Fish rubbery. Small portions. Breaded super light. Not crunchy. Fries are crinkle cut like in the photos. The photos are old. The plate doesn't look like that anymore. I would only go for the ambiance. The views on the wharf are obviously amazing. It's just super touristy there. The food is not up to par for your fish and chips needs. I live in Scottsdale Arizona and have had waaaay better fish n chips. Just expected more. Service was actually really good though. I appreciated that for sure. Sucks when the food just doesn't match up.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Sauce
Jamie M.
Beautiful views but terrible food. Ordered the Warm Crab Melt for $22 and the crab is clearly not fresh. It was colorless and flavorless. Waitress told me the crab is frozen. I believe it was canned.
friscosbella sfnative
We really enjoyed the service here. The food was great as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dozen Raw Oysters, Riva's Famous Fried Calamari, Crab Melt
Bob D.
In a world of pretentious over the top Bay'ish area choices, Riva's is the choice for high end food at regular end prices. One of the best settings anywhere, with the menu to match. Great service whether your a party of 1 or 10.
Mostafa Shoukry
The charbroiled fish is excellent. Fried calamari and crab cakes appetizers were also very good. Service and atmosphere is nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
American Angler
And when I told the Colonel about the crate of M18A1 Claymores just sitting right there in the sand dunes he didn't believe me, so I sent him a picture.And you know what...there was a helicopter with a bunch machine gun guys there in 3 minutes. They didn't fool around, they even took my phone and erased everything about it! Then the Colonel said let's go get something to eat ...the Riva Fish House is just up the way, we'll go there, have a nice lunch and I'll tell you all about the crate of backpacks that you found. Backpacks he said.Man-O-Man the Shrimp Louie was Spectacular! 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
Robert Beller
Very popular place. Good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chowder
Elizabeth I.
I came here with a friend for a late lunch. We both ordered their fish and chips and also shared the fried zucchini with ranch dressing i .Plus I ordered a diet coke.The food was very tasty..I got some mayo to dip my fries into and of course tarter sauce and cocktail sauce for the fish. The Service was good. We sat bythe window overlooking the water The resteraunt wasn't that busy . I recommend this place
Carla Ball
This is a beautiful place. Wait staff is freindly, knowledgable, and on point. The space is well maintained and has an excellent views of the ocean. The food is delicious and served in a timely manare. I really loved their fresh bread!I had the salmon with an orange rosemary sauce, very delicious. The other person had fish and chips with fries, beautiful big prawns batter was flavorful and fish was good.The price is about $20 per person for entrees.Parking: Lots of spots, mostly full but there is usually a place to park.Wheelchair accessibility: Plenty of ranp to go onto the sidewalk and into the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fries, Chowder
Yellow Bluebonnet
A great view and place to relax but the potion sizes were a bit small. Good food though and great service!
Literally the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. My friend and I threw up immediately after eating here. We got a full refund for our food because we told the manager that all of our dishes were not right. We ordered the linguine, curry, and fisherman's plate. Also the calamari appetizer. All of it was disgusting. The food was clearly cooked in old oil. We are not ones to complain about food. But this was another level. Also the table next to us was complaining about their food too.
Karabo O.
The food was absolutely horrible. I got the Linguini and Prawn pasta dish. It had no flavor, was just pepper and tomato. I couldn't even eat the bowl. I went with two other friends. They got the yellow curry and fisherman's plate. Both were also questionable. The curry had soggy tofu and we added prawns for an additional price. Which seemed a little steep. None of us finished our plates. The calamari tasted odd and I think the oil was quite old. I don't want to sound like a -- but one of my friends threw up after having the calamari. Something wasn't right.
Mark L.
My wife and I had dinner as a "walk-in" at the Riva Fish House on the wharf in Santa Cruz, CA, last night. The place was "popping" with people (always a good sign) and only a 30 min wait for us without a reservation. We were pleasantly greeted by a hostess who took our name and cell phone number. This let us cruise around the wharf until electronically notified that we were next. Our server, Neal, greeted us taking our orders. We enjoyed a long loaf of sour dough bread with soft-buttery spread. Not waiting very long at all, we were served grilled Mahi Mahi and "fish & calamari" along with cups of white clam chowder. Quality of everything was excellent. My wife very much enjoyed the "lemon-butter sauce" with her Mahi Mahi. Hard to do "just right," the calamari was cooked to perfection. I really wanted to try their lava cake or some gelato, but both of us were too full! From hostess to server, Neal, to all the other workers constantly moving around serving folks yummy food, clearing dishes, cleaning tables, and pouring water, coffee or tea. We watched folks helping others no matter what their primary job was. To the person all worked with a pleasing demeanor, smiles and swiftness. All in all, we very much enjoyed our evening and food at the Riva Fish House. We highly recommend it to all - young and old. We do suggest a reservation if you don't want to wait.
Christopher Parker
There’s often a wait, but it is worth it!The clam chowder is easily in my top 3! The rum runner was refreshing and the surf and turf tacos were exquisite (if a little spicy).Staff was courteous and attentive. Even with every table seated, the ambiance and views were relaxing and enjoyable.Certainly worth a visit if you’re in Santa Cruz.
