I grew up in SC Mtns and passed this place a million times. I remember eating here once with my grandmother when I was a kid. I recently went back, skeptical because of friends telling me it's a grease pit. Okay, so the food is a little greasy, but the food is gooood. Great prices, great serving size. Coffee was good too. I wouldn't go every day of the week, but.. heck, a little grease every now and then never killed any one... or did it? I will pay the penalty to visit this place more often. I was pleasantly surprised by my experience for breakfast. read more

Wow, what a surprise and great little secret hidden in the redwood. We were lucky to have the opportunity stop here during the week and didn't have to fight the line we read about in other reviews. Spanky's is a small place for sure, but it only adds to.the great experience.ce we had. From the outside, you definitley get the feeling that this a locals place and that you may feel out of place if you're not a regular but nothing could be further from the truth. We were seated quickly as it was not busy and immediately made to feel like were long lost friends the waitress hadn't seen in years. I ordered the stuffed croissant french toast and holy Friggin' cow it was awesome I am not a fan of walnut but the bitterness and crunch of the nuts and the sweet and creaminess of the filling worked great together. The Mrs got a standard eggs and Bacon breakfast and everything was cooked perfectly (and she is picky when it comes to eggs) . Overall a great experience that we'll be returning back for next time we play hooky from work. read more

Love this place. The new owner Ashley has spruced it up. Great food, great portions and great price. The must have is the chicken fried steak! ! read more

Our favorite breakfast spot when we're in the area. Darling little diner with friendly service and delicious food. The prices are very reasonable. The stuffed french toast is amazing and the portions are very decent size. read more

This place is so fabulous! Great food and love the 50s feel. Eggs Benedict is the best I've ever had! (Got the mushroom spinach version that was on the specials) read more

Fine, simple, and tasty place for breakfast. The menu is traditional. nice outdoor seating -- small and funky but very suitable. Highly recommended. read more

We come to this place almost every weekend. It's local and the food is good. Unfortunately they hired a new cook and it's not as tasty as it used to be. I'll hope for the better since I don't plan on cooking in the morning :-) read more

My husband and I have been going to Spanky's once a week for the past six months. I can see by some of the other reviews first experiences may not be the best. Please keep going back. It is a place where it definitely grows on you. We love Spankys. We have had a chance to try many items and like the breakfast menu the most. Our favorites including the stuffed french toast (croissant one especially), pumpkin walnut pancakes (a special, not usually on menu), biscuits and gravy, potato scramble. They are also known for their chicken-fried steak which is incredible. Plan to take half your meal home as portions are huge. If you are unsure what to order they always have great specials. read more

Good diner burger fare. I would like to try them for breakfast sometime. Nice variety of basic lunch options. I've only been once, but it definitely on my let's go back and try something else list. read more

Great waffles, pancakes, bacon.....just the whole place is great!!!!! Very friendly staff, cute little place. It was crowded but hey, that's what the counters for! Just pop your ass down and watch the tattooed hunk cook! I will definitely be coming back! read more

Great place for breakfast! Cassie is awesome, service with a smile... Pancakes, waffles, breakfast burrito and stuffed French toast all very good! Spanky's feels like a "locals" hangout, but very welcoming! read more

Update: Quality dropped, its now cash only, and Cassie (the super friendly server people talk about in all these reviews) is now at Chubby's! Go there! read more

Pros: good service, great taste, reasonable price Cons: appearance of the restaurant (not great), their bathroom is not clean We tried this restaurant because we were starving and we were in hurry. The outside look of this restaurant is bad. It is a local restaurant and not fancy at all. But, the taste of the food (grilled sandwiches) is a great surprise! read more

This place is great!! I came in late on a sunday, they had no problem accommodating me. The staff is friendly, I had the eggs benedict, I loved it. The food is fresh and the owner even visits your table! I recommend this place if you're ever up in the mountains. It's a quaint little café. Thanks for the great service!! read more

We went here on a rainy Saturday looking for a good burger and found what we hoped wasn't Highway 9's ugliest dive. What a surprise we found! I ordered the Blue Burger with macaroni salad, my wife ordered the Mushroom burger with the green salad. Both burgers were fabulous! My Blue Burger was rich but smooth, unlike most bitter and strong blue cheese burgers. My wife's mushroom burger was piled high with mushrooms and also rich and delicious. One tip: order the green salad. It is made with much more than lettuce (not a shred of iceberg either) and is as rich as the burgers. As for fries, Spanky's doesn't have them. You won't miss them though. The green salad makes up for it in spades. My macaroni salad was fine, but just seeing my wife's salad put me into order envy. Spanky's is pretty old school with their decor and it's small but that is what makes it a great place. Spanky's is cleaner than most roadside burger joints and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. If you are in the mood for a fresh, delicious burger in Ben Lomond, Spanky's has it read more

Dependable diner with solid prices and a good selection. Its tightly stuffed inside, but that means you get a close look at all the "Little Rascals" pictures adorning the walls. I'm a sucker for stuff like that. Food was good, prices weren't nutty and you get to look at Spanky's precious visage while you eat, so I would absolutely recommend this place. read more

This place is the chronic, I've been eating here my entire life with my family. The stuffed croissant French toast and breakfast burrito are my two favorite choices. read more

Coffee is OK. Eggs are outstanding. Croissant french toast is a marvel of our age.

