Restaurants near Mission Santa Cruz

Really great experience at Laili, we went for our anniversary and were both very pleased with the ambiance, food, and service. Even got a comp’ed chocolate tart for the occasion. Would eat there again for sure.

We come here nearly weekly since ~2022 (prior to that year too but during pandemic it was spotty - once pandemic subsided, nearly weekly from San Jose, CA to Santa Cruz CA). This place is great - regular attendees every week (37 mile one way from San Jose every Friday). That's big endorsement for their chocolate desserts (we usually get ectasy sundae and warm brownie cake, chocolate gelato, etc). Our go-to entree dishes are past rosettes, Oaxacan chicken mole, hand rolled fettuccine, roasted pork. We don't drink alcohol so can't speak to that.

Our dinner was OK! We were expecting something a bit different. It was not bad but it was disappointing that it was not more of a traditional Italian menu. My husband ordered the pork chop and thought it was very tasty. I got the butternut squash raviolis. They were a bit dry and could of used more flavor. The Caesar salad was just ok. Needed a bit more flavor. I know they have good reviews so we probably just ordered the wrong dishes. I would try them again some time.

Our party of 6 had an amazing Christmas Eve Dinner there, everything was spectacular and we will return someday soon !

My friend had the seafood pasta she had the gluten-free pasta which added two dollars to the service. I had the special which was a beef tenderloin tortellini style pasta with a creamy sauce, which was very good. My friend had the seafood pasta, she really enjoyed it. She thought it was an excellent value, and the flavor was very good. I like the overall feel of the restaurant. I like the fact you’re not freezing inside of it which it can be a problem with many restaurants in Santa Cruz. This restaurant was very warm and comfortable and we will definitely be back with friends.