DINING IN SANTA CRUZ

Dining in Santa Cruz is a feast for the gourmet with over 50 downtown restaurants to choose from with a wide variety of cuisines and prices, Pacific Avenue is abundant with charming sidewalk seating cafés, coffee shops and snack bars. Fresh seafood is always available and the local and farmers markets are a great place for picnic fare for the beach or in the wonderful state parks.

All guests will receive a complimentary breakfast each morning with local produce including yogurt, granola, oatmeal, fresh fruit and coffee,with mimosas on request. Breakfast is served from 8:30am – 10:00am in the main dinning room or on the front or back patio.

The Innkeeper Alex is always happy to recommend a local hotspot.

WATERFRONT DINING

Carniglia's (www.carniglias.com)
49a Municiple Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 458-3600
Carniglia's serves classic Italian seafood perched above the Monterey Bay Sanctuary. Carniglia's prides itself on quality and consistency, utilizing local organic produce and Santa Cruz mountain wines.

Crow's Nest (www.crowsnest-santacruz.com)
2218 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 • (831) 476-4560 Since 1969, the Crow´s Nest Restaurant in Santa Cruz, California has featured award-winning food, spirits and live entertainment from one of the most spectacular waterfront views on the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. Weekday lunches and nightly dinners in our downstairs dining room offer fresh seafood, pasta, midwestern aged beef and daily chef's specials. The upstairs Breakwater Bar and Grill offers a variety of appetizers and casual lunches throughout the day.

Casablanca Restaurant (www.casablanca-santacruz.com)
101 Main St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 426-9063
This award winning Restaurant features the most beautiful vistas of Northern Monterey Bay and offers California and Continental Gourmet Cuisine, plus the most extensive wine cellar in Santa Cruz County and a full bar. Our banquet facility is perfect for weddings, rehearsal dinners and all private parties. The Casablanca room, a second story multi-leveled dining room can accommodate up to 85 people is surrounded by windows to ensure all who dine here a pleasant ocean view.

Ideal Bar and Grill (www.idealbarandgrill.com)
106 Beach St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 423-5271
The Ideal Bar and Grill is located at the entrance to the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. We feature indoor and outdoor dining at its best with a beachfront deck that looks out to Monterey Bay, West Cliff and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Ideal also has a full service espresso bar and café. You can enjoy fresh pastries, croissants or house-made muffins that go along superbly with a choice of caffe lattes, cappuccinos or our famous white chocolate mocha.

FINE DINING

Shadow Brook (www.shadowbrook-capitola.com)
1750 Wharf Road, Capitola, California 95010 • (831) 475-1511
“Since 1947...and Now Better Than Ever” Located beside lush Soquel Creek in Capitola-by-the-Sea, Shadowbrook Restaurant is best reached by its own quaint cable car, or a meandering garden path. Since 1947 Shadowbrook has continued to provide world-class service, fine food, wines and liqueurs in an atmosphere of Old World charm and grace.

Star Benne (www.star-bene.com)
21245 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 • (831) 479-4307
Working as a family the Star Bene staff and owners bring together their experience to serve you. We welcome you to enjoy traditional Italian recipes including homemade pastas, primarily locally grown organic produce, natural free-range meats and cold fish. Star Bene is where the locals eat. Open Daily 5-9:30 PM

Clouds (cloudsdowntown.com)
110 Church St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 429-2000
Located in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, Clouds Downtown is an upscale restaurant offering American cuisine in a comfortable, chic atmosphere surrounded by contemporary art and lighting. 7 days a week 11:30 am- midnight.

Aqua Bleu
1108 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 423-6999
A stylish restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz, Aque Bleu offers a variety of food with an Asian influence,

Ristorante Avanti (www.ristoranteavanti.com)
1711 Mission St, Santa Cruz • (831) 427-0135
Newcomers and veterans alike all secretly feel that Ristorante Avanti has rolled out its cozy wine bar and acres of Mediterranean flavors just for them. And there's the ambiance--this lively restaurant's ability to feel casual while serving memorable meals is part of its charm.

