Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery

49A Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz
(831) 466-9766

Recent Reviews Order Online Reserve

Customers' Favorites

Makai Surf 'N Turf Skewer Combo
Guava-Soy Bistro Steak
Huli Huli Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken
Coconut Prawns
Coconut Shrimp
Pork Sliders
Clam Chowder
Makai Burger
Spam Musubi

Menu

Appetizers
Crab Cakes
Chilean and Dungeness crab, panko breaded and served with Sriracha aioli.
Smoked Salmon
House-smoked in brown sugar teriyaki glaze and served with wasabi cream dipping sauce.
Fried Artichokes
Beer-battered artichoke hearts, dusted with Parmesan and lemon zest; served with tarragon ranch dressing.
Fried Calamari
Tubes and tentacles fried in a salt and pepper flour breading and served with tartar and cocktail sauces.
Sweet Potato Fries
Served with house-made Sriracha aioli.
Garlic Fries
Crispy french fries tossed with fresh garlic, Parmesan and parsley.
Corn Fritters
Served with house-made honey tamarind dipping sauce.
Prawn Ceviche
Prawns marinated in lime with mango, jalapeno, cilantro and red onion. Served with house-made tortilla chips.
Smoked Trout Bruschetta
House-smoked trout and tomato confit.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Drumettes
Smoked in house and served with house-made honey tamarind dipping sauce.
Crab and Artichoke Dip
Hot, melted Parmesan, garlic and cream with crab meat, artichoke hearts and spinach. Served with sourdough toast points.

Soup
House Made Chili
New England Clam Chowder
Artichoke Soup

Salads
Salad and Soup
Caesar Salad
Organic chopped romaine, croutons and Parmesan tossed with our house-made Caesar dressing.
Wild Arugula Salad
Served with spiced candied walnuts, Gorgonzola crumbles, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and pickled red onion; served with house-made blue cheese balsamic vinaigrette.
Seafood Salad
Served with organic baby greens, hard-boiled egg, cherry tomato, fresh corn, cucumber and Gorgonzola crumbles.
House Salad
Organic baby greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pickled red onion and served with your choice of our house-made dressing.
Chopped Chicken Salad
Grilled chicken breast, organic chopped romaine, hard-boiled egg, mango salsa, shredded slaw, roasted corn and red bell pepper, cucumber and cherry tomatoes with house-made tamarind buttermilk dressing.
Flank Steak Salad
Marinated and grilled to order with wild arugula, roasted fingerlings, pickled red onion, roasted red bell pepper, Gorgonzola crumbles and cherry tomatoes with house-made avocado chimichurri dressing.

Sandwiches and More
Chilean Crab Grilled Cheese
Grilled Gruyere sandwich with Chilean crabmeat, served on sliced sourdough with house salad.
BBQ Pork Bahn Mi
House-smoked pulled pork simmered in a spicy Carolina style BBQ sauce; served on a toasted rustic sourdough roll with chimichurri sauce and coleslaw and served with french fries.
Abalone Sliders
2 pan-fried local baby abalone, topped with arugula, citrus buerre blanc and balsamic reduction. Served on potato rolls.
Lobster Roll
Lobster meat tossed in butter and served on a sweet french roll and served with French fries and vinegar-based coleslaw.
Impossible Burger
100% plant-based hamburger on a seeded sesame bun with lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. Served with french fries.
Fish and Chips
Beer-battered cod served with french fries and vinegar-based coleslaw.
Spicy Croatian Sausage
Corralitos Market's smoked kobasica sausage on toasted rustic sourdough with chimichurri sauce, whole grain Dijon and coleslaw. Served with french fries.
Pork Tacos
Served with cabbage, tomatillo salsa and pasilla pepper infused sour cream.
Shrimp Tacos
Served with cabbage, tomatillo salsa, mango salsa and pasilla pepper infused sour cream.
Mahi Tacos
Served with cabbage, tomatillo salsa, mango salsa and pasilla pepper infused sour cream.
Grilled Chicken Tacos
Served with cabbage, tomatillo salsa and pasilla pepper infused sour cream.
House Burger
1/2 lb. ground chuck hamburger on a seeded sesame bun with lettuce, tomato and caramelized onions. Served with french fries.

