Tag Archives: Hula’s
Dine at Hula’s on Mondays and support Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County
April Mahalo Mondays benefit Boys and Girls Club
If you go out for dinner or drinks at the downtown Santa Cruz restaurant Hula’s on Monday nights in April, part of your meal will benefit the Boys and Girls Club.
During the month of April, Hula’s Island Grill & Tiki Room – a wonderful place to eat and drink with selections to accommodate many different tastes – is donating 10% of all Monday night sales to the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County.
This promotion is part of the restaurant’s Mahalo Mondays community giving program; on selected months throughout the year, a different non-profit organization receives 10% of Monday evening sales. Between 2008 and 2016, Hula’s donated more than $143,000 to 56 local nonprofit organizations via Mahalo Mondays proceeds.
If you haven’t been to Hula’s lately, there’s a great lanai in front providing outdoor seating; it opened in May 2016. The restaurant’s menu features Hawaiian fusion dishes and other choices. Lunch highlights include delicious burgers with beef and veggie options that come with choice of sweet potato fries (warning: addictive), regular fries, slaw or arugula or Caesar salad; rice bowls with black beans, cabbage mix, and choice of “jungle” tofu, wasabi ahi or spicy Thai chicken; and a variety of tacos. At dinnertime, all of these dishes are still available, and there are many more such as Hawaiian fish soup, slow-roasted pork plate, and fresh fish. For seafood, you can choose between six types of fish and select one of six preparation types to match it with. For example, pick lemongrass-encrusted halibut with lime-ginger-cream sauce or pan-fried ono with shiitakes. Hula’s also offers a tiki bar that features 40 different rums, tropical drink specialties and more.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Cruz County promotes youth guidance through educational, vocational, recreational, social and character development of girls and boys ages 6 to 18. The Club is the only youth service organization in the greater Santa Cruz area providing daily afterschool drop-in programs five days a week. There is a downtown Santa Cruz location, and a new Live Oak location that opened one year ago. Boys & Girls Clubs also offer a summer day camp program five days a week from mid-June through mid-August, and Winter and Spring break day camps.
Details
Hula’s Island Grill and & Tiki Room, 221 Cathcart Street (between Cedar and Pacific), Santa Cruz (831) 426-4852
Dates: April 10, 17, and 24
Hours: Dinner nightly 4:00 p.m.–close, lunch Tuesday- Sunday 11:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m., happy hour with daily specials (Tuesday–Sunday 2-6 p.m., Monday 4:30–6).
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Last minute foodie holiday gifts in Santa Cruz
Cookies from Pacific Cookie Co.
Photo credit: PCC web site
Haven’t finished your holiday shopping and have some foodies on your list? Want to shop local? There are lots of choices in the Santa Cruz area including some discounts; here are some highlights including a gift fair tomorrow that has plenty of options–whether you want to buy something food/drink-related or something else that’s made locally.
First, the gift fair:
2nd Annual Holiday Artisan Food & Gift Market — Saturday 12/17 at Food Lounge
I went to this fabulous event last year and bought gift items for several friends/family members, not to mention a few things for myself! The market will feature locally made packaged foods including jams, olive oil and hot sauce that are currently available in the Food Lounge Pantry, which opened in September. The holiday market will also offer beautiful jewelry, textiles, glass art, print art and kitchen antiques. Additionally, a few small-batch food producers will offer tamales, empanadas, meat pies and other items that would work well for holiday entertaining or for a delicious dinner with your family. Plus they will sell ready to eat food that customers can enjoy while shopping like empanadas (from La Sofrita Puerto Rican pop-up), tamales (Yoli’s Adobo) and savory pies (Artisan Hand Pies).
“We offer this market as close to the holidays as possible so that all of our vendors’ food-based products are fresh for gift-giving and entertaining,” said Andrea Conklin Mollenauer, one of the three partners in the Food Lounge, an incubator kitchen and event venue that will celebrate its second birthday in January. “We are excited to offer market space to 25 local vendors who don’t have their own brick-and- mortar places to sell products.”
Vendors with food gifts will include Friend in Cheeses Jam Co., Notso Hot Sauce, My Mom’s Mole, Ashby Confections, and Farmer Freed Salts. Non-food vendors will include True Blue Indigo (textiles), Love Light Vintage Candles, Verdant California (body products) and Fereshteh Fatemi (artisan jewelry and greeting cards – disclaimer, this is the author’s mother).
