Food was good, customer service was below average . I feel as if we did not receive as good of a service as others. With a group of five, we had experienced discrimination and rushed customer service. The business was not busy, yet the servers did not portray the same respect to us, as to others . Possibly due to racial bias. It was a birthday celebration, there was a table across from us that had a birthday as well. They had a happy celebration, where they delivered a free dessert with a lit candle. We had asked if we could get our candle lit, the waitress walked a away quickly, & replied " No." . Another waitress at least put on a friendly face and brought us a lighter for our candle. Anything we had asked for, we did not receive. Other tables had their needs fulfilled .I had tipped generously, but did not receive the same respectful service . Not a great birthday experience. Quite rude . Would not recommend if you are someone of color. They will not treat you respectfully, if you are a group of minorities. Smh . It's 2020, the U.S. is a diverse country, why are we still being shown racial discrimination? You take trip to other countries but are racist, in a mixed, and free community. Disgusting . read more

I was in the Capitola area my friend and I decided it was a perfect day to hang in the village. We ended up at Zelda's, I've been here only once before for dinner or something I can't remember. This time we went for happy hour, I got the house margarita with a double shot, $5 bucks and It didn't taste or feel like I had a double shot, but a nice refresher. I like this place mostly because of the outdoor patio. It was a gorgeous day, and sitting outside with the ocean view is something that is hard to beat. We ordered the happy hour house nachos, which i was impressed with, they were good and a good portion. I would come back, but it would be mainly because of the space, the food is okay, drinks are alright, stick with beer and I am sure you're fine read more

Nice restaurant on the beach. You can eat inside or out. The staff was great and the food was good. We went on Sunday afternoon to watch football, they had at least 6 screens on with different games, so that was great. Great cocktails too. read more

Meh. That spicy pineapple sauce was definitely off. Lackluster service. Probably not a bad place to sit on the beach and get hammered. Clam chowder was good though skimpy on the clams. Keep on walking. read more

Breakfast super greasy (2 star). Lunch by the ocean is the one plus (4star). Dinner feels like frozen food microwaved. Prime rib and lobster was a disappointment. Service hit or miss. read more

I was assaulted at Zeldas for no reason they literly did nothing about it the bartender and barista saw it and did absultly nothing then I got pissed about it the finally Rudley told me they would go get the manager. They got my ex to get me to take this down cause her family owns the restaurant I have still not been apologized to or anything read more

The food here is adequate but a bit pricey for what you get. We sat out on the deck and had a great view of the beach. Our server was good and attentive. She was young and funny, but not spacey as I've read in some other reviews. The drinks outside of happy hour are expensive and not a generous pour. However, combine the view, the closeness to the beach - OK, you are ON the beach - and the decent food and drink and I would come back. read more

Food was ok; service was very nice but very slow; location fantastic (this is what you pay for). We came here to have lunch on my wife's birthday and had a very nice time though they sat us at 4 different tables before finally seating us for good. We were in just before happy hour, but our drinks (after happy hour began) were not discounted; my fault for not pointing it out. The deck couldn't be closer to the beach, it is a fantastic place to go if you are wanting to have an ocean view and sit outside; though I recommend only coming for drinks; the food is not very good. $100 for a few drinks and two meals! Kinda spendy for mediocre. read more

Terrible service. Table had no utensils, a server was not assigned to us, waited for about 30mins until we called one over, saw a hostess cleaning a table and accidentally spilled water all over customers back. Overall good food. read more

I wouldn't come here for a meal, but for a $2.99 happy hour Margarita, why not. Not the strongest, but perfect after a day in the sun. While the prices for a Marg or a Mai Tai are good, they really need to expand the happy hour menu. Come on Zelda's! We know you make a killing selling overpriced, underwhelming food with a fantastic beachfront view, where are the food specials? Half priced appetizers anyone? read more

Not a bad place. $10 pulled-pork was good and they were quick. Waitress was a little flirty and the weather was great. We sat ourselves (as stated by the signs) and it was good. Not great, but good. read more

used to love coming here as we have been visiting for the past 10 years, but sad to say that i don't enjoy it anymore. the customer service is just out the window at this point. one server with long blonde hair and wears heels rarely even smiles, barely checked in on us and was eating food while talking to coworkers right infront of us as we were waiting for her to pick up our check. i will normally never not tip, but we did not tip this girl. you have to work for the tip, and she didn't even do the bare minimum. went in for coffee today, took the girl forever to get to me, then finally took my order with no smile, no "hi howre you?", nothing. then says "here" as she flipped the screen for me to tip her. hell nah then takes her another 10 minutes to make my drink, mind you as she licks the whip cream off her fingers as she's making someone's dessert, and then eats calamari as she's answering the phone. i work at starbucks and this was just a huggeeee no no, like where's the customer service? anyways. finally got my drink, and it was not even warm i ended up throwing it away. wanted to tell her maybe smile and she could earn some tips. read more

