I had the worst father's day and GRACE AND KAI made it all better, they took care of me, everything…read morewas clean and amazing and they made it feel like home. I've been here before and haven't met them but I did tonight and this was the best. Visit them, tip them, hell yeah

There's nothing I love more than a good old-fashioned salt of the Earth dive bar…read more The bartenders here are super friendly and the people hanging out offer the same vibe. They have an amazing outdoor patio, a pool table, and their front bar is perfect for a quick drink and a chat about the days activities. My wife and I stayed here for about two+ hours and just soaked in the local conversations. Drinks here will set you back about $5 each, which is a steal in today's rough economy. I've only been to Santa Cruz once, but I feel like this will be my go-to spot every time I'm in the area.

There are two floors! Downstairs and upstairs…read more Upstairs lounge is bigger with more tables and sofas for large groups. I like the red lighting throughout the whole place. It's a fun and unique vibe

Was my fav in college and now a must when I'm in Santa Cruz. The red room is pretty chill, although…read moreit does get busier on weekend nights. Friendly bartenders, ideal red everything vibes, and two rooms for seating options.

Dive Bar with heart and standards. Great drinks, fun live bands and entertainment, and impressive…read moreservice. I believe its because its under new managing ownership with Amy at the helm, leading by example. An industry OG who cares about delivering great drinks, service, and experience while also making sure her staff are well supported. Any bar can make a drink, Mission West makes a fantastic one, but the service and overall experience is what differentiates Mission West.

I've lived in Santa Cruz county for almost 10 years and haven't really visited a lot of bars in…read moretown. My sister came to visit so I looked up a few to check out and she liked their drink menu here so we checked it out. Walking in its divey inside, but I always love a good dive bar. The bartender was super friendly, happy to chat and offered us the drink list to look over. They had a pickle martini on the menu and that's what we opt'd for. I never had one before, but I DUG it. It's savory and a bit sour, love. We sat outside and they had pizza to order back there and line dancing happening. It was fun to watch the environment and people dancing. Good crowd of folks and friendly to conversation.

We decided to try Low Tide for breakfast, and the experience started off well. The wait staff…read moregreeted us right away and let us choose our own table, which we appreciated, especially since it meant avoiding the nearby family with screaming kids. The restaurant has an open, beachy décor, and everything inside looked clean and well maintained. The food is definitely on the pricey side, but we did enjoy what we ordered. Service was excellent: we were seated quickly, given time to settle in, and then the waiter took our drink order. He even offered a small sparkling wine tasting so we could choose the one we liked best. We ordered the breakfast burrito, which was very flavorful. The chorizo added a great kick, and the avocado we added really rounded everything out. The small cup of salsa was tasty and added some heat. The burrito itself had a nice char on the outside, giving it a well‑done finish. We also tried the Seaside Benedict, which was both beautifully presented and delicious. The potatoes could have been cooked a bit longer, but they were still edible. We liked the fresh greens on the plate, and the English muffin had a sourdough‑like flavor that worked really well. Overall, we enjoyed our experience.

Alrighty, here's my simplified report card:…read more View: 5 stars Atmosphere: 5 stars Service: 3 stars Cocktails/drinks: 2.5 stars Food: 1 star All-in-all, Low Tide set a very low bar (pun not intended, haha). The drinks were average, the service was basic. The view was spectacular so the only reason for going inside is if you can get a window seat. (I'd skip sitting on "the patio" as it's between the driveway and busy street!) What was shockingly disappointing is that Low Tide is also a restaurant, and although we weren't hungry, we thought we'd order a few appetizers to try this place out. Whoa, what a poor experience. The coconut shrimp "with greens" came with 4 heavily breaded shrimps with mild coconut...flavoring. I expected a few small bites of greens since it was mentioned in the name, but it was more like dried up plate decor. The corn chowder was fine, though it was serviced warm, not hot. For soup, especially ones with heavy cream and butter, I prefer it to be hot so I don't have to rush finishing it (because room temp chowder is unappetizing and not good for the gut)! The hotel is pretty and maybe the other spaces are nicer.

