Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery

I loved the ambience and decor of this restaurant and the service was great. However, we were freezing and had to go back to the car for our heavy coats. The food was OK but it was pretty bland and unimaginative for the prices we paid.

A restaurant on the Santa Cruz wharf. Unique spinning bar. Great service, but the food was sub par. Obviously for the tourists. We went off season. I thought they might have more seafood but no. I won’t be back.

I enjoyed the crabcake burger special and their Alfredo is on par with my own

It would be hard to recommend this restaurant, although nothing was terrible and some aspects were very good. The host and the servers were very friendly and kept checking back with us, and they gave my daughter a special birthday treat, but at the same time they seemed somewhat distracted and not altogether familiar with the menu. The food was hit or miss, with the soups (bacon clam chowder and artichoke) being real winners but with some of the other dishes (particularly the calamari) being very disappointing. The view is spectacular, and maybe it's a work in progress. If you're in the area and feeling lucky you might want to check it out, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

Good food...drinks and service!

Enjoyed the view from out table, massive window that over look the west cliff. They have a platform that rotates, which was pretty cool. Enjoyed the crab cakes, and cehieve as our apps. Michelle was our server and she was amazing. Would come again

Both of us enjoyed the food. It was quite delicious (Lobster roll and Grilled Salmon with fresh veges). Of course the view was beautiful I will most definitely go back.

The lobster roll is the best I’ve had period. And I have had some outstanding ones.

We went to Splash as part of the Santa Cruz restaurant week, and were glad we did. Jim ordered off the special menu and I ordered the Tuesday lobster roll special and all the dishes were yummy. The view is to die for as well, it wear your sunglasses as the late afternoon/early evening sun is very bright!

The food was ok but rather bland. The steak was very disappointing as it tasted cheap although it was cooked properly. This place is a tourist restaurant. The locals eat elsewhere.

The view can't be beat. The rest is just meh. It's the quintessential tourist trap.

The clam chowder was fantastic. The lobster roll sandwich, fries and coleslaw was the best!

Food was decent. Came at a good pace and hot. The waiter was efficient and cute.

The service was excellent, but the food was pretty bad.

Loved the oyster options. Shrimp ceviche was wonderful. Large portions even the kids meals. Service was excellent and very knowledgeable. We even had the unique opportunity to see whales from our window seating view. Definitely will go again.

Excellent dinner!

The dining room is not very inviting. Quite sterile. Needs warmth. The servers don’t wear a uniform and look sloppy. Tank tops are not appealing when serving food. The fish and chips were ok, pieces could have been larger. The coke slaw not flavorful and sweet potato fries over cooked.

We will not return.

This was our first time coming to this restaurant, and it exceeded our expectations. The food was all wonderful, and the service was honestly the best we’ve had. Our server, Jules, went above and beyond! He was extremely friendly, helpful and attentive. I’ve never had a server that was better. Ever. I will definitely be going back!!

This location is phenomenal, but we were not impressed with the food or service. The burger did not come with enough onions, and the salmon and salad were lack luster. The artichoke hearts were delicious. The service was poor because we ordered a drink and had to remind them several times, and in the end we just told them to cancel it because we were almost done with our meal. I think this new restaurant just needs to get its bearings.

Service was outstanding, everyone was very friendly and genuinely seemed to care about their roles. Food was fresh with some delicious salad choices, and of course had to try the Beyond Meat burger. No complaints. Also, the view from this restaurant can’t be beat. Thanks for the experience.

Very good dinner in a really original Place.
The Mahi Mahi was delicious

Nice ambiance but the food lacks flavor. The service and the view are good but the food isn't. The clam chowder was so bland (like eating paste). No clam taste. The fettuccine alfredo was also tasteless. The kitchen needs to inorporate herbs & spices into their food- salt, garlic, parsley, etc. Too pricey for being tasteless. Boardwalk food would have been better.

Loved the food, loved the service and loved the fact that you can view the seals through glass floor openings! Was overall a great experience!

The food is not that great and tastes as if a leftover. we ordered the salmon and the mahimahi plates which are $25 each and the plate comes with heated frozen vegetables and clumsy white rice and the fish is cooked without any flavors and it seems to be a frozen kind. I would go to a different seafood restaurant next time.

Very disappointed in the experience... had a reservation but wasn't needed as they weren't as crowded as I would've expected on a Friday evening. Even with a reservation on a not-so busy night didn't get a window seating. Service was incredibly slow. Food was mediocre at best. Worst calamari appetizer I have ever had.... bland and overdone... kind of like deep fried cardboard.

