Top Asian Restaurant in Capitola
Naka Sushi
1200 41st Ave, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
If I could give more stars, I would. Classic dine-in Japanese sushi. Traditional service at the counter or table service. Naka is family owned, operated by a lovely couple, headlined by Nakasan at the bar with devades of experience on 41st street. Literally the place my spouse took me on our first date twenty years ago, but now fancy. Bigger than normal servings, making up for the high modern prices. Japanese sushi-chef-is-right service, wasabi in the nigiri, sumo on the tv, delicious fish you would have trouble finding better. Try the handrolls for a fancy version of a street cart treat. Places rarely stay the same over the years but Nakas has managed it, only geting better with age.
Top other services in Capitola:
Shadowbrook Restaurant
1750 Wharf Rd, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
If you had one place to visit when you went to the Santa Cruz area, this is the place Id recommend! Such a unique location, unique experience, and apparently the BEST PLACE TO KISS? Definitely one for the books.Good:This place is just start to finish such a memorable experience! We were in the Green Room which was the lowest level floor (this place has 5 LEVELS) and you have to take a short tram down to get to the restaurant - that by itself was already such a wow factor! You can take the tram up or down.Each level in this restaurant is unique and ours was right next to the water. It is beautiful at night too!I really liked the bread that we started off with - the dinner roll was very crunchy and tasty. The butter was good too.I was recommended the French 75 drink and enjoyed the rec - it was super sweet and didnt feel super alcoholic.I loved the baked brie dish and the seared ahi tuna we got - the baked brie was more memorable as it came with crostinis and a really sweet jelly that seemed to pair super well.Apparently, the mother of the director of Crazy Rich Asians recommended the Honey Glazed Pork Chop so I got it - and it was indeed super tasty! I loved how juicy it was and the sweet potatoes it came with were super unique too and tasty.Bad:Service is a bit slow, apparently, they only have one kitchen in the whole place - so this is understandable, its just surprising how many people they can serve.Overall, had such a blast here and would come again. Its also not too crazy on the wallet for the experience.
Trader Joes
3555 Clares St D, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Love trader Joes...So many interesting new things to try and many become favorites of mine that I cant get anywhere else. And I love the return policy… if I dont like something I can return it come and no questions asked, Which makes me even more willing to try new things. They have a great assortment of cheeses .Flowers are so reasonably priced, So it is my go to place to get flowers for my home. The frozen food section is amazing. My most recent personal favorite is the kung pao style tempura cauliflower . Yummy! I also appreciate that they have a daily sample of something if prepared and provide the recipe, and right nearby are all the supplies you would need to make it . The condiments section is the best you can find. Traders also has a large organic produce availability. I am also a big fan of the nuts section common and often bring home bags of nuts to enjoy at reasonable prices. I just wish they had a branch in Scotts Valley because I live in Felton it will be still be nice to have one nearby!
Dharmas Restaurant
4250 Capitola Rd, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Excellent vegan food. They include flavors and dishes from around the world such as Asian, Mexican and Italian. Everything on the menu is good. My favorite is Bo Thai, their vegan version of pad Thai. My wife loves the nada chicken enchiladas and my kids favorites are the mac and cheese. It is higher priced than most other restaurants but their portions are larger than most. Most of the time, we order several dishes and share among ourselves. I would totally recommend doing that. Generally, parking is not an issue as the parking lot is huge.
KAITO
1855 41st Avenue Food Court In The Capitola Mall, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Came here because my in-laws swore by the amazing ramen you can find here. They are locals, and my husband and I love to visit and try all their favorite restaurants when we're in town.Kaito means ‘meeting' in Japanese. We had a delightful experience sitting out on their patio, during the perfect time before sunset. It was warm and not too breezy. Surrounded by succulents and passion fruit vines, it was such a nice setting.They serve traditional style tonkotsu ramen, which hails from the Southern prefecture of Fukuoka in Japan. Their broth contains a mix of chicken and pork, but they do have a vegan broth available upon request. Add all kinds of toppings like a soft boiled egg (highly recommended) and sea veggies.They have a full sushi bar so you can enjoy sashimi and fresh hand rolls of your choice. Our waiter was very nice. I ordered hot green tea and the refills were welcomed and soothing.Price-wise, it is not cheap. For 3 bowls of ramen and tip, it came out to be over $70.
Asian Express
1955 41st Ave # A2, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Were pretty lucky that the only Vietnamese Restaurant in the Capitola/ Soquel area is actually a good one. You cant go wrong with anything you order here. From Pho to Bún to Banh Mi, it is all delicious. They recently remodeled and the ambiance is a bit less cafeteria-like than it once was. Asian Express is definitely the best restaurant in/ around the Capitila Mall.
