I have never had a bad meal. You cannot go wrong with any of the fish dises. The filet is fabulous and the desserts are divine. It does tend to get noisy but the food outways that negative. read more

Yum, and with the new Taco Tuesdays, and other weekday menu options the price is right on for top quality food.

Wow. This place has changed a lot. I've had the chance to try Bitersweet over the years and always found the experience... bittersweet. Har. Har. But lunch today was quite good. Wait staff was actually pleasant and friendly. The menu is simple and doesn't take itself too seriously. The prices have come down a lot too. Group of four had a nice meal for less than $80. Again, a lot better than my last experiences. No longer uninspired, overpriced food delivered by cranky waitstaff. I will be back! read more

This is based solely on the restaurant in back. The cafe in front is always great. We arrived at 3:40 and were surprised by the great 4:00 option for $7 meals. Our bartender greeted with a smile and was guided us on the options for dining. We ordered our food at 3:50 with some items to be placed at 4:00. Great. Everything is fine. Then we never saw her again. She was the bartender serving. It's too much to have one opening a bar and trying to serve tables. BTW all the tables were missing pepper. So, no one filled then after last nights pull to wash them. We had to go the bar to order more drinks. Our 2 soups come out nearly 30 min. It was good. Now, it's 4:45 why is our food just now arriving. It was not delivered all together. The meatloaf was terrible. It taste like old salisbury steak. The pork sliders were delicious. One of our meals were wrong. We kept having to place our empty dishes at the end of the table because there was no pre bussing. The server next to us checked on us a couple of times to see how we were doing. We ordered a drink from and she made sure we got it. We didn't get any water refills. So, we had To go to the bar and get the water ourselves. The table was uneven and we ended up spilling our food all over the floor and me. When it was time to pay still to one around. We had to flag down a different server to get the bill. Bottom line. The bartender was very nice and pleasant but she was the bartender trying to serve a table not in her working area. She didn't follow up on why our French onion soups weren't out in 8 min. It a soup!!! Our meals should have dropped 12-15 min after . Not 45 + min later. Skip the back restaurant stick with the cafe upfront. read more

We had an event for 50 plus guests at Bittersweet recently, with appetizers, drinks and desserts served in the private room and patio. The food and the ambiance exceeded our expectations, and the staff were so professional, efficient and friendly that many guests commented on it. We were having a pre-wedding celebration, and it was a lovely way to introduce family and guests from all over the world who were meeting for the first time, the day before the wedding. A special thanks to Elizabeth, who is an event coordinator extrordinaire! Her advice in planning was incredibly helpful. I highly recommend Bittersweet for events as well as regular dining--I am a local and eat there often! read more

The food and the service is always great. I am really happy you are using paper straws instead of plastic! Thank you Bittersweet for caring more about the planet than paying a higher cost for paper straws, you are making a huge difference. I support GREEN business' 100%! I will tell my friends and I will be back. read more

Filet Mignon is the best I've had and is always good. The service is great. The chocolate sampler desert is beyond words. It is great to share with a date, but don't expect to get much of it. Forks and spoons will be flying into the chocolate sampler because it is that insanely good. Recession buster dinner meals are worth coming out to. Taco Tuesday or Fish Friday is a must. Great for groups, couples or sitting at the bar. read more

It's official! Bittersweet Bistro is the only restaurant left in Santa Cruz County with superb service and amazing food! Whether we are in the bar enjoying amazing half- priced food and drinks or celebrating anniversaries and special occasions in the restaurant, Bittersweet is our go to place. It's clean, fun, and you can't go wrong on the menu. Why have we wasted so much money eating elsewhere. Sigh. read more

Hope the management takes this as positive criticism. Three of us on a weekend sat ourselves, gathered up our own menus and preceded to wait at one of the outside tables while the single server stood and socialized at another table. This wasn't casual conversation, this was a lack of respect for the owners of the business and the customers. After 10 minutes we left. There were only two other groups beside ours, the couple that the server was preoccupied with and the poor group that was there before we were that didn't have coffee or drinks yet. You took the risk and made the effort to start a restaurant, why not do the easy part and keep an eye on your employees so you can have a profitable relationship with all of your customers? I wish you luck, despite the lack of service, we were there because we heard your food was good. Unfortunately we will never know. read more

