Ivéta Downtown - Santa Cruz

Really lovely. Amazing food, lovely staff and a beautiful environment.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Ivéta. Very personable and competent staff. Food was yummy and well priced. And the vibe just nice enough to make the evening feel special without it being too much. We had a salad, couple of pasta dishes and the bread (they send out a delicious, warm baguette with herb butter and oil/balsamic for dipping). Finished the meal off with a yummy piece of chocolate sponge cake. I hope to visit next time we are in town.

What a lovely evening. Came here on recommendation from a friend. Attentive waiter and great menu-a little bit of everything. The brussel sprouts were amazing, as was the mushroom flatbread and the crab cakes. The wine list was very good. We chose a Sonoma Pinot Noir that was delicious and a very good price point. All in all a delicious meal and great value.

We ate on their outdoor patio, which can be quite noisy next to the road. We ordered the summer burrata salad with tomatoes and nectarines. It was supposed to have basil too. Our server took it back to the kitchen and was told they were out of basil. If we had known ahead of time, we would’ve ordered something else. THey need to keep their menu and servers updated. We also had the crispy Brussels sprouts, crabcakes, and short ribs.  Our server was friendly and did a good job.

We were able to get a same-day reservation on Thursday night. This place is amazing, I’m so surprised it’s not inundated. I think it’s just a matter of time; it’ll get over-popular once all the downtown high rise apartments are finished. We were a party of five and shared everything family style: the burrata, the brussels sprouts, the arancini, a burger, the chicken piccata, and the short rib. We also ordered sides of the polenta fries, and the roasted vegetables. The burger was our least favorite thing (not bad but not amazing), but we found everything else to be impeccable. It’s such a cute location, too. Service was attentive and friendly, and very accommodating.