Geisha Sustainable Sushi
200 Monterey Ave 2nd Floor, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
NOT a conventional sushi restaurant. I dont think there are any Japanese or even Asian chefs who work here.The vegan rolls are good, but my friends and I hated the traditional rolls. The fish didnt seem fresh (the salmon looked gray) and the type of crab (?) used was very pungent. When I looked over to the sushi bar, it seemed like the fish they were using was just left on the counter and not stored in a fridge in between orders...The fried part of the shrimp inside my roll was sponge-like and not what tempura should feel like, texture wise.And the cilantro??? There was so much cilantro in one of the rolls that at first I couldnt taste the fish. Ive never had a roll with cilantro before and thats probably gonna be the last time too.Everything I tasted in this restaurant that didnt come prepackaged had an off-taste to it. It was sushi, sure, but a little bit to the left.The waitress we had was very nice and I didnt have the heart to tell her that the food sucked. I could tell that she was super stressed.Thank god I didnt eat all of my rolls because I had a feeling I would get a stomach ache like other reviewers have said.
Pono Hawaiian Kitchen & Tap
3744 Capitola Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95062, United States
NEVER AGAIN!!!!! I'm a Santa Cruz native and have known this city since a little girl! This place had us in disbelief. Our first time here as well. I'm not sure about the other reviews but the experience me and my wife had, was nothing compared to anything before. I have an extreme allergic reaction to black pepper. When we enter restaurants we always make it clear and try to order simple things, trying not to impose. Owning a bakery/restaurant myself, I know how tedious it can be. My wife ordered the food per usual letting the waitress know of my food allergy. When we received the food, everything was covered in black pepper. The macaroni salad, chicken we ordered regular steamed rice so that was the only thing I could eat. We let the waitress know I couldn't eat the food. She specifically said “You paid for it already, so you have to keep it. Would you like anything else” my wife of course said yes. She went along handing out orders there were other customers completely understand! But she had us waiting for 15 minutes just to take the order. My wife told me to pack up the food and we left. I felt like I was a problem to them and the owner was incredibly insensitive!!
Margaritaville
231 Esplanade, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Pros: great location, beachside dining; great service.Cons: food and drink are just meh, especially considering the pricesEverything about the restaurant is great, except for the food and drink, so, having said that, is great service and location really enough? Apparently for some it is. Obviously they've not dined at either of the upscale Mexican restaurants (El Palomar and Cilantro's) which are within a 10 minute drive of this spot, or they would feel as I do, that the food and drink quality and taste just doesn't measure up. Not by a long shot.Admittedly this establishment suffered greatly at the hands of the disastrous Winter 2023 and 2024 storms, which flooded the buildings and required significant storm damage to be repaired. I'm glad they're back, but that's not an excuse for poor execution.To the specifics… we ordered cocktails and chips and guacamole. Everything came quickly with super service. However, the guac was extremely bland, definitely a nice mash of avocado, but lacking any panache with spicing and flavor. Sometimes your avocados are somewhat bland, and you need to adjust with augmenting spices like chili, garlic, enough salt … but not this time.As for the chips, they were thick and slightly greasy; clearly house-made, but not from house-made thin tortillas, but rather from commercial, thicker corn tortillas. Chevy's sets the standard for thin crispy light chips, and Margaritaville missed by a mile.Moving on to the cocktails… we ordered Mai tais and the El Ultimo margarita. Both drinks were very bottled-juice forward and tart, with no hint of the premium liquors nor really of any liquor at all. Go to the Crows Nest and if you order a Mai Tai, you can taste the rum. Nope, not here. Hugely disappointing.For dinner, we were conservative and split the Ultimo Blackened Shrimp buritto. How does a blackened shrimp item with beans and rice end up tasting sweet and not spicy at all? Blackened is a Cajun preparation: “I give you one guarantee” it should be spicy and garlicky! This one was not. It was supposed to be “smothered” in some kind of crema; it was NOT. Dry as the Texas sands to quote Jerry Jeff. :-)You can do much better elsewhere, especially considering the $16 per drink price tag for bottled dour juice and pricy burritos with no promised cream sauce.
Capitola Diner
1900 41st Ave, Capitola, CA 95010, United States
Great service, nice people. Good comfort food. I like the Asian chicken salad.Also you can get breakfast all day. Its diner food. Its delicious, the servings are big. The food it good.This is not a gourmet restaurant. Its a good nice old fashioned diner.You will get service with a smile