Makai Restaurant

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Makai Restaurant Voted Best Restaurant in Santa Cruz, 2024, Sentinel Readers Choice. We are the fully immersive tiki paradise on the Santa Cruz Wharf!
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๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ญ? ๐ŸŒŠโฃโฃโฃโฃYou're out on the bay, sails up, October light turning gold. You look toward the wha...
10/08/2026

๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ญ? ๐ŸŒŠโฃโฃ
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You're out on the bay, sails up, October light turning gold. You look toward the wharf. Through that window, you see a table. Food on it. Someone sitting there. You think you're looking at the person. You're not. You're looking at the food. โฃโฃ
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๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ž?โฃโฃ
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A boat drifts past the window. Someone on it is looking in. You think they're looking at you. They're not. You look down at the lumpia. The dinuguan. The Golden Ratio is cold in your hand. You look back up at the boat. You look back down at the food. You order another. โฃโฃ
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๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐š๐๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐จ๐?โฃโฃ
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You folded the lumpia the way it's supposed to be folded. Watched it go golden. Watched the plate go to the table by the window. You watch the person at the table look up at the boat. You watch the boat look back at the table. You already know what happens next. You're already folding another one. โฃโฃ
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Three people. Three different views. All roads lead to the same place. โฃโฃ
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October at Makai. The food is the whole story. Come find your window. ๐ŸŒด๐ŸŒŠโฃโฃ
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๐ŸŒบ ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ช ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข ๐˜Š๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ป ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ง!โฃโฃ
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๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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Something Wicked This Way Cooks. ๐ŸŒ™โฃโฃOctober at Makai is here. Consider yourself bewitched. โฃโฃThis month we're going deep...
10/02/2026

Something Wicked This Way Cooks. ๐ŸŒ™โฃ
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October at Makai is here. Consider yourself bewitched. โฃ
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This month we're going deep into Filipino culinary tradition. Hawaii and Beyond in every sense. โฃ
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๐•๐ž๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ž ๐‹๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐š $17โฃ
Mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, carrots, red onion, and cilantro, hand-folded in a traditional lumpia wrapper, sealed with egg wash, deep-fried until golden, and served with banana ketchup. Crispy, bright, completely addictive. ๐ŸŒฟโฃ
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๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐š๐ง $27โฃ
Pork belly slow-cooked with rice w**e vinegar, fish sauce, jalapeรฑos, brown sugar, onion, garlic, ginger, and tamarind paste. In true Dinuguan tradition and in the spirit of the season, a touch of pork blood gives this stew its depth and haunting richness. Served with garlic fried rice. Order it. Trust it. Come back for it. โฃ๐Ÿซ™
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Behind the bar, the dead have risen. Four legendary cocktails, retired and mourned, back at $15 each. You asked for them. Here they are. ๐Ÿฅƒโฃ
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๐ƒ๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ $15โฃ
Armagnac, Planteray 3 Star rum, Licor 43, lime, white grapefruit, passionfruit syrup, orgeat, Peychaud's bitters. The one that made you feel slightly aristocratic and completely alive.โฃ ๐ŸŽฉ
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๐†๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ž๐ง ๐‘๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ $15โฃ
Coruba rum, The Funk rum, raspberry gum syrup, blood orange super juice, orgeat, cinnamon demerara, passionfruit syrup. The math always worked. Still does.โฃ ๐ŸŒ€โš“๏ธ
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๐‹๐š๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐›๐›๐ž๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ $15โฃ
Tiki bitters, Bulleit Bourbon, amaretto, Trader Vic's macadamia nut liqueur, cinnamon demerara, lemon, pineapple, lime. The one that made landlubbers feel like they'd earned their sea legs.โฃ โš“๏ธ
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๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ง๐ณ๐ž๐ซ $15โฃ
Lemon Hart 1804, St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, JDT Velvet Falernum, Coco Lopez, cinnamon demerara, lime. Australian for outstanding. Still is.โฃ ๐Ÿค™
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No tricks. All treat. Santa Cruz Wharf. ๐ŸŒŠ๐ŸŒด

๐ŸŒบ ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ช ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ข ๐˜Š๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ป ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ง!

๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ

Today and tomorrow. That's it. ๐ŸŒŠโฃโฃ๐’๐’๐’๐’๐’๐ˆ๐™๐™๐‹๐„. ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ Grilled Cheese hits the press, salsa macha pulled p...
09/29/2026

Today and tomorrow. That's it. ๐ŸŒŠโฃ
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๐’๐’๐’๐’๐’๐ˆ๐™๐™๐‹๐„. ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ Grilled Cheese hits the press, salsa macha pulled pork tearing through rum poached pear, caramelized onion, wilted arugula, and pepper jack, pressed into 3/4" sourdough until the whole thing goes golden and absolutely feral. Stuffed beefsteak tomato bisque on the side. ๐’๐‹๐”๐‘๐‘๐‘๐‘๐.โฃ
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๐‚๐‘๐”๐๐‚๐‡. ๐‚๐‘๐”๐๐‚๐‡. ๐‚๐‘๐”๐๐‚๐‡. ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐‚๐ฎ๐ญ ๐‰๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฆ๐š ๐“๐ž๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ,thick, hot, battered, relentless, with that tamarind Thai chili sauce that bites back. You know what that sounds like. Go get it. โฃ
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๐†๐‹๐”๐†๐†๐‹๐”๐†๐†๐‹๐”๐†. ๐“๐ก๐ž ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐๐š๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ž, lime, pineapple, passionfruit, Licor 43, amaretto, Venus Gin, pouring golden and completely unapologetic into a glass that has an orchid on it because why not. Today and tomorrow.โฃ
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And the ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐š๐ฒ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐, three Caribbean traditions, one extraordinary glass, banana, vanilla, citrus on the nose, baking spices and toasted coconut on the finish. ๐Œ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ. You'll understand when you try it.โฃ
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Out there on the bay, people are still paddling. In here, the kitchen is still growling.โฃ
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Today. Tomorrow. Then ๐๐Ž๐Ž๐…! September closes the door on this menu.โฃ
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Get in here. Now. ๐‘๐€๐—ช๐‘. ๐ŸŒบ๐Ÿฅƒ

๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, Californiaโฃ
๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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Made from every summer sunset. โฃThe orange Mr. Makai is here. ๐ŸŒ…๐Ÿ’€๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | S...
09/25/2026

Made from every summer sunset. โฃ
The orange Mr. Makai is here. ๐ŸŒ…๐Ÿ’€

๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, Californiaโฃ
๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ

His jacket. His name. His place.โฃโฃIn the glass, Peter, the one who keeps the tiki torches lit.โฃโฃThanks to Angelica for f...
09/22/2026

His jacket. His name. His place.โฃ
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In the glass, Peter, the one who keeps the tiki torches lit.โฃ
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Thanks to Angelica for framing it for us.โฃ
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We miss you, El Viejo.

๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐›๐ž ๐š ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ญ! ๐Ÿฆ‰๐ŸŒบโฃโฃThe new specials at Makai come with a few surprises.โฃโฃ๐Ÿฅช ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ ๐†๐ซ...
09/18/2026

๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐›๐ž ๐š ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ญ! ๐Ÿฆ‰๐ŸŒบโฃ
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The new specials at Makai come with a few surprises.โฃ
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๐Ÿฅช ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ ๐†๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž starts with thick sourdough, pepper jack and salsa macha pulled pork, then slips in a rum-poached pear with caramelized onion and arugula. And the tomato soup? We put it inside a hollowed-out beefsteak tomato. Because dipping is half the point.โฃ
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๐ŸŒบ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐‚๐ฎ๐ญ ๐‰๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฆ๐š ๐“๐ž๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ are exactly what you want them to be: crisp jicama, hot golden tempura and house-made tamarind Thai chili sauce. ๐ƒ๐ข๐ฉ. ๐‚๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก. ๐Œ๐ž๐ž๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐›๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง.โฃ
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๐Ÿน ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐๐š๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ž got its name because sometimes you start mixing pineapple, passionfruit and lime with Venus Gin, Licor 43, amaretto and bittersโ€”and accidentally end up somewhere very good.โฃ
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๐Ÿฅƒ Then thereโ€™s ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐š๐ฒ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐, bringing together rums from Barbados, Martinique and Venezuela with citrus, banana, nutmeg, baking spice and toasted coconut. And if Holmes Cay gets you curious, take a look around the bar. ๐’๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐š๐ฒ ๐›๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž, ๐ญ๐จ๐จ.โฃ
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A little sweet. A little heat. Plenty of crunch. And September is tasting pretty good from here.โฃ
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September Specials at Makai | Santa ๐‚๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ซ๐Ÿโฃ
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๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, Californiaโฃ
๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ. ๐ˆ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ง ๐š ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐. ๐Ÿฅช๐Ÿ”ฅโฃโฃGrilled cheese has been an American comfort-food stapl...
09/15/2026

