Tag Archives: Father’s Day
Bay Area Father’s Day restaurants, Part 2—Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Moss Landing
Father’s Day 2016 is now three days away; have you made your plans? Here are details on a few options in Santa Cruz and nearby including restaurants and wine events. If you missed my first Father’s Day post, here are highlights for San Francisco, Monterey/Carmel Valley/Pebble Beach.
SANTA CRUZ
The Chaminade
The Chaminade (One Chaminade Lane) serves a decadent Father’s Day brunch buffet from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m; the price is $52.95 (adults), $18.95 (kids 6-12), and free for kids under 6. The menu includes grilled steak with Churassco sauce, prime rib, an omelet bar, eggs benedict, cheese blintzes, fresh fruit, a cheese display, and a delectable selection of pastries and desserts. Children’s dishes include chicken strips and curly fries, mini pancakes, and macaroni and cheese. Call (831) 475-5600 for reservations.
Food Lounge
The Santa Cruz Food Lounge (1001 Center St.) has a couple different highlights for Father’s Day weekend:
• Summer Beer Garden debut
All day Saturday and Sunday June 18-19, it’s the first of the Food Lounge’s summer beer garden series. Each month, on the third weekend, the lounge, FL will serve German-style food and local beer on the spacious outdoor patio. There will also be live music, and it’s pet- and family-friendly. Free admission; attendees just pay for food and drinks.
• Father’s Day gifts
All dads who visit the Summer Beer Garden from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday receive a free gift.
Soif
Soif Wine Bar & Restaurant (105 Walnut Ave.) will host European winemakers Johannes Selbach and Vincent Brundlmayer 1-3 p.m. Sunday for a taste of German and Austrian wines, including Rieslings. Tickets are $15 and include bread and snacks. Wine club members get one free entry. Call (831) 423-2020 or email alyssa@soifwine.com to reserve a tasting.
MOSS LANDING
The Haute Enchilada
While the Haute Enchilada Café (7902 Moss Landing Rd., 831-633-5843) doesn’t have a special “Father’s Day menu,” it would still make a great place for Father’s Day lunch. I ate lunch there in March; it was a perfect stop during a drive from Santa Cruz to Carmel Valley and I really enjoyed the food (as I have the other times I’ve gone, once for lunch and once for dinner). During my March lunch, I ordered roasted chile poblano bisque and Brussels sprout salad. For the salad, locally grown sprouts are steamed and sautéed in olive oil with garlic, and mixed with organic arugula, bacon, Parmesan, toasted walnuts and walnut oil/chile de arbol dressing. I had a bite of my husband’s Pork Cubano during lunch and it was equally divine. I have to also mention a fantastic dish that I had during an August 2015 dinner: Peruvian empanadas stuffed w/squash blossoms, zucchini, ricotta and topped with chile de Arbol aioli. Looking at the web site just now, it appears this is currently on the lunch menu and not the dinner menu.
Another note of interest: Haute Enchilada recently received a 2016 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor.The achievement celebrates hospitality businesses such as eateries and accommodations that have earned great reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor “bubble rating” of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.
LOS GATOS/SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
Summit Wineries
The Summit Wineries are offering the fifth annual “Solstice on the Summit” Vintners Festival on Father’s Day weekend. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19. A $25 ticket includes a wine glass and is good for admission both days at all five participating wineries (Burrell School, Silver Mountain, Villa del Monte, Wrights Station, and Muns Vineyard—the latter will be at The Summit Store on Sunday only). There will be food, wine tasting, local artisan gifts for sale, live music and tours. Tickets are available from any participating winery. For more information including a list of what is happening at each winery, visit the web site.
On Twitter? Follow me @santacruzfoodie.
Bay Area restaurants for Father’s Day Part 2 – includes Santa Cruz & Monterey

An example of the food at Monterey’s Cibo Restaurant:
Costoletta di Vitello Ariana (All Natural Veal Chop, Roasted Yukon Potatoes, Wilted Spinach, Red Wine & Pomegranate Reduction)
Here are some Bay Area Father’s Day restaurant highlights — if you missed the roundup that included a couple in San Francisco and Monterey and one in San Jose, click here.
Santa Cruz & Aptos Restaurants
The Buttery
Santa Cruz café and bakery The Buttery is hosting a special brunch. The “Dads & Grads” event will have live music. The menu includes carnitas burritos, potato and zucchini hash, grilled asparagus salad, jalapeno and cheddar cornbread, chocolate bread pudding with salty pretzels, and SCMB Imperial Stout. Brunch is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $20 for adults, $6 for kids 3-12, and free for kids under 3.
702 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
Johnny’s Harborside
Santa Cruz restaurant Johnny’s Harborside is offering special dishes for brunch. Father’s Day brunch specials include smoked salmon, goat cheese, spinach, and avocado omelet with choice of potato hash, fruit, or polenta ($14), loaded breakfast potato skins ($12), and crab cake or grilled steak medallions benedict ($16). The kids can enjoy several $8 specials such as grilled ham and cheese sandwich with potato hash. Call (831) 479-3430 for reservations.