Amazing service, great food, fun, brilliant idea having menu under table!! Fast service small grandmas kitchen homey feeling. :) very happy customer read more

very disappointed, was expecting a great breakfast in a small town. Ordered the breakfast burrito and it was terrible. I don't recommend it.. the waitress was with her man kissing and hugging and sitting at the table with him the entire time, unprofessional! read more

The service is usually alright, but in general the food is not. I've had great meals, but I've had more disappointing meals than great ones. In the SLV, we don't have many choices, but this is one that is reserved for the days that I just need something in my belly and don't want to do dishes. The place is for sale, and I do hope that whoever buys it makes some changes with the staff/cook. I'm not saying i won't go again, I just don't get my hopes up for something really satisfying. read more

The new management has greatly improved this place. The food was excellent and the service friendly. Recommend the eggs Benedict and a single pancake is more than enough for one person. read more

Newest owner has fixed up this place all around ! Good food, and fast ! The place is really cute now too!!

We loved Spanky's - having been driving past for 7 years, decided to see what it was all about, the outside doesn't do it justice, it's really cute and quaint inside and clean! The waitress we had was rather wonderful, she made our experience really nice. The food was good, eggs benedict was great. Hear it's busy on weekends but weekdays it's lovely and quiet. Open till 2pm so our new place for lunch because our brewery burnt down in Boulder Creek. read more

Been going to this place for years.. It had a rough spot near the end of the previous owner, when she basically did not care anymore but did not have it sold.. and then when the new owner bought it.. of course there were hiccups as she learned the business, fixed a bunch of stuff that the previous owner messed up - including staff, decor, and even her own experience as an owner.. But.. being there recently, you can see how things are brighter, happier, and smoother.. I think Ashley has done a beautiful job of making this place run.. and the food and service are great.. This is one of my favorite go-to breakfast places in the SL Valley ! read more

The breakfasts are delicious. Who cares about the service when the food is this good!!! I would definitely go back again.

Even though I was raised in the Santa Cruz mountains, I had never been to Spanky's until earlier today. I had always driven past it, but it's so unassuming I barely noticed it's existence. Honestly, I only went to Spanky's because of an extensive google search for a place near my boyfriend's Ben Lomond residence that served breakfast burritos. The food won't blow you away. But it is honest, good, genuine, and pretty delicious standard American fare. It was like going to a friends parents house for lunch when you were a kid. The restaurant was small and unprepossessing yet welcoming and homey. The staff seemed to know the majority of the customers, and were quite friendly. There were even conversations between the cooks and the customers (yes, it's that small.) There were no uniforms or themes, just various decorations and a simple setup. Even though we originally went there with a clear and passionate intent to order breakfast burritos, both my boyfriend and I ended up ordering the potato scramble (with avacado and sausage) served with biscuits and gravy. AWESOME. Huge portions (we both only were able to finish half) but still quite delicious. Decent coffee (just think standard diner coffee.) Spanky's has good, solid food and an extremely welcoming air. I'll definitely return the next time I'm craving some hearty breakfast fare. read more

I love to take my son to this place. They have a bunch of Little Rascles pictures wherever you look which we like to look at and comment on. We always sit at the counter and the servers give him extra attention which he loves of course. My fave here- The Blueberry pancake at $2.75 ea. Big as the plate and full of plump juicy blueberries. I get a side of bacon with that mmmhhmmm and call it a meal. The Bacon costs extra, does not come with the pancake. Last time my son got a side of homefries (potatoes cubed and grilled on the flattop I think...) and the Chicken Noodle Soup. Let's say that we decided to share after we eah took a bite of the others meal choices. The soup was hearty and good, real soup. Definately left full and barely spent $15.00. I reccomend this place to people who want some home cooked style food at a reasonable price for the location. Nothing fancy, but satisfying and I felt like I got my money's worth. read more

Holey Moley! This place has changed. We heard that there was going to be ANOTHER new owner and thought we'd try this place again. So glad that we did! You will NOT believe that this is the same place. It is so cute. So clean!!!!! The décor is very sweet, very fresh. It's has a very pleasing color palette of red, a soft green and black and white. It took me awhile to adjust to the freshness, the brightness and the cleanliness of the place. Yes...it is clean now! The waitress that we loved is now running the place and I have to say, she has made some great decisions. The menu is the same and from I hear there will be a new cook (thank you, thank you, thank you. That's last guy was horrendous) I ordered the French Toast, which I have loved in the past and grew to hate under the last management, and it was superb. The potatoes were quite good as well. I'm just so tickled that this place has come back to it's former glory, or maybe it will surpass it's former glory! I look forward to finding out. You MUST go in and check out the changes! You won't be disappointed! read more

Burger was exactly what I was hoping for, and Sue the waitress is probably the most delightful server I've had in years. Five stars.

