Cavalletta Restaurant

Cavalletta Aptos CA Mon 2/17/25Friends on the quest for great taste!Coastal Aptos & Rio Del Mar!©On the prowl for good eats!California influenced Italian dishes!They call it Italian inspired New American cuisine! Locally sourced!Bistro style array of delicious eats that will leave you wanting to come again, for sure!A wood-fired pizza oven is a center piece in the open kitchen! If you sit at the long wooden bar, you can't miss it! And so we did! Let's do the drinks & light eats!Let's share the bites & admire the tastes!Cavalletta creates a relaxed ambiance & subdued celebratory mood by giving you a modern renovated interior & communal vibe! Come alone, socialize with other patrons, or bring your friends or family, you're met with a smile & welcomed in!We begin with a taste of vino, to decide on a bottle of sparks! Gracious Katie H is pouring Red Sparkling Brut! It's a good unpretentious & unfussy young bubbly Rosé!Silvia Zucchi in Purezza Lambrusco di Sorbara Brut!Denominazione di Origine ProtettaVendemmia 2023San Prospero Italia Cocktails in my party included a taste of Espresso Martini & refreshing Hugo Spritz! These are special offerings not yet on the menu LOLz. Each is deeply refreshing with dignifying taste!Focaccia to accompany first sips: Stracciatella, Sea Salt, Chives. It's lightly toasted. Stracciatella is like the insides of a Burrata, the milder, cottage cheesey or ricotta-like substance, it's so yummy!Washington oysters special, off the menu, a platter of smaller sized deeper seated in its shell mollusks, with milder softer taste, you've got to give them a try!Here's our thin crust Mushroom Pizza, a simple creation of arugula, mozzarella & Parmigiano Reggiano. Chef Nick Sherman experimented a lot before developing the pizza pie from the dough made with extra fine Italian double zero flour Tipo 00!Wood Fired Cauliflower looks like an elaborate dessert! It's coated in tahini, pistachio, caper salsa verde, raisins, and probably a bunch of secret ingredients I'm not aware of!That Cauliflower dish carried flavor like nobody's business! I honestly thought it was a dessert, a cake of some sort or a torte, when it first came out! I'd say that its main ingredient is not Cauliflower but rather a concoction of sauces it comes covered with! Outstanding! Cavalletta is Chef Nick Sherman's newer creation that was once a pop-up at his Capitola's Trestles, back in 2023, on a Monday night when Trestles is usually closed. Cavalletta, a Grasshopper in Italian, quickly became a staple in Aptos' vibrant cuisine scene! Located on Soquel Dr at a space formerly occupied by Restaurant Malik Williams. Special thank you to Chefs & owners, Nick Sherman & Shawn Ryberg! Nick comes from Napa Valley Cooking School via Napa's Basalt! As well as an array of Wine Country esteemed restaurants like The Farm at Carneros, Redd, St Francis Winery, El Dorado Kitchen, Martini House! Shawn comes from decades as Head Chef at iconic Haleiwa Joe's & most recently, Roy's Beach House at Turtle Bay Resort!And to the entire tram!Gracious Katie H is epitome of smiles!Mille Grazie, Sydney!*A glass of wine, so smooth, so fine,It sparkles bright, like stars that shine!A sip, a swirl, a taste divine,In every drop, a little time![ Review #830 w 9 pic Mar 4, 2025 ]~Silvia Zucchi Lambrusco di Sorbara Brut! 49~Washington oysters! 21~Focaccia: Stracciatella~Sea Salt~Chives! 12~Mushroom Pizza! Arugula~Mozz~Parmigiano Reggiano 24~Wood Fire Cauliflower: Tahini~Pustachio~Caper Salsa Verde~Raisins 16~Refreshing Hugo Spritz! 13~Espresso Martini off the menu! 14~Fruition Citrosa 9~ Facciamo un brindisi! Silvia Zucchi Lambrusco di Sorbara Brut!~Gracious Katie H is pouring!@Cavalletta Aptos CA Mon 2/17/25

I've been wanting to try this restaurant for a while now. And finally made reservations for Valentine's Day weekend! Making the reservations was smooth and easy. We arrived early and were able to be seated right away! The restaurant is an intimate setting. Clean and simple but cozy. Our server was really sweet and helpful choosing items to try. Now to the important part of this review; the food. The food was SO GOOD!! They did have a 5 course Valentine's Day special that looked good but we opted for the regular menu. We started out with the house focaccia and the wood fire cauliflower! Wow. The focaccia was amazing! But the real star was that cauliflower! It was easily the best thing I've tried! Highly recommend!! Main course was the prime New York steak and the bucatini cioppino. I had the cioppino and it was phenomenal! Had a good little spice to it and was loaded with seafood! The bucatini tasted fresh like it was house made! I was stuffed but once our server told us the dessert options we made room! We got a berry cobbler with an oat topping. I forgot what it was called but it was so cozy and comforting! Yum! Everything was great! Food, service, ambiance. 10/10 Can't wait to come back and try more of the menu!!

