Sanderlings has a beautiful large patio dining space with umbrella tables (there is an indoor space too, but it's smaller and not as fun) and a menu of high-end dishes. It feels like you're at a golf course resort restaurant without the golf. You are a windy path away from one of the prettiest beaches too. Wait, did I mention the view has a gorgeous treeline? It reminds me of Half Moon Bay. The food and cocktails are 7.5 out of 10 here, and they pay attention to aesthetics, which I appreciate. The prices are a little high, and the service can be a little slow, but that can be expected with hotel restaurants and patio service. read more

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Pros- Wonderful location Outside seating is where you want to dine Excellent wait staff Dinner menu was very good read more

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We are in town for a wedding and decided to walk around the property that we're staying at. Lo and behold we find this restaurant! When asked by the hostess, indoor or outdoor seating? With those views girl, we've GOT to sit on the patio! Hubby and I split a few things, and all were delish! Starting with the sourdough bread with herbed butter, OH MY WORD! The bread was light and airy with a bit of a crunch, but not the type of crunch that makes it difficult to eat, it was amazing! The house salad, so good! We asked for dressing in the side, but it came on the salad - no biggie as it wasn't has heavily doused as most places do. Then we had the steak sandwich, super yum! The aioli was really flavorful. We enjoyed the restaurant and since we are here until Monday we will definitely visit again! Can't wait! PS all of the staff were friendly, from the hostess to our waitress (Marissa?), to the gentlemen bringing water and taking our plates. They were all excellent! read more

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What a great view, especially at Sunset. Reservations recommended for weekend outdoor seating. Service was friendly and attentive. Went here with a group and people seemed to like their meals. Not sure I'd recommend the cioppino though. Plenty of fish but sauce was thick for my liking. Could have gotten a side of pasta but didn't think it was needed. Others had the filet and shrimp pasta and seemed happy with their choices. Cesar salad was also good, but I hate when places charge for bread. They had a nice complimentary dessert for the birthday gal. Easy parking in the garage. read more

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Food was sooo good, we had shrimp scampi and Caesar salad with a strawberry margarita. Overall, it was a quiet night since it was late, not a lot of people around the restaurant. But the service was great read more

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I feel they changed the chef or something, because I feel the food is so much better than when we last came here. They used to have an off spice in the clam chowder, and now it's bacony clam good. Our servers were amazing and quickly changed our outside table to inside, since grandma was worried about getting cold. It's a relaxed atmosphere and a great view. I had fish and chips, I could have used more fish, but it was just what I want in fish and chips. Crispy with good fries. read more

Sanderlings - Fish & Chips - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

Time for an update! (5- star Review, 6/2/2021) Sanderlings remains one of my favorite go-to restaurants when I am in the Santa Cruz area. Ambiance: Ocean view! Beautiful outdoor patio (doggies welcomed). Located inside the elegant Seascape Beach Resort. Food/Drinks: I have sipped and dined here many moons before my first review of Sanderlings. That amounts to a lot of food and spirits. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. And drinks on the amazing covered outdoor space created perfectly for dining and relaxing (nice HH). The food has ALWAYS been great. Cross my heart and hope to die:). Delicious, fresh ingredients and prepared to my liking. Served within a reasonable time frame. Large and varied unpretentious menu. Zero complaints. And this includes outdoor, indoor or bar seating. Customer Service: Excellent! All these years the employees working here have been consistently professional. Their goal is to provide the best dining experience possible. And they do. Menu knowledgeable. I have always had them "check in" numerous times to ensure my satisfaction. Elevated service is the norm at Sanderlings. (A shout out to server Filiburto who has been there at least four years and is just so wonderful.) Thank you, management, for providing not only a beautiful environment to dine but also fine food and lovely customer service. read more

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We came in on a weekday during a slow happy hour and the service was underwhelming. On the bright side, the food was pleasantly delicious! The steak sandwich and burger were both flavorful! We sat outside, and the beautiful view made for a great dining experience. Despite the service, we'd definitely come back for the food and atmosphere. read more