Fish rubbery. Small portions. Breaded super light. Not crunchy. Fries are crinkle cut like in the photos. The photos are old. The plate doesn't look like that anymore. I would only go for the ambiance. The views on the wharf are obviously amazing. It's just super touristy there. The food is not up to par for your fish and chips needs. I live in Scottsdale Arizona and have had waaaay better fish n chips. Just expected more. Service was actually really good though. I appreciated that for sure. Sucks when the food just doesn't match up.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Sauce
Beautiful views but terrible food. Ordered the Warm Crab Melt for $22 and the crab is clearly not fresh. It was colorless and flavorless. Waitress told me the crab is frozen. I believe it was canned.
We really enjoyed the service here. The food was great as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dozen Raw Oysters, Riva's Famous Fried Calamari, Crab Melt
In a world of pretentious over the top Bay'ish area choices, Riva's is the choice for high end food at regular end prices. One of the best settings anywhere, with the menu to match. Great service whether your a party of 1 or 10.
The charbroiled fish is excellent. Fried calamari and crab cakes appetizers were also very good. Service and atmosphere is nice.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
And when I told the Colonel about the crate of M18A1 Claymores just sitting right there in the sand dunes he didn't believe me, so I sent him a picture.And you know what...there was a helicopter with a bunch machine gun guys there in 3 minutes. They didn't fool around, they even took my phone and erased everything about it! Then the Colonel said let's go get something to eat ...the Riva Fish House is just up the way, we'll go there, have a nice lunch and I'll tell you all about the crate of backpacks that you found. Backpacks he said.Man-O-Man the Shrimp Louie was Spectacular! 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
Very popular place. Good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chowder
I came here with a friend for a late lunch. We both ordered their fish and chips and also shared the fried zucchini with ranch dressing i .Plus I ordered a diet coke.The food was very tasty..I got some mayo to dip my fries into and of course tarter sauce and cocktail sauce for the fish. The Service was good. We sat bythe window overlooking the water The resteraunt wasn't that busy . I recommend this place
This is a beautiful place. Wait staff is freindly, knowledgable, and on point. The space is well maintained and has an excellent views of the ocean. The food is delicious and served in a timely manare. I really loved their fresh bread!I had the salmon with an orange rosemary sauce, very delicious. The other person had fish and chips with fries, beautiful big prawns batter was flavorful and fish was good.The price is about $20 per person for entrees.Parking: Lots of spots, mostly full but there is usually a place to park.Wheelchair accessibility: Plenty of ranp to go onto the sidewalk and into the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fries, Chowder
A great view and place to relax but the potion sizes were a bit small. Good food though and great service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Sandwiches, Fisherman's Plate
Restaurantji Recommends
Best food in town..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Clam Chowder Bowl, Fries
Literally the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. My friend and I threw up immediately after eating here. We got a full refund for our food because we told the manager that all of our dishes were not right. We ordered the linguine, curry, and fisherman's plate. Also the calamari appetizer. All of it was disgusting. The food was clearly cooked in old oil. We are not ones to complain about food. But this was another level. Also the table next to us was complaining about their food too.
The food was absolutely horrible. I got the Linguini and Prawn pasta dish. It had no flavor, was just pepper and tomato. I couldn't even eat the bowl. I went with two other friends. They got the yellow curry and fisherman's plate. Both were also questionable. The curry had soggy tofu and we added prawns for an additional price. Which seemed a little steep. None of us finished our plates. The calamari tasted odd and I think the oil was quite old. I don't want to sound like a -- but one of my friends threw up after having the calamari. Something wasn't right.
My wife and I had dinner as a "walk-in" at the Riva Fish House on the wharf in Santa Cruz, CA, last night. The place was "popping" with people (always a good sign) and only a 30 min wait for us without a reservation. We were pleasantly greeted by a hostess who took our name and cell phone number. This let us cruise around the wharf until electronically notified that we were next. Our server, Neal, greeted us taking our orders. We enjoyed a long loaf of sour dough bread with soft-buttery spread. Not waiting very long at all, we were served grilled Mahi Mahi and "fish & calamari" along with cups of white clam chowder. Quality of everything was excellent. My wife very much enjoyed the "lemon-butter sauce" with her Mahi Mahi. Hard to do "just right," the calamari was cooked to perfection. I really wanted to try their lava cake or some gelato, but both of us were too full! From hostess to server, Neal, to all the other workers constantly moving around serving folks yummy food, clearing dishes, cleaning tables, and pouring water, coffee or tea. We watched folks helping others no matter what their primary job was. To the person all worked with a pleasing demeanor, smiles and swiftness. All in all, we very much enjoyed our evening and food at the Riva Fish House. We highly recommend it to all - young and old. We do suggest a reservation if you don't want to wait.
There’s often a wait, but it is worth it!The clam chowder is easily in my top 3! The rum runner was refreshing and the surf and turf tacos were exquisite (if a little spicy).Staff was courteous and attentive. Even with every table seated, the ambiance and views were relaxing and enjoyable.Certainly worth a visit if you’re in Santa Cruz.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Clam Chowder Bowl, Bread Bowl