Ristorante Avanti

This is a very classy restaurant and the food is great. Not many choices but all we have had has been wonderful and just the right portions. You are paying for the service and ambiance along with the food so it is not cheap but very good for a special occasion. The only complaint is they do not give even a tiny scoop of ice cream with a candle for a birthday. After paying over $ 130 for the meal for three, a very small freebie dessert for my birthday son would have been extra nice. I am sure the owners can find something that won’t break the bank.

Very possibly the worst waste of money I’ve encountered.
I spent $ 45.00 for 3 dishes, all takeout. The pappardelle was soggy, bland, and cold 6 mins. after taking delivery. The Caesar salad was was an absolute joke for $ 9.00. Some lettuce, stale croutons, and bottled dressing.
The worst of the lot was the calamari appetizer. Tiny pieces, mostly heads overcooked to the point of being burned, and less than ¾ of a cup, for $$$.
Just ridiculous. I tried on the advice of Unilocal.It was simply insipid food.
Now, the service and wait times were actually 1^st rate. I applaud the front end staff who were friendly, professional, and engaged.
The kitchen staff needs some serious work. I’ll try anything a few times, everyone has bad days. This was simply a waste of almost $ 50.00 for An entrée, an appetizer, and a salad.
I am not impressed.

Always have fairly high expectations as traditionally the place has been one of the more reliable restaurants in Santa Cruz. The food was all right, overall maybe a little disappointing. We were wondering if the new location meant new chef as well. The reason for the bad review is: we wanted to order some wine and my wife likes them a touch sweet. When we discussed it with the waiter he suggested we should try the slightly sweet Gruener Veltliner. It wasn’t slightly sweet whatsoever, as those wines really never are. He then suggested the slightly sweet Riesling and we figured that it would be a reliable choice. Without further looking at the list we accepted that suggestion and ended up drinking a very dry although nicely balanced Riesling. Fine for my palate but really not what we had requested. When we got the bill it was a $ 56 Dollar charge for a half a bottle. As a courtesy to patrons it would seem appropriate to give us a heads up that this wine was much pricier than the rest.
Long term customer satisfaction should be more important than making an extra buck that one night.

Delicious all around. Excellent dishes all with unique flavors. Chicken Cacciatore is scrumptious. I love their creamy polenta. Made on site Desserts are delish! Happy, cheerful, attentive staff too who care about the quality of both the food and the experience.

My girlfriend and her mother came here to eat a couple weeks ago. Hostess was very polite and got us to a table as soon as possible. Very classy calm atmosphere. Table we sat at seemed as if it were meant for two so for three people and a baby it was well rather a tight fit. Herd wonderful things about this place all my life couldn’t wait to try the food. Server gave us a run down on specials and we ordered drinks, olives and steak tartar. But while the server told us about the specials I noticed that she said they were serving a brown rice risotto. If anyone knows anything about risotto there are technically only three rices you can make risotto from non of which are brown. You can use a couple others but again they are not brown rice and can not be considered a «classic» risotto. So that being said I think someone just made a mistake and forgot to say «risotto style» brown rice. So I ignored and we continued our meal. But I do need to add this is a Italian restaurant. Olives and tartar showed up olives were just on a plate could have done something to dress them up but hey is what it is. Tartar was obviously hand cut so good sign but bland came with gold beets that were actually rather good with the tartar. Busser came and asked if she could take our salad… for a place that has been presenting itself as a upscale dining establishment you would think all employees know the difference between a salad and tartar. But again simple mistake. Now for the main course. I got the Lamb tortellini with black trumpet mushrooms my girlfriend got the seared scallops served over risotto [style] brown rice winter squash vegetables and citrus glaze and her mother got the shrimp linguini. The linguini was the best but by no means great the sauce wasn’t reduced enough and the shrimp was over cooked and pasta wasn’t fresh. The scallops were perfectly seared but couldn’t taste the citrus glaze the brown rice was over cooked the only vegetable that actually looked like a vegetable was the squash the rest was cut so small you could hardly recognize it and it was under seasoned. The lamb tortellini was good but you could tell was frozen. The filling was well seasoned but the pasta was not. I got five tortellini which would be fine but total it didn’t even add up to 5oz let alone 5oz of filling which if you don’t know would be standard at most restaurants. Let’s not even get into how it is supposed to be a Italian restaurant and they usually try to kill you with massive portions. Now as for the trumpet mushrooms… I feel they would have been amazing had they left them after finishing cooking them but they had to throw them into a blender and serve me specs of trumpet mushrooms that may have just been pepper in a pool of bland vegetable coulis. We decided to get dessert in hopes they would make some sort of a comeback and they did with the Chocolate Pot De Crème. Think of liquid brownie silky smooth coat your mouth deep dark rich amazing and delectable. These guys ended strong but I for a restaurant that prides it self on its produce you didn’t do the produce justice which is a shame because I could taste you used quality produce but destroyed it by trying to be fancy. When you use ingredients like that let them shine. Like true Italian food is meant to be. Great quality ingredients fresh wholesome family food. Let your ingredients do the talking and forget about the fancy stuff. We will come back for another try and hopefully will be better because I always give second chances in all areas of life. And I see so many beautiful dishes so maybe we just got the wrong dishes but for now I need to say two stars. To many mistakes for what you are trying to be. You are competing in another level that demands a higher quality of execution. If you want to charge the prices you are you need to pick up your game. Need to make sure the whole meal is enjoyable can’t be hit and miss.