In addition to the holiday market, the Food Lounge Pantry is open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to
7 p.m. as a hub for local artisan food products – a perfect stop for holiday shopping, including next week when you realize which folks you forgot to buy for!
Location: Food Lounge, 1001 Center St. Santa Cruz
Date/Time: Sat Dec. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Next, some gift card discount highlights:
Until Christmas, Hula’s Santa Cruz (221 Cathcart St.) is offering a special: Purchase a $50 gift certificate for someone else and get a free $10 certificate for yourself; purchase $100 and get a free $20 gift card to treat yourself.
Mission Hill Creamery (1101 Pacific Ave.) has these discounts until Christmas: Buy a $25 gift card for $20 OR buy four $10 gift cards and receive the fifth free OR re-Charge your existing gift card with at least $20 and get 20% off your gift card purchase.
Through Dec. 24, Johnny’s Harborside (493 Lake) is offering a bonus: Purchase a $50 gift certificate for someone else and get $10 free; spend $100 and get $20 free, etc.
Other gift ideas
Last but not least, other foodie gift options include certificates from local restaurants. The Glass Jar announced they’re offering a card that’s good at any of their three restaurants—that’s Assembly, The Picnic Basket AND The Penny Ice Creamery. If you know people who are fans of Soif and/or La Posta, you can also purchase gift cards that are good at both. And Crow’s Nest gift cards are redeemable at the restaurant or its neighboring Crow’s Nest Beach Market.
Want to send a sweet Santa Cruz-themed food gift to someone? Pacific Cookie Company has lots of options. These include Top Tier Cookies & Chocolate Box ($49.95), with 36 two-ounce cookies and 32 white and milk chocolate flower medallions made by local chocolatier Mackenzies Chocolate; Sweet Elegance Cookie Gift Box ($37.95) with 24 two-oz. cookies, Season’s Eatings Christmas Tin ($26.95) with 36 one-oz. cookies, and Classic Cookies and Milk ($24.95) with a dozen two-ounce cookies and two 8-oz cartons of organic milk (it’s shelf-stable low-fat Horizon milk which doesn’t require refrigeration). Also, Los Gatos-based Manresa Bread now ships its scrumptious artisan bread anywhere in the continental U.S.; see my November article and/or the Manresa site for details.
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Hula’s celebrates 10th anniversary with gift certificate giveaways, discount food and drinks
Hula’s is offering a discount burger combo during its anniversary month
Photo credit: Hula’s
Downtown Santa Cruz restaurant Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room is celebrating its 10th birthday with gifts for the local community all month long and special promos on November 16, 2016.
Until Nov. 30, customers can order $10 Hula Burger combos—that’s a burger plus fries and a soda—any time of day, for lunch, dinner or somewhere in between. Hula’s is open for lunch Tuesday- Sunday from 11:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m., dinner nightly from 4:00 p.m.–close, and of course there’s always happy hour with daily specials (Tuesday–Sunday 2-6 p.m., Monday 4:30–6).
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, all day long, Hula’s is serving up special discounts:
- Tiki Drinks 2/$10 – a couple popular ones are “Dr. Funk” (includes rum, pineapple and coconut) and Mai Tais
- Pupus 2/$10 – choose from dishes like crispy coconut shrimp rolls or Hawaiian ceviche with whitefish, coconut milk, chili, cilantro and garlic
- The first 10 customers will receive a $10 gift certificate
- The 100th lunch customer will win a $100 gift certificate
- The 100th dinner customer will win a $100 gift certificate
Personally, I am a big fan of family-owned and operated Hula’s. I’ve found over the years that their diverse menu appeals to generations of my family, and I enjoy dishes infused with Asian, Latin and Caribbean flavors.
In case you want to start holiday shopping early, Hula’s is doing a gift certificate promotion until Dec. 23. If you buy a $50 certificate, you receive a $10 gc to keep for yourself. If you buy a $100 gc, you get a $20 gc to treat yourself!
Location: 221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz, 831-426-HULA
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A Taste of Santa Cruz 2016 with 30 restaurants, wineries and breweries
A Taste of Santa Cruz includes lots of bites from local restaurants
The 12th annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz,” at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove Thursday, Nov. 10, features 30 restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The event runs from 5:30-9 p.m. and benefits first-time home buyers. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Buy tickets online or at the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS (2525 Main St., Soquel). For more information, visit the site atosc.com or call 831-464-2000.
