Carpo’s Restaurant

Food is a bit simple but it’s good. Food is served fairly fast and a really nice thing is that you can take your dog with you to the outdoor sitting area. Veggies and all other salad bar ingredients are fresh. And it’s accessible from freeway if you’re in a rush. Everything is very clean.

Carpo’s is a family favorite. It has been since the late 80’s. Their salad bar cannot be beat. I love their burgers, their soups and their chili, and their chicken tenders with pasta. OH and definitely get the ollalaiberry shake! Amazing.

I have been going to this restaurant for years… over 20… and I love it! They have the best salad bar in town. Really good milkshakes, pies, burgers, soup, chili, fish and chips etc…
This time I got the Carpo burger, which they call the «small» burger, but it’s huge and yummy.
They are flamed broiled not fried and they are delicious! Fries and onion rings on the side. You have to pay for fries or onions rings though, they don’t come with the burgers, hot dogs sandwiches .they have a condiment bar you help yourself to all the goodies to put on your burgers. So I always load up on those. This is a great restaurant, friendly staff and a great burger!

Horrible. My first and last time here. First, the parking is kinda limited with small spaces so I was forced to park on the street. The overall restaurant is way too small and is not ADA friendly or stroller friendly at all. Awkward set up. I had no clue how this place worked. Got in line to order food. Including a salad bar. Place was busy so finding a seat challenging. Found a 2-​seater table and oh well if my stroller stuck out in the aisle with my disabled child. I didn’t care at that point. I was given a buzzer when my food was ready. Sucks you have to get your entrée on your own. Normally I don’t mind but when your struggling with a stroller and a disabled kid it’s a lot to accomplish and a pain in the rear. Ordered a burger well done. Well it wasn’t well done so back it went. Here I go again with the stroller back and forth. I was so annoyed. Patrons and staff were rude rude rude. I just wanted to leave. Food wasn’t spectacular or even close to it. Staff was unapologetic for screwing up my order. It was just pure chaos the day I went and people falling all over themselves to get around and find a table. It was unsettling and annoying. I will never be back. Horrible experience. Salad bar was whatever.

Carpo’s isn’t necessarily the best, but by far not the worst. I had heard both good and bad things from others about this place, so I was pleasantly surprised the first time I tried it out a few months ago. The burger was the item highly recommended, and it did not disappoint! The fries are perfect and the grilled cheese (add bacon and grilled onions) is one of my favorite things.
I also applaud and appreciate that they have partnered with Beer 30 to provide food on weekends. Though I have not tried their personalized Beer 30 menu, everything that goes by looks like something I want to eat.
Now that I’ve said what I enjoy about Carpo’s, let me tell you what I don’t like. I do not like that most of the time, the customer service sucks. The employees/​cashiers seem unhappy and annoyed most of the time when I come in around lunch time. The woman who was there today had no greeting for me, and didn’t even respond when I said «hello, how are you?». If you ask for something that isn’t in your bag (like mayo), they seem irritated that they have to grab you some. Come now, folks, be nice! I want to like you!
The parking is also a pain, so if you aren’t cool with walking a little during the busy times, then this isn’t the place for you. The food, though good, is pretty inconsistent… we ordered a hot dog for my nephew to go, and when I opened it for him the bun was so squished you could see the finger imprints on the bun — not appealing at all. The bacon is good half the time, but today for example, some of it was cooked okay, another piece visibly under-​cooked, and another piece burnt. I mean really, how do you mess up bacon?!
Okay, that’s the good and the bad of Carpo’s, from what I know. I hope to update this soon with more «good» because they seem to be an institution in this neighborhood that is appreciated by many.

Carpos is a solid 4 stars in my opinion. Tasty food (particularly the burger and salad bar). Staff are friendly and the orders are available in a timely manner.
My only complaint? The parking. Ugh — if you decide to visit during peak evening times, you’ll have difficulty finding a spot (even one down the street).

I have to say «Carpos is consistent», it’s great for a quick bite. I usually get the salad bar, never disappointed.

Here is the menu pdf, the damn website won’t let you view on most phones.
Good food, always like the specials.

Horrible horrible horrible screwed up entire order. Maybe person should be more thorough in taking a phone order

WORST BURGER IN SANTA CRUZ. Got the regular burger, which doesn’t come with cheese, to get cheese you must order a CARPO burger which is a couple dollars more expensive. The burger was completely rare. Not only was it rare but it was dry, disgusting uncooked meat when you bit in. I couldn’t eat it at all and unfortunately I got it to go. Not to mention the lettuce in their salad bar is always gone bad. You literally have to pick your way through it to find decent pieces of lettuce. When they refill the greens it is bad, I’ve seen them do it. So yeah you should step up your game carpos.

I love Carpos. Always consistent food, and always tastes great. I usually get the salad bar and baked potato combo and it’s wonderful. The salad bar has so much to choose from and I recommend the house dressing. Potatoes are cooked to perfection. Have also tried the salmon special which was great! All of the milkshakes are great as well, I usually get the Ollallie berry or banana shake. Both are yummy. Haven’t had a bad experience there yet!
The prices are also very reasonable. Great local spot to get a good meal.

