The star is for the great food. The pasta and pizza were tasty. I was even looking forward to the dessert. However, as we were halfway through our meal, an older woman who I assume is the owner, approached us. She first greeted the table ahead of us and asked if they needed drinks. When it came to our table, she didn't greet us and instantly made a comment that made me uncomfortable so I didn't want to stay for too long. I also saw the waiter offer another table a water bowl for their pup and didn't do the same for us. read more

One of the best Italian (American) cuisine in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately couldn't get a last minute reservation for David Kinch's Mentone but this unexpected runner-up has me wanting to come back to La Posta. Antipasti - a farmers platter of a sort. Presentation is A1 out of the park no doubt. Combination of flavors provide rich sweet, salty, and savory palate teasers. Primi - The pasta here had a nice meaty shredded meat ragu. Great dish but I do wish there was more sustenance. Secondi - Huge meaty balls. Amazing sauce. Finished every bite. My girl ordered this and I wish I had ordered it. Not as heavy as I thought it would be and each bite is a flavor explosion. Pairs really nice with a cabernet. Plating and presentation here is second to none. Not an entirely fancy setting but recommended for expensive casual dining. Would come back. I forgot his name but the bald guy was my favorite server. He recommended all of our drink pairings and deserves a lot. Thank you guys for the experience! read more

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Went here because place next door had a long wait & we saw they had a seafood stew special. The service was excellent. Super nice people. The kid had a pizza (burrata/sausage/kale) which he inhaled. My friend and I both ordered the stew. Hers arrived cold and went right back. I was still waiting for mine which arrived hot but was really, really...not good. Aggressively flavorless to the point it tasted like canned soup. Not even the seafood could save it. Felt awful sending two more back, but did and they were so nice about it. I hate doing that, but at $30 a plate, if it's not enjoyable... Ended up with two more pizzas instead, which were delicious. I had the speck one which was fantastic and even better as leftovers. My friend had a veggie one. So - service: excellent. Pizzas - very good. Special - not so special. All in all would definitely go back. read more

Amazing , peaceful environment. Quiet , it was warm with a slight breeze so; of course, outdoor seating :) Inside was nice too but wanted the sun and brightness. Croquette di merluzzo - The best part of the meal to me (besides the Panna Cotta for Dessert) black cod croquettes, scallions, radish, snoked paprika aioli--- It wasn't too "fishy " it was very unique in taste In a beautiful way. Couldn't even put my finger on the exact tastes. So many flavors blending exquisitely. Grilled Kashiwase Peaches- Loved the dish went perfectly with the prosciutto I wonder , if the peaches were flambéed , how it would have set a contrasting tone to the fatty meat . But it was good:) Agnolotti del Plin - "pasta parcels with pork, chicken, rabbit, & spinach, butter sauce, parmigiano" The texture and the flavor was mine blowing. Cooked to a perfect consistency, the meat had such a great flavor. I loved this dish. The small bath of broth was PERFECT amount for the pasta served. I loved it and it was totally worth the experience. I also want to thank our server for a peaceful experience. Maxim brought us some of our dishes and helped us though the night along side our servers, and took care of our table so well. We were served so smoothly it was so seamless, that we were having an amazing time without a worry. Plates cleared so smoothly, plates served timely, Extremely respectful and personable staff Thank you for the great experience with my parents:) Recommended for a nice night out. read more

