From the website. This restaurant is permanently closed. As many of you know, I've made the decision to close Restaurant Malik Williams. My most sincere thanks go to our customers, staff and suppliers who supported our endeavors to create a fine dining space. While I'm extremely proud of the food and dining experience we created, we were under capitalized to survive in today's extremely difficult market. I've learned a lot, and my dreams are not over -- just on hold! We are already working on a new concept and we will be back! Stay tuned! Again, thanks for your support -- it means the world to me. -Malik Williams
Shawna W.
Came here for their soft opening and tried a variety of dishes. Wasn't a fan of the seafood sausage, but mainly due to texture not taste. Everything else was wonderful.
Shannon J.
It is so inspiring that a young, courageous and passionate chef has launched his career in such a challenging era. God bless you Malik and your team growing and glowing into the future.
Matilda A.
I dined once and the food was truly inedible. I ordered the pear salad, tuna tartare, roasted chicken and rack of lamb. Each dish was presented beautifully - but truly disgusting. All the dishes had the most grotesque spice/seasoning, even the raw tuna was ruined by the chefs choice of flavoring. The salad was missing the dressing but two pipet drops the chef may have accidentally gotten on while dressing another dish, and the center was a cube of gelatin that housed cut up pear all entirely inedible but presentation focused, very wasteful and disappointing when you cannot even eat the dish. The chicken was dry and saturated with a vile spice that left my throat inflamed and fearful it might close shut. The bathroom was comparable to a gas station rest stop - yet they are charging hundreds of dollars for dining. The light was flickering and there was no stock of any toilet or paper towels as well. The dining room itself looked so unfinished, I inquired if they were still remodeling. Raw wooden beams exposed, cardboard cut out holding up a "wall" of fake flowers hiding bins of storage and staff personal items - all in clear view from seating. The pianist at the center was the only solace I found. Incredibly kind staff and I am sure chef as well, and I will commend anyone especially his age for his business venture. However, as a chef, you need to go back to the school you left or take time to earn experience. Presentation is a great part - but the least of importance when you cannot even stomach the taste or half the dish is filled with inedible features you spent more time curating than the actual taste. As a business owner, know your prices need to reflect the ambiance and quality of cuisine. I wish i had taken photos to let everyone see what the establishment really looks like. enough of the 1% highlights
alia w.
Overpriced and terrible. I don't know what else to say. The server got our order wrong. Didn't fix it and what we got was burnt and inedible.
Bryan T.
To be frank, I was all fire up after my dinner here that night to give 5 stars. I still remember after finishing dinner there and decided to check their Yelp rating, I was literally upset that such good restaurant with great food, friendly service, and nice atmosphere are getting bashed by these 1 or 2 stars. Even my kids and wife reminded me that night to do my part...again, food is great, I don't even like Italian food and I wanted to come here and give 5 star. Now what happened? I'm one of those lazy customers that just wrote the bill total and left the tip field empty. When I got home, my email receipt shows another $20 was automagically added. I wish they stopped me that night and told me I didn't do enough, it's perfectly ok. I just don't appreciate this back-adding. It's $20, it's not the end of the world, I'll still go back to Malik when I'm in town.
Vanessa B.
Fine dining in Aptos! We were offered some rosé when we checked in. The food was great. It is expensive. This is a special occasion place. My party visited the back and they said it was beautiful
Maureen T.
The service was great! Our waiter, Lisa, was superb! The ambiance was welcoming and warm. We loved the back patio. Aptos really benefits from a special restaurant like Malik Williams and we need special space like this. The food was innovative and unique and yummy. Perfect for a special occasion!
CheriS
The restaurant is lovely and we sat outside under the trees. The food was incredible and everyone enjoyed was ordered. My only negative feedback is the price. Very expensive. So, splurge and enjoy your evening!
JerryA
The quality Malik puts in to everything he cooks makes it worth what he charges. He has created a special place by making the dining experience special in every aspect. It is hard to find any fault to the whole experience.
A friend took me as a very special "thank you." It was a Thursday night. The outside tables were fairly full, the inside had 2 tables filled. Our waitress, Lisa, was excellent. Very helpful with answering questions and arranged special modifications to one dish for us. We had the seafood sausage appetizer which was very unusual and we would recommend. She had the lemon risotto with salmon - very good, but the lemon risotto wasn't very lemony - it had more of a strong cheese taste. Very good, but I would change the description. I had the filet which turned out medium vs. medium rare. The "poached" aspect meant it was served in a broth which was oversalted. Since this was a gift dinner, I didn't want to complain so I didn't mention it. I probably would not recommend that dish. The cucumber salad was fine but not great. The chocolate cheesecake was the most inspiring thing we ate. Overall, a good experience, but, given the prices I probably wouldn't return. It just didn't "wow" me the way some people have talked about it.
BarbB
Truly a remarkable evening on the patio. Simply extraordinary food from the fresh cucumber salad to the duck breast wrapped in prosciutto and the wrapped in a thin flaky crust.. insanely wonderful. Highly recommend. Dinner is pricey but considering the high level of this kitchen as well as the staff.. totally in line.
The food and service was very good. We selected the outside seating on the back deck. It was very comfortable. The food was well presented and we all enjoyed our selections. We will be back again.
Aims
This is a little gem of a restaurant tucked away in an unassuming location off HWY1 in Aptos. Greeted with a lovely glass of bubbly rose' and seated with a great kitchen view and sweet live piano in the background, we enjoyed a delicious multi course meal of a quality that is hard to find in Santa Cruz. Wine list was simple, but perfectly paired. Foodies, this place is for you! Expensive, yes, but the quality delivers.
Deborahr
We went here to celebrate my husbands birthday. It did not disappoint. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about wine and guided us perfectly. Our entrees were sublime. Malik was gracious and treated us to amazing beignets for dessert.