DOWNTOWN SPECIALTIES

Hula's (http://www.hulastiki.com/)
221 Cathcart St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 426-4852
1960's Vegas meets 1950's Waikiki. Winner of 2009 Good Times Best of Santa Cruz reader's poll for "Best Restaurant", Hula's offers an amazing dining experience in a kitchy yet swanky tropical setting. We have a passion for fun and friendly service, the freshest fish, great steaks, and seafood, all with Hawaiian fusion inspiration. A full service Tiki Bar with tropical cocktails that will knock your flip flops off!

Soif (www.soifwine.com) (This is your Innkeeper's favorite!)
105 Walnut Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 423-2020
Soif is a wine bar, restaurant & wine retail shop providing the opportunity to explore wines in a sophisticated and friendly environment. Since opening, our goal has been to provide a comfortable place to drink great wine and eat food that is as good as the wine, and then, if the wine was really good, to be able to buy some and take it home. We wanted wines that are usually a challenge to find: reflective of their origin, expressive of the vineyard and the vintage and the traditions of their region, wines that are not a commodity, but limited and handmade, wines of great provenance and flavor

Zoccoli's Deli (http://www.zoccolis.com/)
1534 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 423-1711
At 61, Zoccoli's Italian Deli is one of the oldest and most familiar family-run businesses in the county. It has been operating almost nonstop in the same location in downtown Santa Cruz since opening in 1948.

CASUAL DINING

Hank's at the Hook (www.hanksatthehook.com)
800 41st Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 • (831) 479-3662
Hank's at the Hook is a modern take on the old Hof Braus "create your own meal" concept. But this ain’t your Mama’s Hof Braus… unless your Mama’s Hof Braus includs intensely fresh, healthy food, locally-grown produce, locally-baked uber-fresh bread and only the finest fresh-roasted meats carved to order. We’re talking about great food that’s quick and casual, inexpensive and healthy. And unbelievably good

Michael's on Main (www.michaelsonmain.net)
2591 S Main St, Soquel, CA 95073 • (831) 479-9777
Come on in and enjoy "cutting edge comfort cuisine" in a friendly, casual atmosphere! You can dress-up or come as you are. We want you to relax and enjoy yourself. We take pride in using local produce and products and we want you to enjoy them in as relaxed an atmosphere as possible. Our prices are reasonable and our wines are hand chosen for flavor, as well as value. Enjoy the scenic splendor of Soquel creek while dining on our patio, or our fireside room with ceiling to floor windows. Our bar is cozy and inviting and we have private spaces available for events, too.

Pizza My Heart (pizzamyheart.com)
1116 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 426-2511 (check site for all locations)
We believe a pizza place should be fun. We started in one of the "funnest" places on Earth…Capitola Beach. Since then, each time we open a new restaurant, we bring a slice of the beach with us. Our Willow Glen restaurant displays the “world’s largest wooden surfboard” while others have surf memorabilia from the pro circuit and famous surf movies. By creating a fun atmosphere and hiring fun people, we think you’ll have fun each time you visit Pizza My Heart. As much as we value the fun factor, we are nothing without our food quality. In fact, you could say superior food quality is Pizza My Heart's "secret formula."

Pink Godzilla (http://www.pinkgodzilla.com/)
830 41st Ave., Santa Cruz CA 95062 • (831) 464-2586
This IS the place, to come to for sushi and sake bombs! Good food, good atmosphere, good people. Great staff! Not to mention it's cheap! How can you go wrong? It's a great place for groups. They have little private rooms, with the kinds of tables where you are sitting on the floor and your legs hang over in the hole that's into floor.

Santa Cruz Dinner (www.santacruzdiner.com)
909 Ocean St Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 426-7151
Established in 1998, Santa Cruz Diner is locally owned and family run. In the tradition of fine East Coast Diners, our mission is to provide good value, great "home-style" food, and friendly service at reasonable prices. Our goal is to be the best Diner within 100 miles. You can spend a lot more somewhere else, but why? We offer a large variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner items. Our eclectic menu ranges from pancakes, omelettes and crepes to steak, burgers, seafood, asian and vegan/vegetarian. Santa Cruz Diner offers a full selection of wine, beer and espresso drinks and lots of yummy desserts. We truly have something for everyone.

Vasili's Greek Restaurant (www.vasilisgreekrestaurant.com)
1501 Mission Street, Santa Cruz • (831)458-9808
Vasilis Greek Restaurant is a long-time culinary tradition in Santa Cruz. Our food is authentic and always fresh, our vibe is warm, our staff are super friendly, and we want to feed you and make you feel at home. Please call us for take out, catering or large groups.

