On Saturday, we decided to go down to Johnny's Harborside in Santa Cruz. It came recommended by locals, so we decided to give it a chance. We went down for an early dinner. The place wasn't too busy, but it had people. It had a great location right on the harbor and the building itself was very nice and open, with fresh sea air blowing in.
For appetizers, we had Cornmeal Crusted Soft Shell Crab and the Chili Fried Calamari. The Soft Shell Crab was delicious. I had never had soft shell crab with cornmeal and I was very happy with their resulting dish. The calamari had a little kick to it, but not so much that it was overpowering the food it self. It was actually very subtle, but it really added to the dish. When I go back, I will probably have both of these again.
I decided to have the fish and chips, since I was told that I couldn't go wrong with them. And they were right. It was Tempura Battered Alaskan Cod and I got the 3 piece meal. The pieces were very large and they were cooked to perfection. It was some of the best battered fish I have every had. For the chips, I went with the half sweet potato/half rosemary fries. I was not disappointed. Both of the fry types were very good; the rosemary was a nice addition to the regular fries and the sweet potato fries were cooked well.
Overall, this is a great restaurant to go if you are in a seafood mood. The meal I got was not expensive at all, but they had all the normal things you would expect at a seafood restaurant as well. Some of it was pricier, but that is the nature of seafood. I will be going back to this restaurant again and I recommend you do too.