El Palomar

5 star for our bartender/server Tim. Amazing service from behind the bar as we were on the floor. Go during Happy hour, 3-6pm. Reasonable prices and specials ( half price pitcher of margaritas), vs the regular high price menu. Amazing chips and salsa.

Loved our evening meal! Located in the historic Palomar Hotel lobby, with original hand painted mural and ceiling, fantastic stained glass lanterns, a lively cantina area and more; this is a Santa Cruz experience not to be missed. Wonderful food and service makes this a true California gem.

This is definitely a hidden gem. It’s in a hotel but don’t judge it by that, the interior is very charming aside from the noise. They give Free Chips which were good but too salty and the Salsa was amazing and flavorful. I got the Normal Burrito and added Steak, not joking when I say it was the best Burrito I’ve had in my entire life, the Steak was juicy and flavorful, the Guacamole with Pico de gallo was amazing and the Rice and Beans were a good change up. Moving on from the food the service was incredible, our waiter was kind, gave good recommendations and refilled are waters many times. If you’re looking for Mexican food and are in the area I would definitely check this place out!

I visited El Palomar on a late Saturday afternoon, and it had a great vibe right from the start. The restaurant has a strong Mexican feel to it—the architecture and interior design really add to the atmosphere. Although the outdoor seating looks nice, I found the indoor area to be much more comfortable and inviting. We ordered the vegetarian quesadillas, vegetarian burrito, enchiladas de camarones (shrimp), and chicken fajitas, along with horchata to drink. The food was tasty and arrived quickly—within 10 to 15 minutes of ordering. Overall, it was a great experience with good food, fast service, and a welcoming setting. I’d definitely come back!

Very nice architecture and atmosphere. Comfortable booths very good food wonderful staff highly recommend. The chips and salsa were amazing..

There are three parts to this restaurant. I love the casual taco bar, and sometimes buy fresh tortillas they make there to take home. I haven’t been to the formal dining room in a long time, but I remember the food as being excellent. The dining room in between, where the bar is located, had excellent inexpensive tacos on special tonight. El Palomar‘s tortilla chips are hands-down, the best anywhere. Light, crispy, and flavorful.

Great dinner here. Solid chips and salsa to start, then we got the Baja fish tacos and carnitas tacos, both were very flavorful and good sized portions. Service started a little bit slow but once we got our drinks, it seemed to be steady and pleasant. Would definitely return to try some of the other items.

The taco bar catered our wedding so this place holds a special place for us. Been eating here for 20+ years and they’ve stayed pretty consistent. We did miss Lucy this time. ❤️

George was awesome!! Delicious food and fantastic service! Ambiance also very good. Keep it up! PS: Recommend the Horchata

I went back here a few months ago on a Sunday after a stressful weekend. Unrested, emotionally spent, so of course, I ordered a margarita on the rocks. My partner-in-crime suggested I make it a top shelf libation. He is an excellent accomplice. I ordered the special...I believe it was mahi mahi...cooked in this INCREDIBLE pineapple sauce? I can't even describe it! My taste buds were cruising out of control. Between all the chips and salsa (I see I'm playing more fast and loose with my digestive system than I did 7 years ago), I didn't get to the tortillas. But, I did polish off all the fish (obviously), fragrant rice and beans. And, I do not like beans. What did the put in the beans? I don't know? I try not to eat beans if I am trying to get lucky. But, lucky for me, my digestive system cooperated.

Well, my hubby and I began coming here around 1995 but we moved away in 2002 Came back for business this week and came back in for him to get one of his favorites - sopas. Chile verde was ok - but not great, a little bland. Rice had a strange flavor Service was curt and not at all friendly I split it with him and was charged $12 for a tortilla with two - yes two - pieces of pork and liquid along with some cabbage. To top that I asked for some green salsa because the red was a little spicy for me and she said she would be charging me $2.50 for a two oz serving. I opted not to do that I'm a business owner and I understand that times have been hard for us in the past few years but I also know things have got better. All this added up to an undesirable visit and one that will probably result in my not returning any time soon

The service is attentive, friendly, and professional. The ambiance, as always, is Downtown El Palomar Original, a restaurant that has stayed true to its feel. The food, unlike other times here, has been disappointing. The sides are lukewarm next to just cooked entrees, and everything was too salted. My quesadilla was 90% tortilla, with tasty grilled chicken inside when I dug deep. Doughy tortillas with all three meals. It's sad because this is one of our favorite places. I'll come back hoping this was a bad night for them.

