We loved this spot!!! They have the best pizza in town. The food tasted like Italy. We loved our olive and shishito pepper appetizer. The staff is all extremely friendly and the vibes are great. read more

Bantam - Pizza Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Excellent food!! Delicious unique pizzas with a warm welcoming and hospitable vibe that offers as well a gorgeous dejection of wines and desserts! read more

Food was tasty but barely anything on the plate for $29. We had the Fried chicken thinking to was enough to share. the chicken is considered a main entree but not sure how anyone would get full from the Fried chicken. It was more of an appetizer. We had a gourmet fried chicken a week earlier and paid half that price from a 4 star restaurant. Ambience was good, wine was good. read more

Amazing amazing food, and great service. We loved our appetizers, pizzas, and dessert. They made everything from the scratch. It also has such an amazing and waRm ambiance for family and friends gatherings. Highly recommend :) read more

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Staff was rude, went for a birthday dinner with a group. Waited over an hour for a table. Underwhelming food, maybe from the bad taste in our mouths after being treated so cold by staff & management. Didn't mind the wait, just the treatment. read more

Everything at this restaurant is obscenely overpriced. They charge you for the bread, which was served cold, burnt on the edges but still somehow raw and doughy in the middle. They charge 15 dollars for just plate of just lettuce and vinegar they call a "salad". To be fair, the pizza is very good here, but it will cost you $20-30. You will overpay for very average food here, and most likely leave disappointed after seeing the large crowds of hipsters, which may lead you to believe that this restaurant is worth your time, it is not. I cannot recommend dining here. read more

Was so excited to try this place after seeing all the reviews and photos of the food but left extremely disappointed. Ordered a simple pizza, but it was flavorless and under baked. My friend ordered the fried chicken but it was so slimey and stringy In a very gross way, and they failed to mention it came on top of some weird beans. He was very disappointed and a bit turned off of his meal as well. Our server was kind but pushy, and would disappear and go talk to her table of friends and not come back for while at a time when we were trying to leave. I would not recommend this place to eat at read more

Great place to eat and hang. Minus 1 star for the pizza being delicious but the crust is too soggy/floppy so the toppings slide off.

Excellent food and service. Has a very nice atmosphere and generally just a feel good place.

Good service and friendly people plus great cocktails. It's always a nice evening at Bantam.

Amazing service and food, super nice decor, very friendly staff my second visit I can't wait to be back.

I think Bantam is one of the top 2 restaurants in Santa Cruz (the other being Mentone). The food is mostly organic, seasonal, and insanely good. The fried chicken is amazing. I also love the nettle pizza (seasonal), prosciutto pie, and soppressata pizza with spicy honey. I'll write a couple gripes in hopes the restaurant will see this for feedback... they play music SO loud inside it has, on multiple occasions, ruined the dining experience for us. I've noticed other reviewers have the same issue. I also wish they would take phone calls, as sometimes their takeout ordering website is having issues and there is no way to notify anyone. Regardless, we keep coming back for the consistently impressive food. Love you, Bantam! read more

i love this restaurant. they're pizzas are amazing. the menu items changes depending on the season. it's a chill place, very Santa Cruz, or very california. they have seating outside and a small bar area. the music playing gets you in the mood to chill and relax, maybe have a drink or two. read more

Bantam - menu - Pizza Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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We've eaten at Bantam several times, and for the most part, when the food is actually delivered hot (about 50% of the time, this is an issue), it's good. Generally, though, the waits are inexplicably long for your food, which is probably why it's often delivered tepid. The thing, unfortunately, that is more consistent with Bantam is that the water they provide at the table is tragic. I mean, bad and undrinkable. Here's a place where they charge up to $24 for a pizza (which is frankly, a lot), but they won't invest in a filtration system for their table water. What does that say about how much they care about customers? read more

The food was delicious. We got the Caesar salad - a little over dressed but tasty. The fried chicken was bomb! The pizza so good. We sat outside because inside was a little too lively for us. It was a hot day and the outside seating offered a breeze. We had our 2 year with us and she approved as well. read more

One of the best pizza places I've been to. Came at the right time before the rush! Love how all ingredients were incredibly fresh including the parmesan and chili flakes. Honestly would definitely come here again when I'm in the area. read more

Bantam - Royal rum punch and margherita - Pizza Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Prosciutto and arugula pizza was yummy but $14 for 2 half chicken wings? Really? Wow... read more

Bantam - Bones from 2 chicken wings...$14..::wow - Pizza Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Great meal all the way around. They don't do reservations so dropped in at 5pm when they opened for an early dinner. Filled up quickly - was rainy no outdoor seating - good vibe inside. Our waiter Spencer was fun and great service. Everything we got pretty darn tasty. Their bourbon specialty cocktail "The Professor" highly recommend. Chicken with sweet potatoes, pepperoni pizza, bread and butter and caesar salad all highly tasty. Going back for sure. read more

