Mike L.
Yelp
This might sound a bit odd, but if not for the sea lions, I'm not sure that I ever would have discovered Stagnaro Bros. Despite how many times I've made my way down to Santa Cruz, I had never taken the time to check out the wharf until this most recent trip. No particular reason as to why, other than we would always head straight to the beach and the Boardwalk. However, after hearing about how the sea lions like to congregate here, much like they do at Pier 39 in SF, we came here to look for them! Which, quite fortuitously, brought us here, as i had quite the hankering for some fried seafood!
Now, this feels awkward to say, given how the portion of this end of the wharf that recently collapsed into the water is so close by, but Stagnaro's location is pretty nice. Not only are they right on top of where a lot of the sea lions gather, but, by virtue of being further out on the water, they have a terrific view that stretches from the Boardwalk to the Pacific Ocean. All together, it made for a perfect spot for us to grab a bite. However, since we weren't that hungry, we opted to get something small from their outside counter rather than dine inside. Little did we know, though, that the menu is almost just as extensive, stretching from fried seafood baskets, hot and cold sandwiches, clam chowder, and tacos to cocktail shrimp, ceviche, raw oysters, and cups of Dungeness crab meat. What's more, they also have counter to pick up fresh seafood, too.
-- STAGNARO SUNSET - Pina Colada with Mango on the Bottom and Strawberry on Top
Hard to argue with a fruit and tropical drink, especially when the weather is so nice! While it's definitely sweet, it's not intensely sweet or sugary. Also, I liked how you it starts with a lot of strawberry flavor, blends, and then ends with more of the mango.
-- COMBO FRIED SEAFOOD BASKET - Fried Calamari and Fried Fish with Fries
Not as amazing as I had hoped for, but still pretty solid. The portion size was decently generous, the strips of calamari were quite meaty (wish there had been some leg pieces), and the fish was nice and moist. That said, I didn't love the batter on the fish some parts were really thin) and the fries were just okay.
Even though we weren't overwhelmed by our basket of seafood, it was nowhere close to being "bad" and far better than what I got from one of the stands at Fisherman's Wharf in SF. Still, I'm not sure I would go out of my way to come back again. If anything, I'd probably opt for one of their many options in their cold seafood case, like their fresh Dungeness crab meat, or actually look to dine-in to try their regular menu, which looked pretty decent. Given their location towards the end of the wharf, I can only imagine how nice it would be to try something like their cioppino while getting to watch the sunset!
THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded down.