The Silver Spur (http://www.scsilverspur.com/)
2650 Soquel Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95065 • (831) 475-2725
Breakfast/Lunch Restaurant: Vegetarian and Traditional Cuisine, Western, Ranchero-Style in Santa Cruz. There is always fresh coffee available to you while you wait for your table! The food is always delicious, the portions are generous (and the prices reasonable) and it's rare to see the staff not smiling and friendly.

Pacific Thai (pacificthaisantacruz.net)
1319 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 420-1700
Pacific Thai Santa Cruz Inc is Santa Cruz’s newest established Thai Restaurant and still the best Indulge yourself in the Orient's finest cuisine, prepared and supervised by our Thai Chef. Beautifully presented dishes made from the very highest quality ingredients will pamper your palate and tantalise your taste buds. If you like authentic Thai this is a great restaurant and at a table within the simply decorated dining room, we ordered a variety of different Thai dishes to share including noodles with shrimp, salmon in a coconut milk sauce, curry, Papaya salad, cold Thai tea, bbq chicken for the kids and more.

Bocci's Cellar (www.boccis.net)
140 Encinal St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060-2111 • (831) 427-1795
Music 7 nights a week, dart tournaments, a monthly ukulele group extravaganza and a weekly jazz session by the Santa Cruz Jazz Society. Wonderful food and a fun full bar in an intimate atmosphere makes for a great outing in Santa Cruz. Bocci's Cellar is the best kept secret in Santa Cruz. Built in the late 1800's, this historical landmark Victorian House was home to an Italian immigrant family. Desiring a cool wine cellar to keep their wines in oak barrels, the owners lifted the house and built a wine cellar on the first floor of the house. Later the owner built a covered but open air Bocce Ball Court in their backyard complete with game instructions written in Italian posted on the support columns.

La Posta (http://www.lapostarestaurant.com/) (Sister restaurant of Soif)
538 Seabright Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 • (831) 457-2782
La Posta Restaurant in Santa Cruz offers up delicious Italian food, a fabulous wine list and an all around friendly, pleasant dining atmosphere for locals & visitors alike. Located in a 100 year old building in the Seabright neighborhood near Santa Cruz Harbor, this Italian eatery is nothing short of marvelous. Each dish on the pan-Italian menu contains fresh, local organic ingredients that can be tasted in each bite. Start out with an appetizer of steam muscles with house-made sausage & marinated tomatoes or brick oven pizza. Entrees include steak & chicken dishes as well as seafood that is Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch approved. Come in for dinner & select from an extensive pan-Italian menu Tuesdays - Saturday, enjoy a family-style menu on Sunday. This cozy Italian restaurant is perfect for a romantic date or eating out with family and friends.

SPORTS BARS

Seabright Brewery
www.seabrightbrewery.com
519 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 • 831-426-BREW (2739)
Open everyday from 11:30am to 11:30pm. Kitchen closes at 10pm.
All of our carefully hand-crafted, brewery fresh ales are made using only water, malt, yeast, and hops. Our brewmaster uses the finest two-row Harrington pale malted barley, specially roasted barley malts, hops from Oregon and Washington, and select brewers yeast to produce our beers right here on the premises. We are a dog friendly establishment.

The Britannia Arms (www.britanniaarmsaptos.com)
8017 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA. 95003 (831)688-1233
The Aptos Britannia Arms was established in 1995. Although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, The Aptos Brit is the original, and still the most authentic, British pub in Northern California. Nestled in the heart of Aptos Village, where the redwoods meet the sea, the Britannia Arms is about as close to an original old English village pub that you are likely to find on this side of the pond (the Atlantic that is!).

BARS AND LOUNGES

Red Restaurant and Bar (www.redsantacruz.com)
200 Locust Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • (831) 425-1913
Welcome to Red. Lounge in front of the fire place with friends, great food, and cocktails at Red Restaurant and Bar. Red offers large, small, and shared plates made primarily with organic ingredients and inspired by a variety of influences including American and Mediterranean cuisine. Red Restaurant and Bar is sophisticated and elegant with menus that are fun and young. Open for dinner and late night dining, Red is located upstairs in the Historic Santa Cruz Hotel at the corner of Cedar and Locust in downtown Santa Cruz.