The dinners are fantastic but the bread pudding is out of this world. Hadnt been there in a while so I was surprised by their new outdoor patio area. Well done! read more

This restaurant is amazing! Our family has been coming here for years and it remains a family staple. We are from out of town but every time we are in Aptos we know where we will be for dinner! The food is AMAZING (especially the desserts) and the service is too! Cannot recommend enough! read more

Let me just say that I've only been here once, but I had a great time. I had my birthday dinner here and everything that I had was tasty. Their French onion soup is bigger than anticipated, so be aware of that when you decide on your entree. There were quite a few people there, but we were immediately seated due to our reservation. Service was great, food was great. I thank my party planners for choosing this place. :-) read more

I really like this place. The atmosphere is fantastic. The bar area is great, and the food is delicious. The service is good too. I highly recommend it. Prices are reasonable as well. read more

Great atmosphere and a nicely rounded menu with options. The Kale and Quinoa salad wasn't what I expected as the Kale wasn't chopped as you normally see it severed. read more

Came here for brunch and was amazed by how much open space there was. Great outdoors space, bistro area in front and a nicer dining area and bar in the back. Perfect spot to watch Sunday football and have a Bloody Mary. I highly recommend the huevos rancheros and eggs benedict. My daughter had the chicken strips off of the kids menu, but they were pretty bland. Only room for improvement is the service. They were slow and not very attentive. I would still come back next time we're in town. read more

I never review places, no matter how bad, but the absolutely horrid service I received tonight cannot go unnoticed. I will never consider returning to this place due to the pathetic staff. I came here for the first time ~10 years ago, and have returned several times since because I loved it so much. The food and the ambiance was wonderful, but the behavior of both our waitress (unknown) and the manager (Cliff) was so unacceptable, that none of that matters anymore. A minor, easily fixable situation presented itself, and instead of handling it maturely, they were beyond disrespectful. One of my friends ordered a beer, but had an expired ID so the waitress said "I need to ask my manager, but it should be fine, he's usually really cool about these things." He responded with "No worries, if you can't honor it I'll just get a different drink." Shortly after the manager came out to see the ID, and began to ask questions about his address, age, etc. That was all fine and understandable, no problem at all. He agreed to serve him, and my friend thanked him. The conversation should have ended there, but when Cliff returned with the drink, he interrogated my friend as to why he did not renew it sooner, and proceeded to say very degrading things to him which left my friend at a loss for words. When my friend couldn't give him an answer that satisfied him, the manager said my friend was so dumb, dumb as hell, and he said that "I hope your friends think you sound as dumb as you do." This was all over A BEER. A drink my friend said he didn't even want if it was going to be too much trouble! He had no excuse for not having an up to date ID, and wasn't trying to make any excuses, so it was completely ridiculous for him to keep asking him something over and over and over that wasn't even his business. If Cliff did not feel right serving it to him he could have said "I'm sorry we cannot take expired IDs" and there wouldn't have been any hard feelings. We could have gone about our night, and everything would have been fine. All of my friends were so in shock to hear our friend be attacked like that, and by the manager of all people. One of my friend's finally intersected his series of put downs and told him that he didn't need to call him dumb and that he had no obligation to provide him insight as to how he handles his personal life. The manager didn't apologize at all, and just walked away from our table. He muttered something under his breath, but none of us could catch what he said. When our waitress returned, she asked if he received his beer, so we said yes and explained what just happened. She laughed and said "Oh yeah, that's Cliff for you." She went on to defend his choice of words, and we were completely stunned. It was beyond me to have not one, but two insensitive, rude, and disrespectful people wait on us. We couldn't believe what just happened, so we immediately asked for our bill (we were served our drinks, and appetizers were on the way.) They completely ruined our night out, a night that was supposed to be happy because we were celebrating our friend's birthday. The least they could have done is comp our drinks, but no, they felt no remorse. My friend was publicly humiliated by a man who clearly has problems of his own that he needs to work on. By no means were either of them suitable to work in such an interactive field, especially not the manager. He created an unwelcoming and hateful environment that made us all feel extremely uncomfortable. I hate to bring such negativity to a once great restaurant, but those two staff members need to be fired immediately. I'm sure everything else is fine despite those two, but it's not worth risking encountering them. We would have loved to speak to someone about the matters in person, but we had no clue who we would go to when the person in charge was causing the problem. read more

