Asian Express

I Really Love Thai Food and have eaten at most of the Thai restaurants in and around the Santa Cruz…read morearea and that's why I say that Thai Basil (in Capitola) is by far the Best Thai restaurant I've ever eaten at and is probably one of the Best restaurants in Santa Cruz, period! Sure there are good Thai restaurants in Santa Cruz but they are what you would expect at any decent Thai eatery...But Thai Basil Is So Much Better than those other Thai restaurants! Rather small and unassuming, Thai Basil takes the normal Thai dishes and bumps them up several notches, serving you cuisine that is different from what you've gotten used to, from other Thai places! All of their dishes are unique, as they are so delicious and fresh, tasting like you're eating at a Thai home, rather than a restaurant! And in a way, you are. Thai Basil is a Family Run business that serves family recipes, as opposed to traditional restaurant dishes. Each dish looks and tastes different from what you might expect. The sauces explode with flavors of fresh herbs, spices and freshness that only comes from a family's favorite home recipes, cooked and prepared traditionally! Thai Basil is so definitely a "family affair"! Mom & Dad prepare the meals, (from their own recipes) while their daughter and son wait on tables. The more I went to this cafe, it became obvious that this was becoming a Capitola favorite too! You will see many locals eating here, store owners, city workers and law enforcement officers, filling up on the amazing Thai family food! So, my recommendation is that you get over to Thai Basil and eat like you're part of the family!

Authentic food, great taste, you can choose between 1-5 spicy levels, we chose 3 and it was…read moreperfect. Crispy rolls were served hot straight from the frier-excellent! Enough stuffing. Green curry was authentic, umami and comforting.

Ambience

Pineapple curry. Excellent and a must try!

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Crispy Egg Roll and cream cheese wontons. Win win

Dharma's Restaurant

3.8(859 reviews)

0.4 mi

I finally branched out to try something different than my beloved Indian platter and I was rewarded…read morewith another fantastic meal! Tried the fresh spring rolls, SO refreshing -- like a salad -- but with delicious and gluten-free peanut sauce. Loved it. Quite filling as the two rolls are chonky. Chased my rolls with an indulgent vegan GF lemon cake. Super lemony which is awesome. Dense and drier but so tasty, I don't mind a dense cake, actually. A huge hit! Will order both again!!! I took home the extra peanut sauce and used it on steamed potatoes, delicious. My father-in-law had a breakfast burrito which he took home half of, extra value, it's two meals. Hubby had the tofu scramble which was a bit dry, he added some of my peanut sauce to jazz it up. He wish he'd ordered his usual fave, the Bo Thai. But points for trying something new!

I come here because this is one of the last restaurants in Santa Cruz that I am trusting that their…read morefood sourcing is from holistic, healthy and sustainable outlets. The Chai here is the only house made Chai of quality in Santa Cruz. The prices here are a bit high for a working class budget, but you can understand that almost every meal you order here is good for 2 meals. The owners and employees are what you would expect from people that are serving healthy, soul and body enriching foods. Please continue supporting this Santa Cruz landmark!

Inside

Breakfast burr

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Inside

My Thai Beach

3.6(315 reviews)

Such a lovely place! We came here after our beach evening in the Capitola beach. The view from this…read morerestaurant is just so amazing We ordered Roti Kanai, Tom Yum soup, Masamman curry with tofu with a side of brown rice. And the yummy sticky rice with mango. We enjoyed all the dishes, although massamman curry was a bit on the sweeter side. Soup was just perfect! Overall amazing meal on a beautiful day!