Well, how does one see the old year old? With class of course and last night Barbara Beerstein & I got take-out from La Posta on Seabright in SCruz. This restaurant is an old friend and they didn't let us down. For the antipasto we had a zuppa, which was a cauliflower-celery root soup garnished with Freddy's porcini. Perfect for a cold night to end the year. We also had Crostino. A baccala consisting of OceanToTable smoked black cod, lemon aioli & herbs on toast points. At this time we opened a 2014 William Selyem Allen Vineyard Pinot Noir. This pinot still has many years left in it. A very dense cheery top with a traditional tobacco-chocolate finish typical of pinot noirs. We moved on to our primo, an insalata of fresh Dungeness crab mixed with watercress and citrus that was dressed with delightful green goddess. Right next to it was a pancetta consisting of warm pork belly, yes indeed, with chicories and roasted apples lightly dressed with balsamic vinegar. The wine continues to open resulting in a more even taste palate. Wow, lots of wonderful flavors to usher in the secondo. BB had the coniglio, a rabbit cacciatore of black & pan fried polenta. The pan jus accompanied the dish perfectly. Though I am not particularly fond of root vegies, it is winter, it is their season and it was prepared by La Posta, so it would be good. This dish was agnello, a braised lamb shank accompanied by roasted parsnip, rutabaga & celery root. What can I say, but WOW!. The lambs was moist & tender with the vegies lending a flavorful accompaniment. By now the pinot had fully opened and we were able to experience the joys of a William Selyem Russian River pinot. Darn tootin' it is good. Now for the dulce. A budino made up of chocolate pudding, candied pistachios and covered in orange peel. We opened a 2012 Veuve Clicquot to the smell of yeast and taste of exquisitely small bubbles. The widow makes good wine. Oops, I almost forgot the torta. This was a dense ginger cake & brandied apples with whipped crème fraiche. Just a delightful pair of desserts to finish a meal with. We gave a toast by saying arriverderci 2020, and another welcoming toast to 2021 with buonasera with all our friends. read more

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We've been here twice recently. The food is absolutely delicious. Every dish we ordered surpassed expectations. The waiters were friendly and attentive. The sommelier, however, was rude. He laughed at me when I tried the wine he poured me to taste (before pouring the rest of the bottle). I said, "that's great, thank you." We were puzzled by his reaction. He also had a general snobby air about him which feels a little too on the nose for a sommelier. His attitude spoiled my experience. I'd hesitate to come back which is a shame because we had fallen in love with La Posta the first time we ate their a few weeks prior. read more

Went twice in the last two months. First time the food was good. Service was fine. Second time we went specifically for Trout. The trout was a fatty salmon like fish. Apparently it's farm raised trout and supposed to be like salmon. Ugh! So disappointing. The bread came out cold. Like cold. It's decent bread but if it was even a little warm it would have been edible. The beet salad was fine. The service on the second visit was outstanding. The service on the first visit was not memorable either way. On both visits they had two musicians. When they walk around near your table it's pretty loud. I'd suggest a guy with an acoustic guitar, sitting stationary somewhere. It was too much. Not sure if we will go back. read more

I had a nice dinner here during short stay in SC. The Farm Salad was fresh and flavorful with a vinaigrette dressing and reggiano. I ordered the Seared Black Cod for my main and it was perfectly cooked with a subtle flavor from shallots and fermented chili. The scallion broth added a unique touch to the dish. For dessert, I went with a couple scoops of gelato. The service was very good and attentive. I will definitely consider dining here again. read more

La Posta - Seared Black Cod - Italian Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Food and service excellent. Don't miss the house made bread. Worth a trip there for that alone. Pasta dishes were uniformly excellent. Would get a 5* rating but ......,,.really $30 corkage for the first bottle and $35 for the second??!!!!!! Why restaurants feel they have to gouge customers who collect their own wines and enjoy drinking them with friends at a dinner out where they are spending $300+ for a dinner including tip escapes me. I mean isn't $20 a bottle a fair mark up for just opening the damn thing? Even better, free corkage if you buy a bottle off the menu. Just feel abused when restaurants gouges on corkage. Makes me suspect their overall respect for the customer. read more

Fantastic food! Very nice atmosphere, clean and relaxing. We had great service! A must try!

