Top Korean Restaurant in Santa Cruz
Sesame Korean Grill
435 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, United States
IF YOU HAVE FOOD ALLERGY, PLEASE READ! The lesson here: you have to be extremely clear, emphasize your food allergy, and triple check because the people working at this place don't communicate to each other! I have been to Sesame before and always enjoyed it. However what happened last night was really unprofessional. I asked if I can order seafood pancake without shrimp (I am allergic to shrimp). The waiter said yes they can make it without shrimp and jotted down no shrimp in my order. Pancake came out and I tried to check if there was any shrimp just to be extra cautious. I didn't see any so I ate one piece. However, in my second piece I found 3 tiniest little shrimps. I showed one shrimp to the waiter and to one of the lady chefs. The lady chef denied at first but I insisted she need to recheck so she turned around and asked the other lady chef. The other chef confirmed yes it was shrimp. (I was horrified). The lady chef quickly said oh so sorry and left immediately. I asked the waiter if he could ask the chefs to remake the pancake for me or do something about this. He said okay sure but returned within seconds to tell me that the chefs cannot make the pancake without shrimp. So the waiter didn't know how the pancake was made and the chefs didn't communicate to waiter albeit his notes. The waiter said that he refunded my pancake which was nice of him but hey I didn't finish my pancake and the piece that I ate was contaminated. So what did he refund me for? Anyway, that refunded money was used for a box Benadryl, an anti itch cream, and a bottle of water. Thanks Sesame for a “nice” evening. ?
Kennys Cafe
2315 De La Cruz Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95050, United States
Heres the deal:Is the food delicious? Absolutely.Are the food portions generous? Without a doubt.Does the menu offer tasty and unique options? Yes, it does.And does the owner go above and beyond to provide excellent customer service? Absolutely yes.In my opinion, its difficult to request faster service, a cleaner environment, or more condiments for your food (like hot salsa, pepper, etc) when there are only one or two individuals managing the establishment. I believe that hiring more employees would be beneficial. Perhaps the most suitable alternative would be to place a takeout order.For lunch, I had the Breakfast Sandwich (without the beacon and sausage). Since I am a vegetarian, I asked if they could prepare it without the bacon and sausage. The owner was incredibly accommodating and cooked it separately in a different saucepan to prevent mixing with other meat dishes.Ill come back to try their breakfast burrito, which, unfortunately, was already sold out when I last visited.
Top other services in Santa Cruz:
Laili Restaurant
101 Cooper St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, United States
This restaurant was recommended by a friend and when I walked in I was immediately impressed by how nice the restaurant is decorated.We ordered two appetizers, Mixed Bolani and Mantoo. The Mixed Bolani is crispy flatbread filled with your choice of spinach or butternut squash. I preferred the spinach and really enjoyed the chutney that came with it. The Mantoo was like Korean mandoo ? but with a delightful tomato sauce on top.We then ordered five different entrees:Salmon PastaTroutRoasted CauliflowerFilet Mignon KabobSalmonThe ingredients tasted very fresh. The salmon was almost sushi like in its texture although it was fully cooked. The trout did not have the typical strong trout taste. These were good things. However be warned that the trout had bones.The roasted cauliflower and filet mignon were also good.However in the end the four people that got rice ? all thought their plates had too much rice and wished they had ordered a pasta dish instead ?. Everyone also agreed that the appetizers were better than the entrees.For dessert we had the Baklava and Rose Meringue. The baklava fans said that the baklava was good. However some of us did not expect the Rose Meringue to be so sour.