Wish I had a picture of our burger and sweet potato fries! Food comes out hot and Ina reasonable amount of time. They use a pager after you order so that’s kind of fun. Seating can be tricky if you get there at the wrong time but worth the wait. The salad bar had a vast array from artichoke hearts to quinoa to your usual toppings. Can’t wait to come back and eat again!

Several items on the menu are no longer offered and the menu states that entrees and sandwiches come with the salad bar. Not true it is discounted however that was not clear.
The side dishes that came with the skewered prawns, which were not prawns, was overlooked and unappealing.
So 5 customers will not be returning.

Poor, unfriendly service! Phone in orders are impossible, because they hardly ever answer.
Last time I was there, they dropped my food on the floor and picked it up and put it back in the box. DISGUSTING!!!
Such a dirty, unfriendly place.

I had the most disgusting thing happen to me last weekend and I will never ever return there.
Lets just say that they have a dirty disgusting person handling the food in the kitchen and you don’t want them handling your food.
Its too bad, because I enjoyed their food. But its not good if you cant eat it in good conscience. And situation cannot be redeemed, unless that particular person is immediately removed from service.

This is regarding the food they serve for Beer 30. The bar menu is different than the regular Carpo’s menu.
The first time I ever ordered I got the fish and chips. I don’t think the fish was «good» because I got sick and threw up later that night. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the alcohol because I only had 1 ½ hard rootbeers. The second time I ordered I had the mac and cheese which was pretty decent. The third time I ordered I got the teriyaki chicken wings and spicy corndogs. The corndogs were okay if they were fresh and hot but once they went lukewarm, not so much. The spicy sauce was pretty good. As for the wings, the size and amount were good and so was the teriyaki sauce. The breading was crispy but that’s where all the positives stopped. The meat was undercooked and rubbery. After I saw the color of the meat (not white) I lost my appetite and thought I was going to get food poisoning again. I opened all 8 of the wings and they were all the same, undercooked.
I think the bar menu is hit and miss. My friends have said the sandwiches are good. I’m pretty sure the fries are a safe bet too, can’t really mess up those. I hope they figure out the cooking time on the chicken wings, if they do then they would be pretty good. On another note, the guy that works the window is real friendly :)

We used to be weekly regulars of Carpos. We loved the salad bar, the fresh fish plate, onion rings etc. we now go about once/​yr hoping for some improvement. Just not happening. My fished smelled this last visit. Salad bar does not have all the offerings of the old salad bar. Hamburger was tough & over cooked. Onion rings were greasy and under cooked. Hasta la vista Carpos. Not again…

We had just finished shoot archery at the Santa Cruz Archery Range and we needed some food and drink. We popped over to Carpo’s where there was no parking and we decided to go to the fish lady. My buddies got taco’s at Fish Lady and I ran back over to Carpo’s to try the crab and shrimp sandwich. I was going to order the cod sandwich but they were out of cod. After reading the menu I thought it would be a refreshing sandwich, but it was more of a heavy «melt» type prep, think grilled cheese with lots of shrimp and crab. I did a side of fries and asked the cashier if they were a lot of fries he smiled and nodded yes. They were wimpy in serving portions and I was disappointed with that, I was happy that they were hot and moist. Just how I like them!
The crab tasted like crab which was totally rad, and the shrimp was yummy too. I’ll be back to try more on the menu. The sandwich paired well with the 2 pints I had over at Beer Thirty.

Returned the other day for a quick dinner after 20+ years away. Carpo’s you are a hit today as you were back then when I was in college. It has been a long time my friend and happy to be back. Service was excellent, food was top notch, and price was very reasonable. I tried the tri-​tip sandwich and really enjoyed the cheesy, pipping hot, fresh bread creation that you have perfected. Thank you.
For some reason your air conditioning was broken yet you left the doors closed causing it to be smoldering hot inside. I am sure you will fix in the future and I will be back for a 5-​star review I am sure.

I want to like this «restaurant» because it’s close to where I live. .. BUT. .. it disappoints on many fronts. First of all, I thought it was basic Customer Service 101 to smile and say «thank you» to your guests. I guess not in this day and age or in this establishment…
My friend ordered a burger and I went for the «homemade» soup (which was a small bowl of really watery Clam Chowder). The surly guy who took our orders and did not say one word, proceeded to shove the soup on the tray — I asked if it could wait to come with my friend’s burger — again, not a word — he just took it and set it on the back counter where it got nice and chilly.
Then, when I picked up both orders when the buzzer went off, out of sheer habit I said «thank you» when another guy handed me the tray. He said NOTHING…
These people are like zombies and the food sucks too.
Now I remember why I don’t eat here more often.
Carpo’s: How about training your staff? It would be really cool to be greeted by friendly, helpful, caring people.