I really love the garlic fries!!!! The fish is pretty good too. Not like your typical beer batter.
L B
Service was amazing! The bartender and cook did the job of a full staff with just them two. Visited on 7/31 630ish and would recommend. Drinks were good and food was delicious!
Dominic V.
mid no cap, chilis is better no kizzy... service was lowkey aight but whatevs. so yeah go to chilis no cap.
Stephen Rendon
5/19/22. joint was good. got a typical bar food, fries. bar area was dope. i came in probably at a good time, wasnt busy around 3 or 4pm on a thursday. i also got the belly bombs, just chop chucks of pork. pretty good on their made sauce and spicy sauce on the side. overall, joint was pretty coo.
Claire T.
Neat place! The vibes were definitely tropical so they got that right. Patio space made me feel like I am on a tropical vacation and not studying for finals!! Drink prices not too bad in my opinion. Many people here complaining about parking ,I walked so not a problem for me. On a Thursday we hear some live music which nice! But we knew someone in the band so maybe a bit biased fun time if you go with friends!
Jennifer B.
Wors service ever. My family waited 1 and 30 minutes to eat horrible and management rude and waitresses are horrble
James F.
We really like this place whenever we come down from HMB for a day trip. Good drinks and food, however our last two visits have been disappointing. Jacob, our server was absolutely hustling, literally working up a sweat handling a packed house all by himself! There were multiple bartenders and one server. At least get the guy a busser/expeditor! He was composed and friendly. Ultimately we decided to go elsewhere for food after one cocktail. We know the world is short staffed, but you gotta either have folks order at the bar or get the proper staff to serve tables.
Geri L.
Jury is out for us, but we want this place to succeed! For the sports, not all of the hula vibe. We need a great sports bar in this town and The Reef is on its way to delivering this. Screens are big, ambiance is cool, nice tiki bar outside with great gathering potential. The menu needs to be re-considered, however. Decide whether it's hula inspired (BTW with a ton of competition), or more of a sports-at-the-beach theme. Sports people want finger snacks, chips and salsa, popcorn, peanuts, nachos, and less fishy dining. Light eaters need more salad and veggies. Burgers and hotdog on the menu is great! The new front facade outside is a cool color but there is no advertising that there are sports inside. Get that out there. Bar is already sufficient and prices are good.
Sujean W.
I've come to The Reef several times now and love it! The atmosphere is great especially the back patio. The back patio is blocked off from the streets so it feels like your in a private garden. The there is lounging chairs with fire pits or there are benches with umbrella covers for seating. It's beautiful with green foliage and flowers all around. It's super peaceful to have a lunch or happy hour here. The have a large indoor space too with great vibes too. It's kid and family friendly and got really casual vibes. Waitress is extremely friendly and made our experience here superb! Food was okay. Items are hit or miss. I got the poke bowl which I thought was delicious. The bowl came with sushi rice. The fish it came with was tuna which was fresh and tasty. The bowl was topped with some mango salsa and slices of avocado, and fried chips. Overall loved the balance of this dish. My hubby got the tri tip tacos. These were quite underwhelming hence the 4 stars instead of 5. The tritip was dry and flavorless. It tasted like it had been sitting around for hours and it was just tossed in the pan to heat up and serve. We originally wanted to try their burgers but they were out of buns at the time. That was bizarre to be out of hamburger buns completely, hence the other reason for taking away one star. For drinks, I got a pilsner and hubby got an amber ale. I loved the amber ale. It was delicious. Drinks are solid here and they have a wide variety. Overall I definitely recommend Themis nice bar/restaurant. I will be back!