We visited this restaurant last Saturday, April 11, because we were very hungry and it was the…read morenearest Asian spot to us. We were a group of 7 and 3 kids. My 16-month-old son is very active, as most toddlers are. He was walking around while I stayed close to him, trying my best to keep him from grabbing things. Unfortunately, he pulled on a small bell by the door and broke the string. I immediately apologized for what happened. What really disappointed me was the reaction from the cashier/server. Instead of handling the situation with understanding, she seemed visibly upset and made several comments, including telling me to "control your kid." That was honestly upsetting and unnecessary. Anyone who has a toddler knows that it's not that simple, and parents are already doing their best to manage situations like this. Good food can easily be overshadowed by poor customer service. Comments about someone's parenting, especially without understanding the situation, are uncalled for. Because of this experience, I don't feel comfortable coming back. I hope the staff can be more mindful and respectful toward families in the future.

Beautiful wall sculpture of Capitola Village (still work in progress)

Rawang Curry is a rare, traditional Thai curry--rich, aromatic, and deeply flavorful. A classic old-style dish you don't often find.

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View from the restaurant

Sawasdee

4.1(538 reviews)

1.0 mi

This is our FAVORITE Thai Restaurant! The flavors were amazing. The servers were helpful. It is…read morebeautiful inside and they served wine. We will always include Sawasdee as an option when we eat out!

My husband and I went there for lunch today. We have been going to this restaurant for many many…read moreyears. first, the tom ka soup lacked the full flavor. Then I tried the chow mein. It completely lacked any flavor. I then said I wanted to try the pad Thai. It was not prepared the way it usually was as it had a very thick sauce on it. When it came time to settle the bill, the manager had charged us for the pad Thai as well as the chow mein. We explained that we did not eat the chow mein and didn't like it. Next, I guess it was the owner who was on the telephone screaming at me about how their food was so good. She accused me of going around to all Restaurants, ordering food and then saying I didn't like it. Unfortunately, we will never be going back to this restaurant again. It was a very bizarre experience. This person has no idea about Customer Service and how to deal with a dissatisfied patron.with Eventually, The server finally took the chow mein off the bill, which was all we were expecting from the start. My husband and I are seniors and felt we were treated very rudely. I ended up with repeated gastrointestinal issues in the middle of the night and this morning.

Decor! @Sawasdee Thai! Soquel CA Sat 3/1/25

Sticky rice with mango

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Pad See-Ew with tofu

Surf City Sandwich

4.0(444 reviews)

0.7 mi

Lovely service and best sandwich I've ever had!! Highly recommend the Philly cheese steak!!read more

Ordered on line. Food was ready on time. Customer Service was great…read more BLAT, Cubano and garlic fries were tasty Took food to go, but lots of area to sit outside

Surf City Sandwich - Figs pig and a lemonade. Pulled pork shoulder, stout bbq sauce, caramelized onions, pineapple coleslaw on a brioche bun. Super good!

Figs pig and a lemonade. Pulled pork shoulder, stout bbq sauce, caramelized onions, pineapple coleslaw on a brioche bun. Super good!

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Vulcan mind melt

Boba Bay

3.7(70 reviews)

I was walking around town, just exploring the city and came across this very cute Boba place. I was…read morecraving for Boba and saw this very cute logo of an otter. Upon walking in, you see this gigantic cat in front of you. Super cute and there's a lot of swags that you can buy on your left and right. There's a class that you can order Self Service, or a staff member to help you order. She was super nice and very welcoming and explained one of the drink that I had a question about. I ordered their tiger milk tea with Boba. There's no ice level or sugar level like in the Bay area, so it's just your order and it's by default. The sugar level was about 75%, which is great. I don't like lots of sugar in my drink. I also felt that there wasn't much ice in my drink, which many people appreciate less ice for more liquids. I think I taste more of the brown sugar than the tea itself. Overall, the milk tea is pretty good out here. I would recommend to try this place and give it a try. They also make the food fresh so it does take time and they had a sign for it as well.

Just an average boba store. They sell lot of cute boba related stuffs…read more Jasmine green tea with strawberry was pretty bland. Mango refresher was great but a bit too sweet even with 50% sugar.

Mascot pen

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Keychains and my 24 oz. Malaysian Black Milk Tea yummy!

