El Palomar - Santa Cruz

4.1 (105)

$30 and under

Mexican

1336 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

About this restaurant

Join us for lunch, dinner, weekend brunch or our weekday happy hour specials. Since El Palomar's opening in 1983, Jose and Amelia Espinoza have been serving Santa Cruz unique and fresh Mexican cuisine inspired by authentic family recipes. Our commitment to excellence has continuously earned El Palomar the award of "Best Mexican Restaurant in Santa Cruz." El Palomar boasts a full bar with an extensive, hand-picked tequila selection. Join us every Monday through Friday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm for happy hour specials on our house margaritas and 100% agave margaritas. You can also enjoy our beer on tap. We also feature a Taco Bar for those on the go, as well as banquet and catering services to bring the experience to any event or location. Order online today!

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mexican
Hours of Operation
Mon–Thu 11:30–20:30 Fri 11:30–21:30 Sat 11:00–21:30 Sun 11:00–20:30
Phone number
(831) 425-7575
Website
https://elpalomarsantacruz.com/?y_source=1_MTQ2OTg4NTAtODYwLWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D
Payment Options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Business Casual
Catering
We offer on-site catering services featuring a taco bar complete with handmade tortillas made to order at event, as well as a buffet option featuring an array of our most popular and signature dishes. Please inquire with manager for more details. (Note: Our catering services are for a minimum of 50 guests only.)<br />We also offer many of our menu items in large to-go portions to create your own event at home, please contact us for more info.
Private party facilities
We can accommodate up to 35 guests for a seated event and up to 55 guests for an appetizer/cocktail event. Please inquire with manager via email or restaurant's reservation phone for more details.

Location
1336 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Area
Santa Cruz
Cross street
Soquel Avenue
Parking Details
Public garage located at Soquel/Front
Additional
Banquet, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Private Room, Takeaway, Weekend Brunch

Nachos
Beans & Cheese *Not servd with rice and beans*
Burrito
Filled with beans and cheese
Quesadilla
Jack & cheddar cheese filled flour tortilla
Taquitos
Rolled crispy corn tortillas filled with your choice of shredded beef or chicken, served with sour cream & shredded cheese
Taco
Soft or crispy corn tortilla with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and your choice of shredded beef or chicken
Enchilada
Choice of shredded chicken or cheese
Fajita Strips
Grilled strips of chicken breast or carne asada
Upgrade your filling!USD 7.00
Carne asada OR chicken breast + $2.50 Shredded chicken OR shredded beef + $2.00

Drinks

Nino Tropical
Blended strawberry smoothie
Kid size drinks
Milk, chocolate milk, lemonade, juice, sodas, Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers OR Horchata

Reviews

OpenTable reviews from verified diners

Reviews from people who have dined at El Palomar - Santa Cruz.

4.1

(105)