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After 5+ years living in Santa Cruz, Bantam tops my (very short) list of must-go restaurants around town. Excellent menu. Excellent drinks. Hands down my favorite spot around the area. read more

Such a great spot! Loved it. That sums up my experience. Great cozy ambiance. The type of place where you feel comfortable right away. Really good service too. Great selection of wine, beer and cocktails. And their wood fired pizza is simply incredible. Their menu changes based on seasonal availability. So you know you will get nice and fresh options every time. Really yummy appetizers, salads and pizzas. Haven't tried the entrees yet because the pizza is too good to skip it. But I'm sure they are good too. The pizza crust and sauce are flawless. I'm totally hooked. This is the kind of place good for all sorts of gatherings. Date night, pizza with friends, family, etc. And it's kid friendly too, so hooray. Don't worry, everyone seems to mingle without a fuss. It is a no reservation spot. And it gets pretty busy, so plan your visit to avoid a long wait. They do have a parking lot and there is also street parking. read more

Bantam - Margherita and prosciutto pie - Pizza Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Last light the noise level was so high we literally could not hear the person next to us. The worst margarita ever. Small glass with huge ice cubes, probably a 3 oz drink. The Caesar salad was delicious The pizza just okay. We literally waited an hour for our main entrees as to go orders appeared to take preference over in-house guests. The chicken livers on toast good. Burrata cheese good too. Bread is good. Sorry guys, down a full for last night. read more

On the westside so has some hipster vibes but still friendly. Pizza was awesome. Salads were eh and overpriced. Will be back for sure though. read more

Everyone said belay chicken ever. Not even close$25 or more for one Greasy chicken thigh. Flavor was great but give me a break. The other thing is they wanted $30 for corkage everyone else in town is $15. The is a woke resturant. It's posing a cool new hot spot but it reality it upscale fast food read more

Service was great. Food was outstanding. Had the sop pizza, was amazing. Wait was 45 min on Friday at 8:00, but worth it. Cocktails were also really good. read more

Easy five stars for the fried chicken (their most popular dish)! The pizza of course is also amazing. Lively atmosphere, expect to wait for a table on a Fri or Sat, (but lots of stuff nearby to do while waiting). Everything looked amazing. read more

This is it! Good food, creative flavors that surprise the pallet in the best way. Staff is friendly and professional. Atmosphere is modern yet warm and comfortable. One of the few places in Santa Cruz worth ordering a cocktail too! read more

We ate here for dinner on a busy Thursday evening. We were able to sit at the bar with almost no wait. The ambiance is fun, rustic, and casual. And, amazingly for a place with an open floor plan, the noise level was not too loud and we could have a nice conversation without shouting. The food was delicious! We had the mussels, a margarita pizza, and the nemesis dessert. The mussels came in a delicious sauce that was almost like a stew. It was full of caramelized leeks, chick peas, and fried potatoes. As lovers of mussels, we were disappointed that there weren't more, but it was still worth it. The pizza was very good. The sauce was fresh and tangy. Very well cooked, but if you love the crust, be warned that the wood firing can char the ends. Don't miss the desserts. We had the nemesis, which has flourless chocolate cake on the bottom, followed by vanilla ice cream, topped with peanut brittle, whipped cream, and caramel sauce. It was really rich and so good. Worth splitting! read more

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Worth the wait! You can tell these people are passionate about their craft. It was an experience not an ordinary eatery. How they played with the use of figs was inspiring to say the least. I fell in love with pizza in a whole new way. I will definitely be coming back on my next trip to Santa Cruz. read more

Bantam has the best pizza ever! It's cheesy hot and delicious ! It deserves tons of stars and customers! Highly recommended!! please go it's the only thing that fulfills life. I'm not even joking ! read more

great place. great! but you know what would make it even better..... ceaser salad tableside read more

Really great food. Pizza is as good as they say. Caveats: it is expensive, but not at all out of line for comparable places; it's noisy - that can be nice, it gives the place a buzzy feel - but just know if you come on a Saturday night it won't be quiet; it can take a while for food to get to the table when it's busy. That happens at popular places, particularly when food is obviously cooked to order, so not a bad thing. read more

