LOOK. I was hungry (*'o'*) And I licked every plate clean (…read moreT - T) Every single dish tasted fresh, paired INTENTIONALLY with fragrant chutneys and curry sauces. THE SPICY MANGORITA had bits of pepper in it -- YKNOW SO ITS ACTUALLY SPICY sorry guys, i love spicy. The salad was so good, i went and bought a can of beetroots. don't ask me any questions. I am going to bring all my friends here. beach side indian dishes, with some great music playing. my heart is full and my belly is fuller.

One of my favorites in Santa Cruz. The Thali lunch platters are a great mix of items for a good…read moreprice. I enjoy the berry dressing on the salad and ending our meals with the kheer. Our favorites on the menu include mango lassi, lamb Malabar, chicken jalfrezy, and the butter chicken. The staff is friendly and so kind. Casual sit down restaurant.

Went here a few months ago and am still reminiscing about it…read more The store is welcoming and comfortable. The view of the ocean and boardwalk is super nice, and the outdoor seat in option was amazing since it was sunny out. I got the chicken tikka masala with garlic naan and basmati rice, and out of the many restaurants I've been to, this chicken tikka masala and naan was the best I've ever had. The spices were perfect, same with the chicken. Everything was just amazing. I could eat there forever. Literally loved it here. 100% recommend

A hop and a skip away from La Bahia Resort is this delicious Indian spot with both indoor and al…read morefresco dining. We didn't want to venture too far from our hotel and decided to eat here. No regrets. It was delicious and the service was outstanding. We got the tandoori wings (a little spicy) and the papadum (crispy lentil flat bread) for starters, and it came with a tray of dips (tamarind, mango, & mint) all delicious but I enjoyed the mango one the most... my husband loved the tamarind. They were out of a lot naan varities when we came, so we got the spinach and cheese since it was available - delicious! We also tried their chicken tikka masala and the butter chicken. It was a hearty and delicious dinner. Perfect to share among three hungry adults. The staff even treated us to some sweet indian rice pudding for dessert.

Four of us, all adults, visited Royal Taj India Cuisine in July, 2024, arriving as the first…read morecustomers at opening for their lunch buffet. Everyone in our group had a connection to Nepal and to a lesser extent India, whether through having been born there or having lived or traveled there extensively. By the time we finished, most of the restaurant was full, including with families. We were pleased to find an Indian buffet in Santa Cruz, and found many of our favorites on the buffet, including chicken tandoori, meat and veggie curries, basmati rice, daal (lentils), naan (bread), pakora (deep-fried fritters), raita (yogurt), salad, chutneys, and more. However, we all agreed that, while there was a good variety of food on the buffet and it was of acceptable taste, some of the curries were bland and watery, lacking the depth and complexity of spices usually found in Indian food. We wondered if the spiciness had been toned down for presumed American tastes? Some other reviewers also mentioned that the buffet included chai (warm sweet spiced milk tea); I'm disappointed to have missed this personal favorite! I forgot how much we paid for the buffet, but it seemed reasonable for the Santa Cruz area. The restaurant was bright, with a mix of tables (with white tablecloths) and booths. We didn't see too much of the staff, but they were helpful when called. The bathroom could use more attention. Parking was sufficient, easy to access, and free. The restaurant offers catering. We would return when next in Santa Cruz.

Me and my wife wanted to try an Indian restaurant but something affordable. Then, we reached out to…read morethe restaurant and they informed us that they have buffet going on till evening. We went there for buffet - all you can eat just for approx. $ 15*/person. It was a littlebit laid back place but we appreciated the hospitality, authentic food, a lot of options - Naan, Rice, Cauliflower with potatoes (Aloo Gobi), 3 varieties of Chicken curry, Pakoda (Fritters), Salad, Roasted Chicken, Lentil soup, desert - Gulab Jamun, Raita. We were amazed by their service. Extremely affordable! In my experience, this restaurant is the most affordable with lots of choices. Highly recommended!!!

If you have not had the opportunity of partaking the Sunday lunch buffet you are missing out on…read moresome wonderful culinary delights. Two in particular are the fish curry; beyond delicious, white fish bathed in a slightly mellow/yellow-sweet curry sauce--just scrumptious! Eggplant--who would have thought sitting at the end of the buffet table lightly breaded eggplant in I believe an egg batter, leaving a crunchy and soft mouthful of yumminess. This dining experience will leave you feeling all is right with the world. Excellent service coupled to a very clean dining area with piped in music.

we hung out here for solid 3 hrs and with 5 kids in various ages. Thanks to them for letting the…read moretired and hungry kids have fun in the empty restaurant. The place was not very busy when we reached at 6. I personally loved the huge Ganesha idol at the entrance. We will definitely recommend the butter chicken and tandoori roti. Our kid loved the lassi. Vegetarians in the group liked the main dishes but starters were a bit chewy. Sufficient parking around and restrooms were clean. If you are looking to get Indian food near capitola this a is a good option.

Surprised to find such amazing-tasting Indian food in Scotts Valley :-)…read more We were craving Indian food, and this place was near our hotel, so we had dinner on a weekday. The ambiance was nice, clean, and simple. We ordered the mixed chicken tandoori platter, which was so good and cooked in the tandoor oven, unlike other places in the Bay Area. You could taste the char and smoky flavor in the chicken. The naan was fresh and soft, and the curry was also good. Overall, the food was excellent. The service was friendly, and the price was reasonable. Definitely a must-visit Indian restaurant in the area.