Very good margaritas all services and amazing drinks done by Luis and José excellent customer service, very friendly ambiance

I know a lot of people enjoy El Palomar but for me it's been inconsistent. I'm not in the area anymore but sometimes I try and visit just to see if I can get one of those amazing visits. It's becoming less and less frequent :-( Believe it or not, one time I got my food and it was cold. The plate was hot, but the food was cold. I have no idea how that even happens. El Palomar has been such a institution on the shopping strip that I don't think it's going anywhere. It relies on its previous reputation and that's starting to show. Hopefully they can breathe new life into the menu and bring back the Palomar of old that honestly used to be so good.

Had a great meal here last night! Great chips zingy salsa big drink selection and delicious enchilada verde and asada tacos. Service was super nice and the restaurant space has a cool vibe. We will try to go more often. One downer navigating downtown Santa Cruz at night. Go enjoy

From the outside of the building you don't expect to eat in such beautiful surroundings. Wether you eat in the restaurant or at the bar the food is delicious. We love to sit at the bar, the bar staff are very engaging. Helped us pick out a tequila that matches our meal.

Best carne asada EVER!! And their watermelon margarita is absolutely insane, this place is SO GOOD!

This is my boyfriend's favorite place for chili Colorado . The sauce is spicy with a hint of sweetness. Mahi Mahi tacos are very traditional, presented in a traditional style with big flour tortillas. The fish is very tender but not grilled. I kind of expected the pineapple slaw to be fresh. Overall a decent meal. My boyfriend loved the chili Colorado and would give it a 5. For me the Mahi was a 3. So averaged to be a misleading 4.

Delicious food, good service and comfortable setting! One of the best Mexican restaurants in Santa Cruz!

Stopped by their taco bar on a Friday night. It was not as busy as I expected it to be. Our food was ready quickly. Their chips and salsa were delicious. The salsa was spicy but so good! I tried their chicken quesadilla which was also delicious! There is street parking and parking garages nearby. There was also mariachi and a duo there which was a pleasant surprise. The restaurant is near shopping and bars!Definitely recommend!

This was our eighth family Xmas Eve dinner here. Previous times were great this time not so much. Service was terrible and I'm not exaggerating. Menu has changed portions reduced and prices very high for what you get. Still my favorite carne asada anywhere. Overall very disappointing. Three stars if there was any service at all.

I still love the food but definitely disappointed about the recent price increases. I was shocked last night when I got the bill for a basic house margarita --$14.27.

I've been going to Palomar for big family events for years. Love the food, Love the ambiance, especially the troubadors that entertain and take requests right at your table. Last time in, we went with just the 4 of us and we experienced the hidden "20% mandatory tip". I'll probably never go to Palomar again. I don't believe in that. I saw a couple other comments about the same thing and saw a manager reply that they think it's "standard" !! lack of accountability. what a tone deaf response.

Should have known just by the looks of the chips on Yelp, this place was going to be a complete let down. Received attitude and bad vibes from server as soon as we were seated and approached for drinks/appetizer's. Ordered a skinny margarita but all I could taste was too much agave, no tequila and just downright disgusting for 15$ a pop. Ordered guacamole, never saw it. Only brought out 2/3 meals we ordered. We had to chase down our server to ask where the third meal was and it didn't come until 2 of us were pretty much done, almost 15 minutes later. The enchiladas were tasteless and just not appealing. We all agreed this place was no bueno. To get our bill we also had to chase the server down again and got more attitude. She must of been having a bad night, but don't project that onto the paying patrons that greeted you with a smile. Ambiance was nice, hence the reason for the one star

First time coming here, the environment looks very nice and welcoming, friendly staff as well. Thankfully we arrived when it wasn't busy yet !We started off with water and then got the horchata then the chips and salsa which all were really good and your chips come in super warm not too hard and not too soft just perfect. Our food came in steaming and we ordered the mole and enchiladas verdes very good highly recommend !

Just here to complain that we were automatically charged a 20% tip for a party of 4 adults, 1 toddler, and 2 lap infants..that were drinking formula milk. Normally I don't mind paying it, but the tip surcharge is not displayed anywhere and who counts babies?? Update: Think the owner misread my review in his response. I understand it's a common practice but the "large" party surcharge isn't displayed anywhere for a lack of transparency. Maybe that's why the restaurant is always empty and everyone heads to the taco bar area.