Janet O. and I were invited by friends of ours to try one of their favorite establishments for dinner and this place didn't disappoint. Upon arrival, I was stunned by the interior decor's minimalistic and industrial feel with the brick pizza oven as center of attention. The floor to ceiling frosted windows lit the place up with soft white light. As the day turned to night, the ambience followed with a romantic and golden hue. Disclosed by my friend, the restaurant derived from a fitness gym he was a member of; fortunately, the scent inside didn't have a hit of gymnasium stink and was filled with salivating aromas of pizzas. Immediately I fell in love with the place. We started off at the bar awaiting to be seated, where I enjoyed a recently discovered Allagash White Wheat beer. The bar was simplistic and serves as a great place to socialize. When seated, we were greeted by Tony, who's service was exemplary. He was very cordial, knowledgable, full of recommendations and attentive. The service throughout the night was quite astounding. The staff here supports each other, assuring we were always taken care of. The bartender is also included in this praise, as she really set the night off on the right track. Perusing the menu, I found everything here very attractive and thankfully we dined like a family, allowing me to try several dishes. We started with Green and Wax Beans, which were well pickled, crunchy and to my liking. Also had the Honeydew Melon and thinly sliced prosciutto with hazelnuts, which was quite refreshing with that sweetness of the melon combined with the salty prosciutto. Squash Blossoms with mozzarella, chilli and honey were excellent with nice crunchy exterior and mushy interior. We also tried the little gem and chicory Caesar with grana, croutons and anchovy. It was a bit on the bitter side, so it wasn't a big hit at our table. We continued with the Pork Ragu with fusilli, early girl tomatoes, sage and pecorino. This dish was one of my favorites, just super flavorful and creamy. Since we were in a groove, we ordered the Fried Pork Belly with red cabbage, potato garnished with herb buttermilk. This was the dish of the night, maybe because we all love pork belly, which was perfectly cooked with the skin crunchy and the fatty part unbelievably tender. The final entrees were pizzas, the Margherita and personalized one recommended by our waiter. The Margherita pizza had tomato, mozzarella and basil with anchovies and egg added. I loved the egg on the pizza and the flavor was great as well. The personalized pizza had golden tomatoes, green olives, sausage and egg, equally impressive in flavor. Although the pizzas were very fresh and delicious, I was not impressed with the crust. It was too chewy and limp; I prefer a crust that is sturdier and crispier. I found myself folding the pizza in half like a sandwich to eat. In summary, I'm a huge fan of this place but not the pizza, although the egg is a nice departure from the rest. I might actually try a pizza with request for it to be cooked extra crispy, which may remedy the crust's inadequacy. There's so many pizza places in the Bay Area that have a better and crunchier crust that suits my taste. read more

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Such a great place to simply enjoy awesome food that is locally sourced. I love supporting places like Bantam. Their decor is very appealing. Open air style. Tall ceilings. Big giant ceiling fan. Awesome bar. Love their tables. We started with almost all of their appetizers on this double date night. We had the Melon and Prosciutto. This was a new experience for me with these two ingredients mixed together. But the salty prosciutto and the sweet melon was a marriage made in culinary heaven. Just perfect! Pickled Green beans: This was the least of my favorite. I won't order this again. Squash blossom: another pleasant surprise. I will definitely try this again. Pork belly: This was the star of the appetizer world. But two pieces for $16? A bit stiff. Although that very moment I would probably blurt out " It's only money ! Give me more!" If anyone asked me why am I eating this pricey white meat. Lastly pork ragu: a must! Now pizza time: We had the Golden tomatoes and Margherita with anchovy. Both pizzas had an egg over easy on top. Both are good but not that good. It is the wood fired oven variety that I love. Unfortunately to me both of them lacked that certain flavor to make me come back for more or recommend. In short I've had better. So next time I go back with friends I say order any of their food but skip the pizza. Although one other note, their Allagash White beer was perfectly cold and paired well with our food. Get this! We had their Rose while waiting for our table and I did enjoy it! For dessert we had the Chocolate Nemesis and Berry Cobbler. I would kill for the former. It was one of the best dessert ever! Creamy while retaining its solid form. Sweet but not overpowering. To. Die. For! Kudos to the chef on this and the pork belly app! Awesome staff. Pleasant, courteous and warm. Great vibe in general. I will definitely come back! read more

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The food is interesting but we've been been mistreated so many times that never again. I'm beginning to wonder I'd this is a place that only welcomes people of a certain profile. Save yourself the the angst, time, and money and go somewhere where the staff will actually be nice to you. read more

We love this place but $30 for corkage fee is higher then any place we go . We hit one of the local wineries a block a way and then come here for dinner . At least offer a bit of lower rate for the neighbor winery wines. That said we love the vibe and eating here and the pizza is phenomenal read more

Best pizza I've ever had!! We came 2 days in a row because the pizza was THAT good! On our last day in town we ordered a 2nd pizza!! The sopprasetta was amazing and the spicy honey added the most amazing touch! Absolutely loved both the fried chicken and the pork belly, that sauce and the veggies are something else. Can't wait to come back! read more

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The sausage pizza is without a doubt one of the best pizzas I've had in my life. I'd recommend Bantam just for that. Add in great drinks and a fantastic wait staff and this is a must try. Elliott specifically took care of us. He made us feel at home. read more

good food, great drinks, fried chicken pizza was good but the chicken, yum read more

Went twice in one week. Everything is so good. Early girl pizza ftw. Three salads and one pizza was perfect for two people. Excellent cocktails, as well. Pro tip: get their early if you don't want to wait. We arrived right when they opened at 5 on a busy Friday night and it was perfect. read more

Everything here is wonderful from the food to the service to the ambiance. Wish they were open for lunch:)