Chocolate the Restaurant

4.7

82 Reviews

$31 to $50

Californian

Make a booking

2 people

4 Dec 2024

19:00

Booked 7 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 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Phone number
(831) 427-9900
Website
http://www.chocolatesantacruz.com/
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

Location
1522 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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
Dog Friendly, Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining

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

4.6Food
4.5Service
4.4Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Diners' Choice Awards

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 romantic and artistic setting with unique, delicious dishes that cater to gluten-free and vegetarian preferences. Guests rave about the "great staff" and "amazing desserts." Highlights include the Oaxacan mole, chocolate coconut rum martini, and an impressive cocktail menu. Frequent visitors "can't recommend it enough."

273 Reviews

K
Kathy
San Francisco
8 reviews
4.0
8 reviews
Dined on 13 November 2024
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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R
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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S
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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s
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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A
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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j
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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L
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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K
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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S
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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L
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

4 Dec 2024

19:00

Booked 7 times today

1522 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Additional information

Cross Street
Cooper Street
Area
Santa Cruz
Hours of Operation
Dinner Daily 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
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
Dog Friendly, Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining

Website
http://www.chocolatesantacruz.com/
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

Chocolate the Restaurant

Make a booking

Additional information

Menu

What 82 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Diners' Choice Awards

Review summary

FAQs

How is Chocolate the Restaurant restaurant rated?

Is Chocolate the Restaurant currently accepting bookings?

Make a booking

Additional information