This is the second spot we tried with google search when one child said she wanted Mexican while visiting the area this weekend. Google misled USSSSSS :( I should have known better to pick a place such as downtown Santa Cruz when we love "traditional, authentic and hole in the wall" type Mexican food. This was not it. This place was so dark when seated in a beautiful floor plan that we actually used our flashlight on our phone to read the menu. Waitress, not attentive or personable really at all. The food WAY OVERPRICED for "non authentic" Mexican. $220 for two orders of nachos that were more refried beans than anything else not to mention flat in the plate instead of piled. Tortilla soup (which we advised was not to our liking and not touched) was more like an onion type of broth and not what tortilla soup tastes like at all Bean and cheese burrito... again filled with refried and genuinely no flavor portfolio at all. Chimichanga plate looked to be the best but again, extremely bland I think my pozole was great though! Very filling and the broth was yummy! This is more of a "you're in downtown Santa Cruz, PAY for it" type of location. Not recommended at all especially if you're a Mexican food lover, looking for a family friendly location or on a budget. Worst part even after the food, the price, inattentive waitress or sitting in the dark was that when we advised our waitress that my daughter didn't like the soup (when she finally was able to be stopped) and she took it away...seeing we still paid for it on my bill when I could have given it to the homeless elderly man out front instead got to me. Price HIGH ambiance DARK and not friendly food NO GOOD Inside was beautiful but again, we couldn't really see much haha I'd pass on this place always and not recommend ever. Seeing tip included as surcharge for a non interested waitress + crap food... we should've been able to decide the tip. Thumbs wayyyy down for that as well.

OMG! I'm really sorry to say that I won't be coming back here anymore. SIXTY SEVEN DOLLARS for: Chili Relleno dinner plate One carne asada taco Two corn tortillas One soda Flan Coffee... I repeat, $67.00. Are you kidding me!?! Bye.

Wow I loved this place! The setting itself is beautiful in the high-ceilinged room with spectacular detail on ceiling and walls. We sat near the fireplace and it was quite cozy. The service was excellent without being overbearing, we really liked the salsa that came with the chips (and they were generous with chip and salsa refills), our food (me--enchiladas verdes with chicken, my friend-chile verde plate) was just perfect, they have a good list of beers on tap and my friend was very happy with her margarita. I'll definitely be back!

Drinks were good, service was good, though I'd say the food itself wasn't too impressive. This is a good place to go for vibes, if you're meeting up with a friend after work and wanted to grab a drink and maybe a snack. But I wouldn't expect mindblowing food as a whole. Nice time overall!

Going to this restaurant for years. Great service and amazing food. Margaritas are always the best.

Pay your staff a living wage and price that living wage into your food. Don't say "20% sur charge goes to the staff" when you're the problem that made it necessary to add a "hidden fee." Glad that we have the new legislation coming to make this illegal, and stop allowing for excuses like this. Also no I will not be spending $60 for 5 sub par tacos ever again. I will not be spending the little time I am ever in Santa Cruz at your restaurant again.

Restaurant was cold and dark for lunch time. Ordered tea to warm up but they didn't have regular black tea. Enchiladas were tasteless and terrible. Chicken was dried and overcooked. Even the salsa was just liquid. We will not be going back. The only thing good was the servers attitude and her understanding. But food quality was what ruined the whole experience

Exceeded expectations. I was a bit put off by the low Yelp score, but I gave them a try anyway. I'm glad I did. The strips of steak were very good. Chips tasted extremely fresh and the supply of chips and salsa never stopped. Service was outstanding. The dining room is very interesting. Large and cavernous, very pretty. Convenient location right on Pacific in downtown Santa Cruz.

El Palomar is always, always fabulous! Great views. Followed by a nice stroll on the beach

Food is great, especially the carne asada tacos they are always my go to and service is always friendly. Drinks are excellent!

Great restaurant with good food and kind servers :) Their margarita pitchers are delicious!

We haven't been here in a year. We used to spend almost every Sunday here for 10 years. Sticker shock on the increase in prices on everything. The $17 cocktails were not up to par with the cost and the food gave us both indigestion and did not live up to our memories. $33 for carne asada fajitas??? Market Rate for the carne asada ranchera plate? Yikes. Had to request water 3 times before the person remembered. We live in Seattle now so used to city prices in dinner. This was over the top on cost. Nothing lasts forever.

Very over priced! More than $20 for a handful of lettuce, a spoon of beans and a small amount of avocado. Good service.

I came here for a nice saturday lunch. I got the two shredded chicken enchiladas with creamy refried beans and their very yummy rice.In infact,everything was very yummy as always. And as always, the service is fantastic.

we've been going to Palomar for many decades. The service is good, the waitresses are attentive and pleasant. The food depending on what you order is good! When ordering the enchiladas, think burritos (tortillas wrapped around chunky chicken pieces with sauce poured over the top). The enchiladas are not baked, the tortilla was dry and not like any traditional enchiladas that are moist and cooked in the sauce. Our waitress was apologetic and explained they make the enchilades individually. And agreed the enchiladas are not traditional or very good.

