Visited again and was really hoping to update my rating bc I want to support Arab owned businesses. Rating was still around a 3.5. This time we ordered the kefta dinner and another dinner that was one kefta and one chicken skewer. Definitely better than the wrap I had last time. And the chicken and rice were particularly good. Still disappointed they don't have tahini sauce for these items. Both served with tzatziki, which doesn't fit. We paid around $80 for this with one nonalcoholic drink. Unfortunately, as before, the service was still not great despite the restaurant being empty. The woman (same one as last time) was nice but just not that attentive. My drink came well after my meal. The bread service came when we were almost done. I did notice a guy going around to other tables. Maybe he was the owner and he was a lot more attentive to other tables. Still love the Arabic music. However, With the mediocre service and food lacking real Arabic accoutrements, I cannot recommend but also can't say don't go. read more

Mozaic - Olive oil - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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The ambiance was quite nice but the food was a bit bland. We tried the shrimp crab ravioli and lamb shank, both of them lacked flavor. I couldn't feel any flavor of shrimp or crab in the ravioli and same for the lamb. The complementary bread and sauce were however quite nice and felt tastier than the entrees. Also some of the beef dishes are not halal, they should have mentioned it as they have halal label outside. read more

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I've had better Mediterranean cuisine. Everything I ordered was decent, but nothing stood out enough to make me want to return. Being vegetarian may have played a role in my experience. I did notice some dramatic-looking dishes at the next table, so ordering the right items might make a difference here. The ambiance is casual, and the service was decent. They do serve complimentary warm bread slices with pesto, which was a nice touch. read more

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Was hungry for some real food after the boardwalk and wanted something a little healthier after all the sugar we ate all day so decided to try this place. I wasn't expecting to find such a Mediterranean gem in Santa Cruz! Everything tasted so fresh and so good. Their pesto with bread was delicious. We ordered the mezze platter and the dolma was probably the best I have had. They were very generous with the pita bread they gave. The platter is for 4 people and intended to be an appetizer but we got pretty full off it. Hubby and I each ordered the gyro and the kids each ordered the chicken sandwich. Both were delicious. Portions were huge and prices were good. $15 for each gyro/sandwich and $25 for the mezze platter for 4 which has dolmas, spanakopita, falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki and lots of pita bread. So filling, delicious, and well worth the money. The service was impressive. We came in around 8p and they were scheduled to close at 8:30p. They did not rush us and they did not sacrifice service. They were all very friendly and attentive. Highly recommend! read more

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Delicious! We were staying in a hotel with our pups and craved delicious Greek food, but needed it delivered. Mosaic to the rescue. We ordered through DoorDash: 2 x Greek Chicken Souvlaki - perfectly cooked chicken, flavorful rice, fresh veggies Pita - large order, fresh, soft bread Hummus - among the best I've had! Creamy, smooth, and full of flavor without being overly garlicky. Prices were high on DoorDash (that was the option we had), but they look a little more reasonable on the restaurant's website. Everything was packaged beautifully for takeout. We enjoyed every last lick! If we're back in Santa Cruz without pups, I'd love to dine at Mozaic for the full experience. read more

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Service, food and the restaurant ambience were really nice. The servers were super friendly.

We were so charmed by Mozaik Cafe. The owner was an absolute delight, and it was a perfect stop on a cold day. He made us a rose latte, which was delicious, and we had some baklava with it, which was exceptionally good. No complaints at all, hugely recommended! read more

U! Came here to Santa Cruz to celebrate my birthday with no exact plans for dinner! We found this on Yelp with good reviews so we checked it out. This was an unexpected gem in Santa Cruz! We loved the food, the ambiance, the service, the belly dance show, meeting the owner, and celebrating my birthday with cake and coffee! I highly recommend this place and plan to go back again when I'm in Santa Cruz. Yummy food we ordered: Lentil soup Saganaki cheese Chicken Kabob with greens Salad Chocolate layer cake Coffee Everything was delicious! read more

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We were quite impressed with all the 8 diff dishes we ordered. Every single one stood out. The lamb shank, octopus, salad, the appetizer plate, and the rest were all deliciously enjoyed! The service was great, & the atmosphere was lively! We're happy we picked this place during our Santa Cruz visit. Highly recommend!! read more

We ate here for lunch and it was a pleasant experience. The grilled octopus was quite delicious and full of flavor, but it had a bit too much oil for me. It had some really nice spice to it though. My main entree composed of the middle eastern combo platter which had a greek salad, hummus, chicken and gyro meat. The gyro was tasty although the end pieces were a bit dry. But overall very good. Our waitress was very attentive. read more

