Reviews for Hula's Island Grill in Santa Cruz, CA
One of the best restaurants in the greater Bay Area. I came here after reading excellent recommendations from online articles... and I was absolutely impressed. This Hawaiian/Island themed restaurant serves a variety of high quality plates, appetizers, andcocktails. Some of the best food we?ve had and the original Mai Tai was unlike any I?ve ever had. We were especially impressedwith the ambiance of the entire place. It?s laid out in a consistent island theme. There is indoor seating, outdoor seating, andhybrid window covered seating which was really nice. The food came out very quickly and was delicious. Everything tastes likethey put a ton of care into it. The service was also excellent. Everyone was friendly to me and kindly explained to me theirbest items which I eventually ordered. This place is worth driving from the Bay Area to visit, or definitely come here after aday on the beach. You will not regret it. Read more
Yummy food! This restaurant is really cute and Definitely have some Hawaiian vibes in it. Our experience was excellent. We... got seated right away, staff are very friendly and welcoming. Our food was delicious and no complaints at all. We both orderedfish and both dishes were excellent. If you venture out in downtown Santa Cruz this place is worth checking out. Read more
I don?t give out 5 stars often but the Kalbi ribs earned it. Fantastic flavor. Didn?t need any sauce. Just the right size. Poke... bowl was good too. Fast service too on a Friday night. Read more
Satisfied except one thing. There rice quality is quite disappointed. But, I enjoyed the paradise iced tea: not sweet but... refreshing! Ordered island poke. Do not squeeze lemon too much, it could be too sour. Ordered the pulled pork with pineapple.Tasty! Read more
Kale salad and ceviche was delicious. Fish taco and fish of the day was good too. Lilikoi pie was too sweet for me. Tiki... cocktails are on the sweeter side too. As comfort food, it hit the spot. Outdoor seatings are nice. Read more
Came here for lunch on a Sunday and it was pretty quiet inside, there weren't a lot of people but a bunch outside. Good: The... Kimo Burger I got was super tasty! I liked how big it was and the meat + sauce + tomato + bacon combo worked surprisingly well.I wasn't as big of a fan of the pineapple inside it though - it was a little too sweet. The cornbread was tasty too since I gotthat as my side. The burger was definitely the highlight though. Bad: Takes a while for the food to get to you - we waited forprobably 15-20 min for our 2 dishes. It's definitely not as nice of an ambiance in the middle of the day, I'd come back anothertime at night for the bar vibes. The service was also a bit slow, couldn't waive down the waiters too easily. Overall, a goodexperience, but mediocre vibes and ambiance. Read more
This is on a Wednesday, late lunch with only one other party inside. We were super hungry and visiting the pier. To share we... ordered: large house cut fries, large sweet potato fries and a large Caesar salad - all delicious! Bro got the Ahi Katsu tacos- they come seared, he said they were good! I got the fish tacos and instead of rice and beans got it with arugula salad and alemon vinaigrette - super delicious dish! Mom got the fish soup and lemme tell you that was delicious too - chunks of fish,udon swimming in a coconut and lemon grass milky soup! The lady waitress was cool and brought our little girl a lei! Awesomedelicious lunch! Read more
Came in for dinner around 4:30pm on a Saturday and waited around 15 min to be seated (which is not bad. Usually wait times are a... bit longer on weekends) we were sat inside, which I love the tiki vibe. We got edamame and calamari for appetizers which wereboth very good and came out pretty quickly. I got the fish tacos, which were just ok, and my guest got the poke bowl, which wasdelicious. This place gets busy, but if you can get a spot, it?s worth it. Read more