Howard Finfer
Been wanting to come here since the reopening.Came by myself tonight and was stoked. Welcomed by kitchen staff upon arrival and grabbed a bar seat where I was greeted quickly also. Ordered a beer and burger and was really glad to have done that.. Drinking Sierra Nevada watching sports center and having a perfectly cooked burger brought to me.... Priceless.Will be returning
I ordered three vodka tonics. They were all different and all wrong. The Shirley temple and water were also gross. The food was delicious. Although I ordered a salad and wasn't asked what kind of dressing I wanted. When my salad arrived the bartender said they didn't give me dressing and finally asked what dressing I wanted. Our bartender/waiter Quincy was super awkward the whole time. The live music was great. Considering the fact that they're a bar, they definitely can't make a drink, even just water. We'd still go back for the food, but it was definitely a weird experience.
Jesus Prudente Barajas
Cool spot near Downtown Santa Cruz where you can sometimes catch live local gigs. Nothing real special about the drinks I suppose, though the consensus among my company was that the mixed drinks were kinda weak on the alcoholic side. They also got a cool outdoor seating area which is nice. Would recommend checking out sometime if you're in the area.
Oryleigh T.
Came by for a beer tasting but decided to order some food. Had a couple awesome appetizers and great fish n chips. Service was a little slow but it was very busy so understandable. Also had a great Mia Tia which was told was a new recipe so maybe the old one was not great but mine was really good.
Melissa R.
Small menu but delicious fresh food! We usually come Friday's and we really enjoy their live music.
Martin K.
I really wish I could recommend the place, but it's hard. I used to go to this place when it was Pono, and I loved it. The drinks were affordable, and the food was good and affordable as well, and there was live music most nights. The patio in back is great in the summertime. The only downside was that the place was too popular for its own good, and the line for ordering could get super slow. One pandemic later, it reopened under new management. The inside has been spruced up a bit, although the stage was lost in favor of a salt water aquarium, a pool table, a jukebox, and a dartboard. The patio is largely the same. They added actual waitresses, so your order is taken at your table, instead of the order window they had before. The drinks are a lot more expensive, and the kitchen is a disaster. Even though the menu is 1/3 the size it was when it was Pono, orders consistently show up late, or wrong. When they show up at all. When they first reopened in Fall 2021, this was forgivable, growing pains and all. Nearly 6 months later it's not much better. I so much want this place to succeed, as the location is killer, but I can't really recommend it.
I really love the garlic fries!!!! The fish is pretty good too. Not like your typical beer batter.
Service was amazing! The bartender and cook did the job of a full staff with just them two. Visited on 7/31 630ish and would recommend. Drinks were good and food was delicious!
mid no cap, chilis is better no kizzy... service was lowkey aight but whatevs. so yeah go to chilis no cap.
5/19/22. joint was good. got a typical bar food, fries. bar area was dope. i came in probably at a good time, wasnt busy around 3 or 4pm on a thursday. i also got the belly bombs, just chop chucks of pork. pretty good on their made sauce and spicy sauce on the side. overall, joint was pretty coo.
Neat place! The vibes were definitely tropical so they got that right. Patio space made me feel like I am on a tropical vacation and not studying for finals!! Drink prices not too bad in my opinion. Many people here complaining about parking ,I walked so not a problem for me. On a Thursday we hear some live music which nice! But we knew someone in the band so maybe a bit biased fun time if you go with friends!
Wors service ever. My family waited 1 and 30 minutes to eat horrible and management rude and waitresses are horrble
We really like this place whenever we come down from HMB for a day trip. Good drinks and food, however our last two visits have been disappointing. Jacob, our server was absolutely hustling, literally working up a sweat handling a packed house all by himself! There were multiple bartenders and one server. At least get the guy a busser/expeditor! He was composed and friendly. Ultimately we decided to go elsewhere for food after one cocktail. We know the world is short staffed, but you gotta either have folks order at the bar or get the proper staff to serve tables.
Jury is out for us, but we want this place to succeed! For the sports, not all of the hula vibe. We need a great sports bar in this town and The Reef is on its way to delivering this. Screens are big, ambiance is cool, nice tiki bar outside with great gathering potential. The menu needs to be re-considered, however. Decide whether it's hula inspired (BTW with a ton of competition), or more of a sports-at-the-beach theme. Sports people want finger snacks, chips and salsa, popcorn, peanuts, nachos, and less fishy dining. Light eaters need more salad and veggies. Burgers and hotdog on the menu is great! The new front facade outside is a cool color but there is no advertising that there are sports inside. Get that out there. Bar is already sufficient and prices are good.