Sat in the Court yard last night and had another great dinner with friendly, smart, helpful service. My wife and I have been coming here for many years and it still is the best restaurant in Santa Cruz. The food and friendliness are perfect. The pastas are all homemade and the ingredient's are super fresh. I always order the Blue Heron Farm Salad with shaved Parmesan. The lettuce is always crisp and has a very light fresh vinaigrette with light fresh pepper. I like to pick up each leaf with my fingers and eat each one delicately. I love it. Two people can share it. Last night we had the calamari. The sauce on the calamari is incredible. It tastes like a very light chimichurri with very fine Italian parsley and olive oil. The fennel is sliced very thin and with the addition of the garbanzo beans, makes a really wonderful fresh dish. Every time I come here I try to find a dish with fennel. I can't seem to match La Posta's ability to use it so well. Finally, we had two pastas. The pasta dishes always change and it is a surprise to come here and try something different every time. At the end of the night, I had some sauce left over and our waiter brought over some bread to clean it all up. Great service, great sauce, great bread. La Posta is a local treasure. read more

We've had a few very nice meals at La Posta over 4-5 years, but more than once encountered attitude problems. The food was good enough that we've returned to dine in before COVID, and since done one carryout and attempted a second. The first one disappointed because my wife's entree was wrong. The second attempt was a total failure. I called in the order around 3:30 before leaving home to head into town for shopping, and to pick up the food -- two entrees and a salad. I gave the order to an answering machine, left my cell number. Their website says they'll call back. Not! An hour later, after shopping, called again, left message, asked for callback. No response. Parked outside the restaurant around 5:05, called again, got the machine. Put on a mask and walked inside. No order ready for us -- turned out, the guy who took it was working the door, said it came in during his break, didn't follow up. Seemed surprised when I told him we weren't going to wait around while they cooked it. We live in Bonny Doon, a 45 minute ride from the restaurant. We planned our afternoon and evening around a special dinner. There's no excuse for a business like this not answering the phone when customers call -- they were open, perhaps four inside tables seated, but no way could they be described as "busy." I'd read that restaurants don't like to answer the phone. I was disappointed to learn that one I was trying to do business with was one of them. We've crossed them off our list. Stopped on the way home for pizza at our favorite spot in Felton. read more

I am surprised to see that this place is below 4 stars, because it's one of the best Italian spots in SC! I've never had a bad meal here, and they KNOW their wine. During our most recent visit, their wine guy came to our table to help us choose which wine we wanted and he was so knowledgeable and passionate. The wine we got was incredible and exactly as he described. Our server was wonderful, as well, and we found that we kept saying how good of a waiter he is!! So attentive and friendly. I love La Posta! read more

Such a disapointment. We used to eat here often before the pandemic. We got take-out from them during the pandemic and it was fine. This was our first visit since the pandemic, and holy jebus, it was terrible. Service was attrociously awful. Our server, Emily, was more interested in socialize with her coworkers than doing her job. We spent so much time waiting and waiting and waiting. We waited to have our order taken. We waited for food to come out. Apparently someone forgot to put in the order for the pizza. One of the busboys came out with the dessert menus before the pizza showed up. Our server was no where to be found. After waiting 20 minutes, we flagged down Emily to ask where the pizza was and she disapeared again for several minutes, only to claim that the kitchen was backed up, and the pizza would be out in about 3 minutes. Ten minutes later (after already 20 minutes) the pizza finally arrived. It was burnt and black on one side, and barely cooked at all on the other side. Then the bill came, and we waited more. Emily walked past us multiple times, ignoring the bill. We got tired of waiting and walked it up to the host station to pay. They lost a customer tonight. We're not going to spend *2* hours at dinner waiting nearly half that time for service. read more

Excellent food. Made fresh and you can tell. Had the special, lamb pappardelle, husband had the halibut and our guest had the tagliatelle. We all ordered dessert, all of them. The rhubarb and Almond cake was so moist and delicious and I am a strict chocolate girl. Service was wonderful. Thanks for a fantastic meal! read more

La Posta - Lamb pappardelle. - Italian Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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We came here to celebrate my daughter's move-in week in college. Food was wonderful and the staff even better. I would definitely come back when we visit my daughter. Highly recommend to all families visiting Santa Cruz. Pastas were all homemade and desserts were yummy. read more