Food was just ok, lacked flavor. I ordered a Turkish kebab platter. But the kebabs were like flat hamburgers, little flavor. My friend ordered a wrap which was very dry. We were a party of five and later, no one thought the food was tasty. Service was fine. The ambiance was attractive, with Mediterranean decor. read more

This one is rough. The first thing first: they need to remove the word Turkish from the kafta kebab. There is nothing Turkish about it. The rice, salad and the bread that came with it was ok. The meat was super dry and not enjoyable at all. Now the real catch was the gyro in the Middle Eastern Combo plate. I have seen some bad gyro over the years at different places but this puppy is something special. At least try to slice it thinly to make it somewhat look like gyro. What are these burned bricks you are serving your customers? It has to be the worse food I have seen in Santa Cruz. I'll attach a photo of this substance. I'd be curious if anyone thinks this is food. read more

Mozaic - Apparently Gyro - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

first of all, they give you a LOT of FOOD which is amazing! The chicken wrap didn't have a ton of flavour the grill octopus was ok (ó - ò) MY FAVE THING is the free bread to dip in the pesto sauce. so good. love dipping. the interior is really pretty and has a full bar! i might need to try something else next time read more

Mozaic - Chicken Wrap - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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This place is definitely on the pricier side. Plenty of seating and the service was good. Theres a bar inside. I liked the Mediterranean aesthetic. I thought the food was not bad. I got the middle eastern combo platter which was pretty filling. I couldn't even finish it. The chicken wasn't too dry and the rest were solid.The strawberry mocktail was delicious and refreshing. The Greek salad and the hummus were good. read more

Mozaic - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Very nice place. I ordered the combination. The chicken was amazing. The Shawarma was pressed kind. I wish they had one of the round barbecues with the lamb and the beef cut off fresh, but it was still very nice. The hummus was wonderful too. Thank you! read more

Friendly service, tasty lentil soup and falafel wrap, generous portions. It was a pleasant find.

Food is very good We ordered calamari for appetizers- pretty good 4/5 Lamb kabobs as entree very good 4.5/5 Mocktails were good but had too much ice Service was at times slow 3/5 Overall a 4/5 I would go back read more

Nestled in downtown Santa Cruz, Mosaic is a fun and delicious place to visit whether you're with coworkers, on a date, or entertaining a large group. The restaurant is spacious and has many different sections. The decor was really nice and transported us into a different region of the world! Drinks and food were all tasty. Service was excellent. I had a great time here. The only reason I knocked off a star is because the prices are a little high, and the octopus dish was delicious but a small portion. (Plus the grilled octopus was cut up into tiny pieces, which wasn't very appealing.) I can't wait to return. read more

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Amazing food! It was our first time trying this type of food and it was beyond amazing!

The food was really good! The bread alone... made it worth going here! Perfectly baked and crispy perfection!!! The only disappointing thing... was that they charge you for every little thing! They let you know and it's a bit off putting! They even charge for the garlic aïoli butter! If you ask for extra. I get that they have to make money. I just think almost $90.00 for three people is a bit much. Since no alcohol was purchased. Especially when only one entrée was purchased, and the other two were starter items... as dinner! One of the helper/waitress was so amazingly nice!!! The rest of artichokes were very good, but a bit tough. Until you to the center... which was perfectly cooked. I got the four cheese raviolis. I I substituted their marinara sauce, with their pesto cream sauce. Which was delicious!!! The food was very good but not a place I would go back to. It was just a bit too pricy! read more

Mozaic - Roasted artichokes. (One of their starters.) - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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This place is a gem! Happened to stumble in on a Friday evening and they had a belly dancer! The ambiance was fun and service was welcoming, and the food was super good! We had the halloumi cheese with cucumber to start and it was so fresh! The kabob was also yummy and the dessert was my favorite! We had the rose water dessert, it was amazing! Would recommend Mozaic to anyone visiting the area. read more

Food is okay. Not very authentic. Side Salad was good. Hummus was good. Main entrees were okay. We ordered: Turkish Kafta Kebab plate - not a lot of Mediterranean flavors. Tasted like regular meatballs. Lacked seasoning. Rice was pilaf. Not Mediterranean rice. Greek Moussaka - dry and tasted bland. Arugula Pesto Pasta with Falafel - okay Service was slow. Restaurant was nice looking inside. read more

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During our anniversary day trip to Santa Cruz, we launched at Mozaic. It was very quiet, with no other seated patrons at noon on a Thursday. We kept it simple, with a shared tzatziki appetizer, and a shared falafel wrap. The tzatziki was more herbaceous and less garlicky than we're used to, but tasty all the same. The pita was hot and fresh. The portion was just right for lunch, with yummy crisp fries, and the attention was commensurate to the foot traffic, which was zero, aside from a couple takeout orders. We'd go there again definitely. read more