I recently stayed at Seascape for a mini vacay. There's not many super close options to eat so a few times I gave Sanderlings a try. Friday nights they have live music so after settling into my room, I walked over to the restaurant to check it out. The views are stunning of course and there's a great patio for dining which is where the music was set up. Really nice place to relax and unwind. I wandered into the bar area to order a drink and decide what I might want to take back to my room for dinner. While I made up my mind, I ordered a beverage and enjoyed the music right outside the open doors. I placed my order and headed back to my gorgeous Villa to watch the sunset and eat. Here's what I ordered: SPICY PINEAPPLE MARGARITA - the bartender claimed this was the best one he'd ever made. Although tasty, it was missing the "kick" as in tequila, for me. WEDGE SALAD - weird, just very odd. Not your typical wedge by any means but also pretty darn good. I'd order it again. GRILLED ARTICHOKES - delicious. Basic and yummy. CLAM CHOWDER - I love clam chowder and this one is really good. So good that I almost ordered a bowl to go when I checked out a few days later. Speaking of checking out, at the end of my vacation I popped back in to treat myself to breakfast and YUM!! Here's what I ordered: CLASSIC EGGS BENEDICT - huge portion! This could certainly be shared by two people. The eggs were absolutely perfectly cooked and the hollandaise sauce was so flavorful and thick. The potatoes were a massive portion, but also perfectly crispy on the outside and tender and soft on the inside. I would order this 100 times over. The service was great. The breakfast was amazing and the items I had ordered when I arrived we're pretty good. Where Sanderlings fell short for me was the dinner menu. I didn't find anything that looked outstanding, which was kind of a bummer because I was on vacation to indulge And I just didn't see any dinner entrées on the menu that peaked my interest. I will be back to this resort again and again, and I will continue to give Sanderling's a try. See you soon! read more

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Beautiful view overlooking the wedding bluff. Staff was very nice. We decided to sit outside since it was sunset. They made sure we were ok and asked if we wanted a heater. We got a couple cocktails. We wanted to try the banana bread old fashion but they said they were out so my husband got one of their cold brew cocktails instead. We ordered some bread and butter but forgot to take a picture because we were hungry. The bread was I believe from Manresa. It came out nice and warm with an herbed salted butter on the side. For the kids we ordered chicken tenders and fries. It was a pretty good portion so I'm glad we just had them share it. Chicken was nice and crunchy on the outside and moist inside. We got the mushroom tagliatelle, which they said was a new item. It didn't feel too heavy and had a good citrusy taste. Wish I had extra bread to soak up the sauce. The pork chop was grilled nicely and seasoned well. Roasted corn mash and the grilled fruit were a good pairing for the pork. Convenient to have a restaurant on property while staying at the resort. read more

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We went last night and I would not recommend. The food wasn't good (especially for the price). I had the salmon and it was very greasy/nothing special. Very small portion. Tried the chocolate panna cotta for dessert and could only take one bite it was so bad. Service was just ok. I think this restaurant survives on people staying at the hotel but if you have another option, I would not go here. read more

I'm a creature of familiar comforts and have once again come to another love with Sanderlings@Seascape Resorts. This lively by the beach location is a hidden gem of the Monterey Bay coast with calming waves present providing catharsis for the city dwellers who dares dwell this way. LOVE IT! read more

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Today's service was just spectacular! The ambiance was breathtaking and when it gets a little breezy they have those fire heaters to put near your table. Our server Nick was so kind and gave such an incredible service. He was attentive, engaging, and honestly probably the best of the servers he made our experience fun! Now the food ! Wow where do I begin lol my niece ordered the Grilled Spanish Octopus and she really enjoyed how it was plated and said it tasted amazing and was blown away trying new flavors like the grapes that were in it were good. I had Shrimp Scampi and clam chowder and both were sooooo tasty! The shrimp tastes like it was just caught 5min ago lol the noodles tasted home made and the sauce had a good light sauce with garlic and lemon flavor. The clam chowder was good as well I like the bacon in it. My mom ordered a espresso, martini and filet mignon and she was in love with her dish and drink she didn't even want to save any for later lol my niece ended up also ordering a NY steak and she said that was the best steak she ever had. I was so excited to hear they have dessert because everything we all had was 5/5 stars lol so for dessert we got cheesecake and added whip cream and a crème brûlée ! My niece was overstimulated at this point because everything dish just got better and better lol her eyes got so big when the cheesecake came lol the crust was so yummy and the cheesecake wasn't too sweet and was really decadent and the compote compliments it so well. We were so relieved to have such a nice experience and to also just walk back to our room , no driving or parking lol nothing like staying in a beautiful resort with a restaurant that is so exquisite! The prices were reasonable and well worth it, in fact I thought the bill would be pretty high because everything just tasted like 5 Michelin star dish. read more