Fantastic food with lot of vegetarian options…read more Highly recommend Paneer Tikka, Badami Baingan (star of the meal) and Palak Paneer. These pair nicely with Tandoori/Garlic Roti or Naan. Nice ambiance, quick service and plenty of parking.

We went there for Pana Venezuelan Food but ended up trying one of their soup Obe Ata -Ashake…read morepepper soup. Which is brown rice and roasted veggies. We asked them to make it spicy and we also requested for the other 2 soup, which they obliged and gave costco type sample. Obe Epa peanut stew was sweet and tasty. I will call it a dessert soup. Obe Egusi Pumpkin seed stew was also tasted good. But we think we made the right choice ordering the pepper based one, which was tangy, spicy and unique as this dishes are based on west african cusine. Roasted veggies and were all in right mix along with a surpise, it had big chunks of sweet potatoes. Which really heled to savor this dish even more as it cut through the spice and tanginess, beautiful addition. We will try their other items when we get a chance. Good call!

We rarely find peanut stew while out on our travels, so we were pretty stoked to see it here! We…read moreordered that and a side of the plantains. Both were excellent in flavor and quality, and very reasonably priced. Staff was friendly, too. This location is in a food court, which made it fun to grab a few items from other places, and then we sat and enjoyed the live music and people watching. Highly recommend!

I finally branched out to try something different than my beloved Indian platter and I was rewarded…read morewith another fantastic meal! Tried the fresh spring rolls, SO refreshing -- like a salad -- but with delicious and gluten-free peanut sauce. Loved it. Quite filling as the two rolls are chonky. Chased my rolls with an indulgent vegan GF lemon cake. Super lemony which is awesome. Dense and drier but so tasty, I don't mind a dense cake, actually. A huge hit! Will order both again!!! I took home the extra peanut sauce and used it on steamed potatoes, delicious. My father-in-law had a breakfast burrito which he took home half of, extra value, it's two meals. Hubby had the tofu scramble which was a bit dry, he added some of my peanut sauce to jazz it up. He wish he'd ordered his usual fave, the Bo Thai. But points for trying something new!

I come here because this is one of the last restaurants in Santa Cruz that I am trusting that their…read morefood sourcing is from holistic, healthy and sustainable outlets. The Chai here is the only house made Chai of quality in Santa Cruz. The prices here are a bit high for a working class budget, but you can understand that almost every meal you order here is good for 2 meals. The owners and employees are what you would expect from people that are serving healthy, soul and body enriching foods. Please continue supporting this Santa Cruz landmark!

Haven't been to this place for almost 8 years and good to see it's still here and doing well…read more Ownership may have changed in between as food quality seems to have gotten better. It's still a traditional Chinese restaurant with a very extensive menu of classic dishes. We had Singapore fried noodles, dry fried string beans, house special fried rice, scallion pancakes, sweet sesame balls and fried eggplant. All quite good, the sesame balls are smaller than the ones you might buy in Chinatown stores so more delicate - and you don't have to eat too much at a time. Only thing is the tea - we had jasmine but it's just one tea bag in a pot so there was almost no tea flavor at all let alone any jasmine fragrance. They could improve on that by at least give you 2-3 tea bags for the pot. Overall quite a decent Chinese restaurant in the area.

Horrible food! Do not order from the lunch specials menu. The soup was a gloppy mess with nothing…read morein it. The Hunan beef seemed to be fried leftover meat covered in a red colored sauce. The only edible thing on the plate was plain steamed rice. I saw several Chinese speaking customers eating lunch, but it looked like they were eating stuff I knew nothing about.

3.5 We got half and…read morehalf 2 marinara based veg pizzas, they are good when eaten hot at the location. unfortunately they had a mix up at the kitchen and we ended up waited for 45 min for one pizza. Avoid tater tots- cheesy tots were conceptually wrong and not pleasant to eat- they deep fried frozen tots probably and then baked with cheese which became very hard and not gooey. Good ambiance and plenty of tvs around to watch games. Friendly staff.

We were in Santa Cruz and just wanted to grab some pizza for lunch one day and found this place…read more tucked in a shopping center with trader joes, there was a shared parking lot that helps if you're coming here. There's plenty of seating and you order at the front and then get a buzzer. We got a couple pizzas, a salad and wings and it all came out pretty quickly. They also have a sauce bar and the pesto ranch/regular ranch is terrific. Some of the better ranches that I've had at a pizza place. The pizza was good, but the tucked crust, I will say is not for me. Got half and half wings, lemon pepper and honey bbq. The lemon pepper wings had a nice crisp and flavor, the honey bbq was eh. Couldn't taste much of either flavor. Overall though, I would come back and grab a pizza and watch some games.

I picked up lunch at this food kiosk on the boardwalk, which opened just earlier this year. There…read morewas no wait on a Saturday around noon, and service was efficient. They offer a pretty simple menu, and I love that you can build your own bowl, personalizing it with your preferred toppings and ingredients. I got the royal butter chicken, and though it was not drenched in sauce like many Indian eateries serve, there was no shortage of flavor and spice in this filling dish. I also liked that it came with both basmati rice and naan (I was given 4 pieces, though one piece was stiff and crispy, probably from sitting at the top of the pile inside the heated display case). This eatery is a nice option to have for a meal while enjoying waterfront views, ideal if you need a break from the typical carnival bites at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.