We love Splash. It's a great place to take out-of-town visitors. Get a table at the rotating bar for great views and the novelty of it. Friendly servers and a varied menu.

Good casual dining option. Very nice views of the water.

Cheesy and touristy.

Tuesday night for locals. Hot or cold lobster rolls. Service was efficient. Four of us ordered lobster rolls. Mine was lukewarm. A party of 20 diners occupied most of the servers and doubled the ambient noise. Dinner for four, one beer and one app plus tip was $120. Splash! has an extensive menu but dinner was a bust. Might try lunch after the tourists go home.

Such a nice surprise! We had amazing service, the food was very good, and cocktails perfect. Love the decor, bright, modern and fresh- staff was so nice and personable.

I’d never been to Santa Cruz but figured a Sat. Night in a beach city in July needed a reservation so used One Table -found Splash.
The seating we had was on a slowly rotating circle so our scenery including a lighthouse was kept constantly changing. It was very fun for such a location on a pier. We arrived an hour early but they were able to seat us after only 15 minute wait at the bar. They had several unusual beer choices which we enjoyed trying, as well as normal bar fare.
The entrees were delicious, I had lobster roll with butter, my husband had fish and chips. The ambiance and waiters were nice for the early evening, menu varied with tons of choices. Husband also had clam chowder that he said tasted so fresh.

Just OK. Asked to be seated near a window and none were available. Our seat was noisy and food was OK. Need to have a better choice of bread ours was cold and dry!

Great staff! Fun place to eat!

Overall, the restaurant was not very good. The clam chowder tasted as if it had come from a can and had a weird aftertaste. My wife didn't finish hers. I got the clams and fehttuchini... The sauce was very loose and not terribly flavorful. There were a lot of clams in the dish (good) and there was only one that wasn't open (I know better than to try and open it) but overall the dish was pretty blah. My wife got the fish and chips. She said it was the greasiest and fishiest tasting fish she'd had in a while. She ate it with as much ketchup as she could put on it.
The restaurant has not been updated since the 60's (or at least it looks that way). The turntable that the bar and most seating is on is constantly spinning, which is fine, I guess... We just weren't expecting it.
The service was ok. Nothing special. My biggest complaint was the price. For the same price, we had an AMAZING meal on Pier 39 in San Francisco. I would NOT recommend this restaurant for anyone who has any taste or understanding of what good food tastes like.

Very light and lively venue. Windows all around bringing sunlight and cheer into the space. The building itself is much older than the interior remodeling and the original concrete floors are uncovered leaving a rather degenerated vibe to an otherwise welcoming visual atmosphere. The furniture is very plain but, again, the light and brightness of the walls and the nautical ornamentation hanging from the ceiling make the place ... well - happy. Splash is meant to be casual and fun with food that just about everyone can enjoy. We had tacos. Mahai mahai for me and pork for my wife. They were very tasty and more than enough food. Wine was reasonably priced and the service was punctual and friendly. Lots of families enjoying the friendly vibe. We had a window seat. The water, the returning fishing boats, the party sail boats and the beginning of a Santa Cruz dusk made for the evening's entertainment. Pretty darn fun place. We'd go back again.

Service was good the noise level was moderate to loud do to young children around our table which was fine. We had dinner around 8:30pm and when the entrance door was left open either patrons leaving or coming in, it made it chilly and drafty. We had oysters Rockefeller which were AMAZING and friends had fish in chips that were good. Dry chocolate cake for dessert but overall the experience was nice.

The Young Lady Server DID NOT LIKE HISPANIC’s
We got there and ask her that we would start with Steam Clams and 1 Beer.. beer came other Food was brought, except her. She Totally ignore Us... no matter how much we tried to get a hold of her. We asked another server and he told her to no avail. We got up to pay and somebody else asked us what was wrong and he apologized and he would not charge us for the 2 BEERS. We only received one. Racism has no Place in the Restaurant Business, especially in Santa Cruz. We are driving down the coast and then some, hope this is the only worst Experience we have.

Bad service from hostess/waitress, the 2 guys who also waited on us were great. Food was terrible including cold garlic fries and mushy lobster pasta.

Such a great restaurant! Great view, amazing food and the service was fantastic. Favorite place to eat on the wharf.

Rotating bar and dining area is fun for changing scenery at sunset. Our waiter Jules really made the experience wonderful with good advice on dishes, prompt friendly service and great eye contact from across room to check on us. Made our birthday celebration warm and relaxed.