Hula's Island Grill

This is a themed eatery which serves pretty cocktails, and great food! With low-light lamps, it is perpetually dusk here. There are tribal patterns and pop art giving the place an identity. The spicy edamame was interesting, and the jawaiiwan jerk was smoky and juicy. The chicken was grilled to perfection. The blackened wasabi barramundi was perfectly pungent. The servers are knowledgeable and friendly.

This place was buzzing with action. Really cool atmosphere. Great service, great food. The people at the bar were having a really good time,lol. Great little find in a great little town.

Consistently delicious! Long overdue review on one of our favorite spots in Santa Cruz. Great staff. Delicious food and cocktails. My kids love the vibe inside. Great spot!

It was finally a beautiful day in Santa Cruz CA so after walking on the wharf we went downtown to our favorite restaurant, Hula's Island Grille. Amazing decore, and the food is fresh and oh so tasty. We had their famous burger with avocado, bacon, pineapple and jack cheese slathered with their special sauce. You will want more secret sauce for dipping...their hand cut fries are crunchy on the outside and cream on the inside. The tofu salad was a nice choice for those picky eaters, as is the wonderful Caesar salad with chicken or shrimp. Everything that came to the table was beautifully plated and we could not wait to dig in. Put this on your list the next time you are in the Santa Cruz CA area.

One of the best restaurants in the greater Bay Area. I came here after reading excellent recommendations from online articles and I was absolutely impressed. This Hawaiian/Island themed restaurant serves a variety of high quality plates, appetizers, and cocktails. Some of the best food we’ve had and the original Mai Tai was unlike any I’ve ever had.

We were especially impressed with the ambiance of the entire place. It’s laid out in a consistent island theme. There is indoor seating, outdoor seating, and hybrid window covered seating which was really nice.

The food came out very quickly and was delicious. Everything tastes like they put a ton of care into it. The service was also excellent. Everyone was friendly to me and kindly explained to me their best items which I eventually ordered.

This place is worth driving from the Bay Area to visit, or definitely come here after a day on the beach. You will not regret it.

We decided to try hulas located in Santa Cruz, super cute place located in downtown, small restaurant but super cozy, we showed up there around 5 and they were pretty much all full, but luckily they had 1 table open! I recommend making reservations for this place, their menu is pretty similar to the one in Monterey, they have vegan/vegetarian and gluten free menu, will definitely be back

Yummy food!

This restaurant is really cute and Definitely have some Hawaiian vibes in it.

Our experience was excellent. We got seated right away, staff are very friendly and welcoming. Our food was delicious and no complaints at all. We both ordered fish and both dishes were excellent.

If you venture out in downtown Santa Cruz this place is worth checking out.

Everything was delicious! A good and delicious portion of ceviche, enough to try for two people. I liked passion fruit Margarita, it was really good.

Only stopped in for a cocktail this time. The Muay Thai was great. Bartender was awesome, super friendly. Last time we were in town we had food and it was great! Very fresh and tasty. Fun atmosphere to have a cocktail or a casual bite to eat.

This is one of my favs in Santa Cruz! Love the tiki theme and the food is always great, the ceviche is my fav! Fun for cocktails at night or to stop in for a bite on the way through town. Wings had a nice spicy curry flavor and the pulled pork was tender and flavorful!

My wife and I ate here tonight and were very pleased. I ordered the spicy Thai chicken bowl, which was delicious and packed full of flavor. My wife had the veggie burger, which was also good. To drink, I had a Summer on the Porch, which was very good and a unique way to have a bourbon cocktail. I would definitely return here!

I placed an order for some beverages, dessert, kale salad, spring rolls, edamame, coconut shrimp rolls, poke bowl, and fish tacos. Everything was delicious, the service was excellent, and the food arrived promptly. My kids complained that the poke bowl's flavor and taste had been affected by the excessive amount of lime or lemon juice. I will most certainly return because the cocktails were delicious.

We love this place. Every time we are in Santa Cruz, we make a point to stop for lunch and drinks. The staff is always professional and very friendly and can’t say enough about the food. Fresh fish and many vegetarian and gluten-free items.

Wonderful meal for New Year's Day! Impressed by the Hawaiian atmosphere, we walked in to an early dinner and found amazing dishes on happy hour menu - Mac and cheese, spicy edamame, and Hawaiian ceviche - all super flavorful and delicious. Also had the fish sandwich with house-cut fries - cooked beautifully. After all these for two people, we luckily still had room to try dessert and the pie with macadamia nut ice cream and Oreo base is a perfect finish. Would visit again and again! Thank you for opening on New Year's Day...

Ordered the fish tacos, kale salad, spring rolls, edamame, coconut shrimp rolls, poke bowl, dessert and some cocktails. Everything was very tasty, service was great and food was brought out quickly. My kids felt like the poke bowl had too much lime or lemon juice, they said it messed up the flavor/taste for them. The cocktails were tasty and I will definitely go back

Really impressive drinks and food with bold flavors. Highly recommend the painkiller cocktail, seared ahi tuna wontons and Jawaiin jerk pork plate.

Great food and drink options on an extensive menu. The scorpion bowl is a great shared drink and the French fries are addicting

This is on a Wednesday, late lunch with only one other party inside. We were super hungry and visiting the pier.

To share we ordered: large house cut fries, large sweet potato fries and a large Caesar salad - all delicious! Bro got the Ahi Katsu tacos - they come seared, he said they were good! I got the fish tacos and instead of rice and beans got it with arugula salad and a lemon vinaigrette - super delicious dish! Mom got the fish soup and lemme tell you that was delicious too - chunks of fish, udon swimming in a coconut and lemon grass milky soup! The lady waitress was cool and brought our little girl a lei! Awesome delicious lunch!

Join the Happy Hour so you could get the best value for the BEST food in Santa Cruz.
Everything was exquisite, I'm unable to fully express my excitement for this establishment. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ps. Get the Kalbi ribs 🤤

Great spot for dinner! We were quickly seated and our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable. Drinks were fast, and the order was taken shortly after we sat down. Food came out quickly, looked great and smelled wonderful. Excellent options for food and the decor was really cute! Definitely visit again next time we are in the area.