From the website. This restaurant is permanently closed. As many of you know, I've made the decision to close Restaurant Malik Williams. My most sincere thanks go to our customers, staff and suppliers who supported our endeavors to create a fine dining space. While I'm extremely proud of the food and dining experience we created, we were under capitalized to survive in today's extremely difficult market. I've learned a lot, and my dreams are not over -- just on hold! We are already working on a new concept and we will be back! Stay tuned! Again, thanks for your support -- it means the world to me. -Malik Williams
Came here for their soft opening and tried a variety of dishes. Wasn't a fan of the seafood sausage, but mainly due to texture not taste. Everything else was wonderful.
It is so inspiring that a young, courageous and passionate chef has launched his career in such a challenging era. God bless you Malik and your team growing and glowing into the future.
I dined once and the food was truly inedible. I ordered the pear salad, tuna tartare, roasted chicken and rack of lamb. Each dish was presented beautifully - but truly disgusting. All the dishes had the most grotesque spice/seasoning, even the raw tuna was ruined by the chefs choice of flavoring. The salad was missing the dressing but two pipet drops the chef may have accidentally gotten on while dressing another dish, and the center was a cube of gelatin that housed cut up pear all entirely inedible but presentation focused, very wasteful and disappointing when you cannot even eat the dish. The chicken was dry and saturated with a vile spice that left my throat inflamed and fearful it might close shut. The bathroom was comparable to a gas station rest stop - yet they are charging hundreds of dollars for dining. The light was flickering and there was no stock of any toilet or paper towels as well. The dining room itself looked so unfinished, I inquired if they were still remodeling. Raw wooden beams exposed, cardboard cut out holding up a "wall" of fake flowers hiding bins of storage and staff personal items - all in clear view from seating. The pianist at the center was the only solace I found. Incredibly kind staff and I am sure chef as well, and I will commend anyone especially his age for his business venture. However, as a chef, you need to go back to the school you left or take time to earn experience. Presentation is a great part - but the least of importance when you cannot even stomach the taste or half the dish is filled with inedible features you spent more time curating than the actual taste. As a business owner, know your prices need to reflect the ambiance and quality of cuisine. I wish i had taken photos to let everyone see what the establishment really looks like. enough of the 1% highlights
Overpriced and terrible. I don't know what else to say. The server got our order wrong. Didn't fix it and what we got was burnt and inedible.
To be frank, I was all fire up after my dinner here that night to give 5 stars. I still remember after finishing dinner there and decided to check their Yelp rating, I was literally upset that such good restaurant with great food, friendly service, and nice atmosphere are getting bashed by these 1 or 2 stars. Even my kids and wife reminded me that night to do my part...again, food is great, I don't even like Italian food and I wanted to come here and give 5 star. Now what happened? I'm one of those lazy customers that just wrote the bill total and left the tip field empty. When I got home, my email receipt shows another $20 was automagically added. I wish they stopped me that night and told me I didn't do enough, it's perfectly ok. I just don't appreciate this back-adding. It's $20, it's not the end of the world, I'll still go back to Malik when I'm in town.
Fine dining in Aptos! We were offered some rosé when we checked in. The food was great. It is expensive. This is a special occasion place. My party visited the back and they said it was beautiful
The service was great! Our waiter, Lisa, was superb! The ambiance was welcoming and warm. We loved the back patio. Aptos really benefits from a special restaurant like Malik Williams and we need special space like this. The food was innovative and unique and yummy. Perfect for a special occasion!
The restaurant is lovely and we sat outside under the trees. The food was incredible and everyone enjoyed was ordered. My only negative feedback is the price. Very expensive. So, splurge and enjoy your evening!
The quality Malik puts in to everything he cooks makes it worth what he charges. He has created a special place by making the dining experience special in every aspect. It is hard to find any fault to the whole experience.
Restaurantji Recommends
A friend took me as a very special "thank you." It was a Thursday night. The outside tables were fairly full, the inside had 2 tables filled. Our waitress, Lisa, was excellent. Very helpful with answering questions and arranged special modifications to one dish for us. We had the seafood sausage appetizer which was very unusual and we would recommend. She had the lemon risotto with salmon - very good, but the lemon risotto wasn't very lemony - it had more of a strong cheese taste. Very good, but I would change the description. I had the filet which turned out medium vs. medium rare. The "poached" aspect meant it was served in a broth which was oversalted. Since this was a gift dinner, I didn't want to complain so I didn't mention it. I probably would not recommend that dish. The cucumber salad was fine but not great. The chocolate cheesecake was the most inspiring thing we ate. Overall, a good experience, but, given the prices I probably wouldn't return. It just didn't "wow" me the way some people have talked about it.
Truly a remarkable evening on the patio. Simply extraordinary food from the fresh cucumber salad to the duck breast wrapped in prosciutto and the wrapped in a thin flaky crust.. insanely wonderful. Highly recommend. Dinner is pricey but considering the high level of this kitchen as well as the staff.. totally in line.
The food and service was very good. We selected the outside seating on the back deck. It was very comfortable. The food was well presented and we all enjoyed our selections. We will be back again.
This is a little gem of a restaurant tucked away in an unassuming location off HWY1 in Aptos. Greeted with a lovely glass of bubbly rose' and seated with a great kitchen view and sweet live piano in the background, we enjoyed a delicious multi course meal of a quality that is hard to find in Santa Cruz. Wine list was simple, but perfectly paired. Foodies, this place is for you! Expensive, yes, but the quality delivers.
We went here to celebrate my husbands birthday. It did not disappoint. Our server was extremely knowledgeable about wine and guided us perfectly. Our entrees were sublime. Malik was gracious and treated us to amazing beignets for dessert.