Cavalletta is the second restaurant owned by Nick Sherman, whose other restaurant, Trestles, in Capitola, is also a must-visit.Service here was top-notch. From the moment we stepped in, we were treated with kindness and smiles. We were offered different table options, and we opted to sit outside. It was a cold evening, and the hostess maneuvered the heat warmer next to our table to make sure our dining experience would be warm and comfortable. Throughout the night, our server would always ask if we were warm enough.Ambiance - The indoor dining space is open and spacious. On this Friday night, it was packed, bustling with the sounds of friends and family conversing and laughing over their meals. If this night is any indication of other nights - make sure to make reservations, it is deservedly popular!Food - What can I say - immaculate, fresh, savory and delicious! We had:(1) wood fire cauliflowertahini, pistachio, caper salsa verde, raisins GF/VQ(2) short rib rigatonicreme fraiche, horseradish, carrots, tomatoes, pecorino(3) mushroom pizzaarugula, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano VAll 3 dishes are memorable. The tahini pistachio sauce for the cauliflower was so good that we were compelled to order bread, so that none of the sauce went to waste ;)The rigatoni pasta was rich, homemade, and perfectly cooked, and the short rib complemented the red sauce with carrots.The mushroom pizza from their wood fire oven was one of the best pizzas I have ever had. The crust was nice and crispy, the fresh arugula topping made the pizza look like an art project, and the centerpiece ingredient - mushrooms were so fresh and flavorful. Every bite was bursting with mushroom yumminess. If you are a mushroom fan, don't pass this one up!Needless to say, we cannot wait to go back to try the rest of the menu! Go now!

I think this our fourth time dining at Cavalletta. We have never been disappointed . A busy bistro atmosphere with friendly and attentive staff. We were a group of 6 celebrating a birthday and seated promptly. Skyler (sp) guided us through our meal.We started with the housemade bread with burrata and arancini. Perfect pairing. For main courses the table had short rib rigatoni, a mushroom pasta, a pizza and the halibut special.Everyone was thrilled with their choices which came out in a timely fashion. I have to say that the Norwegian halibut dish, which was the special, was some of the best halibut I have ever eaten in my life. (and I've eaten a lot of halibut). It could not have been a more perfect evening as everyone agreed. In my opinion, this is one of the very best restaurants in the Santa Cruz area. Thanks so much to Skyler for making this such an enjoyable experience...again!. A special thanks to the Kitchen as well for such a wonderful job. We look forward to coming back and sampling more from their menu.

I came to this restaurant because of the great reviews and I heard that this is the sister restaurant to trestles which is one my favorite restaurants (it is one of the best restaurants in Santa Cruz). I'd like to start with the fact I had such high expectations because of that, but unfortunately it wasn't matched. The food isn't bad, it's decent. I'd say that for the price especially it is not worth it.We got cauliflower for the table and it was pretty bland. It lacked flavor and wasn't that great. I personally got bolognese which also sadly lacked flavor. After adding salt and chili flakes, it tasted a lot better. The Cesar salad was pretty good. I personally didn't try the pizza, however, my sister really liked it! She said it came out cold but the dough was amazing.The service was pretty decent, except they didn't come around to refill waters but did come check once or twice.The overall ambiance is beautiful. We sat outdoors which was incredibly warm. We were surrounded by lights and greenery, which was very enjoyable.Overall, I'd say that if you are looking for a good place to eat, their sister restaurant is a better choice.

Ambience: upscale casual -- you can wear jeans. A main dining room, open kitchen and a few bar seats, and a cool outdoor patio with heaters when needed.After three visits, I'm comfortable giving 5 stars. Standouts: meticulous wood fired pizza, pastas, vegetables. Don't miss the Brussels sprouts if they're on the menu. Start with a good cocktail. Service is friendly and fast.Took friends twice and everyone was happy!

Cozy and lovely outdoor setup with great service and delicious food. I definitely recommend this place We had margaritas pizza very delicious, Malfatti bolognese very delicious, Ceases salad very delicious and wood fire cauliflower was missing salt and sauce.

Great tasting and fancy Cesar salad. Almost all meals are splittable with an extra side

Great food and service. Nice vibe. We have dined at Cavalletta on several occasions and it's now one of our local favorites.

Food is amazing! Service was good. Only took a star off because they don't have ample parking and there were a couple gnats flying around our table.