Address: | 514 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA |
Phone: | +1 831-458-3023 |
Rating: | 4.5 |
Working: | Closed 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM 5–9PM |
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Sam Weiser Novak
Sensational. My first dinner at Malabar: I had a psychadelic experience eating their Chang Mai squash raviolis with oyster mushrooms in red curry sauce. I felt tingling sensations flow through my body and a lightness overwhelmed my very being - I couldnt stop laughing, my table was (luckily) amused and laughed along. Since then I have returned about 8 times. Everything about this restaurant is great: I have yet to find a miss on the menu, and Ive brought every visiting friend and family member here and had them choose the meal; the ambiance is refreshing and light, not too formal but elegant and surprisingly intimate and quiet for its location on Front; I have been served by the owner a number of times and I find him to be hilarious along with accommodating and charming. Try the homemade ice cream made with young coconut meat. Treat yourself, enjoy life. Malabar is an expression of the universal truth and reflects the best parts of life on spaceship earth and our shared human experience. 10/10, my favorite restaurant ever.
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A Private User
To clarify, on the outside of the building, as you drive by, it says Asian Rose Cafe. But on the front door and menus it says Malabar Cafe. I asked the manager and he said "The Asian Rose Cafe is now closed, we decided to just keep the Malabar Cafe open". Anyway, I parked across the street in the parking lot and walked inside. I browsed the menu and decided on a 4-item lunch. I walked up to the cashier and told him what I wanted. The the waitress showed me to my seat. I really liked the tempeh la la but I liked all the items. The manager even brought me sampler for free, I love the pumpkin curry, excellent. To drink I had the Mediterranean Midnight (chocolate drink) it was fantastic, but I also liked the Persian Nights (pomegranate drink). The atmosphere was casual, and although the serves took a little longer, they were very friendly. The price was unbeatable, $15 for two drinks and a 4-item lunch. It instantly became one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants, and a new excuse to visit Santa Cruz.
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Stephanie Roles
I am not a vegetarian however my friend who showed me the place is. This is the best not only vegetarian restaurant food Ive had Id say its in my top 3 restaurants for its food that Ive ever been to. I live in Toronto and think about how much I would love this restaurant around the corner from my house. The decor is simple but I wouldnt want it any other way. The servers are all family member young and old and I also think that it is what makes this place so unique and special. My friend had been staying in Santa Cruz for over a week and ate here almost every evening. The server had great food knowledge and reccomendations (Son of the chef) and was absolutely lovely. He knew more about the food than most servers in upscale restaurants. The sauces, textures and dishes were so unique and outstanding... that says a lot coming from a picky meat-a-tarian in a veggetarian restaurant. Outstanding will definately come back on my next trip to California! Well Done!
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Jesse Reger
Literally the worst eating experience I have had. Awkward energy off the bat, the waiter was litterelly like a zombie and never smiled once, plus he walked outside to do God knows what every 5 minutes. They forgot our whole order, and brought us 2 wrong dishes even after that. Plus they were just grumpy about it the whole time. Then a group of customers came in that have eaten there before and the waiter was extremely nice to them?!! Super weird. Not to mention, every dish we had was sub par or just plane disgusting. This is coming from a vegan and a vegetarian, so its not like we arnt used to The style of food. DO NOT GO HERE.
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Mihir Meghani
An elegant and creative restaurant, featuring vegetarian and vegan cuisine of Sri Lanka and India (secondarily). The menu features a few traditional, but moreso unique dishes prepared with local ingredients. Drinks are also unique. Coconut roti was really tasty & light. The vegetable dosa was nicely done & light on spice. The khotha roti was like the traditional streetfood I had when I was doing relief work there after the tsunami a decade ago. I loved the caramel & ginger almond shake. Service was fast. It is hard to find creative reasonably priced vegetarian food with flavor & this is one of them.
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Max Redmayne
Arrived to a odd looking restaurant and were seated quickly. While busy, the restaurant never felt cramped and the tables were spacious and the seating comfortable enough. We were then greeted by entertainingly surly service which provided more than enough entertainment for the evening. The range of food on offer was amazing and the quality even more so. The food arrived rapidly and was devoured even more rapidly as it was mind blowingly tasty. Would say without hesitation that this is the best vegetarian restaurant I have ever been to and likely the best full stop.
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Gregg Bloom
I have no idea how this place can consistently provide such amazing meals! Ive tried so many things on their menu, expecting to find something thats just above average. I havent done it, yet; its always excellent. Ive eaten at fine restaurants all over the planet, and Malabar is definitely in my top five. Also, despite other reviews, Ive never had an issue with the staff. Theyve always been friendly and helpful and timely. Truly the best value _and_ the best meal in Santa Cruz County.
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Elizabeth Montiel
The ambiance was great, the food was wonderful as well. We ordered the eggplant dalas and samosas (they were quite small). The persian night drink was amazing. I gave only 3 stars because the waiter was unfriendly and very short with us. My boyfriend is indian and Im white (hispanic) which Im sure is the reason why the waiter dismissed me and didnt smile once... Were from the east bay area where there is actual diversity. Overall, food was good but we wont be returning do to service.
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Maddie Brooks
Awful experience. The server took over 15 minutes to get to us. Once he did- every time someone at our table ordered he said "dont order that, order "this" instead". The garlic seasonal noodles and veggies were flavorless; noodles were over cooked and the veggies were way undercooked. And we tried to order drinks and he said "dont order drinks, were under staffed and dont have time to make them"....first and last time here. Awful service.
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Stacey A
Malabars flavors and menu options are special and incredible. The menu is vegetarian, and portion sizes are average to small. Ive lived in Santa Cruz 8 years and this is one of my top 10 favorite spots in Santa Cruz. Expect a slow dining experience, and no frills servers. You wont find an excited, peppy cheerleader as your server here, so dont come in wanting to be doted on in a way the more typical way we are often accustomed to.
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Rachel Latimer
This is the best restaurant in all of Santa Cruz County. Im use to the diversity and variety of San Francisco dining and thus far after 3 years of santa cruz living there are only 2 places that rank the highest with me. Malabar is one and Sawasdee is the other. The food! The flavor! Forget dharmas for your vegetarian selection, Malabars dishes make you forget about meat even if youre a meat eater.
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Adrian
The Kofte India was super delicious, the pumkin curry was soso. There where 8 guests including us on 3 tables and about 20 empty tables. We waited almost 1 hour for our food. The service was the worst experience in my lifetime. We felt so not welcome at all and the "fear of the living dead" describes it perfectly. Even if the food is tasty and good, we will never ever set a foot in this location.