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We stayed at the Seaside resort for about 4 nights and we decided to eat onsite the first night. We dined here twice - once at the restaurant and another time at the bar. Overall service was good. They had a special event happening on the bluff, a baby shower so it was a little busy. We opted to sit inside as it was windy and a little chilly. However they do have heaters for outside dining. The wagyu was delicious and the swordfish was equally great. The second time we walked over we had a burger, soup and a few drinks in the bar area. It is convenient also because we were able to walk over from our room and get a ride back. read more

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Food and service was fantastic! They have a new chef so it's way better than the reviews here say. read more

Sanderlings - Duck Confit with Companion grilled bread, Pineapple margarita and old Fashioned. - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

Service was 10/10 Vibe was 10/10 Padre fan..eh Giants game was on 100% All kidding aside we had great service sitting at the bar, ordered food (burger + fries + side salad) and drinks. It wasn't overly busy but Colin was attentive and quick. Music was a vibe, Kelsey was informative. All in all we stayed longer than we planned because of Colin's impeccable service and hospitality. Thank you for the fun times, we enjoyed ourselves! read more

This place is really casual for the location tbh. I came here for a friend's engagement dinner. There's plenty of parking in front by the lobby and walk through there to get to the dining area. I would suggest sitting outside if you like that sort of setting. The view is absolutely gorgeous. The servers are also incredibly nice and attentive. The food is pretty good. I don't have a picture of the octopus appetizer, but I do recommend it. It's a pretty big portion for 1 person, it's definitely a share type of appetizer. I got their Wagyu Bavette medium rare without the Blue Cheese (not my jam) and it was delicious. The main dish and the appetizers, I think, were about the same portion sizes, so for a main dish, it was a pretty small portion imo. The other thing I was looking at was their lobster and scallops, BUT my friends who got it, couldn't stomach it. They said it tastes and smelled like gasoline... it could be a one off, it could just be the one they got was from the end of the night. I'm not sure. But I was hoping g it would be more fancy and less casual than what we got. read more

Sanderlings - Boudino - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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The food was all delicious today, and we were all very satisfied. Service was excellent. The day was beautiful...Aptos can be dicey, but the day was warm with a perfectly blue sky, and no wind. read more

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We have dined here many times, but our last couple of meals have been disappointing. Portion sizes went down from one visit to the next, approximately 3 weeks later. It was very noticeable as we had ordered the same items. The last time we went with friends and one plate was cold as if had been sitting out for a prolonged period of time. That plate was sent back and we were reassured multiple times that it would just be "a second" longer. The meal was finally brought to the table when everyone else was almost done eating. Also, they were unable to get the stand heater working properly at our table until we were about ready to leave. The propane tank had needed to be replaced with a full one. read more

We came here for dinner around sunset and the location was just beautiful. The restaurant sits along the coast--not directly on the water, but with partial coastal views. Sitting outside for sunset was gorgeous, and after dinner we were able to take a short, easy stroll down to the beach. The sand was soft and it was the perfect way to end the evening--highly recommend making that part of your visit. Food-wise, everything we tried was excellent. We started with the clam chowder, which was rich, flavorful, and came with oyster crackers. The cup size was just right, and I really liked the touch of bacon in the chowder--it added a depth of flavor without being overpowering. Next up were the Brussels sprouts--crispy, caramelized, and full of flavor. They came with a balsamic reduction, mustard seeds, and bacon chunks that tied everything together beautifully. No dipping sauce needed--the reduction gave them plenty of punch. We also ordered the Dungeness crab appetizer, which was a standout. A generous portion for the price (especially at a coastal restaurant), served with cucumber slices, endives, and light flaky chips for scooping. It was fresh, clean, and refreshing. For the entrée, we went with the special of the night: salmon. Perfectly cooked with a crispy exterior and moist, flaky interior that cut easily with a fork. It was served over a flavorful vegetable base with a great sauce that pulled everything together. Service was equally impressive. From our waiter to the staff refilling waters and clearing plates, everyone was attentive without being intrusive. I've seen some reviews mention long waits, but that wasn't our experience at all--everything came out in good time. Overall, a wonderful evening--beautiful setting, delicious food, and excellent service. We'll definitely be back. read more