Usually stop by for lunch during work hours, great duck confit for a really reasonable price. Good wine selection and they will accommodate their dishes based on your taste/​preference. Great local fare and the wine list is ample enough to need repeat visits.

Ok so I was just reading the reviews and I have to write a review because I am so surprised to see that people give this place less that 5 stars. My family and I are food snobs. We lived in NYC and we are very picky with places here in Santa Cruz. We have been coming to Avanti because this is a NY level restaurant. The service is outstanding, the food is so yummy, the wine selection is great as well. Tonight is my husband’s bday and we are taking our friends of out of town so they can enjoy an amazing meal as well! We are so excited!

LOVE!
We were craving pizza and mistakenly ended up here instead of Pizzeria Avanti.
Amazing! Loved the service! Loved the arugula salad! Loved the chicken!
Super clean, warm, and friendly.
We felt so happy as if we were at our relatives for thanksgiving. That’s how warm and friendly the staff is.
Love so much!

Overall a great restaurant. Another day I’d have rated it higher, but the brussels sprouts salad that sounded great on the menu was just so-​so — it promised roasted butternuts that weren’t there, so it was a bit bland and lacking. I should have just asked for something to sweeten/​liven it up with, but they were so busy and had done a nice job accommodating our large party.

Have the lamburger a really unexpected and delicious find in a pizzarea, but don’t stop there, the pizza is very very good as well. Our server Mattie rocks!

Cozy warm atmosphere. Large bar to sit at as well. Small and simple menu with few options.
Great kale salad with shredded kale and a light citrus dressing.
The chicken cacciatore with polenta is the best thing on the menu. Melt in your mouth chicken with creamy polenta. Had the tomato sauce beef gnocchi and was disappointed that the gnocchi were very thick and potatoe-​y, not at all like the light puffs of air you get in Italy.
They used to have an over the top ice cream sandwich made with thin valrhona chocolate cookies — but was sad to see that last time we ordered it was made with just normal chocolate cookies that were not as good.
Pricey.

Great food, but front of house run by idiots!
You really should come here, the food is very good… just be ready for a loud dining room. Like so many venues in Santa Cruz, the room gets very noisy as it fills up due to lack of attention to acoustic design details (eg, sound softening surfaces etc).
And, if you call and leave a message saying you want a reservation, be ready to stand by for a call back to confirm your reservation. If you don’t answer, or don’t call back to re-​re-​confirm, then you will NOT have a reservation. I mean, what kind of idiot doesn’t understand «I want a reservation for 7 tonight for two; if you CAN’T accomodate me, give me a call, otherwise, see you then!» No, they can’t make things that simple… sigh

woohoo! ristorante avanti continues to be as good as it gets.
i/​we have been sending folks here for several years, but our previous visits were long ago, and at another location nearby. i thought that i had written a review on Unilocal,but found only that i have been recommending it in «talk».
friends (yes, we have some) from redwood city and sunnyvale met us on sunday, before the red eclipse of the moon, for a perfect meal. my luscious lasagna, superb spinach salad, warm bread, and dipping oil were wonderful… my excellent rock star wife rated her eggplant pamesan as a 10 on a 10 scale. an extremely rare rating from her on this kind of dish. she liked her chardonnay.
our friends enjoyed their food, wine, and iced tea. pots of chocolate and an ice cream sandwich were perfect desserts. coffee was rated as very good.
service was sublime. we were never interrupted, rushed, left waiting or guessing, or let down. in fact, the fine folks serving us seemed to enjoy helping us.
i/​we loved the furniture, the colors and textures around us, the lighting, and the building. lots of free parking (pun intended).
my excellent wife, fantastic friends, and i — were all treated like — say it with me now: rock stars!
we’re planning to return soon.

This used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I have been going here since I was in my late teens and worked across the street from the old location. Every so often I would drop by with my husband or a group of friends and we even ordered to go a few times when we lived nearby and were never disappointed.
We went again this week. Originally we had planned to go to another restaurant closer to home but the wait was two hours long. Instead we headed to Avanti’s.
The food was okay, nothing I could not easily replicate at home.
When we arrived the woman at the front was already irritable. In leading us to the table my son got ahead of our group and she reached out to grab him. I was surprised that she would reach out in that manner. I get it kids can be a handful but I will and did reprimand my son.
The service was mixed. Our waitress was overall friendly but it was still hit and miss. My husband asked for Balsamic, olive oil and bread. We got none until the food had already arrived and he reminded them. When they brought it they forgot the balsamic so he asked the next person that came to our table, she responded quite rudely, «I’ll get the balsamic but I am here with water did you want water?» The rude part was not so much what she said but how she said it.
There were about five people that came to our table over the course of our meal. I believe that this caused some of the problems.
My son did enjoy his order the rest of us thought that is was fair but not up to our expectations.