Enjoyed dinner here twice while visiting Santa Cruz. Great kids menu and lots of customization possible. Margaritas were great too. Everyone loved the fresh chips and salsa.

El Palomar is a unique restaurant in an old hotel ballroom. The hotel is no longer there, the front portion of the lobby and building is apartments. The space is absolutely beautiful with overhead arches and old balconies that are no longer in use. Food was good, I recommend the combo plate which comes with rice, beans and a selection of 2 a la carte items. Service was great, drinks were excellent. El Palomar exclusively uses ArteNOM artisan silver, reposado, and anejo in a majority of cocktails. It's top shelf smooth and craft tequila with great depth of flavor. Cool place to visit with unique history/atmosphere. Plus good food, service and world class drinks.

Super cute restaurant with a nice menu of choices. We went on date night and we're promptly seated, and cocktails ordered. Chopping on chips and salsa, our orders taken and soon delivered, I had a spicy, but yummy Diablo shrimp plate. Hubby ordered the bisteak and said it was awesome! We'd definitely return next time we are in SC!

This review is for the taco bar. Used to be a favorite spot for tacos but they recently raised the price of asada taco from 6.50 to 9. I've always enjoyed their tacos but at 9 each, it makes it hard to justify going back.

Beef fajitas and shrimp ceviche were delicious. Beef enchiladas were also tasty. Service was good. Tastefully decorated.

Went for my UCSC '24 graduation dinner June 14. Had amazing food with the amazing drinks while listening to nice music! service was understanding and dependable

Poor service as it gets worse and worse each time. The waitress saw me waiting and ignored me, a party of 1. Franklin came over after seeing her ignore me. Took my order and was very apologetic about the treatment I received, so much so that he discounted my meal. If we're in again, I'll ask for Franklin

$ 9 dollars for a Carne Asada Taco at the Taco Bar now !! Outrageous, they were like $5 not to long ago. Lost my business Bye

They cannot even make a decent burrito. And it was $22. For a dish that did not even qualify as a burrito.

Neat restaurant in the middle of town. Specials reco Mended were delicious and service was great

We were passing through Santa Cruz and wanted some Mexican food so we found this place on a map and decided to go. Food was great and waitstaff were nice, and the interior was absolutely beautiful! It was *really* loud in there though, some sound dampening would be way better. I think it was a bit pricy, but it could have been a regional thing. I don't live anywhere near Santa Cruz so I'm not sure if that was typical pricing for the area. I had chicken sopes and they were good, but the chicken seemed a little under seasoned. My husband had enchiladas and they tasted amazing. The complimentary chips and salsa were delicious - warm, fresh, and house-made from what I could tell. But when we were offered more and agreed, we never received any more chips.

Thank you for your response, Johann. I've been eating at this restaurant since the early '80s. So, I'm definitely not a newbie. I'm not sure if telling the server that my enchiladas weren't prepared to my liking would have "fixed" the issue. I just believe that is the way they're prepared in your kitchen. Perhaps some folks prefer a drier tortilla. Myself, I like to cut into a softer enchilada and not have to force my hand to cut through a rather dry, thick tortilla. Again, the ambiance is nice and convenient, especially if downtown already. As I said, I've been a longtime customer. I finally decided to leave a review. Will I be back in the future? Oh, I'm sure I will. But I need to figure what to order that I actually like besides the chips and salsa. Your prices are a bit steep, as well. I can get a delicious Mexican meal at El Chino or El Chipotle for a decent price.

Best fish tacos I've ever had in a restaurant. 10/10 would recommend. The service and ambiance was also great!

The food was quality, but charging for poco de Gallo was a bit much. Plus, if it is extra warn, someone. Also, service is good, but asking for something from other staff besides your server is pointless. Love the look of the restaurant and is very beautiful. Hesitant on returning. The server, who was literally running around, spilled salsa everywhere, which hit my wife but no apology. Slow down. Pay attention. We will see if we go back.

Update to restaurant's response: The waiter said "guacamole" not salsa and definitely didn't say of any price, as we thought it came with the complimentary chips. The portion given for the price is ridiculous. Please don't try to fake it with politeness. Your restaurant sets tourist traps for this kind of things.

Excellent place to get Mexican food in downtown Santa Cruz in the historic Palomar Hotel. Nice upscale ambience, great margaritas, and my favorite dish, huachinango (red snapper). Highly recommend!