493 Lake Avenue, Santa Cruz
The Chaminade
The Chaminade offers a delicious Father’s Day brunch buffet from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m; the price is $41.95 (adults), $17.95 (kids 6-12), and free for kids under 6. The menu includes grilled steak with Churassco sauce, bourbon glaze baked ham, a savory seafood bar, an omelet bar, eggs benedict, bagels, fresh fruit, a cheese display, and a delectable selection of pastries and desserts. Children’s dishes include chicken strips and curly fries, and a macaroni and cheese bake. Call (831) 475-5600 for reservations.
One Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz
Bittersweet Bistro
Bittersweet Bistro is offering a couple $20 specials in honor of Father’s Day. First, $20 select steaks, and second, Hess Select Treo Red Blend wine for $20/bottle. Both selections are available starting at 5 p.m. for dine-in customers only. Call (831) 662-9799 for reservations.
787 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Aptos
Nicholson Vineyards
In honor of Father’s Day, Nicholson Vineyards will offer free wine tasting for dads on Sunday, June 15. The day will also feature barrel tasting, bbq sausages and sweet treats. Call 831-724-7071 for details.
2800 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos
Monterey
Montrio Bistro
Montrio Bistro has two Father’s Day specials. Reservations are highly recommended; call 831-648-8880. From 4:30 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, the restaurant will offer a special entrée prepared by chef Tony Baker: grilled New York steak smothered with fresh lobster mornay, grilled asparagus, and bacon poutine. Montrio will also feature half-price wine night that evening. Half-price wine nights occur every Sunday at the venue, except for selected blackout dates. Customers can choose from a wide variety of varietals. Visit montrio.com.
414 Calle Principal, Monterey
Tarpy’s Roadhouse (831-647-1444) has a special four-course bacon-themed Father’s Day menu for $55, available all day (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) in addition to the regular menu. Courses include bacon-wrapped grass-fed beef tenderloin with bourbon black pepper butter, crispy fingerlings, and dino kale.
2999 Salinas Highway, Monterey
Cibo Ristorante Italiano (831-649-8151) is hosting “Grill It for Dad! Father’s Day Special Dinner” from 5 to 10 p.m. The mixed grill special features grilled rib eye, lamb rack, and housemade Italian sausage. Other specials: there will be a complimentary appetizer with dinner, and guests can bring a bottle of wine and pay no corkage fee. Joe Lucido is performing live jazz from 7 to 10 p.m. The regular menu will also be available.
301 Alvarado, Monterey
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa (831-646-1700) is offering the celebration “BBQ, Blues & Brews.” The hotel event is 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Dolphins Fountain Plaza. See www.montereyplazahotel.com.
400 Cannery Row, Monterey
On Twitter? Follow me @santacruzfoodie.
Last-minute Father’s Day restaurants in Santa Cruz and Los Gatos
Father’s Day is Sunday – some restaurants in the Santa Cruz and Los Gatos areas are fully booked, especially since it’s also graduation weekend at UCSC – but others are still available. Below are a few that offer reservations via OpenTable.com.
A couple places worth mentioning that don’t take online reservations (you need to call for availability) are Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos and Dio Deka in Los Gatos. Bittersweet (831-662-9799) is serving Father’s Day dinner specials including several $15 steaks such as Top Sirloin with gorgonzola cabernet demi-glace, crispy onion rings, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus, or New York Steak with cabernet demi-glace, garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed garlic spinach. Dio Deka (408-354-7700) is serving special Father’s Day brunch items including Dio Deka Steak & Eggs with grilled prime filet mignon, poached eggs and sauce béarnaise; Keftethakia lamb meatballs, blistered grapes, Kalamansi yogurt and a light herb-broth; and Zambonopita – a crispy puff-pastry stuffed with Virginia smoked ham, green onion, feta, Kasseri and ricotta cheeses. Dio Deka is also open for regular dinner service that evening.
BRUNCH
As of 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 14, the following restaurants (listed alphabetically) still had selected Father’s Day brunch reservations available. Call or make reservations through OpenTable.com:
- Aquarius (831) 460-5012
- Café Mare (831) 458-1212
- Chocolate the Restaurant (831) 427-9900
- El Palomar (831) 425-7575
- Hoffman’s Bistro (831) 420-0135
- Lago Di Como (831) 454-8257
- Laili (831) 423-4545
- Main St. Garden & Café (831) 477-9265
- Oak Tree Ristorante (831) 335-5551
- Solaire Restaurant & Bar (831) 600-4545
DINNER
As of 10:30 p.m. on Friday, June 14, the following restaurants still had selected Father’s Day dinner reservations available.
Eight out of the 10 restaurants listed above in “Brunch” are ALSO available for selected dinner reservations (El Palomar and Main St. are not). In addition, the four below are available for dinner. Please call restaurant directly or make reservations through OpenTable.com:
- Johnny’s Harborside (831) 479-3430
- la Posta (831) 457-2782
- Michael’s on Main (831) 479-9777
- Soif Wine Bar & Restaurant (831) 423-2020
On Twitter? Follow me @santacruzfoodie.