La Posta - Italian Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I don't really understand the hype around La Posta. I have been living in Santa Cruz for over a year now, and people always rave about the food here. Well, my boyfriend and I celebrated our anniversary last night and made a reservation for 7:30 pm. I'm not sure they fully understand the concept of a reservation, because we got there on time and were made to wait until past 7:50 until we were seated. Once seated, the busser brought us waters fairly quickly but our server didn't come by to take our drink order for a while (rule #1: no matter how busy you are, at least make sure the patrons have alcohol in front of them). After finally putting in our order for food and drinks (we decided to do it all at once given the pace of service), it took another ten minutes to receive our wine. Honestly, the place was busy but not crazy busy. Maybe it's because they are short staffed (I know COVID has caused a lot of local business to be short staffed). But either way, the slow service really put a damper on the whole evening. When the food did come (Panzanella salad, Halibut with veg, and a bread bowl) it was good but it wasn't amazing. I think the Panzanella salad was the best. (Also: an Italian restaurant that charges for bread? Come on). Our server was very sweet, but for the prices they charge I would really expect a better experience overall. Not sure I'd go back again, to be honest. Tramonti next door has great food and good service, and their prices are much more reasonable. read more

There are so many amazing reviews, but we had the worst experience tonight. We arrive right at 5pm (with a reservation) & they sat us down instantly. The waiter didn't come over until 15+ minutes after sitting down. The hostess brought us water & gave us bread while we waited for our server. The food was alright, but the portions are extremely small & barely any of the meals come with any sort of protein. In addition, we watched either the owner or one of the managers go to every single table and had full conversations with each table but ours. If you go, I hope you have a better experience than us because we won't be back. read more

Best restaurant in Santa Cruz!!!! Excellent food. Everything on the menu is good. Don't forget the homemade bread. read more

We eat here often (we live nearby) and continue to have great food every. single. time. The servers know the wine menu and can help you find great wine to accompany the food and to bring you new taste experiences. During the lockdown, I participated in their wine classes and enjoyed trying a lot of wines that were new to me with the guidance of their wine buyer (?). We enjoy sitting in the back patio and appreciate that La Posta has continued to offer outdoor seating since the pandemic. read more

I love everything about La Posta! The food is excellent - if they have a pasta special definitely order it because the homemade pastas and sugos are amazing - the place itself is open and light, befitting the old post office setting - and most of all the people! So friendly and warm, make a Santa Cruz newcomer feel like a long term local... read more

We really enjoyed their unique menu featuring delicious choices for both meat eaters and vegans. The buttery corn and ricotta ravioli melted in your mouth; the lemony light crispy sole was covered in herbs and capers; the special pork pasta had a nice blend of rich flavorful sauce and chewiness. The wines by the glass were distinctive. And the vanilla gelato with espresso was sinfully yummy. You can also take home some of their freshly baked bread. Reservations are suggested. Wonderful neighborhood feel in an uncrowded part of town. read more

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This place is a hidden Gem. Our waitress was amazing, thoughtful, and knew so much about wine! Thank You for a great dinner.

La Posta is a hidden gem in town, serving amazing Italian food that strikes the perfect balance between traditional and contemporary. The atmosphere is lovely; intimate inside dining (pre-pandemic) and a spacious and airy patio for outdoor dining at the current time. The service is great. And there is an extensive wine list! All around a wonderful place to get dinner. read more

La Posta - ricotta ravioli in a lemon cream sauce - Italian Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Easily one of the best restaurants in Santa Cruz, this place hits nine out of ten times. It's good California Italian, great ingredients, good presentation, fantastic wine. This is our favorite place to treat ourselves. And we've tried... most (not all) spots of mention in Santa Cruz. We appreciate that the menu changes up pretty regularly so we never get tired of coming here. If I was going to pick on one thing it's that the service is... a little on the slow side, but I suspect they are having staffing issues like everyone else. read more

Everything is always delicious. Don't forget to order the Salsiccia pizza or the Walnut-Rosemary bread!