Attendees sample food and drinks, and all proceeds from the event benefit the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS Housing Foundation grant program that provides closing costs for first time, low-income home-buyers in Santa Cruz County. Several hundred people attend this event, raising approximately $30,000 annually. Over the years, more than $430,000 has been awarded to 200 families and individuals. Purchasing your tickets in advance is recommended.
Participating food providers include Home (the new restaurant from chef Brad Briske, in the former Main St. Garden location), The Hideout, Aldo’s, Café Hanna, Paradise Beach Grille, Hula’s, Burger, The Point, Little Owl Italian Kitchen, Ristorante Italiano, and Woodstock’s Pizza. Breweries include Santa Cruz Ale Works.
Other highlights include more than 100 silent and live auction items from local businesses and artisans. Prizes include a San Jose Giants package (10 general admission tickets plus a family pass for two adults & two kids); tickets to places like Gilroy Gardens and Winchester Mystery House; wine including bottles from Beauregard; and handcrafted wood pieces by artist Andy Orsini. There is also live music with the Jazz Birds & Friends.
Event location: Cocoanut Grove, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz
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Santa Cruz Restaurant Week continues: highlights from Hula’s and Chaminade
Baby Beet Salad with pomegranate seeds and goat feta crumbles is one of Chaminade’s appetizers for Santa Cruz Restaurant Week 2016
Santa Cruz Restaurant Week, which continues through Wednesday, Oct. 19, includes nearly 40 restaurants such as Hula’s and Linwood’s at Chaminade Resort and Spa.
Restaurants offer three-course prix fixe dinners for $25 or $35 during Restaurant Week, and also continue to serve regular menus during this time. Read details about Assembly’s menu selections and inspiration in my article from yesterday.
Hula’s Island Grill (221 Cathcart St., 831-426-HULA) is serving a three-course $25 menu. Appetizer choices include crispy coconut shrimp rolls with pineapple and horseradish dipping sauce; and Hawaiian ceviche with whitefish, coconut milk, chili, cilantro and garlic. Desserts include Hula pie with macadamia nut ice cream, Oreo crust, hot fudge and house-made whipped cream.
Hollis Ferguson, general manager of Hula’s in Santa Cruz, commented on why Hula’s is a longtime Santa Cruz Restaurant Week participant: “It’s fun to be part of a community wide event that encourages people to take a night off and go out to eat, try new restaurants they haven’t before and/or a dish they might not have tried before.”
Ferguson says that the Kalbi Ribs, an entrée on the Restaurant Week menu this year, are a good classic Hawaiian dish, plate lunch style (they’re served with macaroni salad and rice). “Our Lemongrass Hapu is more exotic and showcases flavors of Thailand and Polynesia,” she adds. Customers can also substitute tofu for the Hapu (which is Hawaiian sea bass); both versions include lime-ginger-cream sauce, rice and slaw.
Executive chef Nick Church, from Linwood’s at the Chaminade (One Chaminade Lane, 831-475-5600), has created a $35 menu that includes seasonal ingredients such as squash, apples and sweet potatoes. Appetizers include roasted butternut soup with spicy apple relish and toasted pumpkin seeds; and baby beet salad with frisee and escarole, vanilla vinaigrette, pomegranate seeds and goat feta crumbles. Entrée choices are grass-fed grilled NY steak with wild mushroom ragout, sweet potato gratin, grilled asparagus and roasted baby carrots; grilled pork chop with Calvados demi, apple puree, smashed fingerling potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts; and pan-seared local halibut with heirloom tomato relish, farro and Dungeness crab risotto plus wilted greens and sauteed baby vegetables. Desserts include persimmon crisp with lavender ice cream.
Even though it just started two days ago, Church is already enjoying Restaurant Week. “We love seeing all of the locals come up to the property while experiencing Linwood’s and hearing all of the their favorite Chaminade stories,” Church said. “There is so much history and so many fun and personal memories people have, it’s refreshing to hear the positive feedback during Restaurant Week.”