We Olive & Wine Bar
112 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
The wine Olive Bar is usually wonderful. The food is always great and also the wine. I have to say that I was extremely disappointed in my server and her ability to get my food in a timely manner. I ordered a flatbread pizza, took 20, than 30 minutes and it still was not on my table. I complained and told the server that I needed to leave soon and to please box my order to go. She did not return in a timely manner. So I asked another server, aWaiter and he gave me my meal and wine free.This has been my first negative experience there. It was valentines day and I was by myself. A large group of ladies sat down 15 minutes after I had ordered and received their food right away. My servers response was, “we are very busy today.” No excuse she was rude. Will come back but will refuse service from this server.Lisa
Firefly Tavern Santa Cruz
110 Walnut Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, United States
Sunday July 16. My husband and I decided to give Firefly a try after a morning of Refrigerator shopping. The good/Great: Ambience is nice. Not too crowded, or too noisy. Really nice background music. We ordered the Chicken and Waffles and shared it. It was SO GOOD. Whatever they used for the batter on the chicken was delightfully crispy. The waffle stayed semi-crisp from start to finish. I highly recommend this but it seems to only be available on the weekends. Were looking forward to coming back to try something else on the menu. Things that could use some improvement: When we arrived at just after 12:30 we were able to be seated almost immediately. Then we waited for 10-15 minutes before we could even get a cup of water. The water was room temp. Slightly chilled would have been better. I love the little glasses it came in :) Once we got our water we waited about another 10-15 minutes or so before the gentlemen came back to take our order at which time we waited another 30 minutes for our meal to arrive. By this time it was pleasantly but not extraordinarily busy. The gentlemen was nice and very apologetic about the delays so we arent going to hold it against him, but we hope service gets better as this nice new place gets a little more into the swing of things. Despite the slow service we really enjoyed our meal and highly recommend you give Firefly a try.
Mos Dumplings
2301A Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, United States
My Bf and I stopped by here for dinner. Youre seated and then order from QR code on the table.We got:- Pan fried dumplings (very good, simple)- Mapo Tofu Dumplings (very creamy and tasty! My bf says he wishes it came with vegan cheese option, although I liked it as is since Im not vegan ^.^)- Spicy Korean Dumplings (super delicious and my fave! Soo good!)- Sesame Salad w/ Braised Tofu (it was nice to eat the dumplings with something lighter and fresh, since dumplings can be a bit heavy and filling)- Lastly we also got the Spicy Sichuan Noodle Soup (this was my Bfs favorite, he really liked this one!)Were from out of town so we ordered a lot of food and didnt finish half but all of it was tasty, reasonable price, and it was awesome to have left overs to take home, which lasted another 2.5 meals after.The best part was the service. All the staff members who we spoke to were so cute, sweet, and nice! We really enjoyed our time there. If it was closer, we would def go back! There are so many other items on the menu we wished we could try! Next time were in the area, we plan on stopping by.
Double Ds Sports Grille
354 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030, United States
Compared to the average sports bar, Double D's is like a luxury stadium suite. With a couple of dozen large screen TVs showing every major sport simultaneously, there's always something to watch even if there isn't an important game. This place has become so popular that you can't even get in the door without a reservation if there's a major event like the Super Bowl.The massive menu offers a large variety of traditional American comfort food including salads, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, and large plate entrees. The portions are huge and priced accordingly. Appetizers/starters (wings, garlic bread, calamari, etc.) are in the mid-teens. Sandwiches, burgers, pastas, and pizzas are around $20 and up. Main entrees and pastas are in the high $20s. This spot definitely isn't for you if you're expecting cheap bar food.I met a friend for lunch and we sat in one of the spacious indoor booths. He ordered a hot pastrami and cheese on rye which he said he enjoyed. My French dip was good too. The thinly sliced prime rib on a sourdough roll was tasty but a little bit fatty. Both sandwiches were served with crispy fries.Their draft beer selection leans heavily towards IPAs. We opted for a couple of glasses of Guinness with our sandwiches. Unfortunately, the beer was served ice-cold in small tulip glasses. These guys should know better.Our tab for two sandwiches and four small beers including tip, tax, and a living wage surcharge, was just under $100. Yikes! Imagine spending fifty bucks for a simple, casual lunch.Service was adequate but could have been much better considering that the place was nearly empty.They recently added a permanent covered patio out front, with TVs, heaters, and sun screens. Surprisingly, it doesn't match the architecture of the building that the owners were so very proud of restoring after their 2016 fire. In fact, it's so massive that it almost completely blocks the front facade. It's also near the street at a major intersection so it's hard to hold a conversation above the traffic noise.Double D's is a family-owned business, run by local brothers Dean and Darin Devincenzi (the “double d's”) who also own the upscale Forbes Mill Steakhouse a few blocks away. It's consistently been voted “best sports bar in Silicon Valley”. I'll probably go back to catch a game once in a while, but at these prices I won't be a regular customer.