Dont let the nice scenery and beach fool you. This place is extremely over rated and is all about hype. The only reason this place is packed with people is because it has A FREAKING BAR WHOOPPDEEDOOO!!. This is the place for people to drink and hook up because they've lost their sense of judement and inhibitions its much easier that way otherwise they couldnt do it w/o the beer. No offense but I mostly observe thats the only reason why people go here is because of the bar and to hook up w/ drunk ppl. Another reason is because there is a patio outside that faces the beach. LAME this is really a tourist trap, If you want to look at the beach you can do it for free w/o the freaking expensive food. I went w/ my family & gf. My gf got shrimp &chips which sucked ass the shrimps were basically the cocktail shrimps you find in ANY market and they they just breaded it and fried it. I got a seafood melt which also was horrible, it was extremely salty and you couldnt taste the crab in it. It was just smashed up meat and melted cheese. The nachos werent good either, the cheese wasnt even melted properly it was halfway melted so when you tried to pick up the chips the the cheese would just slide off of it. My sister got macaroni & cheese and it was burnt at the bottom and it looked like it came straight out from the box. It probably did. My mom got the fish snapper. It was just a flat piece of fish with no flavor. My brother got the chicken mcnuggets it was obviously frozen, just like the costco brand. The bay louie shrimp salad sucked also, the lettuce was black and wilted, WTF?!?!. All in all the food here SUCKS ASS!!!! The beer isnt EVEN ON TAP. The service is ditzy, this boy came to our table like 4 times asking if we this is what we ordered and everytime we would say no. He even did it AFTER we GOT our food. Food Rots & OVERPRICED Nothing great about this place except that it has a patio on the beach. Its a definite tourist trap. The tourists assume that since it has a patio on the beach it must have good food OH HOW WRONG THEY ARE read more

Service is okay, food is okay, locale is awesome. You can't help but hit Zelda's when in Capitola for the day. The hamburger is not seasoned, the dogs are served casper's style (tomato/onion) so they are pretty good, and the kids chicken fingers are great. Stick with the Fish and Chips for lunch and you won't go wrong though. read more

This was our first time to Capitola. We had the prime rib special, chicken parmesan and it was fantastic. Our server was Kenny and he treated us right. The price was a little high, but great place. Oh yes, it has a good bar. read more

Bad food, pricey food, the worst service ever, anywhere. But damn if they don't own a huge, ocean-front plot of land with the largest beach-front deck in the sleepy town of Capitola! So they are always busy. Walk down a few doors to the small patio at Paradise Beach Grille if you want good food and decent service and a full bar. Stay here if you don't care about food/service and you just want to see and be seen. read more

Having dinner on the deck right on the beach was fabulous. Service was mediocre. My fiancee and I both ordered mushroom New York steaks. They both were burnt and tasted like charcoal.... We had asked for a medium rare steak..... Oh well. We probably won't be returning.... read more

That's -1 stars for the food, which is very mediocre as well as expensive for what you get. I knew it was bad seeing the terrible looking steaks come out while we sat down. They looked like they came out of a restaurant from the 70's. The only reason why I ate here was because it's right on the water and I was here with my friends. What a rip off! I ordered a Caesar salad with blackened chicken. The salad dressing tasted like mayo with salt, and the chicken tasted like it was microwaved. The salad was so wilted and brown that the dressing had to cover it up. The only good thing was that our server liked my camera and took a few pics of us because he was a photographer as well. For like $18 for a terrible salad (because I added the microwaved chicken) this place is a RIP OFF! Oh and when we said we were cold, they wouldn't turn up the heaters or try to make us any warmer. read more

Mediocre place. Definitely a great location and friendly service. In fact, our waitress was pretty fast and came by often on today's busy mothers day. Unfortunately the mahi pesto sandwhich was bland as all hell. The fish was fine, it just had no flavor. The calamari on the other hand, was pretty crispy and pretty bomb. Brunch menu didn't exactly have tons of stuff on it. Prices seemed okay. I'd come back to try out a dinner entree, but otherwise, there's better restaurants in this area. You won't be missing out on much if you skip over this place. read more