Restaurants participating in SCRW, in alphabetical order:
- 515 Kitchen & Cocktails
- Aquarius at the Dream Inn
- Assembly
- Back Nine Grill & Bar
- Café Mare
- Chocolate
- Crow’s Nest
- El Jardin
- Gabriella Café
- Hindquarter Bar & Grill
- Hoffman’s Bistro & Patisserie
- Hollins House at Pasatiempo
- Hula’s Island Grill
- Ideal Bar & Grill
- Johnny’s Harborside
- Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar
- Laili
- Linwood’s at Chaminade Resort
- Margaritaville
- Michael’s on Main
- Mozaic
- Pearl of the Ocean
- Red Restaurant & Bar
- Ristorante Italiano
- Rosie McCann’s
- Sanderlings at Seascape Resort
- Severino’s Bar & Grill
- Soif
- Solaire
- Splash!
- Stonehouse Bar & Grill at the Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley
- Süda
- The Cremer House
- The Point Chophouse & Lounge
- The Water St. Grill
- Tyrolean Inn
- Your Place
- Zelda’s On The Beach
For more information and full menus, visit the event web site at santacruzrestaurantweek.com.
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Food, wine and beer at 2016 Grazing on the Green benefiting cancer research
The 13th annual Gourmet Grazing on the Green—Saturday, Sept. 24 at Aptos Village Park, features 70-plus vendors including local restaurants and caterers, other food businesses, and local wineries, breweries, and spirits distilleries. Proceeds benefit the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG).
The event is from noon to 4 p.m. Buy $65 tickets at New Leaf Community Markets (downtown, Westside or Capitola locations) or online http://sccbg.org or it will be $70 at the door if it’s not sold out. If you have a group of 10, you can get tickets for $60 each. Adult admission includes food, drinks and a souvenir wineglass. Kids 10 and under are free; kids ages 10-20 are $35.
Participating restaurants, farms, and food vendors for 2016 include The Crow’s Nest, Café Cruz, Café Rio, Real Good Fish, Niman Ranch, SunRidge Farms, Ashby Confections, Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine, Cremer House, Ella’s at the Airport, Surf City Sandwich, Hula’s, Hollins House and Sid’s Smokehouse.
Participating wineries, breweries and distilleries include Alfaro Family Vineyards and Winery, Beauregard Vineyards, Hallcrest Vineyards, Kathryn Kennedy Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Sones Cellars, Wargin Wines, Wrights Station Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Discretion Brewing, Seabright Brewery, New Bohemia Brewing Co. and Venus Spirits.
Proceeds from SCCBG’s events benefit these local cancer support and research organizations: Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Association, Katz Cancer Resource Center, researchers from UC Santa Cruz, the Teen Kitchen Project, and WomenCARE Cancer Advocacy.
For more information on the event, see www.sccbg.org.
There is free shuttle service every 15 minutes from Cabrillo College; parking is also free.
Aptos Village Park: 100 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos
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Hula’s lanai celebration, artisan food market, & other Santa Cruz events Friday
New lanai at Hula’s Island Grill & Tiki Room
There are many food events occurring Friday, May 13 in the Santa Cruz area, including a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of a lanai at Hula’s in downtown Santa Cruz.
Hula’s: Ribbon cutting
Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room is proud to announce that its new lanai—an outdoor dining space in front of the restaurant—is the first parklet in downtown Santa Cruz. Hula’s and the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz are co-sponsoring a celebratory event from 4 to 5 p.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30. Happy hour is from 2-6 p.m. with several tiki drinks and pupus at special prices. For more information, call (831) 426-HULA.
Location: 221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz
Food Lounge: Artisan Food Market
From 4-8 p.m., the Food Lounge is the site of the Artisan Food Market, described as ‘farmers market meets cocktail hour.’ There will be several local food artisans and pop-up vendors plus local wine, beer, and cocktails. Vendors will include My Mom’s Mole, Kickin Chicken, Tanglewood, and new participants such as Big Wave BBQ, Twins Kitchen and Santa Cruz Bakes (pizza to order). The Artisan Market series, which began last June, is held the second Friday of each month.
Location: 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz
Food Trucks a Go Go: Dinner & A Movie
Food Trucks A Go Go is hosting dinner & a movie at Skypark in Scotts Valley, with dinner and drinks being served from 4:30-8 p.m. and the movie Inside Out airing at 8:30. Attendees can choose from eight local trucks, and there are picnic tables at the park. Participating food trucks are Ate3One, Zameen Mediterranean, The Choke Coach, Aunt LaLi’s Mobile Café, Carmona’s BBQ, Zocalo Tamales, G’s Tacos #2 and India Gourmet.