We have always enjoyed a wonderful experience with friendly, attentive service and amazing food at La Posta. This time the food was delicious as usual, but the service was abysmal. We had made a 9pm reservation and were looking forward to a four course meal. The waiter arrived without a greeting and began to coldly read the specials. He never asked what we would like to drink, despite an extensive wine menu. He then left us to read over the menu. He returned and we ordered an Antipasto. We hadn't decided on the rest of the meal yet. He delivered the Antipasto and asked what else we wanted. We had decided on the Primo course, but not the rest of the meal. He asked if he could take our full order since the kitchen would be closing soon and they don't usually serve that late! Why is a 9pm reservation offered, if there is not enough time for a four course meal? We quickly decided on a Secondo course and a Contorno. He asked if everything could be served at once. We answered NO. We felt very rushed, and we didn't have time to enjoy a full meal. After finishing the Primo, we sat 10 minutes with dirty plates while the waiter told his life story to customers two tables away. The bus boy finally showed up and cleared the table. We asked if we could get fresh plates and utensils. The table still had not been cleaned. We sat another 10 minutes waiting for our Secondo and Contorno while the waiter finished with his story. The Secondo and Contorno were finally served and were delicious. When finished, the bus boy cleared the table but did not clean it. There were now three courses of droppings on the table. The bus boy returned with dessert menus and placed them on the dirty table. The waiter placed desert spoons on the dirty table and asked what we wanted for dessert. There was literally a bean two inches from my spoon. Receiving this kind of poor service ruined the whole dining experience, despite the outstanding food. I wonder if I will ever return. read more

Dinner and we were very happy with our meal. We had a bottle of Le Berne Sangiovese that was wonderful. For food, we had the egg plant, short rib ravioli with mushrooms and Sausage pizza. Ravioli was my favorite, then egg plant, then pizza. All were yummy! Ravioli had so much mushroom flavor; it was very balanced and wonderful! Egg plant was earthy and the red sauce was very good and straight forward. You could taste the egg plant like it was grown near by. Again, very balanced. Pizza was ok. Didn't really stand out to me versus the other dishes but still good. Ambiance - Seating is outside in the parking lot but they do their best to make it feel comfortable. Heaters, lights...all good! We visited other higher rated restaurants in SC but this was our favorite. Would definitely go back. Cheers! read more

After looking at this place for years and always passing it, finally came per the invitation of some friends. The short rib pasta was amazing. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his parchment paper fish that was perfectly cooked. The salads are amazing and the butternut squash ravioli with pine nuts is also a winner. They do to go orders-- if you are going to spend 76.00 on a to go order I recommend here. They have specials (19.00 for certain items and a glass of wine for eat-in orders-- I forget which day). Their pizzas are also fantastic. Side Note: Be patient because parking in the area is horrible. Plan in advance! read more

A pleasant dinner was had in this ancient building. Decided to eat here on the strength of the above average crowd sourced Yelp reviews. Also came because it was Tuesday $17 nite. Featured are special pizzas and pastas with a glass of wine. Added a delicious watermelon salad for $6. Menu is more adventurous than the typical American-Italian resto. The pizza tonite has squid on it. Looks & tastes great! The paparadella pasta special with home made sausage was smooth as silk & twice as tasty. If the specials don't intrigue you there are 10 more items. All wines imported from Italy. The house red or white is $6 for a generous pour. Service is Santa Cruz friendly & helpful. Dining room is pretty stark, yet well maintained. Because of the stone floor and walls, the noise level is quite high. Really enjoyed the food. Cost: figure $30 per person before tax & tip. Recommended. read more

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This remains our local go to for consistently great food and service. Nice selection of wines. We had the warm olive and chicories salad for appetizers. Ordered some of their fantastic sourdough bread. For mains, halibut and daily special chitarra pasta with rock shrimp. All were super delicious! For dessert, olive oil lemon tort with house-made strawberry gelato. We left fully satiated! read more

