Chocolate the Restaurant

4.6

86 Reviews

$31 to $50

Californian

Make a reservation

2 people

Dec 25, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

Great for outdoor dining
Neighborhood 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
Neighborhood
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 86 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

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

4.6

4.6 based on recent ratings

4.5Food
4.5Service
4.4Ambience
4.3Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos
Best Overall
Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos
Best Value
Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos
Innovative
Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos
Neighborhood gem
Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos
Great for outdoor dining

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."

277 Reviews

C
Christine
San Francisco
12 reviews
4.0
12 reviews
Dined 1 day ago
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 5
Pasta Rosettes, pasta w bolognese sauce, pork mole, all desserts were delicious. Chicken parm was a little dry and chicken soup was ok. Service was slow and one of our orders came late but all of our servers were nice, attentive and kept water for the table coming.
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C
Camille
San Francisco
1 review
3.0
1 review
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
The food was OK but they were out of 2 of the 3 entrees we wanted to order. One pasta dish was in a pool of vinaigrette, perhaps spilled from the salad? The server brought out one drink right away but when I asked a few minutes later about my glass of wine, the server said he was waiting for the barista to come back from break (?). And restaurant customers must use a restroom in the bookstore next door, which seems awkward. Overall not a great experience.
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C
Christine
San Francisco
18 reviews
5.0
18 reviews
Dined on December 16, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
The roasted pork in a wonderful chocolate/orange sauce is soooooo delicious! The hot chocolate drinks make a great dessert… no need for more dessert as each hot chocolate comes with a lady finger swamped with whip cream. I especially liked the Frida hot chocolate.
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K
Kaitlin
San Francisco
2 reviews
3.0
2 reviews
Dined on December 8, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Everything we ordered was fine, but the food was kind of mediocre for the price. The menu didn't have a lot of main menu options in comparison to dessert options, so it seems like our mistake was probably that we came for a meal when it might really be a dessert place. The hot chocolate we got was good, but nothing special. My expectations were higher for a place named Chocolate.
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K
Kathy
San Francisco
8 reviews
4.0
8 reviews
Dined on November 13, 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 November 3, 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 November 2, 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
VIP
San Francisco
11 reviews
5.0
11 reviews
Dined on October 19, 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 October 14, 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 October 13, 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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FAQs

Chocolate the Restaurant is rated 4.6 stars by 86 OpenTable diners.

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

Make a reservation

2 people

Dec 25, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

1522 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Additional information

Cross street
Cooper Street
Neighborhood
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
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

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 reservation

Additional information

Menu

What 86 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is Chocolate the Restaurant restaurant rated?

Is Chocolate the Restaurant currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information