Historic Sand Rock Farm

Enjoyed a quick, yummy, upbeat dinner – driving by decided to try it out!

We had a light meal of Bruschetta di Caprino (Toasted Italian bread, topped with fresh goat cheese and grilled vegetables, $7) which was served cold; nice garlicy bread, flavorful small-diced roast veggies – and Cozze (steamed mussels in a white-wine, garlic, herb broth, $12) – thought it might be a risk to try mussels first time there, but waitress said they were fresh… and really tasted like it!

Max (who’s 8 ) ordered penne w butter & cheese (what’s not to like?) — penne were just right, tiny bit al dente — I suspect their grown-up pasta is fab.  Pizzas walking by looked good too!

Nice surprise at the end, I thought they forgot to charge for Max – turns out kids under 10 are free — sweet

Service was outstanding – knowledgeable, friendly waitstaff, fast, great team.  Love it when server can actually give advice on the menu & isn’t afraid to answer questions honestly.

Ambiance is “high energy” – not a place for quiet conversation – hip music, bar, kind of a “rustico Italian club scene” with quality food!  The owner seems to be quite a character, he was chatting with customers and adding a zany personal touch.  Here’s a pix of him from their web site, Lucio is the guy on the right!

Caffe Lucio is on the corner of Soquel & Ocean on the southern side of Santa Cruz, less than 15 min from Sand Rock Farm  — their web site is http://www.caffelucio.com/

Update:  Next time back we were not so impressed -  too noisy and food was inconsistent.  Sigh.  Not sure we’ll go back, but if you’re looking for a “club scene with dinner” maybe right for you!