Mozaic — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

I went here with 3 friends. The service was great with one mishap, which I am docking some 'points' for. The atmosphere was nice, although the lighting could have been a bit better. We were seated within three minutes of coming in on a Friday night, which surprised me a bit.

They kept us supplied with their bread, which was nice. I think we got a total of 3 baskets. We also had our drinks consistently filled.

I did not try the appetizer a friend of mine ordered. He ordered the Pita and Hummus. He seemed to like it, although I would argue he used too much hummus on his pita. To each their own though. He said it wasn't anything outstanding, but it wasn't bad either and that he liked it.

I ordered the Lamb Ravioli. I enjoyed the ravioli, and the sauce that came with it was nice. I do think the plate presentation of it could have been better by spreading the cheese around the ravioli instead of placing it all on the center one, and having too much of it melt on one of them by the time I got it and spread it around. The raviolis were an acceptable size and texture. They were all flavorful with lamb and some vegetables from the sauce. The light crunch/al dente-esque from the vegetables combined with the softness and almost melting in your mouth ravioli was great. The portion size was also good, especially when you consider the price, although I think by our 'American' portion sizes may be considered slightly small. I personally got enough to be nearly sated, but not full, from the ravioli and 3-4 slices of bread.

One of my friends ordered a lamb kebab. From the piece I was given it was cooked well. The spices with it were done well and complimented the lamb rather than overpowering it. He also seemed to thoroughly enjoy his entree quite a bit. He devoured it quite quickly and claimed to like it a lot.

Another person got the four cheese ravioli. She absolutely adored it. She said it tasted great, and had a nice creamy texture.

My other friend seemed to enjoy his moussaka as well. He did not talk too much about it besides saying he liked it, and found the presentation of it fascinating in a good way.

The server was very patient and helpful in deciding on a dessert. She let us know what was house made and what was brought from outside their restaurant. I ended up deciding on something they don't make in-house, which was arguably a mistake, the baklava. I enjoyed the baklava to a degree, but was a bit too dense and didn't have enough nuts in it for my preferences. The flavor was acceptable, but merely average. The whipped cream that came with it was slightly over whipped. The plate presentation on the other hand was great. The portion size was also magnificent and thoroughly enjoyable. They were all in one-two bite size pieces, and I received approximately 6 of them.

The three chocolate cake, which a friend of mine ordered, was also good. I do think they should have let the cake defrost more before having it be restaurant ready, since you could still feel the temp of it being left in a fridge or freezer most of the time. That complaint being put out there we were warned it was not house made, so it was understood this may happen. As for the cakes flavor itself it was satisfying. There was enough fudge in it to make it have a nice thick texture to it. The plate presentation was passable, but I believe it could have been a little better with a mint leaf or something along those lines. The portion size was good considering how rich the cake was.

If I come here again I will definitely order a house-made dessert rather than from an outside source. I did enjoy the two outside source desserts, but they left a little to be desired. The server did warn us about this, so I can't bring myself to dock any points for it.

Our server was very kind and patient with us. She also shared her recommendations when asked about it. She let us know what others, based on sales, and she enjoyed to give some reasons why she recommended what she did. She and her coworkers kept our glasses and bread baskets full. She was on top of...

So there you are, walking the sidewalks and shops of downtown Santa Cruz. Your late breakfast has you held over to skip lunch but it's too soon for dinner and the edge is nearing, hunger! Well, this was the situation for my lovely bride of 20 years and me. looking for quick, light and delicious.

Mosiac. A great restaurant with plenty of lite and fulfilling options. This space occupies the where the once classy Clouds restaurant and Martini bar lived for years, then after that, a short-lived NOLA themed joint.

The classy and sophisticated Cocktail Cabaret with floor to ceiling premiere and top-shelf spirits live on in its full glory with an accomplished list of mixologists to, well, mix their magic. Today I chose with reluctance, the house Pinot Noir, and my lady friend a very young and fruity New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In hindsight, one of the many offered House Specialty cocktail would have been way better.

At three pm on a Saturday afternoon they only had two at the bar and a family with young children in the dining area. This is where the steller service and hospitality started. Instantly treated like royalty, I noticed all that was happening. The bar and kitchen staff were prepping their mise en place, the FOH staff were either eating the last meal before the geriatric dinner rush. this is a very busy weekend restaurant, make reservations for sure.

One thing for sure, we were noticed, tended to with the distinguished and classy style of a Michelin starred restaurant. Mind you I was wearing a baseball cap and shorts and my lady jeans and a printed sports sweatshirt, presenting like a couple of walk-in annoyances.

We just wanted a quick taste of the place and then we were out! With our wine we ordered Calamari, it was lightly battered served with a lemon garlic aioli. a tad salty but cut with the aioli was fine. Wanting to reminisce in a taste of Octopus we enjoyed in the Greek Islands a few years back, I ordered that. Grilled Octopus, prepared in oregano, olive oil, caper, and lemon juice. It was good, and totally worth the $14, and I get it again and again, but not as satisfying as the Aegean octopus we were comparing it to. Always looking for adventure we ordered the Flaming Cheese! yes, the singe your eyebrows tableside, smokey mushroom cloud steamy pan of pure genius, Saganaki. A slice of pan-seared feta cheese with olive oil, flamed tableside with brandy and lemon juice, served with pita bread. You leave happy and needing a sponge bath.

The servers were very attentive without pushing anything we didn't want, and the place was very clean and classy. Today's snack was suppulent. Tasty, fun...

We had reservations for a party of 7. When we got there we were given two uneven tables at the front of the restaurant by the door no tablecloth and when we asked if we could have the other table that was nicely made up we were told that was reserved for a party of eight, but..... rudely told: "if you want a tablecloth that bad, I'll get you one". We had looked online at the menu and chose what we were going to order when we got there. However, we were given a printed piece of paper with limited choices and nothing to eat for children. We were told that because it's graduation week, they weren't serving their regular menu! too bad for us I guess. We basically begged for them to bring the kids atleast french fries, which the waitress had to get special permission for but there was nothing else available to go with the fries for the kids. The food we received was very good, but the service lacked horribly. It was Father's Day and we wanted to have a special meal with the dads in our family and instead, but wre instead made to feel like the waitress and the blonde greeter/seater lady was put out by us and that we were ruining their whole day just by being there even though we had reservations. The gentleman who greeted us after dinner was very nice. I'm not normally a very picky person but, when the very first impression is the seater greeter so rude it kind of sets the atmosphere. Honestly I would have given the food 5 stars even though it wasn't what we would have chosen originally. Very pricey for not getting many choices to choose from. Didn't make a fuss there wanted our men to have a nice lunch. Just leaving this review in hopes that they consider next graduation to include people not attending one! We just wanted to celebrate...