Sugo Italian Pasta Bar, Santa Cruz CA

We visited for a Saturday dinner and luckily we had a reservation. The place was busy and had a lively ambience. The staff were nice and our food came relatively quick and was great! The food seemed bit pricey though.

I can not for the life of me understand why this place has so many 5 star reviews. Our experience was mediocre at best and a sad shot at Italian at worst. Upon arrival, the small place was very crowded and there was a 30 minute wait but everything else around was closing. The prices seemed reasonable, and the menu was diverse enough, so we thought we'd give it a try. Don't trust the reviews on this one because the food was terrible. The putanesca sauce was oversalted on the mushroom ravioli. When the server asked if everything was okay and I said it's fine but the dish was salty she basically said that's what I ordered since it had anchovies, olives, and capers in it. This should not account for the entire dish being salty to the point of almost being unbearable. There was no discussion about different options or trying a different meal since this one took over 30 minutes to arrive. Is some Italian grandmother hand making ravioli from scratch in the back? No. It does not take 30 minutes to cook 4-6 ravioli and some crushed tomatoes and add olives, capers, and anchovies at the end. The place is so small inside and the patio seating out back can't have more than 6 tables, it should not take an hour to receive food once seated. I also tried my husband's basic spaghetti and meatballs to see if it was just my dish that was below par. It wasn't. Pasta being al dente I can understand. But the strange grainy texture of this pasta was something I have never experienced in my life eating a lot of great food from other cultures. I will never recommend or eat here again. At some point while waiting for our dinner, my husband noticed a rat climbing over the fake vine trellis behind me. This should have been the red flag we needed to leave but we decided it was outside and we should give the food a shot. Take my word for it, watch for the red flags and take them for what they are and go somewhere else.

Great Italian Food. 6 of us ordered various items, all great. Meatballs yummy & are huge. Seafood Stew is excellent. Carbonera also great. Price & Value very good. Portions are large. Delish homemade bread. Also great deserts. You can sit inside or on back patio

My friend took me to Sugo's for my birthday yesterday and we loved it! Their sauce is so authentically Italian, like my Italian mother in law used to make. The eggplant parmigiana is also authentic, made without eggs, which is the main reason I wanted to try it. It is a tiny restaurant, but nice and cozy and quiet. The owner is right there, friendly, and making sure everything was to our liking. The service was also friendly and prompt! My friend, also vegetarian, had the canneloni and she delighted in every bite! We will definitely return!

This place was everything I wanted it to be. We walked into an adorable little restaurant and were immediately greeted by the owner, sat and told the specials. Their menu has options for everyone with the best pasta I’ve ever had. I had the cannelloni which was perfect, even better was the day sauv blanc I tried. Also not overly priced, especially for the quality of food and service. Definitely going back & recommending to everyone!

Their staff is some of the most knowledgeable and polite in the county. Each experience here is top notch. We were served an excellent wine, our meals were both Pete get my executed and delicious. We saved room for dessert this time and were very happy with that, too.
If you haven’t been yet, you are truly missing out!

The pizza was basically just cheese on bread, I prefer my pizza with marinara. When I asked for marinara they told me that they would charge me and they would have to make it. I expect more out of a $16 dollar pizza. The service and environment was good but other than that meh.

Went here with my daughter for dinner. It was literally THE BEST lasagna I have ever had in my almost 50 years of life. It is very authentic, 'homemade' food. The restaurant is fairly small, so I'd recommend reservations. However, the size makes it quaint and also allows an intimate, authentic experience. Loved this little gem in Santa Cruz!

I need to go back, went late at night tyey were out of a couple things so I need to go back but the atmosphere and the service work great the location inside and the seating is really good I just need to find my favorite dish

Great food at a fair price. Hard working staff. Bathroom accessible around the back of building. Bit odd but very clean restroom.

Meatballs were delicious! Spaghetti Carbonara, Pomodoro with Bucatini and Mushrooms and Spaghetti Allo Scoglio were amazing! Loved sitting on the patio. Staff was very pleasant and attentive. We never had an empty water glass. You will love Sugo!

Highlight of our trip to Santa Cruz. It was a pre-concert dinner before going to the Rio to see Little Feat. It was raining and damp, but they recommended sitting out in the patio which was covered, heated and less noisy than inside. They were busy and I can understand why.
We shared a caprese salad to start. Then I had the ravioli which was good, although slightly salty for my taste. My wife is gluten intolerant so she had the steak special, which was excellent. I would probably have been happier with the ravioli if I had not seen and smelled the steak. Next time I'll pay more attention to the special. Wine list was good, we picked a light red. Finished up by sharing the gluten free flour less cake. Highly recommend this place.