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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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

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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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

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

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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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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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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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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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

A little pricey, but it is part of a hotel, so I suppose it should be expected. Other than that, Sanderlings is wonderful! The menu had options like tender strip steak sandwiches to bowls of udon and fish tacos, Sanderlings delivers in flavor and variety. They also meticulously plate each dish. The service is top-notch as the server continued to check on us. (We were having a sort of mini reunion so we sat there for 3 hours!). The drink menu was also delicious. The indoor and outdoor patio are both spacious and beautiful. Whether you're a local or out-of-tower, I think Sanderlings is a great place to visit for a meal or a drink.. or both! read more

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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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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

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

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

Sanderlings - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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

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

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

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

Service takes a bit of time, but, the servers themselves are quite friendly. Drinks taste great! The views are immaculate; absolutely the highlight of going here. read more

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

We are actually local and fully love this place .view of second d to none. There's a little spot where the kids can play while you have a cocktail and wait for your meal to come. The food has been great so far, and the service is exceptional?! Isn't that all we're looking for in a good restaurant?! read more

Genuinely so disappointed. $300 Valentine's Day meal that was tasteless. Everything from our extremely overpriced four course meal definitely was made in advance and sat under a heat lamp. This restaurant either tries so hard to be different on the simple things like a Shirley temple or bread service or they just don't know how to do anything at all. I can't tell which option is worse. The most redeeming thing about this experience was the immense amount of parking. There was a constant smell of campfire, as if I was sitting in front of one, the room was filled with it. The portions were extremely small. "Oysters" means 1 per person. Don't waste your time driving to this restaurant, not even for the view. The best thing there is the clam chowder. Worst 300$ I've spent in my life. Such a let down. read more

I kind of feel the menu shrinks every time I come here. Honestly, I eat here because I'm staying at the Seascape resort. I wouldn't go out of the way for it. You do have an amazing view and the staff is very friendly, but I'm not amazed by the food. I had a cheeseburger, medium, but the edges tasted kind of burned. I had the chocolate mousse dessert, it was good. read more

Sanderlings - Chocolate Mousse - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

The restaurant is absolutely beautiful! The food is ok, but the view makes up for it. Their event planning staff leaves a lot to be desired! We originally went to talk to somebody about booking a dinner after our June wedding in the fall, we were told it was too early and they don't book further than 6 months in advance but that somebody would call us back to give us all the details. We never heard back from anybody but waited a couple months until it was closer to their 6 month mark to schedule. We went back the end of December, a little more than 6 months in advance and were told the date is already booked. Pretty frustrated that it was no issue for somebody else to make reservations more than 6 months in advance after we were told we had to wait and never heard back from anybody. This was one of our favorite restaurants and after this we have absolutely no intentions of going back. Feels quite a bit like they heard we were having a smaller group so they waited until a bigger group wanted to book. That's just slimy business and I don't like it! We won't be back and I won't recommend it to anybody else either. read more

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

I'm not sure why this restaurant only has 3 stars. I had such a wonderful experience. My boyfriend and I came in an hour before closing and I'm pretty sure we were the last table of the evening. We had friendly and welcoming service from Sylvia, she was sweet and attentive. Our food was fresh and I enjoyed every bite. 10/10 experience and I can't wait to come back. read more

Service was a little slow, food was Mushroom ravioli Salmon Calamari Ciopinno Hamburgers Chicken fingers The Ciopinno was in the small side and it didn't come with any starch (noodles or bread). I did ask for bread later on. The crab had no taste to it, like it was frozen for a long time and all of the flavor evaporated when it was reheated. The rest of the seafood sss good and it was a good one sitting serving, but not as good as other Ciopinno that I have had recently. The hamburgers were part of my room reservation, they seemed ok but I gave them to my daughter and in-laws. Mushroom ravioli was good but it was extra mushrooms in a weird way to me. Like the there was ravioli and then while mushrooms in the sauce. The textured and flavors were just not working for me read more

Sanderlings - Caesar salad - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

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They don't have a large menu but what they do have is yummy! Great quality and good service.

There needs to be more vegetarian options on both restaurant and bar menu. Perhaps a vegetable pasta, personal pizza or other. There are very few options for vegetarians. read more

Interesting the oh no's... what's not beautiful about having a great experience? I've been here many times over the years for weddings, date night with hubby, and meeting my sister , brother and dad for lunch. I've always have been very happy. Oh no's should be for bad experiences- not that we had a lovely time- food drinks service & ambiance Not dm'ing I was paid to give it. Special place ! read more

Sanderlings - Best Bloody Mary's! - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

Staff was nice but the food was pretty bad and wayyyy overpriced. Won't be back. Views were great.

So we were staying at Seascapes for a once in a lifetime adventure to celebrate our twins birthday, and looked up the Sanderlings online menu as we have teens and one adult who are neurodiverse and also finicky eaters. The menu prices were reasonable on the higher end and while there were more fancy sounding dishes than our family typically likes, there was at least one thing everyone could / would eat. When we arrived we were handed a menu for room service that did not have much recognizable other than salad and Brussel sprouts, which were not what we had researched, and also not in line at all with tastes for finicky discriminating diners. Of note, a lot of people who are neurodiverse are "picky eaters", and while we don't expect the world to cater to us.... it is disappointing to have done your research ahead of time and think you might be able to have room service or eat onsite a few times for ease free to realize there is absolutely nothing on the menu suited towards picky eaters. We called to see what options were available if we dined on site instead of room service, they said that there wasn't anything not on the room service menu at the restaurant. Seascapes was amazing, and thank goodness for closeby grocery stores, we were able to eat for 3 days what it would have cost our entire family to eat at Sanderlings once. It was disappointing though to think we would be able to treat the boys to a really nice dinner onsite for their birthday to find out the menu completely changed with zero choices on it for picky eaters. Every neurodiverse person is different, and also a lot of neurodiverse people are picky eaters and have anxiety to downright refusing unusual foods, and want some "familiar" foods. Sanderlings we are disappointed that you changed your menu and also didn't change it online first, and that you menu does not at all appear to be friendly to people with food sensitivities and aversions, which is not at all friendly to a lot of the neurodiverse community and population. Here is a photo of the current menu. We could not convince anyone to try anything off this menu, which kind of defeats the purpose of a hotel restaurant... especially when you have guests that are willing to pay for a nice, special meal and convenience. Please do better and think inclusively. Even a handful of common; simpler entries and appetizers that are recognizable and less exotic would be a good start; as well as not surprising guests with a completely revised menu. **Sanderlings for some reason this review resorted to an account that does not have my legal name, if you need to confirm who I am for validation please email me and I can provide validating information on our stay read more

Sanderlings - Current menu as of 11/03/2024 - Seafood Near Me - Aptos, California

We stayed here at the Seascape Beach Resort for a few days and definitely did not want to miss out on trying the restaurant. It did not disappoint! The calamari had to be the most tender fried calamari I have ever had. We ordered the halibut and the salmon, and both dishes were delicious. My dinner date was not a fan of the fennel frisée that came with the salmon but enjoyed the English pea mint purée. The staff service was great and helpful with getting the umbrella up on the patio for us, and then graciously helping us move indoors because a Yellowjacket kept disturbing us. The view of the bay was beautiful. read more

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