It's a solid spot. I personally like breakfast. There is a nice selection to choose from. Happy hour on the patio is also fun. Food can be a bit spendy for what you get. read more

I hate to give this place 3 stars....should probably be at least 4. The service was wonderful, the food was extremely good (I had stroganoff) even their 'special' wine was very good. The problem.....I went with 2 friends. It was so incredibly loud in there that I couldn't hear myself think let alone hear them talk. On a nice day I would avail myself of the patio seating (maybe they could put some heaters out there). Will go back, that's for sure! read more

Went there for a quick lunch: pizza and beer. The pizzetta was quite large and inexpensive. The pizza crust left a lot to be desired, think cardboard, but the toppings were very good. Service was just fine. Cloth napkins, thank you. read more

We stopped here for breakfast on a Saturday and it looked like the place to be as it was pretty busy. Delicious breakfast menu combinations and large portions. I had the Chicken and Bacon Benedict. The chicken was crusted with an almond sesame coating and there was a bacon hollandaise over the top of the concoction. Delicious and rich tasting. The reason it was 4 instead of 5 stars? The service, although very friendly, was slow. If it's busy, plan to spend some time here. read more

Used to eat at the 'ol Westside Santa Cruz location back in the day. There were producing some fine food back then. Been to the "new" large restaurant a few times over the last few years, as we live close. Read on: Service uneven. Sometimes they are fawning over you, other times they disappear. The food is good, well cooked, presented, and flavorful. This is not cutting edge cuisine, but rather solid midrange American bistro. The decor and ambiance are good, but look a bit outdated when you look closer. read more

Great food Great service Dogs are allowed on their outdoor patio Very reasonably priced for the area. read more

I loved the outside patio. Outside music too loud. Waiter young, missed a lot. No napkin or utensils til after appetizer landed. Where was the busser? No water, no refill, maybe draught, but no one said anything. We had to ask for everything. This said--the asparagus and fries were amazing. read more

Have had several good meals in their outdoor area- the grilled persimmon salad was a real treat this last trip! Dog friendly patio dining- good wine selection- what's not to love! read more

My daughter held her wedding reception at the Bittersweet Bistro. They wanted a low key party with all the best parts of a wedding - nibbles, drinks and dancing! The venue had the perfect loungey feel - well decorated by the restaurant, good flow of traffic from the bar to the seating area to the dance floor. Nice outside seating with a fire pit! Delicious heavy appetizers passed by an attentive wait staff. The owners were on top of everything and we had little to worry about. The happy couple had a fantastic time and so did I! Thank you for making this special event so memorable! read more

I love coming here with my girlfriends and having a drink. I also LOVE the goat cheese salad. It so good.

Worse customer service ever! Food was cold when it came, had to serve my on water at times. Waitress was rude and hard to get a hold of. Not recommended! read more

Love the dog friendly patio. I had the tilapia and mango sandwich which was awesome on one visit. The oriental chicken salad was good but I liked the sandwich better. On yet another visit had the desert platter with friends. It was to die for. I highly recomend this place read more

Excellent food, awesome recession crushers every night of the week (it's like a really classy happy hour) I got a Reyka martini on martini Monday for $5! They also had $7 apps that were amazing. Bar staff is on top of it! It's so nice to dine and drink for a more than reasonable price at such a nice establishment. If you're on a date, there regular menu is very good as well. read more

We love the service and food at Bittersweet. The patio is casual and accommodating. Our dog accompanies us when we eat out. The breakfast is very good and we feel lucky if we get there early enough for a muffin top! Occasionally we eat inside and have had a good experience. If you are not wanting to dine with kids and dogs the inside is a more adult environment. read more

Want to love this place but just can't. I live in the area so I've been there about 20 times over the past few years. Foods is good but not great. A little over priced for the serving size and quality. The atmosphere outside and in the bar area is great. Only room I don't like is the overflow past the bar the usually only open on weekends. read more

We used to go into bittersweet very often. At least once or twice a week and tonight we were quickly reminded why we stopped coming here. The service was terrible. It was not very busy, yet we were forgotten about most of the meal. Our pizza came 30 min after everyone else got their meal. We inquired about it several times. And our waiter was unapologetic. The food as usual, was delicious. It's always very good. But I don't think I'll ever come back again. I'm very disappointed as I always thought of bittersweet as my favorite Aptos restaurant read more

