Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery, Santa Cruz CA

Atmosphere was great loved how the tiki theme was throughout the restaurant experience. Definitely try their cocktails. They have awesome souvenir mugs too! Food was great and drinks were amazing, will definitely come back again.

Interesting place to check.out at least once. As the rotating floor in the bar area is pretty cool and every 30 minutes you get a cool ocean view. We ordered a few drinks.as well as the coconut shrimp and kalua pork sliders to start things. For our meals I ordered the Loco Moco and my wife ordered the poke bowl. The drinks were tasty.the sliders were good.coconut shrimp was decent. I enjoyed the Loco Moco.and wife has had much better poke. I would say one visit is good.but I won't be in a hurry to stop by again.

The food needs to be seasoned. I ordered the grilled salmon, mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. You could taste the grill on the salmon but no flavoring. The veggies had no seasoning and the mashed potatoes tasted like they may have been instant potatoes. Clam chowder tasted like potato soup instead of clam chowder.

Great place for island food and creative drinks. Nice patio for outdoor dining and seating inside as well. The portholes in the floor and revolving bar are fun! Make reservations if you’re coming on a weekend.

Best damn burger ive had in santa cruz! That wasabi aoli that came on the side was delicious! I want to experiment in my kitchen to try an replicate it. Big props the the chef and BOH! Yall killed it!

The drinks and the kalbi short ribs were fantastic. Friendly staff. Nice decor and location. If only the loco Moco was good. The gravy was thin and has no flavor, the patty didn't have much seasoning to it.

The food at this restaurant was very good. We were a party of six, and we all enjoyed our food. The service however put a damper on our meal. We ordered an appetizer to share, one that would need a plate and fork. We were brought to plates and the woman said she would be back with more but she never came. So we were forced to pass the dish around the table, and take turns eating the appetizer. One person in our party ordered a second drink, well before our meals came. This drink did not arrive until the end of our meal. Troy our server said they were working on it but I had a view of the bar from my seat, the drink clearly was not ordered until much later in our meal when we were almost finished. Also when we were brought our meal we asked for Sriracha. Our server said he would be right back, five minutes later he walked out and serve the table next to us all of their water. And started to walk back in the restaurant. We all called out to him and asked where the Sriracha was. By the time it was delivered to the table we were all half done with the one person who would like the Sriracha not even started. It’s a long review and it may sound like we asked for a lot but we didn’t we literally asked for only two things one extra drink and Sriracha when our meal was served. The drink took at least 20 minutes and the Sriracha probably seven or eight. Honestly don’t even know why the drink was brought at that time because we were done and we asked for the check when the drink was brought. For a $250 meal it kind of sucks to get this kind of service.

The best food we have had in Santa Cruz! The drinks are just as good as the appetizers & food! Unique bar that turns slowly so you can get a whole view of the restaurant/ocean. Glass windows on the floor so that you can see the ocean & sea lions. It feels like Hawaii in Santa Cruz. Totally recommend!

Stopped in at this lovely restaurant and bar recently while on a trip to Santa Cruz. Richard the bartender took great care of us) drinks and food were wonderful. The Mai Tai was spectacular! A lovely visit!

Now my daughter is looking for Hawaiian food everywhere. We're back in CT. Nothing like this lovely restaurant exists here. Go while you are in the area. The food, decor and service will not disappoint.

First rate experience having a cocktail outside on my first visit. The traditional "1944" Mai Tai was well executed. Not sure if the juices are fresh; the falernum is Fee Bros. The inside is bright and airy. Some of the bamboo work and carvings are phenomenal. Ordered food to go and it was very good. Took a while to come out, but it was worth it! Note that only 2 cocktails are available to-go from the "Grotto" window. (I was told it's usually open 11-5, but I was able to get drinks to go at 6 p.m. On my visit.) Hope to be able to dine in on a future visit.

The server was great. Once there, they made us sit away from the actual restaurant. When we ask to sit in the shade we were denied. We literally were sitting away from the restaurant area and into the wharf patio. We decided to order just drinks and we were told we couldn't sit at the table anymore. The LEAD server didn't specify herself correctly and after she explained herself said we can drink our drinks but had to leave right after. Worst experience I've had at a local restaurant. We were only asking to sit in a shaded area. Things could have been explained much more properly but it feels as though the LEAD server had a lot on her plate. Fyi there were about 4 to 5 tables empty before being denied. Which made us decide not to eat there and just order drinks.

Such an awful experience! Don’t go there if you are hungry. We waited for 50 minutes just for a poke bowl and two skewers. We checked with 2 waiters and finally someone came and said that he doesn’t know what happened with our order, but the food will be ready right away, and we still waited for 10 more minutes. Will never go there again! The white rice of the poke bowl is too wet and sticky to stir with everything evenly.

Exceed my expectations! The staff was beyond nice, and the food was super yummy! We didn’t have reservations, but they accommodated. Definitely 5/5! Thanks for making my special day extra special service goes a long way!

Love coming to the wharf! Nice place to have a nice cocktail. Enjoy it in the rotating bar where everyone gets an ocean view, or sit still at the stay still bar. Drinks are pretty good, better on Happy Hour! Great service, and nice staff. Inky went for drinks, didnt try food

A very nice tropical themed restaurant with a great selection of tropical drinks to get you started. Lots of delicious pupu choices and a good clam/corn chowder. The ribs entree was also great and will satisfy even the largest appetite!
Also fun is the circular section that goes around every 30 minutes or so giving every one some time looking out over the bay.

The server gave me a dirty glass for my beer. I would have complained but we didn't see her again until it was time for the check. Someone else brought us the food. Food was good. Just an OK experience for me.

The best food options on or near the pier. The inside definitely has a major touristy vibe but the prices are really reasonable for being way out on the end of a touristy pier.

Happy hour went all the way until 6pm and they have a plethora of fun cocktail options.

Came with my family and really enjoyed our time. Super cool atmosphere and we all enjoyed our food. I splurged for the mahi mahi dinner, Unfortunately I got food poisoning from the mahi mahi dinner so I would avoid that. We also thought the portions were small for 19$ plates. Fish tasted good going in but definitely not going out. I had never had mahi mahi so I didn’t know if it was off or not.

Had few hours to kill, walked on the pier and decided to try this place given the better Yelp/reviews, being newer and had some real pride with the Cocktails menu.

After a short conversation with the waitress I concluded I don’t have to eat Hawaiian or Seafood and opted for the Burger, medium rare. Got a side ($5) of Bok Choi to keep my health conscious clean given Fries are required with a Burger.

All 3 were excellent, would compare favorably in SF or NYC.

Had two drinks, red moon and their version of margarita. Solid not amazing