Canton

3.6(307 reviews)

Everything was amazing! We had the Garlic Chicken and Chicken w/ Eggplant lunch specials. They each…read morecame with some of the best hot n' sour soup I have ever had. Both chicken dishes were amazing, I wish they bottled the garlic sauce, it was pure heaven, with a mild kick, not too spicy. Pure perfection! The eggplant was damn near candied, unbelievably delicious. Perfectly cooked, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness! I will definitely be back! Our only co

The food here is ok, but the service leaves a lot to be desired. If you're short on patience, this…read moremay not be the place for you. Despite repeatedly giving them the benefit of the doubt, I find myself consistently let down. My biggest frustration is with their pickup and takeout process. Every single time I call ahead, I'm given an estimated wait time, yet no matter when I arrive, whether it's on time, a little late, or even deliberately late to compensate, my order hasn't been touched. EVERY TIME. It makes me wonder if they intentionally delay orders out of concern that customers won't show up? To make matters worse, this doesn't appear to be an isolated issue. On most visits, I find myself in the company of other customers who called ahead and are facing the exact same problem . . . their orders haven't been started either. After many unsuccessful tries, I'm done.

Location

Mongolian Beef

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Restaurant

Jeffery's Restaurant

3.2(357 reviews)

1.7 mi

This was my second experience here. I don't recall much about the first experience, it was years…read moreago. But due to unexpected events we found ourselves here a couple days before Xmas, not terribly busy, a rather off time. We were flagged over, given menus and sat. Same guys brought over some coffee. We took a couple minutes to get settled. Menu is good size so it was challenging to decide what we wanted. We were given many minutes. So many minutes that two booths (on our wing of the restaurant) paid, left. Next was the test. Another couple was finally sat in our wing. We were ready to order and were definitely going to make sure we politely got noticed bc we are really hungry now. Finally the server takes our order, was pleasant enough and walked away. The 2 stars go to the cooks, food and the nicer lady who works behind the counter. One minus star goes to the almost unbearable smell in the restroom, absolutely disgusting. And the other minus two for our server. Seems she's been there awhile. Seems we were not the type of people she liked in her section. We could not think of any other reason for the complete lack acknowledgment. Noted, lady. Santa Cruz is progressive-ish. Until you run into humans like this. Don't get seated in the old white lady's section if you're anything but that.

Came to this place like 3 years ago, just giving them a late review, cuz I still remember the…read morehorrible experience here (which shows how bad this place was) . Anyway, I had dinner here with my friend. After eating and paying (paid good tips too), I went to the bathroom for a number 2. 2 minutes later, someone kept knocking on the door. 3 minutes later, the waitress knocked on my door again saying that "there's a line waiting". Really I can't even spend 5 mins pooping here? So I rushed to finish and only to walk out to see a man needing to wash his hands. Really? What happened to the "line"? Really rushing someone out so someone else to wash their hand.

Late Night Eatery

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Erik's DeliCafe of Santa Cruz - Soquel Drive

3.6(147 reviews)

1.1 mi

•$

This is my favorite sandwich spot! The sandwiches are large with piled fresh ingredients. We love…read morethe Pilgrim's Progress sandwich and the vegetarian soup! They have a nice, large selection of sandwiches and salads. The staff is consistently friendly and service is quick. We never wait long for our sandwiches to appear at our table. They also have an amazing carrot cake with decadent icing. Yum! It's really nice to see the staff constantly cleaning and keeping the place in great condition. It's so much better than fast food when you are out and need a quick lunch or dinner. With fast food prices rising, this is definitely a better, healthy value for your money. This is definitely our go to!

They make their sandwiches as big as they are shown in advertisements which is awesome! Erik's is…read morein my top two best chain sandwich shops. I think it is a nice touch that they bring your sandwich to your table. That is unusual for most sandwich places. The decor in their stores is old country farm living. My wife and I split a sandwich almost every time we go as it ends up being just the right amount for the two of us. Next time you are having a hankering for a sandwich, try Erik's!