Best menu prices in Santa Cruz

DineForLess compared the dishes Santa Cruz orders most across 19 restaurants in California. The widest gap is Salmon, which runs from $11.95 at Shogun Japanese Restaurant to $25.00 across the 3 kitchens listed for it, a difference of $13.05. The cheapest plate on the list is Pizza at $8.95 from Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta, against a typical $9.99. The most widely served dish here is Salad, on 5 menus, with a best price of $9.89.

Taken together, the best prices above come to $28.11 under what Santa Cruz typically charges for the same dishes. The menus behind them were read between 6 Sep 2026 and 14 Oct 2026. Every card shows where its price sits between the cheapest and the dearest in town, and each one opens the full list of kitchens serving that dish.

Across the dishes compared here the cheapest plate found is $8.95 and the dearest best price is $15.00. 3 of them can be had for under ten dollars at the right kitchen. The middle of the list pays about $15.95 for one of these dishes, which is what makes the gaps below worth knowing.

The single biggest gap on this page is Salmon: Shogun Japanese Restaurant charges $11.95 where Santa Cruz typically asks $22.95, a difference of $11.00 for the same plate. Denny's comes out cheapest on 2 of these dishes, more than anywhere else on the page. The thinnest comparison here is Salmon, priced at only 3 kitchens, so treat that one as a smaller sample than the rest.

Which restaurant is cheapest in Santa Cruz? No single one, which is the point of the list. The dishes above are won by 4 different restaurants between them, and every card names the kitchen holding that price today, so the cheapest plate and the cheapest restaurant are rarely the same question.

How many menus is this from? 19 restaurants in Santa Cruz, California. The prices here were read on 14 Oct 2026, with the oldest on the page from 6 Sep 2026. A dish reaches this page only once at least two different restaurants list it, so one kitchen's unusual price can never become the comparison.

Why is a dish I expected missing? Either nobody near here lists it at a published price, or only one restaurant does. The smallest comparison that did make the list is Salmon at 3 kitchens. Sizes and half portions are kept apart from full plates as well, so a side salad never sets the price for a salad.

Will I pay exactly this? Probably not to the cent. These are the prices each restaurant published on its own menu, before tax, tip, delivery or anything you add to the plate, and a restaurant can change one without telling anybody. Treat the figure as what the menu said on the date beside it.