NWR- Santa Cruz

karma007

I am in desperate need of a (not gonna happen) vacation, so we were thinking of going to Santa Cruz for the day. Any rec's on a place to stay/eat/drink if we can get a dog sitter for the night?

future mrs.riva

If you're in the mood for something exotic, you must go to Pearl of the Ocean. Seriously, my taste buds were in heaven! My fav: develed chicken or shrimp. Everything there is excellent though.If you're looking for something a bit more safe: Lillian's Italian Kitchen. A must have is the lasagna. The sauce is to die for! The wait can be a bit long, but it's well worth it! They also accept call aheads. If you want sushi: Takara (located in Capitola) is also good for their rolls. They are a bit expensive, but the sushi is good quality stuff.Place to stay: Chaminade Resort/Spa. It's on the outskirts of town so you dont get the busy freeway noise. It's nice and quiet for a peaceful getaway. Drinking: can't say too much for the bars around here, but 99 Bottles is  great if you're looking for a beer you've never had before. HTH

jackelbride

They just remodeled the Dream Inn. We stayed there on my birthday last year in a Tower Suite and it was great. We left the sliding doors open for the cool night air and so we could hear the surf. As far as food, we never really eat at upscale restaurants there... or ever in fact... so I'm no help with that!Zachary's is awesome for breakfast! Try the Tofu Scramble... it's better than the regular egg scramble and I'm not even a huge tofu fan.There are also several restaurants on the wharf that are great if you like seafood. Try Miramar, Stagnaro Bros, or Olitas.

mrs.moosie

My #1 rec in Santa Cruz is Marianne's ice cream on Ocean Street. My Huz and I try to make a stop there when we're in the area. I love the macapuno ice cream. The Horchata flavor is really good too! ETA: I hope you have an awesome time!

Irchik22

Karma are you looking for night life? No clubs exist in SC but some pretty fun bars (I went to school at UCSC), we visited the Red Room pretty often. Go to Pacific st. its like the downtown of SC and you can always see some crazy stuff going on. Being broke students we never really ate out, so can't be much help.Check out the boardwalk...some of the old ride there are kinda interesting.The ice cream shop mentioned earlier is actually located in the downtown area on pacific st not ocean (unless they opened one on ocean in the last 2 years).

jackelbride

Marianne's was on Ocean St when I lived in SC back in 2003/2004. It's there... red building next to the grog shop.

Irchik22

Am I confused then? The main street downtown is called Pacific right?

karma007

You guys are awesome, thank you so much! Looks like my dog sitter fell through (stupid dog), but I may try to reschedule for September. I'm am printing these posts out to hang on to- again, thanks!

Irchik22

Go to Mendocino, they are an extremely dog friendly city and have dog friendly hotels and places to go and you can all go on vacation as a family :-)

jackelbride

Pacific is downtown... but Marini's is there. They do serve Marianne's ice cream but it's more of a candy shop. And it's not the actual Marianne's, which is on Ocean.

karma007

Oooh! Mendocino! I didn't think of that- I'm on it!

hmschults

I have lived in santa cruz my whole life..Mariannes is a must..definetly has always been and still is on Ocean Street. There really are alot of yummy restraunts! Micheals on Main is our favorite! if you ever are in the area give it a try! I know that some Hotels are dog friendly and if you eat outside some restruants will let you bring your dog..can't think of any off the top of my head..Hope your weekend was good even without the Daycation