Jury room- came here because of the history IYKYK.. the serial killer in the 1970's... anyways…read morestopped in with a buncha girls during a bachelorette weekend in Santa Cruz! Your typical dive bar! The cocktail was disgusting, the woman working was pissed 10 beautiful women walked in, not clean bathrooms. Good music. The vibes!

Showed up to this bar on a cold, Friday night. It's the kind of dive bar that you just instantly…read morefall in love with: gregarious bartenders, welcoming regulars, and a space that cultivates a real community for musicians. I overheard just how passionate the bartender was about taking care of the bands who come in to play. And it really showed. I caught a line up with Supernaut, Peace Pipe, and Dead Engine. All of them were amazing live, and the crowd was super supportive, too. So, between the heavy pours, friendly folx, and a great venue for live music...I found a new watering hole in Santa Cruz. It's been around forever, so I'm happy that some live music could put it on my radar. Next time, I'll bring a $1 bill to put on the ceiling.

Shout out to Maxine for all the best recommendations and peak info regarding the brew and story…read morebehind each drink! The taste of each is so unique i am most definitely coming again specially after my friends boasted about the service and ambience being so welcoming and uplifting!

The location is inside of a food hall. Saturday afternoon was bustling with lots of activity in the…read morearea. There were plenty of open places to sit at the bar. It was a little tricky for our group of four to talk since we were all seated at the bar. There were a couple of areas to stand with your drinks if you wanted to stand across from someone to speak while enjoying your drink. Cocktails were unique and fun! Everyone in our party enjoyed our cocktail. The bartender was friendly, not overly attentive (bonus), very knowledgeable and patient with our questions.

The rotating bar & all the tiki decor are nice. We were disappointed to see that the Mr. McKay…read more drink came in the zombie cup, not the one pictured, since we ordered based on the picture. The AC was super cold (had to go get a jacket). It's very nice on the water side of the rotation, but dark on the other side. The Drinks were slow coming out. The crab dip was amazing. The chips that came were super crispy and delicious. The triumph and disaster cocktail was good and strong. Overall decent experience, but need more light on the back side of the rotation and need to serve drinks in tiki cups, as pictured on the menu. I've been to tiki bars all over the US, and proper tiki cups can add to aesthetics/experience

Makai is located almost at the end of the Santa Cruz pier. It's a cute tiki themed restaurant with…read morea revolving bar and a small outdoor patio. The drinks here are very eye catching and palate pleasing too! I got the mahamellow (non alcoholic) and my fiancé got the Mr Makai. For lunch, I ordered the Hawaiian fried chicken and he got the loco moco. Both meats were severely under-seasoned, like zero seasoning. That was sad. The Mac salad hit though. Super creamy, just the way I like it! Our server was Liam and he was excellent. He checked on us just enough and was nice too. It was a bit off putting there were bunches of flies congregating in parts of the restaurant. $3 per 20 minutes of parking but I think it maxes out at $24/day. I'd come back for the drinks and would dabble apps in the future.

We finally ate here and it's definitely our favorite restaurant now. From the welcome going in to…read morethe food was very nice. We had a window seat which made the experience even better. For the appetizer we ordered the grilled octopus ...best ever. Then I had the short ribs which melted in my mouth and my husband ordered the Ribeye cooked just right. Summer is an amazing waitress. Professional and attentive. We will be going back very soon!

Came here for drinks after an afternoon at the Boardwalk. We'd had some not so good drinks already…read moreand were looking for a nice cocktail for a change of pace. The drinks here did not disappoint, they were well balanced and hit the spot perfectly. We perused the bar menu since that's all that was open at this point, and while so much sounded good, we ended up doing a custom order for a regular side of fries and the onion dip that normally comes with chips. Fries were good, not my favorite kind, but still good, and the onion dip was really great! The bar and surrounding area was open seating. We got a table close to the bar, so some ocean views just from a far. Service was friendly and even though it was pretty crowded, we never had to wait too long to be checked in on.