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We came here for a family event and were excited to have a nice meal in a beautiful setting. The view is gorgeous but we were disappointed with the menu and the service. The menu had limited options. Around the table, we tried most of the dishes. The truffle pasta was very heavy with a thick cream sauce. The black cod was cooked well but swimming in soy sauce. The pork chop was good but the sides were lacking. The service was mixed. They were quick to take out drink orders, however, the rest of the night didn't go as well. It felt like they were very pushy asking multiple times about appetizers and more drinks. Once we got our food, they all but disappeared. The prices were high so I'm not sure the location is worth it. read more

Sanderlings - Linguini with truffles - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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Nice atmosphere, great food, we loved the chowder, excellent service. If we ate in the area again we would stop here for a wonderful meal. read more

Sanderlings is back! New chef, New Manager Ken a terrific server Alexandra. The food is back to being delicious. We had awesome clam chowder, fish and chips (not greasy) Caesar salad (dressing is not heavy) New serving vessels glasses etc... The whole restaurant looks light and bright. Highly recommend re-visiting Sanderlings. Great New Manager read more

The location and view is great, but the food was the worst I have ever had. The clam chowder was floury and seemed out of a can. The beet salad was flavorless and the beets were truly canned! The salmon was doused in butter. A sad dinner experience. The wait staff was just OK. read more

We had not been to Sanderlings for a very long time due to poor food and service. Last night 12/17/25 we went and had a Wonderful time! The food was terrific, the employees were friendly and fun and our time was perfect there! I highly recommend returning if you have stayed away. read more

We stayed at the Seascape resort for a few days to celebrate my older daughter's birthday. I booked a dinner reservation at Sanderlings as it was super convenient that we can just walk over from our villa. The dish of the night was the halibut paired with the risotto! It was absolutely delicious! The rest of the dishes my family ordered were also pretty tasty. Everything was amazing! The drinks were pretty good as well. Highly recommend the pineapple margarita! The ambiance is nice, nothing special. The patio is great because it has a beautiful view but it is cold and they don't have any heaters. Which place doesn't have heaters when it's so cold out?? So if you want to sit outside with the view, definitely bring a warm sweater or jacket (which we didn't) so we sat inside. They have a lovely outdoor area that you can go and walk to and see the view of the beach close by which is also a nice touch. I did take out one star as the service was very slow. They also took some time with our food, and we had some very hungry kiddos. We ended up hunting down the waiter asking for some bread because the kids were ravenous! So they were not very attentive to us unfortunately. They did give us a complimentary dessert for her birthday which was nice! They said she can choose any one she wanted which was lovely. She chose chocolate cake Ofocurse! Overall it was a decent meal! I wouldn't go out of my way to come here but if you are staying at the resort then yes by all means I recommend you try it! Just be prepared to not have the best service. And DEFINITELY try the halibut dish. I give it 4/5 stars. read more

Sanderlings - The star of the show- the halibut dish!!! - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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Lovely staff and great clam chowder, grilled Octopus is really tender. The service and ambience is super cool because it is close to the beach and ask them about their s'mores fires... bring the kids and enjoy the beach read more

Since we're staying at Seascape, we thought we'd give Sanderlings another try. Although the seating and atmosphere are quite nice, the food and service are still lacking and a bit disappointing. Once we received our mains, the wait staff vanished and congregated together near the register. Tonight's Seabass was good, but nothing outstanding. The New York steak was of lower quality and was smothered in some type of steak sauce; this was not indicated on the menu. read more

Sanderlings - Seabass - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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Loved the ambience and watching sunset from here. The drink was okay, could have been better. read more

Sanderlings - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

A quiet restaurant that is conveniently located downstairs at Seascape Beach resort - there were decent food and drink options on the menu. I decided to get a cioppino, which was one of their specials listed for the evening. I like that they have the specials printed out on their own menu and each dish will recommend a suggested wine pairing to go with the meal. It made my choice very easy to go with the pinot noir to compliment my cioppino. For the cioppino itself - the dish itself was ok. A good amount of seafood with a savory broth. Not the best cioppino I've ever had but a nice hearty meal to end a long day. The dish comes with a couple of pieces of crostini on the side which were disappointingly very stale and actually kind of hurt my teeth to eat. read more

Sanderlings - Cioppino - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

We had 2 lovely meals here during our weekend at Seascape. The service was top notch, views beautiful, and food delicious!