Went for a sunday brunch with the family and we decided to try them out.menu is a little bit on the short side but what got me was the prices,it got me thinking they better be good.but alas it was the opposite,side order of bacon was tough,the potatoes included with the breakfast dish was a little too mushy and bland.i ordered the zelda's burger thinking it would be something really special since they tacked their name on it but its nothing more than just an average burger,not even a "secret sauce"!!and isnt it when its served the buns would have been slightly toasted or at least warm with the food,the bread was cold!!if it wasnt for the nice server we would have just walked out so we just finished up and paid.got the heck out of there and one thing is for sure,i dont see myself going back there anytime soon. read more

Can I mail order the breadsticks and caesar salad?

Second time we stopped in for the post-surf chowdown and again, we were not disappointed. We ate outside this time because it was already warming up and got to look at the gorgeous beach as we ate. Tasty food, good prices and friendly, solid service. read more

This place is awful. It was dingy, dirty, awful service, bland food. Can't think of any pluses...even the view can't save this joint.

The only reason Zelda's gets a 2 is because of their specials nights, although they recently upped their prices for even those. Otherwise, they would get a 1 in my book. Everything else is overpriced for what you get. On the other hand, if you are a fan of blonde servers and bar maids, this is a great place to ogle them along with the view of Capitola Beach. The food varies in quality from bad to good, so that averages out to mediocre. We used to go there for the prime rib and ribs specials. It's always been hit or miss here both for the food and service, but after the last price hike and poor to middling service our last few times, it is doubtful we'll return. read more

Well....I went here for breakfast yesterday (Sunday about 12:00), the first time I've gotten food here. The weather was perfect, me and my guy sat out on the deck and there was no wait for a table of two that doesn't mind sitting in the sun. I got a Bloody Mary and the server asked me which kind of vodka I wanted and listed off what they had. That was a nice surprise because usually people just assume you want well vodka, I usually I have to tell which one I want. I also ordered the eggs benedict and it was perfectly made, not overcooked like some places. The Bloody Mary was also fantastic, just enough spices. I guess everything went well for the 2 of us. We also got the complimentary muffins which was a nice touch. A little pricey, but worth it to be outside right on the beach and we didn't have any pesky birds bother us. Based on the other reviews, I guess I'm one of the few that had a good time. Maybe I should stick to breakfast? Adding to this review: I went here on a Friday night and now I am deducting one star for the bar. Very overpriced. Drinks are $1-$2 more than Santa Cruz and weaker. They try to get you to pay $2 more for a "double" which is really just what it should be in the first place. $10 for a decent drink??? No thank you. Oh, and the most painful part???? I ordered a Guinness (they had the cans which are not as good as draft, but still good) and she turned the can completely upside down over the glass, not on the side. ouch, it hurts to talk about it. Guinness needs to be poured gently, GENTLY into the glass and then topped off and allowed to settle. Any decent bartender knows that people are picky about Guinness. bad times. read more

not the best service but the food is usually pretty good. It is nice in good weather to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and the view of the ocean. Sometimes they have small bands playing that are pretty good as well. The drinks are not bad either. I like when they have salmon, and occasionally they have a good turkey burger. I do not care for their calamari though. read more

I've only been here once and it was okay. Portions were really good. Lobster thursday is the time to go (unfortunately I just developed an allergic reaction to shellfish). The steak here is pretty good. The view is okay but once you step off the resturant in the back you're on the beach! I like the old local beachy feeling of this restuarant. read more

I was pretty surprised to see the super crappy reviews for Zelda's. I've been here numerous times and the service has always been adequate. I have never had AWFUL service here, that's for sure. The only complaint I would have is that it can get packed so you might have to wait a while, but you can always grab a drink at the bar and enjoy the scenery. You can't beat the location...it is literally on the beach(u gotta seat outside if u go). The food is typical 3 star quality food but if you are lucky enough to get the "dinner menu" then dear god order the baked brie and roasted garlic appetizer...even comes with fruit and goes perfectly with a glass of Bonny Doon reisling. I've gotten myself totally psyched up to order it only to find out it's not on the "brunch", "lunch" nor the "special mother's day" menus. It should be illegal for them not have it on every menu, but obla di obla da.... read more

