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Chocolate the Restaurant, Santa Cruz, CA

Chocolate the Restaurant

4.7
4.7
82 Reviews
$31 to $50
Californian

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2 people
19:00
Booked 4 times today
  • Great for outdoor dining
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Charming
Now celebrating 25 years, Chocolate the Restaurant provides an attractive dining environment for couples on dates, friendly meetings, and special occasion meals. Dine outside on the heated garden patio. Celebrate special occasions with up to 25 guests in the private street-side party room. Maybe start with a Chocolate Martini or a Passion Fruit Margarita. Chef David Jackman's fresh baked pasta rosettes, slow-roasted meats, and delicious seasonal organic vegetable dishes are all a prelude to our many chocolaty desserts. Our wine list focuses on local and on Italian wines. Our cocktails are all made from scratch; often using locally distilled spirits, and always using fresh house-made mixers. We are at your service for dinner every night! Afternoon walk-up cafe' service Friday thru Sunday. . We are open for dinner every holiday except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Mediterranean, Dessert
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Daily 17:00–22:00
  • Phone number
    (831) 427-9900
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive Chef
    David Jackman
  • Catering
    Offsite catering for up to 150 guests. Weddings, or any other kind of occasion. Wedding cakes, or other special desserts. Chocolate mousse truffles. We can work with you to design a custom menu, based on your comfortable budget parameters.
  • Private party facilities
    Rehearsal Dinners, Graduation Parties, Birthday Parties, Anniversary Parties are our specialty
  • Area
    Santa Cruz
  • Cross Street
    Cooper Street
  • Parking details
    Large multi-level public lot one half block away. Also, several parking spaces in front of restaurant on the street.
  • Public transit
    Metro bus station with links to San Jose, three blocks away.
  • Additional
    Banquet, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 82 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Best Overall

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Best Value

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Healthy

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Great for outdoor dining

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Lively

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Chocolate the Restaurant offers a "relaxed atmosphere" with delightful chocolate-infused dishes and cocktails, perfect for any chocolate lover. Patrons rave about the "fantastic desserts" and gluten-free options. The setting is "romantic and artistic," complemented by attentive service. Despite occasional service hiccups, it's cherished for its unique flavors and ambiance.

273 Reviews
  1. Kathy

    San Francisco

    8 reviews

    4.0

    8 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    I chose Chocolate for a birthday/retirement lunch with family. I was the only chocoholic in our party, but all enjoyed the food. We all got different hot chocolates to begin, a variety of main dishes, and different desserts, all of which we liked. I got a dark Colombian hot chocolate, which packed the kind of deep punch I like. I also got the chicken mole. They now have only one type of mole, which was a little spicier than I'm used to. I acclimated quickly and gobbled it all up, although the spice did affect the taste of the remaining hot chocolate. For dessert, I got the chocolate sin cake, which was nice and dark, though not as dense as I expected. We ate inside, which was rather dark--I had to walk over to a window to read the menu. Service was generally good and well timed, although the one soda ordered was not brought. The restaurant is quite small, so it's probably never loud inside; we were there mid-afternoon, and there were only a handful of other patrons. Metered parking right outside on the street was surprisingly available, although not cheap. There is also a covered lot right around the corner. We will definitely return!

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  2. Robin

    San Francisco

    10 reviews

    4.0

    10 reviews

    Dined on 3 November 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    The mushroom soup is my favorite. Nice, relaxed and unrushed service. Staff is friendly, and good menu selection.

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  3. Steve

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 2 November 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great food with plenty of vegetarian options. Prompt and knowledgeable service. Friendly owner. Looking forward to going back.

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  4. sleekgt

    San Francisco

    11 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on 19 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We come here every week from San Jose since at least 2018. Always great.

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  5. Alicia

    San Francisco

    56 reviews

    5.0

    56 reviews

    Dined on 14 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    We stopped in for hot chocolate after watching fireworks in the freezing cold in Capitola. The restaurant was almost closed, but Lori was incredibly gracious and served us anyway. They were waiting for another table to finish. The hot chocolates and chocolate martini were delicious!

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  6. julia

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 13 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Reliable food, very nice ambience and server was really nice and attentive.

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  7. Lynda

    San Francisco

    17 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined on 6 October 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Ohhh, the desserts and chocolate coconut rum martini. Oh yeah, the foods great, too. But it’s the cocktails and desserts that that stole my heart. Best tiramisu I’ve ever tasted🤎

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  8. KATEY

    San Francisco

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on 17 September 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    We had a great experience at Chocolate the Restaurant. Really good food (I had the Oaxacan Mole), super helpful server, yummy margaritas, and delicious desserts. We went with the sampler dessert tray, small, and it is was still more than the 3 of us could finish. Highly recommend.

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  9. Susan

    Denver

    40 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    40 reviews

    Dined on 10 September 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    My companions had interesting, delicious meals. My chicken Parmesan was a bit of a disappointment because it had no cheese. The homemade sauce was tasty but no cheese on chicken Parmesan? The server said it would be very cheesy. Nope. Weird oversight? Nice cocktail menu and the deserts were all top notch.

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  10. Lonna

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on 25 August 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was great. We had the caprese salad for an appetizer. I had the Oaxacan chicken mole for dinner and my partner had the salmon in a teriyaki style sauce. He had a delicious watermelon margarita. We had chocolate strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was all fantastic. We sat inside which was quite and private. Outside would have been great too.

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FAQs

Chocolate the Restaurant is rated 4.7 stars by 82 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 4 times today
Google Map for Chocolate the Restaurant

1522 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    Cooper Street
  • Area
    Santa Cruz
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Daily 17:00–22:00
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Mediterranean, Dessert
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Large multi-level public lot one half block away. Also, several parking spaces in front of restaurant on the street.
  • Public transit
    Metro bus station with links to San Jose, three blocks away.
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    David Jackman
  • Additional
    Banquet, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
    (831) 427-9900
  • Catering
    Offsite catering for up to 150 guests. Weddings, or any other kind of occasion. Wedding cakes, or other special desserts. Chocolate mousse truffles. We can work with you to design a custom menu, based on your comfortable budget parameters.
  • Private party facilities
    Rehearsal Dinners, Graduation Parties, Birthday Parties, Anniversary Parties are our specialty
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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