Pizza
Cheese Pizza
Veggie Pizza
Meat Pizza
Corralitos Market.
Slice and Salad

Pasta
Seafood Pasta
Linguini tossed with clams, mussels, crab, and fish in a red bouillabaisse sauce.
Lobster Mac and Cheese Pasta
Smoked Gouda, Swiss and Parmesan cheeses, Campanella pasta with a breadcrumb top.
Smoked Chorizo and Mussels Linguini
Smoky chorizo from Corralitos Market with mussels and linguini in a white wine marinara sauce.
Clams and Fettuccine
Little neck clams sauteed with white wine, butter, shallots, garlic, bacon and a touch of cream. Tossed with fettuccine pasta.
Prawn Primavera
Jumbo prawns, red onion, yellow squash, tomato and asparagus in a garlic, white wine and butter sauce. Tossed with penne pasta.
Chicken Alfredo
Fettuccine and grilled chicken breast in an Alfredo cream sauce.

In The Shell
Steamed Clams
Steamed little neck clams in white wine, butter and garlic.
Steamed Mussels
Steamed live in the shell with butter, white wine, garlic and Pernod.
Green Curry Mussels
Mussels in a coconut green curry sauce with bean thread noodles and topped with bean sprouts.
Miso Shellfish Stew
Prawns, clams and mussels in a miso broth with chili flakes, shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts and bean thread noodles.
Cioppino
1/2 Dungeness crab, mussels, clams, shrimp and fish in a made-from-scratch tomato bouillabaisse sauce.

From Our Grill
Pan Seared Salmon
Served with fresh seasonal vegetables and basmati rice.
Sticky Chicken
Bone in Chicken leg and thigh in a honey and garlic ginger sauce. Served with sautéed red bell peppers and basmati rice.
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
House-smoked and basted in our house-made BBQ sauce. Served with french fries and vinegar-based coleslaw.
Grilled Mahi Mahi
Topped with avocado butter and spicy caramelized coconut-chili crumbles; served with sautéed seasonal veggies, basmati rice and grilled lemon.
Grilled Flank Steak
Marinated and cooked to order; served over avocado chimichurri with roasted red bell peppers and caramelized onions, basmati rice and spicy caramelized coconut-chili crumbles.
10 oz. New York Steak
Grilled to order and topped with herb butter. Served with asparagus spears and fingerling potatoes.

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Recent Reviews

Went the first weekend in December with my spouse and my aunt. We sat in the rotating area, which was very enjoyable. I sometimes get motion sick but didn't have any issues with the rotating bar even though I was going backwards. I had a delicious "Triumph & Disaster" cocktail flavored with ube and coconut. My spouse and I love curry so we ordered every curry dish on the menu: yellow curry soup, hailbut with green curry, and the chicken kofta curry. All the...
December 2025
What a wonderful experience we had here!! This was our first visit to this tiki bar/restaurant. We were quite early, there to see the beautiful sunset through their seaside windows at the end of the Santa Cruz pier. We started with a pitcher of Mai tais, which was very tasty. Followed that with dinner of loco mocos, both vegetarian and carnivore style. Both wonderful! Service was great, Andrew, our bartender and server, was super nice and the drinks were great! To top it all off,...
December 2025
This place was absolutely amazing. First time here and definitely not the last!! What my boyfriend and I ordered and got served was better than I imagined. The waiter(tall male with semi-long blond hair) that served us was extremely attentive and very informative about the menu for the food AND drinks served here. Tons of flavorful food and damn it was SOOOO GOOD!! We were sat at a table where the bar is located and the entire circular area actually rotated throughout our dinner,...
November 2025

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Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery

49A Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 466-9766