We decided to stop in for lunch today while we were walking by and I'm glad we did. Portions were big and the food was good and filling. I got a teriyaki chicken sandwich and my BF got fish and chips. My sandwich was pretty good I'd go back if in the area but dang what a rip off $40 for LUNCH. Ridiculous!! read more

this is what i get for not looking up a place to eat before i get in the car. if we'd gone earlier and had a view, it might have made up a little for the slow service, the overpricing, and the meh food. my grilled fish sandwich sounded great on the menu, but tasted dry, bland, and not so great in my mouth. i ended up switching entrees with my companion. his fish'n'chips was better, but still not a high point in my day. the waitress never brought us our bread basket and seemed really distracted even though there were only a few other tables taken. one perk - i had a condiment that tasted like pesto butter. yummy. a happy surprise. read more

We got off to a bad start here - our waitress was more interested in counting her tips than serving us (literally- she was sitting at a corner table counting something up). However when I finally got fed up and asked the hostess to re-seat us the rest of the evening was fabulous. Our new waitress was great and the food was excellent! My husband raved about the fried calamari, and both hubby & couldn't get over how insanely good the chocolate lava cake was. I had a burger and that was really good too. Aside from our first waitress everything else was great. Did I mention the lava cake? I think we both had a tonguegasm eating that cake. A little pricey but otherwise great. We'll definitely be going there again (get the lava cake). read more

Parking in the street only, good luck on finding a spot close by. Went in for a snack only, after lunch but before dinner. Zelda's is really a bar with a dining area, so food here is an after-thought and is expected to be mediocre. We ordered calamari rings and a clam chowder bread bowl. Both were good, service was sub-par as our (cocktail) waitress never came around to refill our water or ask how things were. I think she was too busy hanging out at the bar with the other employees. Good place for lunch, not sure about going here for dinner and actually having a real meal here. Right next to the beach, fantastic views of the ocean, great for and people watching. Not too many other people eating inside, but I saw a whole bunch of people standing in line down the street outside of a pizza place... read more

My food was slightly less than decent(soggy bread and difficult to eat, chicken Avocado sandwich) decent service. Nothing extraordinary, a bit pricey. Over $50 for two people with 2 well cocktails and a Bloody Mary that was extremely too spicy and lacked in flavor. The best part about this place is not having to enter the building and sitting outside at the beach with the surprisingly well behaved seagulls. Would take a group here for the atmosphere but not for the food. read more

well come on, it's definitely better than 2.5 stars! We came here on a sunny Sat for brunch. 1230pm, got seated right away on the rail outdoors. Perfect beach view. The coffee was clearly something gourmet, with a good strong taste. That was a surprise. The spinach omelette was quite good. Good portion, but not over sized. I'll definitely come back for brunch. read more

Zelda's is the best place to come on a beautiful day for a Bloody Mary & Brunch. I usually get the hot link scramble. The outdoor seating is literally ON the beach. Highly recommended for those sunny Santa Cruz days read more

Accidentally ended up here for the second time last weekend - slowest service anywhere and terribly mediocre food. Extra star for a beachside location and allowing me to use their restroom 9 times across three beach days and 25 beers. read more

if you like a lot of food for a little money, this is the place for you. The $4.95 breakfast is huge and includes scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and home fried potatoes. Prompt friendly service and right on the beach. Definitely a must for a fast, low-cost meal! read more

i've been to zelda's twice and both times have been pretty pleasant. it's a restaurant by the beach so you can't really expect anything glamorous - it's food/drinks = by the beach, it's not the Ritz Carlton for goodness' sake. i love the appetizer, baked brie with roasted garlic with bread and apples. it's not anything i've ever had anywhere else, sounds like a strange combination but it's really good! their drinks are also yummy, i tried their margarita = good, bloody mary = yum, lava flow = it's like drinking dessert, delish! i recommend this place, they have a good spot over-looking the beach in cute little downtown capitola. just make sure you have change for the meters, cops drive around all day long waiting to give tickets. read more

Fun atmosphere - dining right on the beach in Capitola outdoors is very nice. The inside looks kind of old - could defintiely use a renovation. Food was okay - definitly mediocre at best. Wait staff was average - a little slow w my simple requests. Definitely a place to come for a quick lunch and mostly to enjoy the views. read more

Surprised to only see 2.5 stars for this place. Our party had the eggs benedict, fish and chips, and a special almond banana pancake on a Saturday morning. Fish and chips were awesome - pleasantly battered, and really crispy fries. Eggs benedict was pretty awesome as well, if a little small portioned. Little expensive, but you're paying for decent food with an incredible view. read more