Location: 361 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley
Popup: Banh Mi
Third Coast Chef, a group of restaurant-trained chefs, will be selling Banh Mi sandwiches at Pop Up (next to Assembly) from 5 to 10 p.m. Banh Mi is a traditional sandwich from Vietnam. Third Coast’s version will include choice of filling (pork/pate, chicken or tofu) plus pickled daikon and carrots, jalapeno, cilantro, and mint. Green papaya salad and Vietnamese iced coffee will also be sold, and there will be an encore day Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: 1108 Pacific Ave.
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A Taste of Santa Cruz 2014 features 30 restaurants, wineries
Food from 2013’s “A Taste of Santa Cruz”
The 10th annual “A Taste of Santa Cruz,” at the Cocoanut Grove on Thursday, Nov. 13, features approximately 30 participating restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The event runs from 5:30-9 p.m. and benefits first-time home buyers. Tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. Buy tickets online. For more information, visit the site www.atosc.com or call 831-464-2000.
Attendees sample food and drinks, and all proceeds from the event benefit the Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS Housing Foundation grant program that provides closing costs for first time, low-income home-buyers in Santa Cruz County.
Participating food providers include Aldo’s, Assembly, Chaminade, Paradise Beach Grille, Pleasure Pizza’s East Side Eatery, Crow’s Nest, Hula’s, Johnny’s Harborside, Mission Hill Creamery, Shadowbrook, The Point, The Kitchen at Discretion Brewery, Stagnaro Bros. Seafood, and Woodstock’s Pizza. Wineries and breweries include Trout Gulch Vineyards, Storrs Winery, MJA Vineyards, and Uncommon Brewers.
Other highlights at the event: more than 100 raffle prize packages from local businesses and artisans. Prizes include a Las Vegas penthouse stay, four floor seats to a Santa Cruz Warriors game, and four club seats plus VIP parking to a SF Giants game.
Several hundred people attend this event, raising approximately $30,000 annually. Purchasing your tickets in advance is recommended.
Event location: Cocoanut Grove Grand Ballroom, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz
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Local restaurants cook up soup benefiting Santa Cruz Homeless Services Center
A volunteer preparing dessert at Soupline 2010 – credit to Red Bat Photography via Soupline web site
Eat a variety of delicious soup from dozens of local restaurants and shops on Thursday April 24—the event benefits Santa Cruz’s Homeless Services Center.
The 15th Annual Soupline Supper and Benefit Auction is at the Cocoanut Grove at the Santa Cruz boardwalk from 5:30-7:30 p.m. For $25 per person or $50 per family (up to 4 individuals), you receive soup, salad bread, and dessert. Purchase tickets.
The event is set up with different tables where chefs serve their homemade soup, with about a dozen available at any one time (selections rotate throughout the evening). Attendees walk around and choose which ones to sample. Public officials and other community leaders serve as “Celebrity Ladlers.” There are lots of tables set up in the dining room where you can relax and enjoy your meal. Buy tickets and read more information online at the special Soupline site.
More than 40 participating restaurants in 2014’s Soupline include Aquarius, The Art Bar & Cafe at the Tannery, The Bagelry, The Buttery, Café Cruz, Chaminade, Charlie Hong Kong, Crow’s Nest, Gabriella Café, Hula’s, Laili, La Posta, Manuel’s, Sawasdee, Shadowbrook, Soif, The Walnut Ave Café, and Zameen. See full restaurant list.
There is free parking after 4 pm at the Boardwalk lot across from the Cocoanut Grove.
The Homeless Services Center is a community-supported non-profit organization dedicated to the coordinated provision of services for homeless persons. The goal of the Homeless Services Center is to provide both emergency and transitional services to homeless individuals that will enable clients to achieve self-sufficiency.
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Santa Cruz and San Jose restaurants open on New Year’s Eve 2013, Part 2 of 2
Yesterday I published details on many Santa Cruz area restaurants – plus a couple in Los Gatos — offering dinner on New Year’s Eve 201; here are a few more highlights for Santa Cruz area venues plus a couple in San Jose and Cupertino.