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Mozaic is a Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz, right across the street from an inexpensive pay-per-hour parking lot. They have a good sized outdoor patio along with darker, more intimate indoor seating. We are huge fans of Greek cuisine, especially octopus, Moussaka, and their excellent Souvlaki kebabs. We came here for dinner for our last night in Santa Cruz. I was a huge fan of their Fig Mule, which is a nice fruity twist on the Moscow Mule, complete with a copper cup. Somehow fig and ginger beer seem to go together, and this was a refreshing cocktail for a warm evening. The food however, was just okay for us and did not quite measure up to some of our local Mediterranean places in the Bay Area. So 3 stars overall. * The Octopus was seasoned well and had a great sauce that went well with the bread. Texture wise, it was definitely on the chewier side (4 stars). * Greek Moussaka was a bit of a letdown. Normally this is our 3yo's favorite dish (he calls it "Misaka", so cute!). However, the one we ordered from Mozaic seemed starchy and dry from all that potato with not enough ground beef filling. Even slathering that red sauce around each forkful did not overcome the starchiness. (3 stars) * Kid's Menu Greek Souvlaki chicken was real dry (3 stars). Ditto on the Turkish Kafta Kebabs. read more

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We had reservations for outdoor on Saturday at 7pm. The comp bread with pesto oil sauce was really good that we asked for more. Ok price for white wines. Everything we ordered was good except for the beef Turkish Kafta Kebab. It was salty and dry. The lamb kebab was a little dry too. The Mezza platter, Greek moussaka (like lasagna), Greek salad, grilled octopus were all good. Our waiter Mason was attentive. We even got to taste 2 white wines since we were particular in what we wanted in our white wines. We ended up ordering a bottle of Sauvignon blanc since it was my mom's bday. Food and wine came out quickly. read more

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We met some friends in Santa Cruz and chose this restaurant on Yelp reviews. (And thank you to those who mentioned that cheap parking lot right across the street!). The first thing we noticed was how friendly the staff were, which was greatly appreciated. The four of us sat outside on a beautiful, sunny day, and really enjoyed our lunch. My falafel wrap was interesting because it was crisp on the outside and not at all runny with tahini on the inside, which was great. The serving size was large enough that I brought it home for dinner as well. The lamb skewer was outstanding, as was the watermelon salad and the lamb shank. The tzatziki was good but not as tasty as I like and the pita was ok. Baklava was outstanding We would definitely come back for all the above reasons! read more

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Another great meal at Mozaic! Service is quick, food is always really good. We're fans!

Good food and cool place! I would definitely go back to try other things on the menu. read more

Mozaic - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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We went in the restaurant for a late lunch. There was only one table occupied by several people. We were seated right away. The music was just a bit loud for quiet conversation but the host offered to lower the sound before we even had a chance to ask. There were pictures painted on the walls which matched the theme of the restaurant. We ordered calamari as an appetizer. It seemed a bit tasteless, as if it were frozen and dumped in a fry basket. The dipping sauce was a bit too bold for the calamari. We both had the gyro sandwich. The salad that came with it was tasty. The meat in the sandwich was cut very thick. I ended up pulling the meat, which had a very nice flavor - and cutting it into smaller pieces and there was hardly any tzatziki sauce. read more

Mozaic - Gyro Sandwich - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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My husband and I always passed this place and always wanted to try their food, glad we did. They have great chicken kabob, friendly staff. Cocktails were good. Turkish coffee was excellent. read more

Mozaic - Skinny margarita - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Never thought I would be updating my review so soon after having a great experience the last time we were here. But we returned to Santa Cruz for another short vacation stay, on behalf of fulfilling Joe K's bucket list. After exploring the downtown area, our small family group developed an appetite, so Joe suggested eating at Mozaic. This time the restaurant was much busier than the last time we had been here. But not unexpected, given the great food served. We began our meal with a plate of Dolmas: Marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, paprika. Served with lemon garlic aioli. I also started my evening with a specialty cocktail called the 75 Redux. For dinner, this time I ordered the Alicia Salad: Charred corn and chickpeas seasoned with za'tar over mixed greens. Tossed in tahini, miso, cilantro, lime dressing. Topped with sliced avocado. Joe ordered the Watermelon Salad: Feta cheese, raw walnuts, basil & olive oil. He also added on a starter of Grilled Jumbo Prawns: Marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, paprika. Served with lemon garlic aioli. Once again, dinner was an impressive mixture of delicious food, friendly and attentive waitstaff and a relaxing time with people I love... read more

