Reviews for Bantam in Santa Cruz, CA
Cool pizza spot that has other interesting dishes as well. The fried chicken had what tasted like a jalepeno cheese mushroom... sauce on it. It was very good but I think felt slightly out of place as a pizza focused restaurant? Not that there's necessarilyanything wrong with that because, again, it was very good, but switching from the flavor profile of a pizza margherita to acheesy spicy fried chicken was a bit odd. I think if/when I go back I would stick to just pizza or just an entree, rather thanmixing the two, but I'm glad I tried both. As for how the pizza stacks up, it's solid, but Sleight of Hand still has it beat interms of best pizza in Santa Cruz. Bantam's pie was very tomato forward. The mozzarella was very delicious but it didn't feellike there was enough relative to the tomato sauce. The crust had nice leopard spotting but lacked a little in flavor. It alsohad a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what it wanted to be. It was shaped like Neapolitan, with the circular slices offresh mozz spread around, but the crust was thinner and crunchier, unlike a traditional Neapolitan. When I walked in I was hitwith a very intoxicating aroma of italian sausage, so next time I might try the sausage pizza, but I will check where theysource their meat first. Read more
DO NOT PHONE ORDER!!! They don't answer their phones, evvvveeeeerrrrr. Looking for a nice sit down place with great food? Do... it! Despite their inability or knowledge of 20th century technology, they have great food. And no, they don't have onlineordering at this time. You'd have thought the pandemic would have taught them something. Oh well. Read more
Bantam, was an absolutely incredible dining experience! To start, they offered an incredible selection of, wines, beers, and non... alcoholic beverages. Food wise, I chose, their bacon, stone fruit, and buratta pizza, as well as a marinara pizza with sausageand mozzarella. I also had the seared scallops, and I kid you not, I have never eaten faster. The stone fruit added a greatcontrast to the bacon and buratta. The classic marinara, sausage, and mozzarella pizza was delicious, with a bit of a kick toit. The scallops where perfectly seasoned, and well seared. Everything complimented each other, in every dish. Absolutelydelicious, I will definitely be sure to be back here! Read more
This is my new favorite restaurant is Santa Cruz! They have a new chef and the food is SF-quality! What other restaurant in... Santa Cruz is full on a Tuesday night (with a short wait) since Covid? I haven't seen any but this place was packed last night(Tuesday). I highly recommend it! Read more
Friendly servers, good vibes. Fresh ingredients for salad and pizza. I didn?t enjoy the salad but margarita and anchovy pizzas... were both delicious. Read more
Great meal all the way around. They don?t do reservations so dropped in at 5pm when they opened for an early dinner. Filled up... quickly - was rainy no outdoor seating - good vibe inside. Our waiter Spencer was fun and great service. Everything we gotpretty darn tasty. Their bourbon specialty cocktail ?The Professor? highly recommend. Chicken with sweet potatoes, pepperonipizza, bread and butter and caesar salad all highly tasty. Going back for sure. Read more
The service was great as well as the drinks. The pizza... Dear God the pizza. It's outstanding! I had to get a to-go order just... so I could enjoy it again. The picture is of the prosciutto pie. I would have gotten a picture of the pepperoni but... It..Yeah, it was gone. Read more
Great ambiance, friendly staff, and good drinks. The highlight was the Stinging Nettles pizza. Our server recommended it with... such enthusiasm and I thank them for doing so because it is officially my favorite pizza I've ever had. I'm from Los Angeles andfrom now on, if I'm ever in the vicinity of Bantam, I'll be an excited returning diner! Read more