Santa Cruz Area
Solaire at Hotel Paradox
On New Year’s Eve Solaire is doing a multi-course prix fixe dinner with reservations required; call (831) 600-4545. Also, Hotel Paradox is throwing a party; buy tickets online. The party is 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. and costs $25, which includes DJ and dancing plus a champagne toast.
611 Ocean St, Santa Cruz
Soif
Soif is serving a $75 prix fixe multi-course dinner with a $35 optional wine pairing supplement. Dinner starts with an amuse bouche trio: roasted beet, ricotta, & maple-ginger pecans; Kumamoto oyster with apple & cured Meyer lemon; shrimp shumai with mushroom kombu. Customers then get to select their appetizers, entrees and desserts from a delightful array of choices including appetizer shellfish chowder with pork belly confit, radish, and basil; entrée bison striploin with cavolo nero, roasted Chanterelle mushrooms & potato-onion cream, and dessert olive oil cake with Hachiya persimmon. Make reservations by calling (831) 423-2020. Note that Soif will be closed from Jan 1-17 for its annual winter break.
105 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz
Booka
On New Year’s Eve Booka is offering a prix fixe menu plus live music. With a special four-course dinner, Booka and Executive Chef Eli Epstein promise to take attendees on a culinary tour “…around the Mediterranean Sea that will wow your taste buds, with flavors from Spain, France & Italy.” For reservations and information call (831) 685-9500.
8041 Soquel Drive, Aptos
Hula’s Island Grill and Tiki Room
Hula’s is open on New Year’s Eve serving its regular menu. Plus, Tuesdays is always “Happy Hour all night” and the restaurant is honoring that tradition even though it’s a holiday. Reservations are available for parties of six or more and are recommended; call (831) 426-HULA.
221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz
Chaminade
Chaminade is offering a New year’s Eve masquerade celebration from 7 p.m. – midnight that includes a “unique dining experience,” a 5-hour open bar, and a DJ and dancing. The price is $125 per person plus tax and gratiuity. Call (831) 475-5600 for reservations.
1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz
Other Santa Cruz area restaurants serving dinner on New Year’s Eve include:
- Laili
- La Posta
- Bittersweet Bistro
- Lago di Como Ristorante
- West End Tap & Kitchen
- Hoffman’s
- Red Restaurant and Bar
- Paradise Beach Grille
- Chocolate
- El Palomar
- Café Mare
- Au Midi
San Jose & nearby
Arcadia at the San Jose Marriott
Steakhouse Arcadia is offering two seatings on New Year’s Eve. The first is $65 and features a three-course menu that begins with amuse bouche “Truffle Royale” with wild mushrooms, herb salad, sherry vinegar and black truffles. It’s followed by choice of cauliflower soup or Dungeness crab salad, a selection from three entrées, and a selection from two dessert choices. The second seating is $89 and has five courses plus amuse. It starts with the same amuse, followed by cauliflower soup AND crab salad, a third course of crispy pork belly, and a choice of entrée and dessert. Call (408) 278-4555 for reservations.
At the San Jose Marriott, 100 W. San Carlos St., San Jose
Arya
Middle Eastern restaurant Arya is serving its regular menu from 4-7 p.m. Then at 8:30 p.m. it’s hosting a New Year’s Eve party which costs $89 and includes a four-course dinner, champagne toast, party favors, belly dancing, and music. Children are welcome at a discount price. Call (408) 996-9606 for reservations or more information.
19930 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino
Left Bank Brasserie
The Parisian-style restaurant is offering service on New Year’s Eve from 11:30 a.m. onward; the last seating is at 11 p.m. For dinner, there will be a la carte options and a children’s menu in addition to a four-course prix fixe $64.50 menu. Entrée choices include surf and turf with pan roasted filet mignon, garlic butter roasted Maine Lobster tail, star anise carrot puree, and braised escarole. Call (408) 984-3500 for reservations.
377 Santana Row #1100, San Jose
Also open on New Year’s Eve:
• Lark Creek Blue on Santana Row – call (408) 244-1244 for reservations. 378 Santana Row #1100, San Jose
• Bella Mia – Choose a 4-course prix fixe $45 menu or order a la carte. Call (408) 280-1993 for reservations. 58 South 1st Street, San Jose
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