4.1Food
4.1Service
3.9Ambience

Noise • Energetic

105 Reviews

SC
SantaCruzie
Vancouver / British Columbia2 reviews
4.0
Dined on 22 June 2015
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
The restaurant is dark for dinner (had a hard time reading the menu) so it's perfect for couples. The bar is brighter with skylights and lots of young people and drink specials. Also great for lunch - good specials and fresh Mexican fare.
Is this helpful?
TR
TassiR Gold
Los Angeles14 reviews
3.0
Dined on 14 June 2015
1. Overall 3
2. Food 5
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 1
The food was great! The problem we had was with the seating staff and the waiter. First, they refused to seat us, then they changed their mind. And mind you, the restaurant was almost completely empty. Once we got seated, the waitress was kind of in lala land. She was nice, but did not cater to our needs. Instead, the bus boy was more attentive, providing us with refills and more chips and salsa.
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AH
AHTONY
San Francisco Bay Area3 reviews
4.0
Dined on 20 April 2015
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Carne asada melt in your mouth delicious. Beans blah.
Is this helpful?
OT
OpenTable Diner
Utah9 reviews
4.0
Dined on 3 April 2015
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 3
The restaurant has quite large servings. We ordered chips salsa and guacamole and by the time the food had arrived everyone was already full. Other than that it was great! Their special pork tamales are delicious.
Is this helpful?
C
Crc2
California Central Coast3 reviews
4.0
Dined on 19 January 2015
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Good food and good service. Try to make it on Friday if you can, it's the only day you can score carnitas mmmmmmm. Decent cocktails also :)
1 person found this helpful
OT
OpenTable Diner Gold
San Francisco Bay Area29 reviews
3.0
Dined on 30 December 2014
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 2
It's down town Santa Cruz; not Palm Springs. Don't expect much and you'll be happy. It's walking distance from the movie house; that's the "Great" thing. If you have time drive to the wharf's pier where they're better restaurants.
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M
Madam1
San Francisco Bay Area2 reviews
3.0
Dined on 20 October 2014
1. Overall 3
2. Food 2
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
We were shocked to see the new menu at this Santa Cruz staple. $18 for my burrito and they no longer include the delicious tortillas they're famous for. Way too expensive for Mexican food. Sorry Palomar this is our last time eating at your far too overpriced restaurant.
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CK
CKP59 Gold
San Francisco Bay Area51 reviews
4.0
Dined on 13 October 2014
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
Restaurant is in the lobby of the El Palomar Hotel. Beautiful old building, very casual feel. Everything we tried was excellent. My wife is a cook and comes from a Mexican family. She was pleased so I think others will be, too.
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S
Steven
Palm Springs / Palm Desert Cities40 reviews
4.0
Dined on 19 September 2014
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
El Palomar offer bedsides the standard Tex/Mex menu of most Mexican restaurants, a varied and imaginative offerings of well prepared, tasty dishes.
Is this helpful?
S
Stephanie
Sacramento / Sacramento Valley5 reviews
4.0
Dined on 11 August 2014
1. Overall 4
2. Food 3
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
We arrived at the specified time and were seated promptly. Our hostess dropped by the menus, telling us someone would be by later, the chips and salsa were dropped by promptly, some time passed 5-8 mins. before our waitress was free to stop by. She took our drink order, we also requested water for the table. The bar drinks came by first eventually the water arrived, this was finished quickly as it had been a hot day, waited a long time for refills of water, after our meal arrived. The food was tasty but cool. We said nothing as time on the metered parking was ticking. All in all, more wait staff would be useful as well as more service staff. The cook should take the temperature of each dish they send out. We did have a nice visit.
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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Mexican
Hours of Operation
Mon–Thu 11:30–20:30 Fri 11:30–21:30 Sat 11:00–21:30 Sun 11:00–20:30
Phone number
(831) 425-7575
Website
https://elpalomarsantacruz.com/?y_source=1_MTQ2OTg4NTAtODYwLWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D
Payment Options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Business Casual
Catering
We offer on-site catering services featuring a taco bar complete with handmade tortillas made to order at event, as well as a buffet option featuring an array of our most popular and signature dishes. Please inquire with manager for more details. (Note: Our catering services are for a minimum of 50 guests only.)<br />We also offer many of our menu items in large to-go portions to create your own event at home, please contact us for more info.
Private party facilities
We can accommodate up to 35 guests for a seated event and up to 55 guests for an appetizer/cocktail event. Please inquire with manager via email or restaurant's reservation phone for more details.

Location
1336 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Area
Santa Cruz
Cross street
Soquel Avenue
Parking Details
Public garage located at Soquel/Front
Additional
Banquet, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Private Room, Takeaway, Weekend Brunch

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

El Palomar - Santa Cruz

About this restaurant

Not available on OpenTable

There’s more to explore

Additional information

Food

Nachos

Burrito

Quesadilla

Taquitos

Taco

Enchilada

Fajita Strips

Upgrade your filling!USD 7.00

Drinks

Nino Tropical

Kid size drinks

Additional information

Not available on OpenTable