14 Best Cocktail Bars in Santa Cruz

“We love Mission West, so we decided to rent out the whole place for our wedding after-party! It was especially nostalgic for me because I used to come here when it was Ye Olde Watering Hole, so it felt like the perfect venue for us.
Working with the owner, Amy, was so easy and wonderful. She answered all of our questions and worked with us to get our playlist set up for the night. The space can fit a lot of people too! We had just shy of 100 guests and it still felt really spacious.
Everyone had such a good time! Good drinks, good vibes, and the bartenders were great and made amazing drinks! Highly recommend stopping by for a drink or renting out the space for an event. They also have local food pop-ups and live shows!
We couldn't have asked for a better place to keep our wedding celebration going! ❤“

“The food here is amazing! It changes often. I've been a handful of times and loved everything (my wife loves it too!). If you're reading this, you should go here. It should absolutely have a Michelin star.

The dishes are unique, have interesting ingredients, and are always excellently prepared. The deserts are amazing as well.“

“Cool Place to have a drink with your friends and listen to live music🎶“

“BEST place to get drinks in SC. Atmosphere is fun and casual. FAVE drink is the Vodsod!! LOVE F&C.“

“Can be a lot of fun here!“

“I wrote a detailed review on 831 Best and Worst Facebook page and this was definitely the BEST category ! Cannot go wrong IMO !“

“Such a neat place! We really enjoyed this spot. Service and drinks! Their house drink menu is very unique and fun! Definitely recommend if you're visiting Santa Cruz! The entrance is around the back of motiv off pearl alley but if it's after 9:30p you'll need to go to motiv first to get stamped anyways.“

“We started with the bread and butter, and the honey butter was absolutely amazing. It had that delicious, homemade quality that made it the star of the dish. While the bread itself could use a little improvement, the honey butter was so good that it elevated everything. I can only imagine how incredible it would be paired with some warm, freshly baked sourdough rolls or another quality sourdough bread — that combination would be truly outstanding!
For our main courses, we ordered the lamb and the halibut, and both were cooked to perfection. The flavors were excellent, and you could really tell that care went into the preparation and presentation of each dish.
Our server was also wonderful. Unfortunately, I don’t remember her name, but she was attentive without being overbearing, checked on us regularly, and was incredibly accommodating throughout our meal. Her service really added to the overall experience.
Overall, Mane’s Kitchen made a fantastic first impression. Between the beautifully prepared food, attentive service, and those unforgettable honey butter flavors, we’re already looking forward to coming back and trying more from the menu. Highly recommended!“

“This was our first time there and the food was great and the atmosphere was great.. also had great service. We will be back again..“

“Excellent appetizers, amazing healthy food and great service.“

“The food was super good organic delicious and I will be going back for more“

“Been there couple times now. Food is very good & staff friendly. View at sunset is amazing & constantly changing from the rotating floor. Will definitely choose Makai again!“

“We recently had an event in the separate room at high tide. It was a bit of a somber day to us and we hoped to have a special and memorable dinner of peace and reflection. The High Tide staff went above and beyond - many special touches, a beautiful environment, fantastic service, and amazing food. We had exactly the experience we hoped for and will remember it for quite some time. It felt like the entire staff understood why we were there and wanted to take care of us. And everything dish we ordered was delicious. We are so grateful - thank you!“

“Food was good and Service was great.“