This place looked super packed when we came on a Saturday. We heard good things so we decided to try it out anyway. We decided to sit inside since that was basically empty when we got inside and wouldn't have to wait. I ordered a Bloody Mary and it was very tasty. We ordered a couple versions of eggs Benedict. I was really excited to try mine, but when my carnitas Eggs Benedict arrive they were missing the pork carnitas! Such a bummer. We got our waitress' attention and she brought me some on the side. The potatoes were pretty tasty though, so it kind of made up for the somewhat bland carnitas. They way over sauce my Eggs Benedict with this green salsa that was bland too. It was smothered all over and my eggs were hard to find. The food was okay. I'm not sure if they were understaffed because the group behind us was missing some of their stuff too. It could have also been because they were more focused on the outside crowd? The drinks were very tasty though! Either way, I'd come back to sit outside with my dog (their patio is dog friendly), have a drink and I'd like to try something else! read more

Bittersweet Bistro - Nice presentation on the Eggs Benedict and Bloody Marys. - New American Near Me - Aptos, California

I live in Aptos and visit frequently. The food is consistently good, no problem with the service. The bar is seriously lacking, we stopped going for Happy Hour, the bartenders can not make a good drink. I'm sure they are making drinks as they are instructed by the management. Stick to wine or beer and you will be good. Nice patio! read more

So frustrating that they DO NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS between 6:30 - 9:00 on Friday and Saturday's. Explanation is that "this is our busy walk in time." Well I want to know I have a table for my invited guests. And I don't want to make them stand around in your loud bar watching TV. The food is a solid 4 star but it acts like a chain restaurant [Denny's doesn't take reservations either] when you don't take reservations. How about you keep a couple of tables for walk-ins and treat the rest of the tables as though your ARE a 4 star? Go to the Napa Valley if you need models of fine dining. Incredibly they manage both reservations AND walk-ins. read more

I have loved this restaurant since they were on the Westside. They have good consistant food. A great bar, outstanding desserts, great service, great ambiance. I was excited to see them upgrading their patio area when I was there a few weeks ago, can't wait to go back and try it out. I highly recommend for a special date or to just drop by the bar be casual. read more

The food here used to be very good. However, recently we have noticed that they skimp on the portion sizes and food does not taste as good. One example of this is their sliders. They use to be nice and thick hand made patties, but now they are more the size of a whitecastle burger. Not impressed anymore and very disappointed. read more

We have eaten here a couple of times, but tonight was the last. Never again. I had the roasted persimmon salad on our first visit, the reason for one of the stars. On our second visit, I asked if it was possible to add a piece of salmon onto my Garden Salad. Our waitress replied, "I don't see why not" . I am happy with this response. She returned a few minutes later to let me know that it would cost me $22.00 to add the salmon... in addition to the $10.00 price for the salad. Kudos to her for letting me know and giving me the option to opt out, which I did. She is the reason for the second star. We ordered the tempura long beans... a chef's recommendation. They were greasy and the tempura didn't even stick to the beans....just awful. Tonight, I ordered a $12.00 beet salad that consisted of mixed greens, perhaps 1 roasted beet and maybe 2 tablespoons of feta cheese. Twelve Dollars!! It didn't even taste very good. Hubby ordered the 1/2 roast chicken. Says the mashed potatoes and vegetables were good, but that the chicken was tasteless and chewy. Our visit was summed up with this: "This chef does not care about his food." We won't be back... there are too many good choices for much less money. Too bad. read more

Went there Monday night..They have the best recession busters during the week. Monday being my favorite. I love the ambiance and the staff is always accommodating. read more

My friends and I go for brunch all the time. The menu is big and full of gourmet choices and the food is always absolutely delicious. The prices are a bit high but the service has always been great. I went for dinner a few nights ago, the food is just out of this world (we got the garlic chicken with fresh veggies and potatoes au gratin and the maple soy steak with mashed potatoes with broccolini- both were "small plates" and were more than enough). Again, the prices were a bit steep, but the wonderful service and beautiful food is worth it for that once-in-a-while splurge. Also, try the bread pudding! read more

Bittersweet Bistro - Creme brûlée - New American Near Me - Aptos, California