Visited restaurant t while staying at the resort. First, had breakfast there. It was just okay! My husband had the steak which he liked. I had the sanderling and it was okay a bit underseasoned. We went there for breakfast the next day before checking out. I ordered Seascaped Benedict. The smoked salmon was a bit weird (the taste was off not really a smoked taste but it was like a smoke flavor like liquid smoke was added) and the poached eggs and side potatoes that came with the dish was lukewarm bordering cold. My husband had eggs, medium with bacon and potatoes which was also lukewarm. This was also unexpected since it just opened and there were only 3 couples in there at the time. I would not recommend when there are other eating options across the street from the resort or visiting the market and preparing your own meals, as the views from the villa was awesome. read more

Food was good ,a little expensive for average tasting items on the menu, and I expected to see more people and surprisingly empty for a Thursday night. It is a hotel restaurant and can explain the high price. I must not have been impressed since I just noticed that I took no pictures of the food. The view is beautiful, read more

Overall good service. They refilled my soda quite a lot, however they did take 15 minutes to bring out the alcoholic drinks. When we got our food people were blown away yhe severe tastiness of the swordfish, and the black cod was very fishy. I ordered the Wild Boar Bolognese and if i'm being honest, I wasn't too happy with it. I thought it was quite flavorful, and it came with cery long noodles that made it hard to eat. Overall, very good service and I was mostly pleased. read more

Sanderlings - Wild Boar Bolognese all gone! - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

Starting from ambiance, it wonderful and has a beautiful view of pacific ocean and best place to sit and enjoy your dinner during sunset. It's mesmerizing and beautiful. Food is fantastic, I had black cod and loved the soup with tasty fish. The grilled octopus is very tasty and must to have. Servers are very friendly and caring. Breakfast, I had steak and eggs, I think cook needs to work on the meat temperature otherwise the steak is tender and tasty. I asked twice for medium rare but both times I received medium, it was so good that I decided to not return the steak. Dinner service is fast but imo servers are slow for breakfast which they can improve it easily. read more

Sanderlings Restaurant offers a stunning view of Monterey Bay, creating a setting that encourages you to slow down and truly enjoy the moment. Since it was Sunday, they were serving brunch. We had anticipated a buffet, but it was actually full service. Unfortunately, that's where the pleasant experience ended. We ordered eggs, potatoes, chicken apple sausage, and toast. Our food arrived quickly, which raised our suspicions. The food was lukewarm, suggesting they may been sitting on a steam table for some time. The sausage skins were wrinkled, as if they had been under a warming light for too long. Additionally, we were only given one slice of toast (normally you would receive two slices), which was cool and came without butter. After asking twice for butter, we finally received it just as we were finishing our meal. A couple next to us, didn't finish they're meal and walked out without paying. Being what we felt was an "upscale resort" we expected much better quality. We paid over $70 for the meal - definitely not worth the money. read more

Such a shame about Sanderlings. Set among this beautiful and picturesque resort is a restaurant that we consider downright dangerous to your health. They appear to have some serious food sanitation issues. Our party of 4 all--each of us--became quite ill after what appeared to be a good meal; our selections ranged from boar bolognese to pork belly to fried Brussel sprouts to ribeye. Some selections were tasty, some average tasting (or over-cooked, as with the $100 ribeye). But having to vomit through the night after dining there makes any further review of their quality of food a moot point. read more

Amazing atmosphere! Full ocean view sunsets are incredible! Great service and menu is great too!

So good!!!! Started with fun cocktails and their wonderful clam chowder. Then loved the Swordfish and Wild Boar Bolognese. What really made the evening was the amazingly attentive, friendly, warm and at times very funny service. They seem to have a great team there!! The dinner offering are higher end interesting entrees which are a tinge pricey but absolutely worth. Best nice meal we have had in Aptos since Cafe Sparrow closed. read more

First, I would like to say this is a beautiful restaurant with the most amazing view of the bay. There were whales out in the ocean. The sun was sparkling the bay. The food was a mix of excellent and poor the octopus and brussels sprouts were amazing. The Ramen was also very good. The chicken and fish for the four of us was either overcooked or undercooked. The real problem was with the service. They took our order right away and brought our drinks and appetizers in a timely manner. After that we didn't get our entrées for 45 minutes. That wasn't really the problem, but the most significant problem when we brought it up to the server, she insisted that we only waited 34 minutes. We had gotten to the restaurant at 6:20 and by 735 we had no entrées. She was rude and dismissive. When we spoke to her at the table, she said we frustrated her so she would send over the manager. The manager came and he was charming and responsive and took full responsibility. So overall, it was a mixed bag, but a shocking experience with a server being so rude and untrained. read more