Gilda’s Family Restaurant

Some of the worst food ever. Tastes so gross and unappetizing.
Our waitress was not very friendly.
We went with a large party and no one really liked their food. Two people ended up sick after eating there.
I hate giving bad reviews but this was not a pleasant experience. Sorry.

The one star is for the view and hospitality. And most of their hospitality was them apologizing. They lost the ticket to my food so it took absolutely forever for me to eat. Once I got the food the bacon and hash brown were cold and the pancakes were burnt. Don’t think I will be coming back here anytime soon.

We came here in the morning on Tuesday. Our waitress was very efficient and so friendly. Our food came out at a good time and we delicious. Fast forward to the evening, we decided since it was sos good for breakfast we’d have dinner. We were greeted by a man (who I think was the owner) and were seated quickly. We wanted a window seat so we were sat on the other side of where everyone else was, which we didn’t mind. 10 mins go by and no drinks as I’m watching the hostess eat something out of a bucket at the cash register. Finally our serve comes by and brings us waters and didn’t ask what we wanted to drink, which I clearly saw they’re sign saying water was limited from the drought and would only bring it if you asked for it. She takes our order and I had to ask if I could have a Coke because she still didn’t ask if we wanted anything else. While waiting for our food I watched as the hostess continued to eat at the register, taking money then feeding her face RIGHT IN FRONT of people… so unprofessional. Our food comes out and our server never comes back to check on us expect to drop off the check. The bread, soup, and vegetables were great. The tri tip was blah. The servers and hostess were too busy eating or on they’re phones to acknowledge anyone. All while the owner/​manager watched what they did. I couldn’t believe what a 360 day and night were in terms of service and food. I work in a restaurant and watching the people at night was so unprofessional… And they wonder why they’re slow at night.
The 3 stars is only for my server and food in the morning. I’d give them 5 stars but unfortunately the service and food at night ruined it for me. We’ll be back for breakfast but never for dinner.

Everything was excellent. We had the steak and lobster. Very tasty and a big meal. Place is large and outdated but the food makes up for it. Great window view of bay. The only thing i hated was the bus boy would push his cart up to the tables and clang the plates real loud and it smelled. Nobody wants to eat and have a dirty fish cart next to your food ! Really gross !!!

Wait time was a bit long considering they weren’t busy, but then again I ordered the Seafood Platter which is one of the most expensive items on the menu at 21 $. I would’ve been happy to pay for it if it was actually a platter, but there was maybe 5 or 6 small pieces of seafood altogether. Out of an average sized dinner plate, a third was random vegetable, a third was fries, and the other third was the seafood. Not really a platter. The food was mediocre to average with the exception of the salmon and shrimp which was excellent (2 shrimp and 1 or 2 bites of salmon). There was also a good side dish of clam chowder included, but it was very very small, a couple bites maybe, and had only 1 decent bite of clam.
All in all the experience was okay, but definitely not worth the money considering the seafood portion of the seafood platter was only ¼ of the meal.

We enjoy going to Gilda’s for the food, just eating on the wharf and they are so kind and let us split meals. The portions are generous, the food is good and the service is kind.

Don’t come here. Weird place. We walked in, party of 2, and were greeted by the host, who said someone wanted window seats so he could only seat us in the middle. I glanced and half the window seats were empty. He didn’t ask if *we* actually preferred a window seat? Anyway, that’s not the problem.
We finished going thru the menu and were ready to order, but ended up sitting there for 5+ min with no one asking us anything or offering drinks. The place was half full with 2 waitresses. One simply looked at us and walked away. We finally decided to leave without eating there. While going towards the door, I meant to ask the host, «looks like u r short of hands today?» but both he and the cashier looked away and pretended not seeing us.
Well, so much for an unfriendly family restaurant which doesn’t need business!

This one star is for the view. It’s the only place open for breakfast on the wharf with this view over the Pacific.
Our waiter forgot about us, the food was not fresh (referring to the country potatoes being stale), and I left regretting choosing Gilda’s over Ideal.

Came here based on reviews and were not disappointed. Food was good gotta love prime rib. Staff was great, even more so because they lost power about 5 minutes after we ordered. Great food, love the view and would come back for sure.

I was really happy with the service and food tonight! The food is always good but the fact that we went on a cloudy day was s plus.
Plenty of parking, this is the time to go there!
It was just cloudy, but beautiful :)!

Special shout out to Lou the bartender at Gilda’s. I love to try bloody mary’s wherever I go and you Sir make the best!!! Thank you! My mom and I really enjoyed the drink.

5 Stars is not enough! 500 if I could. Today, I was walking on the Wharf at lunch time. Something caught the corner of my eye. Prime Rib — $ 10.95. What! I’m hungry and I head in. My expectations are low. $ 10.95 for a prime rib meal. What am I going to get? Probably a thin slice of prime rib, some wilted vegetables and maybe a small baked potato. I was dead, dead wrong!
First up, generous cut of warm bread and plenty of butter, next a cup of CLAM CHOWDER! The entrée hasn’t hit yet and I’m full!
In less than 10 minutes an inch thick 12 inch long slice of medium rare prime rib is sitting in front of me, it’s covered in au jus, and there’s a side of creamed horseradish ready to go! There’s a generous helping of vegetables and a solid baked potato stuffed with an ice cream scoop of butter and sour cream! YES!
Go here! Patron this business. The value proposition is spectacular. Tip your waitresses and be kind to the staff! You won’t be disappointed!

