Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Westside

My favorite place to eat at in Santa Cruz. The Happy hour is great, mon-Thurs. 5-6pm, Friday, sat, sun 4-5pm. They add new drinks monthly. The Laura Palmer and Beach Don’t Kill my vibe are the best gin cocktails. Thursdays are chicken parm night and is my favorite, the chicken parm comes with a salad and glass of wine for $29. The el Ladron Burger and Mac n cheese with pork are also tasty and juicy. Cam is super friendly and always fun to chat with at the bar. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Venus Spirit Cocktails & Kitchen absolutely blew us away! We came as a group of 8 for a family dinner, and every single one of us left raving. From start to finish, everything was exceptional. We loved every minute of our experience! We started with appetizers that were over the top amazing focaccia, bread chips and dip, and hush puppies—all fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented, we were shocked at how quickly tbey came! For dinner, we had an incredible spread- juicy burgers, creamy shrimp and grits, vibrant salads, and the mac and cheese with pulled pork was next-level comfort food. Dessert was the perfect finale: the crème brûlée was smooth and rich with the perfect crackle on top, and the chocolate torte was decadent and deeply satisfying plenty for the 8 of us to each have a couple bites. The cocktails were just as unforgettable. Favorites included the Beach Dont Kill My Vibe, the Frozen Paloma, and classic gin and tonics—each one balanced, creative, and delicious with amazing garnishes! A huge shoutout to our server, Hellen, who truly elevated the night. She was prompt, kind, and incredibly knowledgeable, offering fantastic recommendations and keeping everything running smoothly for our large group. We can’t wait to come back. Highly recommend Venus Spirit Cocktails & Kitchen for food lovers, cocktail enthusiasts, and anyone wanting a memorable, high-quality dining experience! Thank you for creating an amazing night out and making us all feel so special! My heart is so happy!

Lately the food is amazing compared to past visits. Carlos aa head chef has brought heart and deliciousness to the same menu selections. We’ve made it a regular stop on our west side rotation because of the improvement

The bar tender, Daphne, was great! Excellent service, and the chef Carlos Pérez was very kind, he suggested to get 2 exquisite dishes, the prawns and the baby ribs in mole, great combination of flavors, delicious food. We highly recommend it we will come back soon!

Great place for date nite or lunch. Had a great time with some amazing friends here. Didn’t feel rushed and service was on point. The salad with salmon was amazing- burger was ok. Good beer selection and cocktails were delicious.

Wonderful lunch on the patio. Cocktails top notch. I did not like gin before trying Venus Spirits years ago. Now theirs is my favorite. Our lunch portions were huge and our server was fast, attentive and friendly. We look forward to returning again for more menu items. Our group had the Banh mi, pulled pork and fried chicken sandwiches. Fries and house made potato chips were also great!

We had our wedding of around 100 people at Venus in May. It was such a fantastic experience and they were so helpful in helping us figure out how to make our vision come to life. . Special shoutout to Tory from Venus who made it all so successful. Tory advised us expertly in our planning phase, instilled confidence and executed flawlessly to make everything go smoothly. We didn’t have a wedding planner or day-of coordinator, and yet we felt no stress on our wedding day since we knew everything at Venus was under control thanks to Tory–she literally was made for this job. We heard a lot of feedback from our guests that there was incredible service and everyone loved the food and drinks. We had our ceremony and speeches in the restaurant, and the kitchen’s proximity to the ceremony required the kitchen to be completely silent for significant chunks of time in the lead up to dinner and yet the food service was, magically executed flawlessly! Everything from the drinks to the food to the staff to the overall ambiance was so special. Ultimately we felt great about writing a check to people we really like and enjoyed working with. We will be back for many anniversary dinners!