So often people only write the negative on yelp, well I'm here to say the positive experience I had at Spanky's. For those who have never been I highly suggest you try this restaurant in the SC mountains. I went there for breakfast recently and I was amazed at how wonderful the food was, thanks to a Mike Barrett. It was so well done I had to ask the chefs name! I am a women with many allergies and he made my order special to fit my needs. It was an amazing meal and I can't wait to return. As long as Mike is cooking, I'll be eating! read more

Very good burger and salad. Casual atmosphere and great service! Very reasonable prices. read more

I love there pancake for breakfast you can anyone like I also like how my hot chocolate

How does this rate more than 3 stars. I have lived in Santa Cruz for about 7 years and have had my fill of breakfast and brunch dives but never ventured here until today. I used to live in SF where brunch was the new church, so believe me when I have some expectations, however, since we are 80 some odd miles away from there, I tend to be pretty relaxed. One word: Dirty. There was an underlying smell of badly cleaned and musty interior, dirty sticky floors and greasy walls and just old and outdated decor. I kept my arms off the table and just sort of sat there for 10 minutes until our orders were taken and another 20 until we were served our food. The wait staff was pretty thin, but they did a good job of keeping track of customers and their tables. I noticed one gal that seemed to be "in-charge" because she had a laptop at the counter and a Starbucks coffee in hand. I thought this was really strange to see as there was a line at the door and the counterspace could have been used to seat at least another two people. The other thing that was odd to me is that she was drinking outside coffee. If she was management, I ask,"Is the coffee that you serve your patrons not good enough for you to drink?" I give this place 1 stars because the food was cooked OK and though not great, it was edible and had some flavor and I didn't get sick. I wish I knew there was an outdoor space. . I did wonder why when we arrived there was a line out the door, but we were seated inside right away. PATIOS have free flowing outdoor oxygen! The gravy and biscuits were served lukewarm, the poached eggs were done perfectly, the potatoes were actually OK, the homemade hash was so-so, and a little dry, but otherwise OK. What wasn't OK was the 30 minute wait, the dingy overall smell, the cluttered and smelly interior, and lack of uniformity of staff and attention to cleanliness. A boy spilled a glass of water on the floor and rather than the staff getting a mop to properly clean it, they allowed the boy to use a hand-towel to wipe it up himself and then after he used his feet to clean the floor dry, place the towel on the counter behind the register. I've never mopped my own mess at a restaurant, not from lack of trying to fix my own blunders, however, any establishment should realize that they are liable for any wet floor falls or accidents and want to make sure any messes are properly cleaned by their staff. After my husband and I ate here, I had this heavy feeling in my stomach and he had heart burn. It was a little too greasy for us. I respect that this place is small, located in a small town, trying to make due, but to be honest, it's dirty and pretty poor quality food and service. I hope they can make it better. Sadly, I was sort of imagining Robert Irvine storming the place to "save" it, but that suggest the owners understand it is getting to a point where it needs to be saved. read more

The food quality was poor and the coffee was like dish water. However, the real insult was the bill. We were overcharged and left the cafe hungry. read more

I had the nicest time there today, drove from santa cruz and met a new lady, we ate and took forever, the pretty blonde waitress was so polite and waited for just the right time to do everything, 5 stars read more

I wanted to like this place, especially since I live within walking distance of the place! While this is a popular local spot, the food was awful. It wasn't fresh and my omlet had a gross aftertaste. Since the place can get crowded quickly, they tend to drop the food on the table and run so timing is important if you want good service. The blueberry pancakes are probably the safest bet and is a good deal for the money. However, other things, such as the cinnamon toast was a joke (seriously, toast with cinnamon and a pound of sugar doused over the bread). I've been there several times and feel I gave the place a fair shot. Overall, if you want a cheap, so-so breakfast this is your place. read more

One star is even too much for this place! It's filthy dirty, it took them to 15 min to give us menus, another 15 to give my husband a cup of coffee. After waiting for 40 min for our food the waitress forgot to put down our order. Avoid! read more

This is a super cute hole in the wall that is a local spot. Been here so many times over the years. Just finished breakfast which tasted good but finding help was impossible. From snide comments from the waitress on where we chose to sit to literally avoiding our table Gwen. Asked for water 3 times and coffee refill twice. Seriously disappointed in today's experience. I really hope this is not a new trend since I do love bringing friends here. read more

This place is awesome!! The new owners and managers are incredible. They all personally came and talked with us when we dined there this past Sunday. Big, good changes are coming to Spankys. Stay tuned! They will be open for dinner soon they said. I have enjoyed breakfast here for years but can not wait to see what is to come for this out dated but classic diner that has needed a change in years! read more