Aloha Island Grille
1700 Portola Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95062, United States
Im not in Santa Cruz all that much. Thats the conundrum about living in Vallejo: so extremely far from all the great NorCal beaches. Stinson, Pacifica, and Santa Cruz: none of them a mere hop, skip, and jump away. Anyhow, I digress, as Im veering away from the point of this review. My friends and I had just finished up a boogie board session and we were crazy hungry. We had planned to hit up Pono after the beach, so we headed there... and were gracefully turned away. That, my friends, sucked. No one likes feeling turned away. So I hit up the ol trusty Yelp app and found the Aloha Island Grill. Mad and hungry (mad hungry, son?), we headed there in hopes of some good grub.Upon arriving, I see the line is out the door. Reasonably, I was a bit on the aggravated side as I was getting hungrier by the minute and the prospect of waiting in a line was slightly daunting. Still, the reviews for this place spoke highly of it, so I decided to wait it out. Also, it was very near closing time, so I wasnt sure if theyd still take our order. Fortunately, the long line moved quite briskly upon our arrival. We were able to get our order in. Very friendly servers as well, so very nice and chill. Cute to boot! So here on out, I just had to be patient for a few more minutes to get some food in my now insane stomach.The decor of this place is really nice. You get the total island/surfer town feel upon entering. The walls are chock-full of surf stickers, logos, related signage, and even some boards. Theres even TVs overhead that are playing some surf DVDs. Very nice touches in those areas.I was joyous upon the arrival of my food to the table, a mere few minutes after ordering. I had ordered the loco moco and an ala carte order of the teriyaki chicken. The food was nice and hot. First thing I tried was the loco moco. It was good. Well, better than good. It was definitely better than anything youd get at L&L. Next was the teriyaki. Oh my goodness. This was the best chicken teriyaki Ive ever had at a restaurant. Besides being juicy, it was tender and oh so very flavorful. I LOVE that it wasnt just some chicken that was slathered with tons of teriyaki and then flat-top grilled. No no, this was seasoned/marinaded just right and then it was cooked on an actual charcoal grill (YES, I am able to taste the difference, being a master home BBQer of sorts.) That teriyaki was, hands down, the best Ive ever had. Any joint, Japanese, Hawaiian, or otherwise, will be hard pressed to make something that tastes better.All in all, I like this place a lot and it absolutely sucks to have to live so far from such a cool joint. Next time Im in town for some boogie boarding, Ill definitely hit this place up again. A place with great grub that seems to appreciate my business.
The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062, United States
Ordered a very small special occasion cake a few weeks ago. Showed a picture of a simple naked cake design - basically decorated with a couple plant leaves and pine cones. The woman who took my order in person INSISTED that I had to provide the material as they “do not provide decorations for cakes”, ok not a problem, but that they WOULD decorate the cake with the items. Ordered the twig of leaves and pine cones.Today I called to pick up and said I'd bring in what I ordered for them to decorate with. The call was met with refusal and that I was given “misinformation”. They “don't decorate because they aren't liable if we didn't like it” and “you should have paid for a decoration fee.”Umm, I don't work there and came in person for the primary reason of eliminating confusion! If staff can't provide accurate info to customers then what are we supposed to do? Oh, and the “decorators” leave at 2pm. If you don't decorate why would we pay a decoration fee?So I beg the questions, why was I told a 4pm pickup was “perfect” and “we can add your decorations to the cake when you pick up,” if said decorators leave at 2 and, again, the business doesn't decorate?Basically my point here is, get EVERYTHING in writing, call the day before you pick up to confirm. Trust no one that takes your money first and says what you want to hear. Once paid they (like many companies) can go back on what they said simply by stating the employee was “misinformed”.I believe in supporting small business, especially in a town I love, but I won't drive over the hill again to place an order here.The sad part is, it won't even matter to the bottom line. We sure hope the cake is at least good.