I’ve been here a few times and always have mixed feelings. Knowing I was going to finally write a review, I paid better attention to everything.
I was at the old location once and this location a few times now. I’ve only been here for lunch with my co-​workers.
Before I start, I would like to comment on the outside, as another reviewer had mentioned the landscaping. It looks awful and doesn’t look like you are open. I brought this to my parties attention and everyone agreed. Pull the dead weeds! The native plants are great; but you could definitely do something to make the premises more attractive. The old window facing Mission is boarded up which also makes it look like this place isn’t open. Paint the bird on there, make it look presentable, something, anything…
Okay, with that said, once you walk inside it’s beautiful! Nice big bar and lots of nice wooden tables, elegant lamp fixtures and a lovely atmosphere.
The specials sounded really good and I settled on something totally different, the beet ravioli. 9 descent sized raviolis with beet greens and cheese on top. Light and very good. I would totally order this again.
Everyone was happy with their meal, with the exception of the cesaer salad.
The desserts were equally amazing. The tiramisu wasn’t as sweet as other places. Had some texture to it and I think some coconut. I only took one bite as I ordered the butterscotch yumminess with salted caramel — OMG to die for!!! Someone took a bite and their eyes rolled behind their head over the goodness of the dessert :)
The service was great.
The meals are a descent size for the price. No one took anything home and were all pleasantly full.

Many things support my 5 star rating:
1) the establishment is beautiful
2) the servers care. They want you to have a great dining experience. Nick was a great server (knew a lot about the wine). The rest of the staff was amazing as well. Multiple people offered to refill waters and bread during our meal. Very pleased.
3) the cocktails are outstanding — shout out to Katy the bartender and her concoctions
4) last but not least, the food was fresh, delicious and incredibly well seasoned.
Yay to avanti, we will be back.

Chicken was amazing, startoria toast and tomatoes (spelling) was also amazing. Good wine selection and customer service. Every piece of bread (pizza/​toast etc came out tasting like an ash tray. We sent three things back asking them to remake it. When we complained about the pizza dough being burned they claimed it was their «style of cooking». Had I made that stuff in my own kitchen– I would have never fed it to my friends. It was black. Waitress tried everything she could to fix it but-​seriously u can’t defend black bread. That’s insane. I’m sorry but burning bread is no ones style of cooking. Smoking bbq or salmon perhaps but bread??? Once it was made it was delicious and we ate it. But it was a struggle. They need some work for sure…

My husband tried Avanti hoping to find a new favorite, sadly that was not to be. As mentioned by other Unilocalers I believe they give lesser service to those who they feel are younger and not as worthy. While we had a different server every encounter and never got checked on, I witnessed other tables with people who were older get amazing service and even got the specials told to them. (We were told we should of seen the specials when we entered)
The food was ok, I got the fish special and my husband got ravioli. I was not happy with my fish so my husband ate it since the three raviolis that was his meal could not fill him up.
If it was cheaper maybe I’d go back. but since it’s super expensive and I can make better at home, I’ll pass.

Stopped here for my girlfriends birthday.
We immediately were profiled because we’re 4 (23 year olds) that didn’t have a reservation.
All good, we wanted to sit on the patio anyway. The ambiance and décor were very nice.
We ordered some appetizers and a bowl of the butternut squash soup. It took 30 minutes for them to bring it out and my soup was cold and pasty. No worries
The waiter forgot about us entirely
We asked to speak to a manager to inform her of our dissatisfaction and the misprinted checks and she got very aggresive and defensive. Saying well «were really busy and we only have a small kitchen»
Being a manager myself in customer service, this is not a business etiquette I am familiar with. Blaming us for not making reservations and then telling us it’s because they have a small kitchen. She got very loud and mean to us. We ended up spending about $ 200 but she profiled us thinking we were just a couple of low life college students trying to get out of a bill.
Food is overpriced and mediocre
Ambiance and décor is very lovely
Service (without a reservation) is TERRIBLE one of the worst I’ve experienced.
It’s one thing to have mediocre expensive food, another to have terrible service on top of it, but then an angry defensive manager was what really made it unattractive.
Save your money and go to Little Napoli in Carmel instead

First time there, Last time there.
We have lived in Santa Cruz for over 6 years now and have passed by ristorante avanti more times then i could ever count. Finally we decided to stop in and check it out. Worst decisions ever.
Food was very bland. I had the Devils gulch pork and some how they managed to boil all the flavor out of it. My wife’s chicken cacciatore was not only bland, its was almost soggy.
After i finally flagged some one down to let them know we were not happy with dinner, we got almost no attention other then someone coming to bus our table. I noted the dissatisfaction of our meal and that fact that we wanted my wifes dinner RETURNED to the kitchen, not just taken away, and yet it was still on the bill.
After waiting for the bill and trying to flag someone i finally sent my family off to the car while I stood in the middle the place, trying to be a eye sore, to get them to acknowledge me. After all that i gave up trying to communicate with anyone and just paid for the dinner, uneaten Cacciatore and all.