We had a great dinner at La Posta. We were visiting Santa Cruz and wanted to have a nice dinner out. Read all the reviews and decided to give it a try. Saw on the internet they had a special Tuesday dinner - $17.00 for special pizza or pasta and a glass of wine. We had the Pizza Amatriciana and the special Pasta dish of the night. The house wine you get with the special is really good, both the white and the red varietals. We also had a refreshing and delicious watermelon salad as an appetizer. I would have loved to try some of their other dishes which when delivered to some of the other diners, looked yummy! The server was really great - he was very familiar with all the dishes on the menu and the food came out in timely fashion. Very enjoyable and not too expensive meal in Santa Cruz. read more

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Best Italian in Santa Cruz that I've found. Great food; great ambiance, inside and out; great wine. Good for a date. Changing menu. Reso recommended. read more

Recent visit was just okay for me. The service seemed off. The food was good. But it did not wow me. We had the pasta with crab dish, and there was quite a bit of shell in the dish. read more

The service and food were excellent. The lighting outside made it very comfortable and the restaurant week menu was a great meal for a very reasonable price. It's nice to have places like this open again. read more

I haven't left a review in a while, but I feel compelled to leave one now. I'm very disappointed by the food. First of all, the portion sizes are ridiculous for the price and quality of the food. The appetizer crostini came with two pieces of bread. Who are we kidding here for sixteen dollars? Entrees were dismal. Old, overcooked eggplant and peppers, watery gnocchi sauce with no seasoning (not exaggerating), and noodles that were not fresh. Also, we weren't allowed to get tap water. Only bottled. If the food was Michelin star quality, I would've overlooked this, but it now seems like a preemptive kick in the butt. A pre-f*** you before we shaft you with the prices. A facade of a "fancy" restaurant. Average is a strong word. Next time I want Italian, I think I'll choose Prego from my nearest Safeway. read more

This used to be one of our favorite places in Santa Cruz, however considering our few last experiences, we probably won't be coming back. Starting with positives first: inside feels upscale and nice; mirrors on the walls help the perception of expanded space! Great and friendly service could add to the amazing experience there. Something that I couldn't wrap my head around is their chef's obsession with kale. Like literally, almost every dish has a variation of kale (including pizza and pasta) - one would need to read the menu (list of ingredients) carefully. While kale itself isn't a huge issue, combined with under seasoned dishes it creates a weird sensation on one's pallet (could be described as "they tried very hard, but missed the forest for the trees" while trying). Additionally, menu is rather limited with only 3-4 options per course. Having said that, I am cheering for this place as I feel that it still has a potential! read more

Ive eaten here many times since my review and felt the need to update the review. The food is still good but I feel like the preparation and quality has fallen slightly over the last year or two. Desserts are still the weak link for me. I like that the portion sizes are not over the top but I do feel a bit of a disconnect with price, quality, and portion size. $16 for a salad is fine if I can share that salad with my partner...$16 for a salad that is 5 bites is a bit much. My main reason for updating the review is that service used to be spot on and something has happened. Our service hasn't been bad but it has not been to the same caliber as what I am used to with La Posta. The one outlier for service was with Fabrizio. He wasn't our server but might have been the host or a busser. Either way he was so warm, friendly and attentive. Last nights dinner: 2 salads, 2 mains, 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine, 2 beers = $175 read more

Excellent house made pastas. Fabulous service. Order the walnut rosemary bread - so good. Covid note: only paper and plastic ware is used. Good heat lamp access. read more

La Posta is by far the best, most consistent, and welcoming restaurant in Santa Cruz county. The ingredients always feel fresh, healthy and the meals are always delicious! The staff is consistently friendly and it's apparent how much they love the food and restaurant they work for. Our favorite nights are Wednesdays when they host neighborhood night with delicious food, a free glass of wine with any pasta or pizza dish ordered and the most amazing musical accompaniment to the meal with the lovely live music shared by Paul and Emily. We cannot recommend La Posta enough to everyone who lives here and visits! read more