East End Gastropub

The elote-spiced chicken wings were crisp with lots of flavor, the special of the day provided tender, flavorful meat with an amazing savory baked bread pudding-style side, and both the espresso martini and peanut-chocolate dessert were perfect.

One of our favorite spots! Love the menu - I am pescatarian and it has great seafood/vegetarian dishes as well as various options for my husband who definitely eats meat! He loves the pork boa buns and recently had the fried chicken which he loved.

We typically sit at the bar and get great service but when they are busy and if we sit at a table we notice its a bit slower.

When we first walked in and saw the menu prices as we're being seated, I'm not gonna lie -- we both were wondering if we should politely apologize and get up and leave. But that feels too awkward and the people were REALLY friendly and attentive so we didn't get a chance to discuss it. But with Happy Hour pricing, 4 people ate & drank for just under $50 ($47.96, not including tip).

The price value was on point because the pizzas we chose to order may look plain but were very good -- very tasty! The happy hour pepperoni was only $10 and our Salame Rosa pizza had a bechamel sauce that was indeed tasty.
They kept our drinks refilled without even having to ask -- and I personally was THIRSTY on a travel day.

The design of the place was quite unique with interesting stylistic accent pieces (enough that I even took some pics of some of them).

Bathrooms were located at the back of the lower section, under the balcony area and were very clean.

Would definitely recommend trying this place out!

If you want a place to go in Santa Cruz that’s consistent this is your place. The customer service is always friendly and welcoming. The food is always great and full of flavor and the atmosphere is always fun with good jams on. This is our go to place! Consistency anywhere but especially in Santa Cruz for food and service is hard to find.

Holy mackerel was this good! The chili chicken wings, house salad, and grilled oysters were well worth the price, delicious, and generously portioned.

-Dont shoot the grilled oysters. There's a lot of delicious butter but it'll overwhelm the palate. Just fork out the oyster instead and sip the butter of you really want.

- One of the best salads I've ever had. Incredibly generously portioned, every bite is different. Ask for pumpkin brittle extra on the side, I've never had anything else quite like it and it makes a phenomenal dessert.

Plus great service despite a busy house. Overall awesome!

This is quite a gem out of no where. That food was amazing. The staff were excellent...
Definitely recommend the Bianca pizza, I had some garlic and Corn add additional and it's so damn brilliant... Definitely will visit again.

Amazing. One of the two best fried chicken I've had in town! The brunch was all perfect. They made these strawberry cakes that were caramelized on the outside perfectly. The eggs were cooked perfectly. Their fried potatoes were crispy. I love coming here! Oh and the mimosas were priced well!! We will be back, very soon!

Great food and great service! Lots of vegetarian options. Easy parking and easy to find the restaurant. Definitely a hidden gem.

The watermelon salad was excellent! One of the most unique salads I’ve ever tasted! I also ordered a side of cornbread. For $8 I expected more than one thick slice of cornbread… until I took a bite. Best I’ve ever had! I’d gladly pay $8 again for one slice of that cornbread!
Service was good, but not outstanding. My salad arrived before my silverware. Having spent 10 years of my youth as a server in different fine dining restaurants, and the daughter of a chef, attention to detail matters to me. But back to the watermelon salad: it was a visual work of art as well as a complete palate pleaser! Go try it before it is rotated off their fabulous seasonal menu! Cheers!

Sneaky best happy hour in town! Always great service, food is modern and yummy, plus great cocktails. One of the best restaurants on the East Side for sure.

Really great meal! Staff was friendly. Outdoor seating available that's dog friendly!

The only thing I would mention is that they should add veggies to their plate to make it more well rounded but great anyway.

Walked in and was immediately surprised by the design of this unique spot. Gave me very eclectic NYC soho feel . Staff was kind and friendly. Wasn't a long wait, the food was great. Great for a date, drinks and catch up!!!

Can't wait to go back and try brunch.

The Lunch menu was very good I had the East End Eggs Benedict and they had a choice of avocado or Pepper pastrami I tried the pepper pastrami which turned out to be very good well prepared other than the home fries being a little too salty for my taste My wife had the Banh mi which looked very tasty and my nephew who I was with had the Nick’s should be famous Fried chicken which looked extremely tasty and I have to order that if they ever come back to brunch here again I had a very enjoyable dining experience There plus the service as very professional

Such a fun place. They've made the best of the space they have, part of the restaurant is upstairs. That's probably the only downside, if you don't like stairs or like for us another customer comes in doused in cologne, since there's such few tables upstairs, you will be smelling it. Vs downstairs the tables are really close together but because of the high ceilings it wouldn't have been so bad. Also for everyone reading this, please don't douse yourself in cologne or perfume but especially if you're going out to eat. People don't want to smell that and eat. So we had to leave early because it was so bad and that was unfortunate because the food was amazing and the service was so kind and intuitive. We had their burger that was a special during burger week and it was unbelievable. The fries were super delicious too. Someone a couple tables over ordered a pizza during the happy hour time. I believe it was $10 so when I saw this giant pizza they brought them I was floored! Definitely a great deal. Dinner entrees are fairly priced for the environment they are bringing and would be fun to try. Check them out if you haven't!

Amazing Brunch , lots to choose from also mimosa by the bottle . The breakfast burger is great !

5 stars specifically for the amazingly delicious East End Burger! Absolutely divine. Huge, juicy, perfectly cooked, dressed simply with lettuce, onion, and house sauce. I recommend adding the bacon. The best burger in Santa Cruz, even better than the also delicious burger at the West End Tap. Accompanying fries are very good. Seriously, order the burger.

As for the other details: cozy space, huge beer selection, overall hipster vibe, kind of pricey (burger is worth it). Located in a shopping complex near the Capitola Cinelux theater, making it the perfect date night stop. Recommended!

Came here while on a business trip to Capitola. Seems quiet from the outside, but inside place was completely full. Great pizzas, apps and brews. Grab yourself a Socks and Sandals from Humble Sea and your favorite app and just enjoy. Had the shrimp app, salad and a pepperoni pizza. So good!

Excellent service, great vibe! Upstairs was packed but surprisingly quiet! We had a variety of dishes and loved them all 😋

Excellent food, great service and good craft beers. One of the best burgers I've had in a while. The empty plate tells the story!!!

Great environment to eat at. The restraunt looks like a downtown high rise loft, and it goes further with their home made foods and homey feeling kitchen. It just feels and tastes home made, which to me is a good thing. Definitely does not at all feel or taste "generic" or food chain like. I tried one of the craft sodas, not my thing, but just adds to the unique style that you should expect. I ordered the Spaghetti and Meatball and I got to say, as a thin spaghetti lover, thick noodles are the only way I will accept my spaghetti now. Just amazing flavor and the texture just meshes so well that I am flabbergasted more restaurants don't use thick boi noodles in their spaghetti. The meatballs were good and ginormous. I wasn't a huge fan of them, but they have a good taste to them, and the sauce just makes it that much better. Tables inside are nicely spaced and it felt like they are doing well keeping up with covid standards. Wish I would have ordered some spaghetti to go, it was that good. You could share it, but I was able to finish the whole thing and I'm not the biggest eater. All and all, a wonderful dining experience and I would happily come back and try their burger, my friend ordered it and it looked AMAZING. Carmalized onions is the only true way to eat a burger.