Either I don’t like Omelets or…
Well, we came here one morning because we didn’t want to fight a wait at one of our beloved restaurants. Seeing that at 9 in the morning, the pile of cars on the wharf huddled around Gilda’s, we thought that would be the choice stop for our breakfast munchies.
So. We walk in and are quickly greeted by a kind lady at the register and are quickly seated at an inner table, unfortunately not at the window were a booth sat available. Well that’s ok… but the next couple were seated at the window… sigh… Anyways, it doesn’t get better. Several other patrons came and sat, received drinks and full orders before we met anyone. Once we were greeted, we ordered our Coffees and Omelet-​there were no descriptions, we ordered by what name sounded best, a Crab Omelet and a Spanish Omelet.
When we received our Omelets, at least my partner wasn’t excited. Her Spanish Omelet was eggs doused in canned red sauce and light red peppers with a spoon of tomatoes, hash browns out of a bag. My own omelet was plain jane on top with crabinside, fresh (the shell I chewed on was actually reassuring)…but considerable overpriced compared to the other listed omelets.
Anyways. It was nice to see younger adults (late teens) working not only the patrons but also cooking. They also have a full cocktail bar, so for you morning drinkers may find solitude at the bottom of your glasses.
But I didn’t find solitude, I just wished we decided to wait for something better somewhere else…

I used to come here all the time when I was still in college for their $ 8.95 prime rib Wednesdays. They raised the price up to $ 10.95 but it’s still very worth it!
For the price, you get soup, bread, veggies, baked potato or fries along with your prime rib.
Obviously it’s not HOPR good but it will do the job for broke college students!
Server Laura is amazing. We had to wait really long to place our order because she was busy. We were cranky in the beginning but she charmed the pants off of us because she’s such a sweetheart and hard worker. She made sure everything was okay for us and that we were having an awesome time!

Gilda’s is a MUST STOP for my family and I anytime we come down to Santa Cruz. We absolutely love the Manhattan Clam Chowder, that’s the red kind. It is amazing with some oyster crackers in there! We will even order numerous containers of the soup to-​go and pack an ice chest to bring some soup back up to Sacramento.
Everyone is friends to us when we go there. It’s just simple comfort food to enjoy out on the wharf any time of day.

3 of us had oyster baskets, 1 prawns/​scallops basket. All were great, service was great. Ordered fries extra crispy but they were not. Best place we’ve found so far in our quest for seafood and chips in Santa Cruz and we’ve been coming here every month for 8 months. Never got a chance to ask if fresh oysters but seriously doubt it.
We are spoiled with Bandon oregons fish and chips at the little blue building on the waterfront across from Gold Coast Properties real estate office. Both are Best in the west.

It’s kinda old, kinda grimey, kindda old school, and I like it. We only came here for prime rib night which was $ 10 (rounding up). And it really was a treat. Fond memories were made here.

I made reservations and said it was for my boyfriend’s birthday; they told me they would let our server know. When we got there to check in, I saw they marked «bday» on there so I figured the message would get across. Nope. No birthday acknowledgement. I was really bummed about this.
I ordered my prime rib medium. It came out medium well (closer to well) and resembled the taste and texture of jerky. The broccoli on my plate was extremely bitter. Like a sharp, lingering bitter. Also, no au jus sauce.
The server gave us our tab, and we put the money out with the tab at the end of the table. We waited and waited, she didn’t come back to take it. Finally, one of the male workers noticed it, and told us we’re supposed to take our tab and pay up front. Not sure why this wasn’t communicated to us when the tab was brought to us.
Also, we came during happy hour but they charged full price for one of the drinks. Good thing my boyfriend caught it before he paid it.
Just an overall disappointing experience.

This diner’s interior and location radiates the simpler good ol’ days and is always filled with nice customers, with the majority being jolly seniors. The infamous prime rib on Wednesdays (~$ 13) is unrivaled with. I do not like the red clam chowder and always stick with the regular New England because the tomato sauce tastes weird. Unfortunately, the wait has always been long for me around dinner time, like 40 min, but it’s expected. You will almost never get a seat by the windows overlooking the beach unless you make a reservation first. Forgot her name, but my old lady waitress was always kind.
If you find parking on the wharf expensive like I do, park on cowell/​gharkey, the extra walk is refreshing anyways.

Like most other college students I only come here on Wednesday for their $ 9.95 prime rib. It’s not the best prime rib ever but it’s a good size and comes with chowder, bread and butter, vegetables and a side of fries or baked potatoes. Such a good deal! There was a point in time where I would come here every Wednesday for a month. I would suggest making a reservation ahead of time if you plan on coming in on Wednesday night because this is the place to be for college students.
Also, super random but ask your waiter for pepper plant and eat it with your fries. It’s the bomb dignity.

buenrestaurante para desayunar