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My go to place in Santa Cruz.Parking garage 15' away. Diabled friendly. Prices are very reasonable. Quiet atmosphere. Staff is friendly even if you get there early. The food is oh so so good. Cocktails are tragically too tasty (yum) if no designated driver. I wish I could have ordered 20 cocktails!Mahalo Mozaic for Killa Grinds! read more

Mozaic - A Grapefruit Cosmo no cranberry with a sprig of mint on a floating island of candied lemon slice Yum!! - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I have been enjoying eating lamb the last couple months. So I ordered the lamb kebabs. with me being a Jewish descent I am getting in touch with the historical connection with my ancestors, raising sheep. after I was done eating lamb, it occurred to me Tonight is still passover, and the lamb has special significance in the story of Passover and in the sacrifices made at the Hebrew temple in Jerusalem. May all people of all different backgrounds eat good food. I had special dietary restrictions and I was so happy that the restaurant worked with me to give me what I wanted and needed. Good Service. read more

Went on a Saturday night and ate some great food in a beautiful venue while being entertained by a sultry belly dancer. That was a mouthful of an opening line right out of Casablanca or similar movie. Mozaic is located in beautiful downtown Santa Cruz, where street parking has meters you need to feed until 8pm. The restaurant has a long glistening bar on the left and tables along the right and in the back. Right side is slightly raised while the back section can be easily set up for larger groups. I'm not sure if the belly dancer performs on the weekend only but we were fortunate to see her perform twice. Good timing. As for the food, we were happy with what we ordered: - Meza Appetizer Platter for two consisting of hummus, babaganoush, falafel, dolmas, puff pastry and pita bread. A good appetizer to start an evening. - Gyro Plate with Saffron rice that had a lot of meat for you meat eaters - Greek Moussaka which was large and filling - And a powerful Turkish Coffee as a pick me up Overall, Mozaic is a great place for food, entertainment and a nice atmosphere. We took half of our entrees home for a meal the next night. read more

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I have gotten DoorDash orders from here but never gone inside until yesterday. They are so friendly! We were seated and immediately there was warm bread and a dipping sauce. The owner went out of his way to make a vegan dipping sauce because the one that comes automatically has cheese in it. My friend and u got a cup of lentil soup, split an Alicia salad and an order of dolmas. Everything is clearly labeled on the menu if it's vegetarian vegan or gluten free. Servers came around frequently and were awesome about answering menu questions. Dine in experience was great! read more

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Came to Mozaic with my partner because we were interested in having a yummy and light dinner. We chose Mozaic in downtown Santa Cruz because there were a lot of item in the menu that called us. I had a side of falafels and a salad with chicken skewers. Even as simple as my fish sounds, it was very flavorful and filling. Would I go back? Yes, I'd like to try other items on the menu. read more

Mozaic - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This place is fantastic. A gem of delicious food downtown Santa Cruz with great ambiance. There it a lot of amazing food in SC unfortunately but Mozaic know how to create a meal with flavor and they don't cut corners. Come support this place and you won't be disappointed. Outdoor seating, full bar and all points in between for a romantic date night, family meal or private event. The service is exceptional, you can feel they care. read more

Love this place! Always great food made fresh. A family favorite is the Saganaki appetizer with pita. Last night we went there with family and everything was delicious and the belly dancer's show was a special treat. The hummus is authentic and the complimentary bread with walnut basil pesto is a great starter. read more

Mozaic - Greek Chicken Souvlaki - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This place totally needs some Gordon Ramsay's intervention. The food sucked! Pricy and very small serving! The pilaf smelled disgusting and was half cooked. The waitress serving us was very rude and condescending. We ordered pomegranate Mocktail, it was very watered down and barely any pomegranate! The dinning area smelled like pee and mold! DO NOT go here! If I could I would give this place -10! They don't deserve even one star! read more

Very impressed! Hot fresh bread with a wonderful pesto dip was brought out immediately. The mezze plate had generous portions of really top tier falafel -- fresh, hot crispy and lightly fried--baba ghanoush which had a great lemony tang and nice chunks, great garlic, a super fresh hummus and warm dolmas and spanokopita (spinach and cheese filo dough pie), all served with warm fresh pita. Both the lentil soup and the smoked poblano soup were excellent and robust, perfect for a cool autumn evening. Shrimp kebabs were outstanding: the shrimp had been well marinated and then served flash hot, tender and juicy. Even though we were quite full from the other dishes, we overstuffed ourselves because the shrimp (with an excellent saffron rice and perfectly balanced tart fried greens) was so special. Service was friendly and assured. We sat outside in their parklet and enjoyed the setting sun and the outdoor heaters, which were brought out promptly as the air cooled. We are so glad to have a destination restaurant, which we can plan on going to after enjoying the Santa Cruz west cliff drive walk along the ocean. read more

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