Cafe El Palomar — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Great margaritas. Blended or not. My girlfriend had the pineapple margarita. Never heard of it but supposedly it is out of this world.

The salsa is made fresh everyday, it was so good I could have drank it.

Superior guacamole. The wet burritos were out of this world. I guess they don't have wet burritos at the other El Palomar downtown. So we got lucky! yay!

I on the other hand have a finicky diet I have to stay away from Salt and my stomach is all of about the size of a pea. So the bartender was really kind and allowing me to eat a kid's grilled cheese sandwich.

French fries were good too. Next time, I'll get a Shirley Temple though!!!

The location is superb:. right at the beach. The building has beautiful big windows. You can watch everybody playing on the beach. How can you go wrong ? Everybody is so happy even the customers. Maybe it's The ocean air?

It's a really festive place . If you're in a bad mood I definitely would come here. Your mood will change. I've been here in and out to get food to go . And it's the same thing every time people are really happy here the staff and the customers I'm not just saying this because it's a review I mean it it's a phenomenon, you got to check it out.

I've never been disappointed with the food.

The staff is young and vibrant and the customers range anywhere from 100 to infancy. And if you feel like going for a dip in the ocean and coming back and finishing your Margarita be my guest!

At 4 p.m. my two friends and myself were able to spend $59 . We each had one cocktail and a nice meal, and a really good time; chips and salsa abound!

Shoes and shirt are required. It's pretty casual but the atmosphere, and construction are so classy that you can get dressed up too.

There's ample parking and there was a lot of construction going on in 2017 and some construction in 2018 that was making parking almost impossible.

The good news folks is that they're almost done! And it looks great.

I would just park in the main parking lot and pay at the kiosk and by the way the women in the kiosk are real sweet .

My only warning is to bring a jacket because the wind can really whip up. You don't have to wear the jacket but just bring it just in case leave it in the trunk of your car if you want but this is a destination it's a small restaurant but worth the visit the bar seats about 10 people maybe 12 or 15 if they really smash them in but the...

I want to add a update from my previous review to make a happy note that I was not charged a service fee for my lunch on the beach today. I don’t know if my previous review had an effect but I am so happy to be able to love this landmark eatery at the beach…. Check out the receipts in the pictures…

I still love this place after 30 or so years but recently I discovered they are doing what many restaurants have done which is to add a 10% service fee and then still are suggesting a tip too for counter service. Please don’t Trick F—K your customers… add what you need to the price instead please…. You have lost me as a customer until you stop the junk fees

Great gem on the beach! I have been going to this little Mexican restaurant for many years and it's always a great stop for a bite to watch the harbor traffic going past the jetties.

It has a friendly little bar and a counter for take out food to eat at the outside tables on the promenade. We often walk to lunch and have a carne asada tostado. Always delicious and satisfying, and such a great view of the ocean, the harbor and the volleyball courts...

Seemed like a nice place to stop after a long walk down to the beach, right next to the Santa Cruz Harbor. If you don't care about flavor, or you're terrified of spicy food, then this place is perfect for you. It was $10 for a flavorless carnitas burrito. $2.50 to make it "supreme" with sour cream and guacamole. The salsa available is Tapatio. It's been a long time since I was disappointed in a burrito, the last time was in the state of Maryland. This place is in Santa Cruz California, though, which only worsens the disappointment. My stomach was upset for hours afterwards.

Seems like the attractive features here are a bar that seats 10-12 people and the fact that it's next to the ocean. I wonder if the sit-down menu/food is much different. I ordered to-go style and sat just outside. Waste of money and time. The folks getting drunk at the bar were having a blast though. Must have a good happy hour. I wouldn't know though, because they wouldn't let me eat my burrito at the bar. So dumb.

Nothing against the wait staff though, ya'll are doing your best. Seems like the issues stem from...