bar & Grill

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106 Beach St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

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(831) 423-5271
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Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Ideal Bar & Grill - Santa Cruz, CA
Reviews
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( 3 )
( 4 )

Best

The Ideal Bar and Grill is most definitely ideal. The restaurant is set off from the chaos of the Boardwalk rides, but is still located on the Boardwalk by the wharf. There is a g...

Worst

Great location, decent food but the staff were horrible! They were rude and treated us like we were unwelcome. We had to ask three times for a set of silverware.

Great food, bad service 2/17/2010

Great location, decent food but the staff were horrible! They were rude and treated us like we were unwelcome. We had to ask three times for a set of silverware. more
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poor staffing 10/25/2009

On the day of the "Big Kahuna" race...we arrived around 9:15am and requested seating on the outside patio. We were told that it wouldn't open til appox. 20 -30mins and they will call us if the patio would open earlier. We were 1st on the waiting list for the patio. We walked around the wharf, came back and the maitre'd informed us that it would be another 20 mins because they didn't have enough staff to open it up. We waited and waited..finally walked back to find them seating a group of 6. We said we were first on the list and why weren't we called? They told us they couldn't seat us because we were a table of 11 and they could only seat a table of 10!!! Why didn't they tell us that before we waited over 1hr??? Why couldn't they separate us in 2 tables? The patio was EMPTY?? We left... elected to go to another restaurant that was more accommadating after waiting more than 1hr....Rosies Irish Pub at the Pacific Garden Mall was fantastic!!! We will go there all the time and never ever again at Ideal...BAD service and they poor staffing!! Pros: good view of the ocean/beach Cons: poor service and staffing issues more
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Great View and Great Food 1/5/2009

The Ideal Bar and Grill is most definitely ideal. The restaurant is set off from the chaos of the Boardwalk rides, but is still located on the Boardwalk by the wharf. There is a great view of the ocean any where you sit. The outdoor seating is ideal and you can enjoy the view at night with the heaters that keep you warm and toasty. The food style is a American food with a Californian and Hawaiian flare. They set pineapple slices on the side of the plate and guacamole with the Californian style Mexican food. They have every thing! But get there early or you will never find a seat, then you can take your time ordering and enjoy the scenery. more
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:( 12/2/2008

OK so I went here the first time when I was twelve and it was really good. They where quick and efficiant and really polite and sweet. I might have been younger not sure. But in the last ten years that I have been going there its a low budget run down dump. The girls dress trashy so its like a hooters. They all wear the same stuff.And then they look at you like your an inconvenience and talk to you like your dumb. Then when you order is all jacked up they tout off at the mouth. The LAST and I mean LAST time we went the waitress was sweating like crazy and acted like we where jumping or yelling cause she kept jumping like she was nervous. IT was a bummer cause I had people come from out of town and let me tell you that it was not a good time. Dont wast your time GO TO RIVES FURTHER DOWN ON THE WHARF. more
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Nightmare at the table! 9/28/2008

Went to see this place. It looked nice. Food (Seafood, burgers, name it) was good, the first, second and the fifth time. However, service was very bad. Cannot sit where you want, instead they seat you at the worst table ever. The silverware was dirty. I mean food left over on the forks and spoons. If you need anything, might as well get it yourself. Server comes every 10-15 min. and when you ask for something expect it 10 min later. Overall: Nightmare. Im never going to that place again. more
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Terrible service, OK food 9/7/2007

Showed up at 9:15pm on a Friday night and it wasn't too busy.... we were seated fairly promptly, but it took about 10 minutes to get a server over. She took our order - chicken parmesan, salad & diet coke, and a tiger shrimp teriyaki stir fry with clam chowder side - and after about ten minutes we wondered if we'd been forgotten about. Finally the waiter came over, asking if the diet soda had ever showed up (which it hadn't) and brought it over. At this point we were fairly frustrated, and after 20 more minutes, the main courses showed up before the appetizers! We then asked if our salad/soup were coming, they showed up, and the teriyaki dish had rice that was severely overcooked/undercooked. Parts of the rice were totally mushy or crunchy. I finally had to ask to have the dish taken back. The chicken parmesan was delicious, but had obviously been sitting out for long as it was no longer hot. It also took about 20 more minutes to get more water/beverages served. Too slow, service sucked, food was OK. BOOOOOOO. Pros: Delicious chicken parmesan Cons: Slow service, crunchy/mushy rice more
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Service was slow 9/2/2006

The view is fantastic, right on the beach, has heat lamps for outdoor seating. however, the service was pretty bad...our server was friendly, but very slow and she never checked on us or asked us how the food was...and the food wasn't the best considering how much we spent. i might go back for drinks, but doubt i'll be back for dinner. Pros: view, lively atmosphere Cons: service, food was so-so more
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great time on the beach 6/15/2006

My family and I had a great time at the Ideal.It's right on the beach the kids had burgers and hot dogs MY wife had fresh Salmon. I had Local Calamari,and everyone enjoyed Real home made desserts. I met the Baker! He's been with Ideal for 8 yrs and knows how to make great desserts.Try the banana cream pie. They have live music and karaoke, although my wife won't let me sing. Pros: great location great food Cons: I can't live at the beach more
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Locals know better. 12/11/2005

I live close to Ideal so I know the restaurant well. The food is terrible the service sucks and the management is the worst. None of the food is fresh especially the fish. For a restaurant on the wharf its funny they serve frozen fish. The food is way over priced. They have fine dinning prices with cooks in the kitchen that make $7 an hour. If your visiting Santa Cruz and you want a nice meal go out to any restaurant on the wharf and you will have a much better meal for less money. more
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Menu for Ideal Bar & Grill


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Owner Message

  • Located in Santa Cruz, Calif., Ideal Bar and Grill features indoor and outdoor dining services. Its menu selection includes fresh seafood, pastas, steaks and chicken entrees, as well as an assortment of salads and appetizers. Its appetizers include garlic bread, crab cocktail, nachos and steamed clams. Ideal Bar and Grill serves fish tacos, shrimp and chips, burgers, seafood platter, chicken sandwich and hot dogs. Additionally, the restaurants offer private event rooms for business functions, wedding rehearsal dinners, birthday celebrations, retirement parties, family reunions, wine parties and club meetings. Ideal Bar and Grill features a full-service espresso bar and cafe that serves pastries, croissants and house-made muffins..


    • Banquet Rooms

    • Breakfast

    • Meetings

    • Restaurants

    • Seafood

    • Steaks

    • Sunday Brunch

Additional information
  • Hours: mon - ; tue - ; wed - ; thu - ; fri - ; sat - ; sun -
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