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž ๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ. ๐ˆ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ง ๐š ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐. ๐Ÿฅช๐Ÿ”ฅโฃ
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Grilled cheese has been an American comfort-food staple for generations: simple, warm, melty and deeply satisfying. Since then, weโ€™ve stuffed it with everything imaginable.โฃ
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Which brings us to Makai.โฃ
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Meet ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ ๐†๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž.โฃ
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Thick ๐Ÿ‘/๐Ÿ’-๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ก ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก loaded with ๐ฌ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ๐š ๐ฆ๐š๐œ๐ก๐š ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ค, ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ-๐ฉ๐จ๐š๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐ซ, ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ž๐ ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฉ๐ž๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฃ๐š๐œ๐ค, savory, sweet, spicy and gloriously rich.โฃ
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And because grilled cheese deserves tomato soup, we didn't forget it.โฃ
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We put the soup ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐จ. ๐Ÿ…โฃ
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A hollowed-out beefsteak tomato filled with warm tomato bisque is ready for that first glorious dip.โฃ
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It remembers why you loved grilled cheese in the first placeโ€”then gives your childhood favorite ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง-๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž.โฃ
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๐Ÿฅช ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ ๐†๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž | $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”โฃ
One of our September Specials at Makai.โฃ

๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, California
๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ

๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ ๐›๐ž๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐ข๐ญ. ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒดโฃโฃโฃโฃThat first little snap in the air. The light shifts. Summer is still here, but Sept...
09/01/2026

๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ ๐›๐ž๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐ข๐ญ. ๐Ÿ‚๐ŸŒดโฃโฃ
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That first little snap in the air. The light shifts. Summer is still here, but September arrives with a different kind of appetite, something crisp, something golden, something warm, with just enough spice to hint at whatโ€™s ahead.โฃโฃ
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At Makai, our ๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ live right in that delicious space between seasons.โฃโฃ
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๐ŸŒบ ๐’๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ค ๐‚๐ฎ๐ญ ๐‰๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฆ๐š ๐“๐ž๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐š ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ: Thick-cut, crisp jicama wrapped in golden tempura and fried fresh to order, with house-made tamarind Thai chili sauce for a sweet, tangy kick.โฃโฃ
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๐Ÿฅช ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‚๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ ๐†๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐‚๐ก๐ž๐ž๐ฌ๐ž: And we mean it. Salsa macha pulled pork, rum-poached pear, caramelized onion, wilted arugula, and pepper jack piled onto thick sourdough, paired with tomato bisque served inside a hollowed-out beefsteak tomato. Comfort food grew up, went somewhere tropical, and came back with stories.โฃโฃ
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๐Ÿน ๐€๐œ๐œ๐ข๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐๐š๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ž: Lime, pineapple, and passionfruit meet Angostura bitters, Licor 43, amaretto, and Venus Gin. Tropical and bright, with warmer notes underneath, and dressed for the occasion with pineapple and an orchid.โฃโฃ
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๐Ÿฅƒ ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฌ ๐‚๐š๐ฒ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐: Three great Caribbean rum traditions meet in one bottle, blending molasses and cane juice rums from Barbados, Martinique, and Venezuela. Citrus and banana lead into earthy mineral notes, nutmeg, baking spice, honey, and toasted coconut. 1 oz. pour | $6โฃโฃ
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Thereโ€™s an old rhythm to this time of year across cultures: the harvest, the gathering, the pleasure of abundance before the season turns. In Hawaiสปi, that spirit finds its fullest expression later in the Makahiki season, a time historically associated with harvest, peace, feasting, and gratitude.โฃโฃ
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Weโ€™re not quite there yet.โฃโฃ
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For now, September gets the beautiful part in between: ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ž, ๐›๐ฎ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐š๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐ ๐ฎ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ.โฃโฃ
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๐ŸŒŠ ๐’๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐š๐ญ ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐š๐ข ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Š๐ข๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ง & ๐†๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐’๐š๐ง๐ญ๐š ๐‚๐ซ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐—ช๐ก๐š๐ซ๐Ÿ.

๐Ÿ“ Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, California
๐Ÿคฉ Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
๐Ÿ˜€ Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โ‰๏ธ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PMโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
โฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃโฃ

Address

49A Municipal Wharf
Santa Cruz, CA
95060

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 8pm
Tuesday 11am - 8pm
Wednesday 11am - 9pm
Thursday 11am - 9pm
Friday 11am - 9pm
Saturday 11am - 9pm
Sunday 11am - 9pm

Telephone

+18314669766

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