I've come to The Reef several times now and love it! The atmosphere is great especially the back patio. The back patio is blocked off from the streets so it feels like your in a private garden. The there is lounging chairs with fire pits or there are benches with umbrella covers for seating. It's beautiful with green foliage and flowers all around. It's super peaceful to have a lunch or happy hour here. The have a large indoor space too with great vibes too. It's kid and family friendly and got really casual vibes. Waitress is extremely friendly and made our experience here superb! Food was okay. Items are hit or miss. I got the poke bowl which I thought was delicious. The bowl came with sushi rice. The fish it came with was tuna which was fresh and tasty. The bowl was topped with some mango salsa and slices of avocado, and fried chips. Overall loved the balance of this dish. My hubby got the tri tip tacos. These were quite underwhelming hence the 4 stars instead of 5. The tritip was dry and flavorless. It tasted like it had been sitting around for hours and it was just tossed in the pan to heat up and serve. We originally wanted to try their burgers but they were out of buns at the time. That was bizarre to be out of hamburger buns completely, hence the other reason for taking away one star. For drinks, I got a pilsner and hubby got an amber ale. I loved the amber ale. It was delicious. Drinks are solid here and they have a wide variety. Overall I definitely recommend Themis nice bar/restaurant. I will be back!
Been wanting to come here since the reopening.Came by myself tonight and was stoked. Welcomed by kitchen staff upon arrival and grabbed a bar seat where I was greeted quickly also. Ordered a beer and burger and was really glad to have done that.. Drinking Sierra Nevada watching sports center and having a perfectly cooked burger brought to me.... Priceless.Will be returning
Restaurantji Recommends
I ordered three vodka tonics. They were all different and all wrong. The Shirley temple and water were also gross. The food was delicious. Although I ordered a salad and wasn't asked what kind of dressing I wanted. When my salad arrived the bartender said they didn't give me dressing and finally asked what dressing I wanted. Our bartender/waiter Quincy was super awkward the whole time. The live music was great. Considering the fact that they're a bar, they definitely can't make a drink, even just water. We'd still go back for the food, but it was definitely a weird experience.
Cool spot near Downtown Santa Cruz where you can sometimes catch live local gigs. Nothing real special about the drinks I suppose, though the consensus among my company was that the mixed drinks were kinda weak on the alcoholic side. They also got a cool outdoor seating area which is nice. Would recommend checking out sometime if you're in the area.
Came by for a beer tasting but decided to order some food. Had a couple awesome appetizers and great fish n chips. Service was a little slow but it was very busy so understandable. Also had a great Mia Tia which was told was a new recipe so maybe the old one was not great but mine was really good.
Small menu but delicious fresh food! We usually come Friday's and we really enjoy their live music.
I really wish I could recommend the place, but it's hard. I used to go to this place when it was Pono, and I loved it. The drinks were affordable, and the food was good and affordable as well, and there was live music most nights. The patio in back is great in the summertime. The only downside was that the place was too popular for its own good, and the line for ordering could get super slow. One pandemic later, it reopened under new management. The inside has been spruced up a bit, although the stage was lost in favor of a salt water aquarium, a pool table, a jukebox, and a dartboard. The patio is largely the same. They added actual waitresses, so your order is taken at your table, instead of the order window they had before. The drinks are a lot more expensive, and the kitchen is a disaster. Even though the menu is 1/3 the size it was when it was Pono, orders consistently show up late, or wrong. When they show up at all. When they first reopened in Fall 2021, this was forgivable, growing pains and all. Nearly 6 months later it's not much better. I so much want this place to succeed, as the location is killer, but I can't really recommend it.